The rebranding is a lost chance to transform and offer genuine public benefit
It was a lot of hullabaloo about not very much, a three-word rebranding intended to be catchy but more likely to be lampooned, with the big issues dodged, a typical initiative from the Johnson government. The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, unveiled the much trailed railways white paper last week, making permanent the way railways have been run during the Covid crisis, but now under the new name Great British Railways, or GBR.
Rail franchisees will become contractees, managing their part of the system with cost-plus contracts, running no risk but with guaranteed revenue – contracted fees. This was inevitable. Two-thirds of the franchises awarded since 2012 have gone to single bidders. The uncoordinated timetable changes were a disaster. When Covid struck, the government had to underwrite impossible franchise commitments. The system was broken.
