Great British Rail ‘not on track’ and billions in savings at risk, spending watchdog warns
Government plans for major reform of Britain’s railways and the launch of Great British Rail are “not on track,” with billions in potential savings at risk, the UK spending watchdog has warned.
Ministers unveiled proposals in 2021 to create a state-owned public body, known as Great British Rail (GBR), to act as a unifying ‘guiding mind’ for Britain’s struggling rail sector.
If implemented, the reforms would constitute one of the biggest shake-ups of the railways in decades and aim to improve soaring cancellations, delays and ongoing financial difficulty.
But in a damming report, the National Audit Office (NAO) said the bulk of commitments set out in the government’s white paper remained either a “work in progress or paused,” with around a third still needing legislation to be completed.
The Department for Transport (DfT) committed to a “high-risk” timetable “without a clear plan for what it needed to implement,” the NAO added.
It came alongside revelations the DfT had spent £3.1bn on subsidies for passenger services in 2022/23, a level it considers “unsustainable” and a major burden for taxpayers.
It was scrapped by former transport secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan in October 2022, but it was included in the recent Draft Rail Reform Bill. This bill has been put forward for pre-legislative scrutiny.
Delays mean the DfT is likely to miss out on around three-quarters of £2.6bn in total savings it had forecast by 2024-25.
The NAO said the department had also expected annual savings of £1.5bn from 2026-27 but this has now been delayed until the plans go through.
Labour’s Shadow Rail Minister, Stephen Morgan MP, described the report as a “damning indictment of the Tories’ failure to reform our broken rail system: It is crystal clear that our railways are not delivering for passengers or the taxpayer.”
He added: “Despite promising rail reforms for a half-decade, the government’s refusal to act this side of an election means no improvements for passengers and higher costs for taxpayers.”
Persistent financial struggles at most major rail companies since the pandemic wiped out passenger numbers have fuelled an industrial dispute with unions. Strikes have cost the sector over a billion already and have continued for well over a year and a half.
Mick Lynch, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch, said the report into Great British Rail confirmed: “Passengers and the taxpayer have been victims of the government’s shambolic management of our railways.
“Ministers promised reform after our privatised and fragmented railways resulted in the timetable meltdown in 2018 but since then the railways have lurched from crisis to crisis including the government’s disastrous attempts to cut services and pick fights with rail workers.”
A DfT spokesperson said: “The £3.1bn of subsidies the NAO refers to are a result of external pressures – including the challenges of post-Covid passenger recovery – not related to rail reform savings.
“We have laid out a clear plan for the industry’s future under Great British Railways in our recently published draft Bill and we are now pressing ahead with improvements that will benefit millions of customers like expanding Pay As You Go ticketing, piloting simpler fares, and announcing a target for rail freight growth.”