Earlier in the summer the government launched a consultation in relation to the legislative changes required to establish Great British Railways (GBR). This legislation is critically important and will set the stage for how the railway will function in the future. It will set out who is responsible for what including the plans for future passenger contracts to be let by GBR (rather than DfT) together with enhanced duties for ORR. The consultation was in the form of 25 questions to respond to and the consultation document can be found here
Our full response can be found here.
Rail Reform Consultation_03082022
Key points:
- the roles of GBR and DfT require clarification particularly in relation to strategy as the consultation document presents a confused picture,
- we have proposed that the legislation should incorporate a duty on the Secretary of State to take into account the desirability of a healthy and productive UK rail supply chain when designating GBR and issuing its license,
- additionally the sector should be recognised as being of strategic importance to the UK (part of our critical infrastructure) and as such a minimum % of UK content should be mandatory in contracts to ensure supply chain resilience and manage risk,
- we have expressed concern that some of the new duties for ORR could result in a conflict of interest / loss of independence,
- we have proposed a review of the fixed 5 year control periods with a view to creating a solution that would facilitate a long-term rolling programme of investment across the railway.
For further information about our response please contact elaine@railforum.uk
