The Passenger Railway Services Bill, known as the Public Ownership Bill, is reaching it final stages in the commons.

Under this bill the government has pledged to prioritise passengers over private companies and tackle delays, cancellations and unreliable services on Britain’s railways.

As part of this initiative, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has ‘fired the starting gun’ with the launch of Shadow Great British Railways (Shadow GBR).

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said: "I am firing the starting gun on the biggest reforms to our railways in a generation. I am determined to end the chaos, delay and disruption faced by people on train journeys every day.

“Establishing Shadow Great British Railways marks a significant step towards delivering a unified railway with passengers at its heart by bringing together track and train, and by progressing the Passenger Railways Services Bill we’re one step closer to public ownership which will help put our railways back on track.”

According to the Department for Transport (DfT), Shadow GBR will bring together leaders from the rail network, DfT, Network Rail, and publicly owned operators.

Shadow GBR is expected to pave the way for Great British Railways, becoming a unified body responsible for integrating track and train, as well as overseeing both services and infrastructure, the government says.

To address the need to expedite the training of train drivers, the government announced it is collaborating with the sector to build resilience and improve productivity.

The government will also be reviewing the next steps following the consultation in May to lower the minimum age for train drivers from 20 to 18.

Louise Haigh added: “This government will direct every penny into creating a stronger, more reliable rail network that works for everyone.

“This is about making the railways work for the people that use them – putting passengers first and driving up performance.”

Additional measures announced by the Secretary of State include a new Rail Sale next year to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Britain’s passenger railways, offering up to 50% off train tickets for a specific time and period.

Tap-in-tap out technology is also expected to be rolled out at a further 45 stations next year following £27 million of government funding.