Great British Railways transport bill shelved

The constitution of a caller nationalist assemblage to run Britain's railways is acceptable to beryllium delayed, aft Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said a draught instrumentality was being delayed.

The Transport Bill was to person included the instauration of Great British Railways.

Ms Trevelyan said her section had "lost the opportunity" to bring guardant the measure successful this league of Parliament.

She admitted this meant GBR was improbable to beryllium afloat successful spot by aboriginal 2024, arsenic had been hoped.

But she said she expected "the hiatus volition beryllium short", adding that the authorities should travel successful the adjacent league of parliament, from adjacent May.

Ms Trevelyan told MPs connected the Transport Select Committee the determination was thing to bash with the authorities U-turning connected its mini-budget.

"The challenges of things similar the vigor authorities we've got to bring successful and assorted others has meant that we person mislaid the accidental to person that [the Bill] successful this 3rd session," she said.

Announced by erstwhile Transport Secretary Grant Shapps successful May 2021, plans for Great British Railways were billed arsenic the biggest shake-up successful decades.

Mr Shapps said the caller bureau would regenerate the "fragmented" railway system.

It would beryllium state-owned, and would acceptable timetables and prices, merchantability tickets successful England, and negociate obstruction infrastructure.

It would besides contented contracts to backstage operators to tally trains.

The authorities had wanted to basal the assemblage liable for governing Britain's railways extracurricular London, with assorted cities bidding to big its headquarters. The victor has not yet been announced.

A GBR modulation squad is successful place, but authorities is indispensable for the organisation to travel into being.

Ms Trevelyan said enactment was being done connected which changes could beryllium achieved without legislation.

Asked if it was her volition to afloat instrumentality the program acceptable retired past year, she said: "Because we can't bring successful this big, all-encompassing portion of authorities immediately, we're going to instrumentality the accidental to interruption it down into its constituent parts and enactment retired however we tin thrust guardant immoderate of that modernisation."

Ms Trevelyan added that though a "big" Transport Bill would not hap successful this league of Parliament, her section was pushing for "a constrictive bill" astir technologies similar e-scooters.

Rail Partners, a radical which promotes the relation of backstage companies successful the aboriginal of the railways, said the hold successful the authorities was "disappointing".

Its main enforcement Andy Bagnall said it was "critical determination is not a agelong hiatus".