URGENT: Railways Bill to deregulate passenger rights, disability rights & accessibility, weakening rights enforcement via the new Passenger Watchdog.
We are demanding an urgent meeting with the Transport Ministers before the Bill reaches the House of Commons.
abcommuters.com/2026/03/11/u...
Great British Railways
This week the Railways Bill, which will establish our new publicly-owned #GreatBritishRailways, enters Committee Stage🚆
The fight is now on to ensure the Bill creates a fully-integrated railway that is run in the public interest ✊
Read more👇
bringbackbritishrail.org/2026/01/railways-bill-committee
NEW: The Railways Bill enters its Committee stage this week - the first major chance to influence the legislation.
The Committee must address the fundamental problem from the start - how competition law puts the future of our public railway under threat. abcommuters.com/2026/01/19/a...
There's so much at stake with the new Railways Bill being introduced to the UK Parliament this autumn 🚆
Check out @weownit.org.uk's vision for how our new publicly-owned #GreatBritishRailways should be established 👇
3 out of 4 of us want a publicly owned railway. But how can we make sure it's a success?
We asked rail experts including @christianwolmar.bsky.social @abcommuters.bsky.social @bringbackbr.bsky.social @rmtunion.bsky.social
🚄👉https://weownit.org.uk/act-now/passengers-vision-for-the-railways-bill
Rail accessibility isn't working in its current form. Many of us have to plan far in advance for basic journeys that others don't give a second thought - around out-of-service lifts, inaccessible stations or to request assistance that still might not turn up when we need it. Change is needed!
Our new publicly-owned #GreatBritishRailways must mark the beginning of a new era 🚆
We need a railway that is run in the public interest – one that is fully-accessible & affordable for everyone to use 🙌
Read @abcommuters.bsky.social's open letter to @heidialexander.bsky.social 👇
We're proud to be supporting @abcommuters.bsky.social's ten demands for an accessible railway ✊
We need to see urgent action to deliver fully-accessible and affordable public transport networks that are easy for everyone to use 🚍🚇🚆
Read more here 👇
Many thanks for your support @inclusionlondon.bsky.social @dis-ppl-protest.bsky.social @transportforall.org.uk @getglasgowmoving.bsky.social @transportaction.bsky.social @weownit.org.uk @bringbackbr.bsky.social @tssa.bsky.social
OPEN LETTER: Campaigners demand 'Accessibility Framework' for Great British Railways.
The letter presents the govt with ten urgent demands - putting access and equality back at the heart of rail reform. abcommuters.com/2025/08/11/c...
Fantastic new documentary on Great British Railways, asking why the government is so slow to come up with a proper plan.
Made by the talented young filmmaker @rikufryderyk.bsky.social feat Ellie Harrison from @bringbackbr.bsky.social and @christianwolmar.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_6U...
Private 'open access' rail services are threatening billions of public money and the future of rail reform under Great British Railways.
The Transport Minister must urgently intervene and block any more approvals from the rail regulator, Office of Rail and Road weownit.org.uk/news/stop-pr...
8 in 10 of us back full public ownership of rail. And the government is working on delivering it.
But @railandroad is still letting private firms in - disrespecting democracy.
@Heidi_Labour, impose a moratorium on new 'open-access' approvals.
vist.ly/3xwvq
Urgent Open Letter: Stop new private rail contracts now
📢 Read our letter to Heidi Alexander demanding urgent action to stop the ORR awarding new contracts to private companies 🚆💸
Allowing 'open access' operators to continue will completely undermine our new publicly-owned #GreatBritishRailways 👇
📩 weownit.org.uk/news/stop-private-firms-in-our-railway
Rail Accessibility: Dept for Transport in breach of UN Disability Convention.
After betraying ALL accessibility commitments of Great British Railways, the Transport Minister has refused to create a national action plan for rail accessibility. abcommuters.com/2025/06/16/r...
Allowing Open Access operators to run privatised rail services in competition with publicly-owned operators risks sabotaging the whole #GreatBritishRailways project 🚆
@heidialexander.bsky.social must stop the Office of Rail & Road granting more licences before it’s too late!
Open Access Crisis: Great British Railways and East Coast Main Line under threat.
Network Rail warns of December timetable crisis, with billions of taxpayers' money under threat. But the rail regulator, ORR, is betraying the public and backing the private companies.
abcommuters.com/2025/06/08/o...
What's the point of a publicly-owned railway, if it's not run in the public interest?🚆
@abcommuters.bsky.social's new investigation shows private rail companies have been calling the shots in the development of #GreatBritishRailways 💸
@heidialexander.bsky.social must put the public interest first!
