Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 16
Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The rail transformation programme
Published 27 May 2024
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Rail reform: The rail transformation programme All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
We asked the Department for clarity around how the new contracts would work. The Department told us that it is in the process of developing a further version of national rail contracts, designed to further encourage growth in revenue and passengers, and focus on the passenger experience. It said that until it has real clarity on when GBR will be created, and who the contracting body will be, it will not be in a position to return to competition with passenger service contracts.33 The Department told us that it will have much greater certainty once legislation is in Parliament and it can then start to accelerate some of its plans. It said that the period between legislation passing and GBR becoming operational could take up to two years.34 The Department had expected reform to result in annual savings of £1.5 billion from 2026–27 onwards, but these savings have been delayed with Great British Railways not yet established.35 We asked the Department if it was still on track to meet its planned savings. The Department told us that it does not expect to achieve all the savings it forecast and cited legislation as one of the reasons why it cannot realise the full benefits of reform.36
From: Public Accounts Committee, Thirty-Eighth Report - Rail reform: The rail transformation programme (HC 652), 27 May 2024
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 11 July 2025 (deadline 27 July 2024).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it "agrees with the Committee's recommendation" on each of the six recommendations, with target implementation dates ranging from Winter 2024 to Spring 2025, and one marked as already implemented.
- On delivering reform, it states the department is "remobilising" and preparing for the mobilisation of shadow Great British Railways, and will "set out next steps shortly". Further legislation to create GBR was announced in the King's Speech.
- On passenger focus, it says GBR will be "incentivised by targets and performance criteria set by the Secretary of State", and a new Passenger Standards Authority will independently monitor standards.
- On subsidy and value for money, the department "expects to see these reforms delivered over the course of this parliamentary term" as legislation is enacted and private operators move into public ownership. The target implementation date given is Spring 2025.
- On accessibility, it says the department "will set out next steps as soon as possible" and will use accessibility audit data from all 2,575 stations to target future investment decisions.