Reported by The Guardian
Experts predict a baptism of fire for GBR in 2027, with likely issues ranging from clapped-out trains and track to extreme weather-related stress
T he glad tidings brought by the minister were that the wait was almost over: the establishment of Great British Railways could be wrapped up by Christmas, at least in law. But with a renationalised industry facing fresh storms in 2027, some in the railway world are wondering if they should be careful what they wish for.
The legislation that will rip up how rail has been run , anticipated for the best part of a decade, is being chewed over in its final stages in the House of Lords. It now has, the rail minister, Peter Hendy, told an industry conference in London this week, “a fair chance of getting royal assent” before parliament’s winter break, allowing a new arm’s-length body with overall control of Britain’s railway, spanning the track and train services.
More from the original report
Great Western Railway will come into the government stable in December, with the remaining private train operations, East Midland Railway, Avanti and CrossCountry, due to be nationalised next year.
There will be plenty to fix, as politicians and rail bosses acknowledged. Lord Hendy opened the Railway Industry Association’s conference by describing every train in the north of England as “clapped out”; Jeremy Westlake, the chief executive of infrastructure manager Network Rail , concluded the event by bringing up the two derailments in 24 hours at the peak of a summer of delays.
Some of the solutions may appear easier within an integrated, nationalised industry. The site of the future Great British Railways (GBR) HQ in Derby has now been picked, even if it remains unclear how many of rail’s leaders fancy decamping there, and exactly where the power will lie.
It won’t be, said Hendy, an all-powerful “Kremlin in Derby”, with control instead largely given to regional managing directors, something so far instigated at South Western and Southeastern. For Hendy, the rewards of the new structure will be a single point of accountability, and the end of a “culture of blame” under privatisation…