[AMcWhirter]

In May 2021 I reported on plans for Great British Railways (GBR) which would hopefully transform UK rail – see link below.

But this evening The Times [paywall] reports GBR is now unlikely to happen.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rishi-sunak-boris-johnson-great-british-railways-rmnm23grx

As I may have noted on this Forum some months ago, rail author Christian Wolmar predicted it (GBR) wouldn’t happen within the life of the current parliament.

The Times reports that DfT officials “have been told it is not a priority for the government and [the legislation] will not be brought forward in the King’s Speech.”

A source said: “The simple fact is Sunak doesn’t see the railways as a priority.”

This news comes at a time when the RMT union has announced a fresh strike for June 2 which will add to the Aslef strikes taking place the same week.

Here’s the link to our original news piece.

Great British Railways to oversee rail timetables and pricing

businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2021/05/20/great-british-railways-to-oversee-rail-timetables-and-pricing/

[stevescoots]

Like most things with this utterly useless Uk government, all talk and zero action. My local train service (not that i used it) has just gone from bad to worse with them cutting carriages at peak holiday time from Notts to Skegvegas (I hate the place but that’s besides the point) the train company now insists everyone has to forward buy a ticket or no guarantee they will even get a standing place and then they can plan to lay on busses. The knock on is that pretty much every town east of Grantham nobody is getting on a train. People that used them, often the poorest in the local area have to bus it or not bother, all the while on the worst roads in the county. This is the rail company in effect muscling in on the local bus services which already struggle financially.

Add to that the main line requested they run on the local line the next town over from me which would cause traffic chaos as it runs through that town. Having in effect bribed the local authority by saying it would stop in the town…well now it does not and Govt has said nothing to the rail company.
Off travel topic but feel the urge to vent. having engaged my local Tory MP several times over the past few years and found him to be a polite yet waffling party android I decided to take action and funded a new local independent group to take the utterly useless local Tories out at the recent locals. It was worth every penny to go shake his hand and rub it in at the count after we wiped out this fake conservative party and took control. I would enter politics (it runs in the family), but I am no hypocrite as I spend 7 months or more outside the UK.

Rant over

4 users thanked author for this post.

sparkyflier, pdwtrip, TimFitzgeraldTC, CheerUp

[TominScotland]

Not a huge surprise, Alex, is it? After all, I am not sure that our PM uses the railways if he can avoid it.

Stevescoots – if folk have complaints about the Nottingham to Skeggy train service, why don’t they travel by helicopter as our modern-day Marie Antoinette does?

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/may/09/sunak-helicopter-train-southampton-prime-minister-rail

[stevescoots]

[postquote quote=1362764]

there is a meme going round , rishi on familiy fortunes with exactly that, him answering a helicopter is a cheap form of transport

[AMcWhirter]

[quote quote=1362764]Not a huge surprise, Alex, is it? After all, I am not sure that our PM uses the railways if he can avoid it.[/quote]

Not at all. I have already written a UK rail piece (about ‘open access’ operators) for the forthcoming June issue.

I did not want to make a definite prediction because I realise that rail in this country is political and there can be changes.

Months ago rail author Wolmar predicted GBR would not happen during the life of the current Parliament.

At that time GBR did not yet have a home.

Since then we now learn that GBR will be based at Derby.

Christian Wolmar recently interviewed Anit Chandarana who is the new head of GBRTT (Great British Railways Transiation Team).

From what the new head of GBRTT was saying (in this lengthy interview) is that he was “sanguine” that GBR would be in the Kings Speech this autumn.

But, judging by The Times piece, it looks unlikely to happen.

How rail matters can change in just over 10 days !

Link to the podcast is below:

My latest podcast featuring exclusive interview with Anit Chandarana head of Great British Railways Transition Team https://t.co/0MGx7dylTS

— Christian Wolmar (@christianwolmar) May 8, 2023

1 user thanked author for this post.

cwoodward

[stevescoots]

just had it over to MTR Corp…or British rail east Asia as it was unofficially known at the time by those sent to HK according to an old friend who was here when they started to build it, much to the unions annoyance back home at the time! he has since passed but would often tell me the stories how they would deliberatly wind up the union bosses back home

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