Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee

Recommendation 18

18

Department and HM Treasury fundamentally disagreed on GBR's remit, independence, and commercial model from the outset.

Conclusion
The Department intended that Great British Railways (GBR) would act as the ‘guiding mind’ for the railways, with responsibility for the whole rail system.40 But the Department and HM Treasury disagreed on key areas of rail reform from the start, including GBR’s remit and level of independence, the extent to which it or the private sector should set fares and services, and views on how best to maximise rail revenue and manage costs.41