Great British Railways

[NathanR]

Great British Railways
The government have just announced today the creation of a new state-owned body called 'Great British Railways'

This new body will allow them to manage rail infrastructure, set timetables and prices, as well as sell train tickets in England.

As well as this, the government have also announced that from late-June, flexible tickets will be available to some people who commute two or three times per week.

This is reportedly the biggest overhaul of the rail network in the UK since privatisation in the mid 1990's

What this means:

• All tickets in the future will be sold by GBR, ending the system where passengers must buy them from multiple companies online and in stations.
• There will be a "significant rollout" of more pay as you go, contactless, and digital ticketing on smartphones.
• From next month, flexible season tickets will be available to those who commute at least two to three times per week. These tickets will go on sale on June 21st, then available for use a week later. This will allow passengers to travel on any eight days during a 28-day period.
  

GBR will also replace the current track operator, Network Rail. However GBR will not be able to oversee rail transport themselves until at least 2023.

Feel free to discuss this, if I've missed any important information or any errors, please let me know.

Sources:
https://twitter.com/i/events/1395291762285899780
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57176858