Found: recently in relation to questions about the Government’s plans for the timetabling and scope of the Railways Bill

Found: The recently introduced Railways Bill includes a clause to allow the future infrastructure manager,

Found: The Bus Services Bill and the Railways Bill are giving all these local authorities more powers, but they

Found: The Bus Services Bill and the Railways Bill are giving all these local authorities more powers, but

Found: Letter from the Minister for Rail, Department for Transport relating to the Railways Bill, dated 21 January

Found: June 2025, p 5 36 Bus Services Act 2025; Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024; Railways Bill

Found: of the Camden Cycling Campaign, whose application to be heard was refused in the Kings Cross Railways Bill

Found: of the Camden Cycling Campaign, whose application to be heard was refused in the Kings Cross Railways Bill

Found: of the Camden Cycling Campaign whose application to be h eard was refused in the King’s Cross Railways Bill

Found: That is the settled intent of the Government’s Railways Bill programme, as set out in A railway fit

Found: In parallel with the passage of the Railways Bill, which will lay the legal framework for GBR, Lord

Found: It is on the King’s Cross Railways Bill.

Found: It is on the King’s Cross Railways Bill.

Found: RWB0077 - Railways Bill West Midlands Rail Executive Written Evidence

Found: organisation, we have also included within your authorities bundle reports from the King’s Cross Railways Bill

Found: organisation, we have also included within your authorities bundle reports from the King’s Cross Railways Bill

Found: organisation, we have also included within your authorities bundle reports from the King’s Cross Railways Bill

Found: The Government’s once-in-a-generation rail reform programme, through the introduction of the Railways Bill

Found: On the point around stability and certainty, we have welcomed the announcement in the Railways Bill

Found: The key remaining gap lies in the rail network, though the forthcoming Railways Bill should help to

Found: These barriers on the railway will be addressed under GBR and we await the upcoming Railways Bill to

Found: For example, the Department for Transport’s consultation on the new Railways Bill appears to have dropped

Found: We believe integration, the forthcoming Railways Bill, and the establishment of Great British Railways

Found: Transport Committee Oral evidence: Railways Bill, HC 1472 Wednesday 7 January 2026 Ordered by the House

Found: RWB0075 - Railways Bill SilverRail Technologies Written Evidence

Found: RWB0076 - Railways Bill Trainline Written Evidence

Found: Transport Committee Oral evidence: Railways Bill, HC 1472 Wednesday 17 December 2025 Ordered by the House

Found: Transport Committee Oral evidence: Railways Bill, HC 1472 Wednesday 17 December 2025 Ordered by the House

Found: Transport Committee Oral evidence: Railways Bill, HC 1472 Wednesday 17 December 2025 Ordered by the House

Found: RWB0068 - Railways Bill Bring Back British Rail Written Evidence

Found: RWB0070 - Railways Bill We Own It Written Evidence

Found: RWB0069 - Railways Bill techUK Written Evidence

Found: RWB0072 - Railways Bill AllRail Written Evidence

Found: RWB0074 - Railways Bill FirstGroup plc Written Evidence

Found: Transport Committee Oral evidence: Railways Bill, HC 1472 Wednesday 10 December 2025 Ordered by the House

Found: Transport Committee Oral evidence: Railways Bill, HC 1472 Wednesday 10 December 2025 Ordered by the House

Found: Transport Committee Oral evidence: Railways Bill, HC 1472 Wednesday 10 December 2025 Ordered by the House

Found: West Coast Main Line My Committee appreciated your giving oral evidence on 26 November to our Railways Bill

Found: Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, Welsh Government relating to the Railways Bill

Found: RWB0011 - Railways Bill Mr Christopher Hogan Written Evidence

Found: RWB0012 - Railways Bill The Business Travel Association (The BTA) Written Evidence

Found: RWB0010 - Railways Bill miss Juliet Solomon Written Evidence

Found: RWB0027 - Railways Bill Rail Plant Association (RPA) Written Evidence

Found: RWB0026 - Railways Bill Equality and Human Rights Commission Written Evidence

Found: RWB0015 - Railways Bill Jonathan Tyler Written Evidence

Found: RWB0014 - Railways Bill Lancaster University, and Lancaster University Written Evidence

