Rail Minister: The EXCLUSIVE interview with Lord Hendy that you NEED to watch

South Western Railway became the first train operating company to be formally taken back into public ownership on the expiry of its contract on Sunday May 25th. It marks the first visible evidence of the Government’s plans to radically change the way that Britain’s railway is structured and operated.

The person charged with leading this change process on behalf of the Government and the Secretary of State for Transport is Rail Minister, Lord Peter Hendy.

It was a wide-ranging interview and Peter Hendy was extremely candid. No deflection, no diversion – just straightforward answers to questions including whether renationalisation is simply an ideological position, how GBR will be set up and whether railway professionals will be empowered to operate the business.

We also covered Open Access, Trades Unions, the investment pipeline, ROSCOs and the Government’s vision for the railway.

This is a must listen interview for anyone with any interest in the future of Britain’s railway.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:00 Being appointed as Rail Minister
03:00 Have you found High Office frustrating?
06:49 Renationalisation: is it ideological?
10:23 Where will the incentive come from in future to grow?
13:53 Does the Government have a vision for what rail is good at?
18:02 No Great British Railways until 2027?
21:02 How are you going to empower people to deliver?
27:25 Rail enhancements: why hasn't the pipeline been published?
31:07 Why not nationalise the rolling stock owners?
34:58 Trades unions: how do we reset the relationship?
39:41 Open access: what is the government position?
43:34 Why is reform going to work this time?

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Credits:
Presenters - Nigel Harris (@railnigel on X) & Richard Bowker CBE (@SRichardBowker). General Manager: Stef Foster (@stefatrail)