Exposed: Great British Railways Under Threat from Private Companies, Part One
Tory task force GBRTT remained main policy advisor to the DfT until March this year, with evidence of corporate capture by private companies @bringbackbr.bsky.social abcommuters.com/2025/05/16/g...
Heard from @abcommuters.bsky.social tonight at the Get Glasgow Moving committee meeting. The work they are doing is so important, particularly in light of the proposed stealth de-regulation by Scotrail. Follow them and check their website for more details!
Ticket office cuts by three rail firms are just a test run for fresh round of reductions, campaigners warn
buff.ly/QKIs7JG
@marisharay.bsky.social @abcommuters.bsky.social @cajardinemp.bsky.social @liberaldisability.bsky.social @scotlibdems.org.uk @joshuareynoldssl6.bsky.social
Why is Dept for Transport dropping main public interest duties from Great British Railways?
This is a major step back for accessibility and the environment.
Let’s support @abcommuters.bsky.social as they hold govt to account.
abcommuters.com/2025/02/24/d...
EXCLUSIVE: 'Ticket Office Cuts Round Two' - UK and Scottish governments revive Tory plans.
The first three operators to be cut are Scotrail, Southeastern and GWR. If these plans succeed, stealth destaffing will spread across the country. @rmtunion.bsky.social abcommuters.com/2025/03/07/t...
New Campaign launches today, in coalition with Disabled People Against Cuts, National Pensioners Convention and National Federation of the Blind of the UK.
Ministers must restore public interest duties to the Great British Railway consultation - here's why 🔽
abcommuters.com/2025/02/28/n...
Absolutely right that GBR dropping public interest duties means much less protection from corporate capture.
Public ownership may have begun, but is not safe until its "foundational goals" are also fully in the public interest.
A great explanation of this point via @thecanaryuk.bsky.social
@heidialexander.bsky.social what on earth is going on?
This is really bad and you really MUST extend the consultation so it’s held for the full 12 weeks because this is a LOT to respond to & it seems like one hell of a stitch up to keep us #DisabledByTheRailway
NEW: Dept for Transport drops main public interest duties from Great British Railways, in major step back for equality and climate.
Transport Minister, Heidi Alexander, must reinstate GBR's original purpose to "maximise social and economic value" in all decisions.
abcommuters.com/2025/02/24/d...
🚆 We share @abcommuters.bsky.social's concerns that @heidialexander.bsky.social has dropped the public interest duty of our new publicly-owned #GreatBritishRailways in order to preserve a role for private companies 🤦
Read more here & look out for our consultation guide coming soon 👇
The Labour government appears to have dropped a Conservative pledge to place accessibility right at the heart of the new national body that will run Britain's railways.
![But Emily Sullivan (née Yates), a disabled researcher in equality and human rights, and ABC’s co-founder, who first spotted that the accessibility duty had been omitted from the consultation document, said: “This is a huge step back from the long-standing commitment that GBR would have statutory duties on accessibility and the environment.
“Both have been dropped, despite being well-acknowledged as the most urgent social justice issues in transport.
“Even more worrying, the duties have been dropped in the context of extremely vague and confused proposals for regulation.
“The idea that [the existing passenger watchdog] Transport Focus might produce and monitor the accessible travel policies, for example, is astounding.
“What’s actually needed is much stronger regulation of accessibility – closer to the level of importance that safety is given by the railway, not absorbed into consumer rights and ‘passenger experience’ monitoring.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wxfk4zaeq56wwcbdhqsp42ty/bafkreifk2ooymkz72yukpxbd5bufzfnis2eb4d4fyctwn52efq3coot3m4)
But Emily Sullivan (née Yates), a disabled researcher in equality and human rights, and ABC’s co-founder, who first spotted that the accessibility duty had been omitted from the consultation document, said: “This is a huge step back from the long-standing commitment that GBR would have statutory duties on accessibility and the environment. “Both have been dropped, despite being well-acknowledged as the most urgent social justice issues in transport. “Even more worrying, the duties have been dropped in the context of extremely vague and confused proposals for regulation. “The idea that [the existing passenger watchdog] Transport Focus might produce and monitor the accessible travel policies, for example, is astounding. “What’s actually needed is much stronger regulation of accessibility – closer to the level of importance that safety is given by the railway, not absorbed into consumer rights and ‘passenger experience’ monitoring.
Sharing this again to particularly highlight the detail of expert Emily Sullivan's comments on what on earth Labour is choosing to do with the biggest opportunity for cultural change for railway accessibility for a generation.
www.disabilitynewsservice.com/anger-after-...
