Rail Reform: Stand-Up of GBR
DFT · DFT_0413_2425-Q2
Department page: Department for Transport
| Data as at | Rating | End date | Whole-life cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 2026 | Red (NISTA's independent assessment) | Exempt under Section 22 - Information intended for future publication, The GMPP project is still at the planning stage (Pre-SOC or equivalent) and is not yet in a position to provide cost/schedule information | The GMPP project is still at the planning stage (Pre-SOC or equivalent) and is not yet in a position to provide cost/schedule information |
Each year’s cost is shown with its price basis. Costs are not compared between years: the March 2024 and March 2025 reports state no price basis, and from March 2026 costs are in 2024/25 prices.
The department’s commentary
This is the department’s own commentary. It may use different prices from the table above, so its figures may not match.
March 2026
Rating: The Railways Bill will pave the way for the creation of Great British Railways (GBR), due to be set up later in 2027. The transfer of passenger services to public ownership, a key element of the reform programme, continues at pace, with Govia Thameslink Railway’s (GTR) services the most recent to switch in May this year. The Bill is a key dependency and is currently in Parliament, therefore, it is not possible to predict, the exact scheduling and level of amendments it may still face as part of Lords and Commons scrutiny. Combining these uncertain timescales with the complexity and challenges of key elements of what is the biggest transformation of the railways in a generation, means that the NISTA/SRO Delivery Confidence Assessment (DCA) rating remains RED as of the last two quarters (Q3/Q4) of 2025/26. This rating transparently reflects the level of uncertainty and dependencies and mitigates against optimism bias. However, significant progress continues to be made on all aspects of the reform programme and as a result we expect the delivery confidence to improve. Most notably, work continues on a number of critical design and implementation decisions, alongside government approvals, which are required to deliver the reforms set out in the Bill and GBR itself. These decisions, when made, combined with Parliamentary progress are expected to provide greater clarity and stability across the programme.
Schedule: The GMPP project is still at the planning stage (Pre-SOC or equivalent) and is not yet in a position to provide cost/schedule information
Cost: The GMPP project is still at the planning stage (Pre-SOC or equivalent) and is not yet in a position to provide cost/schedule information
Names, figures, dates, ratings and commentary are as the department reported them. Where a rating, cost or date is withheld, the file’s wording is shown. Every major project →