DESCRIBED as“the biggest change to the railways in 25 years”, the Government’s longawaited plans for rail industry reform were finally announced by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps on May 20.
The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail (the outcome of a review process originally launched in 2018 by former British Airways chairman Keith Williams and subsequently updated to reflect the impact of Covid-19 on passenger numbers and revenue) sets out plans for the railway to be owned and run by a new single public entity to be known as Great British Railways.