Two hundred years after Britain led the world with the first coal-powered trains – starting from Shildon and Darlington to Stockton – our railways now lag behind modern networks in France, Spain, Italy, and Germany.

While Europe has invested steadily in high-speed lines, electrification, and modern trains, the UK’s rail system suffers from decades of underinvestment, fragmented governance, and a patchy, stop-start approach that leaves passengers and businesses paying the price.

Now as the Government plans the establishment of GB Rail is a positive step if the government gets it right. By bringing passenger services and infrastructure under one roof and restoring public ownership of franchises, GB Rail offers a real chance to deliver high-quality services nationwide. Northern Powerhouse Rail must be next on the agenda.

Faster journeys between northern cities will boost living standards, support local economies, and unlock productivity across the wider economy. Northern voters have already lost out on HS2 and will not accept further watering down of rail upgrades, while the South enjoys HS1, the new Elizabeth Line, and East-West Rail from Cambridge to Oxford.

A continuous programme of rail electrification is essential. It will cut carbon emissions from passenger and freight trains, reduce long-term costs, create skilled jobs, and make journeys faster and more reliable.

Since privatisation in the 1990s, electrification has been inconsistent, starting and stopping, which has held Britain back. Today, less than 40% of our network is electric, compared with around 70% in France, Spain, and Italy. Crucially, electrification must include Teesside and specifically the East Coast Mainline from Northallerton through Thornaby, Middlesbrough and on to Saltburn, connecting back again to Darlington.

Teesside shows why this matters. Teesport is one of the UK’s largest ports, handling millions of tonnes of cargo every year. Electrified rail would move freight more efficiently, cut reliance on lorries, speed up passenger services, and attract investment in manufacturing and logistics, giving the region the modern connectivity it deserves.

Some suggest battery-powered trains as a partial solution, but the technology has limits. Batteries can’t store enough energy for heavy freight, need frequent charging, struggle with long climbs or big loads, and degrade faster under constant use. Complex bi-mode or tri-mode systems also increase maintenance costs. For high-capacity passenger and freight lines, only full electrification delivers the reliability, speed, and capacity needed.

The other critical area is train ownership. Rolling stock leases under private companies – ROSCOs – are costly and drain public money. Lessons from Merseytravel show that publicly owned trains save taxpayers money and allow rolling stock to align with long-term infrastructure plans. GB Rail should develop a long-term rolling-stock strategy, enabling manufacturers to plan ahead, avoid boom-and-bust cycles, and support thousands of skilled jobs.

Continuous, long-term infrastructure investment is non-negotiable. I agree with people across the sector, whether the RMT union or the Rail Industry Association, when they say railways have been hit by “boom and bust” funding and fragmentation, the result of a delivery model that is broken and no longer fit for purpose.

Short-term investment destroys skills, destabilises the supply chain, and inflates costs. Bringing renewals and enhancements in-house under GB Rail would cut costs, improve efficiency, and create secure employment, as European rail systems like France’s SNCF demonstrate.

The privatised model has failed. From ROSCOs to special-purpose vehicles delivering projects like HS2, fragmented outsourcing inflates costs and undermines planning. Rolling stock leases have doubled as a share of train operating company spending in a decade, while private owners extract dividends.

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Public ownership, coordinated investment, and strategic planning would ensure every pound benefits passengers and taxpayers while helping the UK compete with modern European rail systems.

Voters and businesses demand a rail network that is reliable, fast, green, and capable of driving economic growth. GB Rail, Northern Powerhouse Rail, and a national electrification programme can be the blueprint for a modern, publicly owned railway.

We cannot allow short-termism or private profit motives to compromise this vision. Britain has the history, expertise, and economic need to lead in rail again—but only if the government acts decisively to invest in infrastructure, rolling stock, and electrification, securing high-quality services for generations to come.