Found: RWB0013 - Railways Bill Whizz Kidz Written Evidence

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how Great British Railways plans to work with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority on rail funding in Bradford; and what statutory role local transport authorities will have in shaping service patterns affecting the city.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Great British Railways will work closely with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, including on matters relating to rail funding in Bradford, through the statutory roles established in the Railways Bill and through a future partnership arrangement with GBR. GBR will be required to consult Mayoral Strategic Authorities where decisions on passenger services or rail infrastructure could have a significant impact on their areas. GBR will also have regard to their Local Transport Plans to ensure that local priorities – including how rail services interface with wider local transport networks – are fully considered.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what targets her Department has set for reducing rail journey times between (a) Bradford and Leeds and (b) Bradford and Manchester; and how those targets align with the objectives of the Railways Bill.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Northern Powerhouse Rail will seek to create a turn up and go railway for passengers from Bradford to travel to cities across the growth corridor, including improving connections to Leeds and Manchester.

The government is learning the lessons from HS2 by taking sufficient time to explore and develop options, and so building certainty in costs, outputs and benefits, before confirming decisions on details such as journey times. We will work closely with local leaders to do that.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her planned sequencing and timetable is for (a) publication of the draft Great British Railways licence for parliamentary scrutiny and formal consultation, (b) consultation led by the Office of Rail and Road on the Retail Code of Practice and (c) finalisation of those documents; and whether Parliament will be able to scrutinise the draft licence before the passage of the Railways Bill.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided to Question 88358 Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament Further information on the GBR licence can be found in the Railways Bill factsheet: holding Great British Railways to account

There will also be a full consultation on the retail code of practice, and further detail will be confirmed in due course. Further information on the code of practice can be found at Railways Bill factsheet: tickets and retail.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral evidence to the Transport Committee on Wednesday 7 January 2026 on the Railways Bill, how structural separation between retail functions and cross-industry management functions of Great British Railway will operate, including governance, accounting, decision-making and information-sharing arrangements; where this separation will be formally set out; and when she plans to publish further details.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

To ensure fair and open competition when Great British Railways (GBR) has a dual role as a retailer and provider of wider retail industry management functions, the government has announced a robust package of safeguards. These are a Code of Practice, with the force of a GBR licence condition; separation of decision-making between GBR’s retailer and its cross-industry systems and services; and ORR monitoring and enforcement of GBR’s adherence with the Code of Practice.

The retail Code of Practice will incorporate clear requirements for how GBR should interact with all market participants. There will be full consultation on the Code of Practice, and further detail will be confirmed in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Railways Bill will include a statutory target for passenger growth.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Railways Bill was published on 5 November and will be debated at Committee stage later this month. GBR, as a passenger operator, will be incentivised to grow passenger numbers and will have a number of legal duties to support this. This includes duties to promote the interests of users, and potential users, and to maintain high standards of rail performance.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 96704 on Great British Railways, if she will publish any internal implementation plans, programme plans, timelines, milestone documents or transition frameworks for the establishment of Great British Railways.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

As set out in previous answers, the Great British Railways (GBR) design process is underway. We expect to stand up GBR within 12 months of the Railways Bill receiving Royal Assent.

We are developing our implementation plans as part of the GBR design process now and will share those in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps Great British Railway will take to make railway stations in Yeovil constituency more accessible.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the significant social and economic benefits this brings to passengers and communities.

In May 2024, the previous government agreed the publication of a list of 50 additional stations selected for initial feasibility work under the Access for All programme, which included Yeovil Junction in the Yeovil constituency. Network Rail has now completed this feasibility work, and the Government will shortly announce which of these stations will progress to the next stage.

The Railways Bill will ensure that the interests of all passengers, particularly those with accessibility needs, are at the heart of decision-making across the railways. Great British Railways (GBR) will have a clear passenger and accessibility duty, requiring it to consider the needs of disabled passengers and to embed improved accessibility at the core of the railway. However, we are not waiting for GBR to be established to deliver improvements. Alongside the Railways Bill, the Department for Transport has published the Roadmap to an Accessible Railway, which sets out the actions being taken now to improve accessibility and the day-to-day travel experience for passengers who need assistance, ahead of GBR’s creation.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she has taken to recover the 6120 missing responses from the Railways Bill consultation; and what steps she is taking to ensure the integrity of the consultation process for future consultations.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Secretary of State has written to the Transport Select Committee on this issue, a copy of which can be found here: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/50296/documents/271772/default/.

