Open consultation

The Great British Railways licence

• From: Department for Transport
• Published: 12 November 2026

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Summary

Seeks views on the Great British Railways (GBR) licence.

This consultation closes at
11:59pm on 21 January 2027

Consultation description

The government is creating Great British Railways (GBR), a new public body that will bring together responsibility for rail infrastructure and most passenger rail services.

GBR will require a licence to legally operate its railway assets. The GBR licence will set out some obligations that GBR must meet to operate those assets.

This consultation seeks views on the proposed contents of the new GBR licence.

This covers the proposed obligations for GBR in areas including:

• providing information and assurance
• improving the passenger experience
• ensuring good stewardship and governance
• meeting shared industry obligations

Welsh translations of the factsheet and full consultation will be published as soon as they are available. 

Bydd cyfieithiadau Cymraeg o’r daflen ffeithiau a’r ymgynghoriad llawn yn cael eu cyhoeddi cyn gynted ag y byddant ar gael.

Documents

GBR licence consultation

HTML

GBR licence consultation factsheet

HTML

GBR licence consultation (Easy read version)

PDF, 2.32 MB, 21 pages

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Ways to respond

Respond online

or

Email to:

GBRLicenceTeam@dft.gov.uk

Write to:

GBR Licence Team
Department for Transport
Great Minster House
London SW1P 4DR