Rail Reform

The Railways Bill

Overview

The Railways Bill was introduced by the UK Government on 5 November 2025.

The primary purpose of the Bill is to create a new body, Great British Railways (“GBR”), which will operate, maintain and allocate access to rail infrastructure across the UK. GBR will also deliver passenger services that are currently the responsibility of the Secretary of State. 

Under the Bill, the Scottish Ministers will retain their current devolved powers, including responsibility for securing the provision of ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper passenger services as well as specifying and funding rail infrastructure in Scotland.

The Bill also contains new powers, such as new powers for the Scottish Ministers to issue directions and guidance to GBR in relation to its Scottish railway activities.

The Bill also contains new provisions to enable passenger services to be delivered in Scotland in a more integrated way.

Parliamentary Process

As the Bill impacted the devolved rail powers of the Scottish Ministers, it required scrutiny by the Scottish Ministers and Parliament through the legislative consent process. A Legislative Consent Memorandum (LCM) and Supplementary Legislative Consent Memorandum (SLCM) were lodged in the Parliament on 12 December 2025 and 20 February 2026 respectively.

The Scottish Ministers, having been engaged heavily with the UK Ministers on the development of the Bill, recommended the Scottish Parliament give consent both the LCM and SLCM. The Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee, who considered the Bill and the associated LCM and SLCM, also recommended the Scottish Parliament give consent.

The Motion on Legislative Consent passed in the Scottish Parliament on 24 March.

Memorandum of Understanding

The Bill requires that the Scottish Ministers and the Secretary of State prepare and publish a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) setting out how they will work together in the exercise of their respective railway functions. .

A Framework for the Memorandum of Understanding between Scottish Ministers and the Secretary of State was published in March.

Work on the future MoU is underway and will be published once final agreement has been reached.