Source · Select Committees · Transport Committee
8th Report - Railways Bill
Transport Committee
HC 1472
Published 10 February 2026
Recommendations
15
Acknowledged
Amend Bill to include a mechanism for assessing GBR's passenger interest duty.
Recommendation
We are concerned that there is no specific mechanism to assess GBR’s performance against the passenger interest duty placed on it by the Bill. The standards set by the Passengers’ Council will be part of GBR’s licence, enforced by the …
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Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the recommendation, stating the duty at clause 18(2)(a) of the Bill will require the sector bodies to promote the interests of passengers. It notes that accessibility duties will support some of the requirements under the reasonable adjustments duty at section 20 of the Equality Act 2010.
Department for Transport
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Conclusions (5)
2
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Understandably, and as with previous railways legislation, the Railways Bill gives a partial picture of the framework for a new regime under Great British Railways. The Bill is designed to last a long time and is accompanied by various additional documentation. The unpublished documents are important not just for scrutiny, …
Government Response Summary
The Government notes the recommendation and agrees that departmental select committees can be a valuable and important part of the scrutiny process, stating that they are pleased to continue engagement with the Committee.
4
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Departmental committees have an important contribution to make to scrutiny of legislation, being less adversarial and more specialist than Bill committees, and being able to continue scrutiny of the policy implementation long after the legislation is passed. (Conclusion, Paragraph 9) 32
Government Response Summary
The Government welcomes the conclusion drawn by the Committee that the clarity provided by a Long Term Rail Strategy (LTRS) will have benefits in terms of efficiency, planning for rail infrastructure and clarity for the wider economy.
6
Conclusion
Acknowledged
The Government intends that Great British Railways should be a responsible guiding mind: to achieve this, it requires independence and protection from political interference in its day-to-day operations. Clause 7 as currently drafted would permit a future Secretary of State, if so minded, to micromanage GBR through directions. The intention …
Government Response Summary
The government notes this recommendation, welcomes the Committee’s support for an aligned set of duties across key industry bodies within the Railways Bill, and disagrees with the need for the Secretary of State to provide statutory guidance.
8
Conclusion
Acknowledged
We welcome the Bill’s provision for a Long Term Rail Strategy. The more clarity that can be given to both the public and private sector about the long-term strategic aims for the railway, the greater the benefits will be in terms of efficiency, planning for rail infrastructure and clarity for …
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee that increasing passenger numbers is important and that GBR must actively work to attract passengers to use our railways.
12
Conclusion
Acknowledged
There are benefits to unified duties but the Bill is insufficiently clear on how they will operate in decision-making, in particular the weighting to be assigned to each factor. The Office of Rail and Road will enforce GBR’s business plan but is not bound by it. If the Government intends …
Government Response Summary
The government welcomes the Committee’s support and notes the recommendation, highlighting the duties in clause 18 and clause 36 for promoting the interests of disabled passengers.