We have no evidence of other consultations being affected and are taking all steps necessary to ensure our suppliers prevent a recurrence. This includes reviewing our email filtering system logs for all open consultations and seeking separate external assurance on the configuration of our replacement filtering system.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2025 to Question 94307 on Railways: Private Sector, what metrics her Department plans to use to measure the potential impact of the Railways Bill on levels of private sector innovation; and whether baseline data has been established for those measures.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

As set out in the answer to Question 94307, establishing GBR through the Railways Bill will provide an integrated approach and greater longer-term certainty for rail, giving the private sector the confidence it needs to invest and support innovation throughout the sector. The Railways Bill Impact Assessment provides an assessment of the potential impacts of the rail reform policies within the Railways Bill, including the impacts on Business Environment.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential differences in terms and conditions between outsourced and directly employed staff within train operating companies, including pay, sick pay, pensions and travel facilities; and whether the Railways Bill will include measures to address employment practices and contractual arrangements affecting outsourced rail workers.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport has not made an assessment of the potential differences in terms and conditions between outsourced and directly employed staff within train operating companies. These matters are managed directly by the operators and employers themselves. In the future, workforce issues, including employment practices and contractual arrangements, will be a matter for Great British Railways. The Railways Bill does not cover matters relating to employment.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the price of (a) rail and (b) road freight on rail freight operators in Devon.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Rail freight operations are typically long distance and cross-border in the UK. Under the Railways Bill, Government has proposed to place a duty on Great British Railways to promote the use of rail freight, meaning freight operators will benefit from a longer-term strategic approach to decision making on the railway which includes charging to use the network.

As part of our continued support for the wider freight sector, the Department has operated the Mode Shift Revenue Support scheme (MSRS) since 2010. The scheme is designed to encourage modal shift by assisting with the operating costs associated with running rail or inland water freight transport instead of road, where rail or inland waterway transport is more expensive. The relative costs have been reviewed to ensure that the scheme continues to achieve its goal to support modal shift and are kept under review. Any matters relating to fuel duty comes under the remit of His Majesty’s Treasury.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the lower age limit for adult peak-time rail fares on the families of students who turn 18 during the academic year while remaining in full-time education until the end of that year; and whether her Department plans to review age-based rail fare eligibility to ensure consistency for students who are required to travel to school or college during peak hours.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Adult fares are payable for passengers from the age of 16. The 16-17 Saver can be purchased to extend the discount on child fares to 16- and 17-year-olds.

The Government has no current plans to amend existing concessionary discounts. As set out in the Railways Bill, in future Great British Railways will have the flexibility to update and expand concessionary offers, following engagement with other operators, as passenger needs change.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to support the expansion of Rail Freight in Devon.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government recognises that the economic and environmental potential of rail freight is significant and is committed to delivering growth and supporting modal shift to lower-carbon modes of freight transport. We have committed to the rail freight growth target of a 75% increase in freight moved by rail by 2050.

The recently laid Railways Bill sets out that the Secretary of State will provide GBR with growth targets for rail freight. As was the case during the development of the 2050 target, we will make informed forecasts about the future capability and capacity of the network. My officials, together with Network Rail, are continuing to work to identify where there is the potential for growth across the network for rail freight.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the letter of 26 November 2025 from We Own It to the Transport Committee, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the reported 6120 missing responses from the Railways Bill consultation.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

An assessment can be found in the Secretary of State’s letter to the Transport Select Committee of 11 November 2025. Her letter is available here: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/50296/documents/271772/default/.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if it is her policy that under GBR all rail fares including discounted fares will be available to purchase from ticket offices.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government has set out that Great British Railways will have a broad retail function, using all available channels to serve passengers. The Railways Bill will deliver the statutory basis for this function.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the planned timeline is for the full transition of responsibilities from Network Rail to Great British Railways as set out in the Railways Bill.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Network Rail and its functions will become a foundational part of Great British Railways (GBR) as it is stood up, which we are aiming to be around 12 months after the Railways Bill receives Royal Assent.

The detailed GBR design process is underway, considering how all functions in Network Rail, DfT Operator, publicly-owned train operating companies (TOC) and parts of the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) should transfer to GBR.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if it is her policy that under GBR all railcards will be available to purchase and renew at ticket offices.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government has set out that Great British Railways will have a broad retail function, using all available channels to serve passengers. The Railways Bill will deliver the statutory basis for this function.

For various operational and technical reasons, it is not possible to sell certain railcards at station ticket offices.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Railways Bill on service reliability of rail routes (a) connecting Birmingham and Walsall and (b) the rest of the West Midlands.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Railways Bill includes the introduction of Great British Railways (GBR) which will be a new public company responsible for providing the single point of leadership our railways sorely need, squarely accountable to its passengers for the service it delivers. This will help prioritise service reliability throughout the country, including Birmingham and Walsall, as well as the rest of the West Midlands.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the proposed advisory role of the Office of Rail and Road under the Railways Bill in providing independent scrutiny of Great British Railways’ annual and five-year business plans; and whether she will introduce statutory requirements for the ORR to publish (a) efficiency assessments, (b) value-for-money analysis, and (c) compliance with the Long-Term Rail Strategy.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government considers the Office of Rail and Road’s (ORR) proposed advisory role under the Railways Bill provides effective independent scrutiny of Great British Railway’s (GBR) business plans. We would expect the ORR to assess efficiency, value for money, and compliance with strategic objectives and the ORR could publish this as part of its independent advisory function. There is no intention to put statutory constraints on the form or content of ORR advice.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her planned timeline is for the establishment of Great British Railways following the passage of the Railways Bill; and if her Department will publish an implementation plan setting out milestones for the establishment of Great British Railways.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We are aiming for Great British Railways to be established as soon as possible after the Railways Bill receives Royal Assent, which will likely be around 12 months after the Bill passes. We will be focusing on implementing it, rather than publishing plans about implementing it.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Railways Bill on accessibility at train stations.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Railways Bill places a statutory duty on Great British Railways (GBR) to promote the interests of passengers, and in particular the needs of disabled passengers, when carrying out its statutory functions. This means accessibility will be embedded at the heart of GBR’s decision-making and reflects the Government’s vision for a railway that is inclusive and accessible to all.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she will take to ensure Great British Railways Retail is treated as a market participant operating under the same terms and conditions as independent rail operators; and what discussions she has had with the Office of Rail and Road on this matter.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The retail industry code of practice announced in the Government's response to the Railways Bill consultation will incorporate clear requirements for how Great British Railways (GBR) should interact with all market participants. The code of practice will be owned and managed by the Office of Rail and Road, and GBR’s licence will require it to comply.

The government has confirmed that there will be full consultation on the production of the code of practice, thereby ensuring important input from industry, regulatory and other stakeholders. The government recognises that there will be a range of interested parties in both its original development and any ongoing updates to ensure it remains effective.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her Department has had with the Welsh government regarding the drafting of the Railways Bill.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport has worked closely with the Welsh Government throughout the development of the Railways Bill.

This engagement has included both ministerial and official-level meetings to ensure constructive and collaborative development of provisions enabling a responsive railway in the Wales and borders area.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the answer of 21 July 2025 to Question HL9428, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of unfunded freight schemes on her Department's (a) rail freight growth and (b) modal shift targets.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government recognises that the economic and environmental potential of rail freight is significant and is committed to delivering growth and supporting modal shift to lower-carbon modes of freight transport. We have committed to the rail freight growth target of a 75% increase in freight moved by rail by 2050.

The recently laid Railways Bill sets out that the Secretary of State will provide GBR with growth targets for rail freight. As was the case during the development of the 2050 target, we will make informed forecasts about the future capability and capacity of the network when developing any further rail freight growth targets.

Network Rail has a regulated target of a 7.5% increase in rail freight by the end of Control Period 7 (March 2029). In the first year of reporting rail freight grew by 5%, which is significantly ahead of the 1.5% annual growth forecast.

Found: The railways bill continues its passage through Parliament and will establish GBR, a new publicly owned

Found: Today’s announcement follows last week’s second debate on the landmark railways bill and comes after

Found: It comes as the landmark Railways Bill is debated in the House of Commons today and follows the government

Found: assigning responsibility in running passenger rail services, set out in clauses 25 to 27 of the Railways Bill

Found: emission vehicle policy Richard Goodman 2025-07-01 First Rail Discussion on progress against upcoming railways bill

Found: Rail

Found: exercise powers under Section 24 of the Railways Act 1993 (which is subject to amendment via the Railways Bill

Found: The railways bill continues its passage through Parliament and will establish GBR, a new publicly owned

Found: no locus in this.We are currently scrutinising the provisions within the final version of the Railways Bill

Found: 2025 Consent recommended Northern Ireland Troubles Bill 11/12/2025 No recommendation on consent Railways Bill