Never a good idea to be wearing red in any kind of operational role on the railways, I've always thought

Clearly a bit of AI generated slop!

Arrgh - worse than the trains!

Great British Railways.
Rail minister Lord Peter Hendy:
A unified operator of track and train will deliver a better passenger experience.
Fares: pay-as-you-go around key cities; on longer journeys, dynamic pricing to manage demand.
And a new GBR ticket app

Indeed. You wouldn't see Siobahn Sharpe and her chums at Perfect Curve making that kind of schoolchild-error.

I suspect that the DfT was keen above all not to generate headlines about cost. Which may have worked; as far as I can detect the media has not reported it.

Not a fan of the new livery, it only looks right if the train is going forwards, and they spend half the time going the other way.

Not a fan of the new livery, it only looks right if the train is going forwards, and they spend half the time going the other way.

Just... yikes.

I recently commissioned an excellent designer to redesign parts of cycle.travel because I recognise that design is absolutely not my strength. That's for one little website/app, not for an entire nationalised railway.

Redesigning GBR in-house, with a team of people who have presumably never designed a train livery before, is reminiscent of the disaster when Marissa Mayer redesigned the Yahoo logo.

However, the Department for Transport said the “striking and memorable design” was developed in-house, to maximise value for money.

And now -the new livery-

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g9kx0je10o

..which looks like it has been designed so as to avoid Reform complaining about politically correct designs being foisted on England's travelling public.

Renationalised trains will be given a Union flag-inspired red, white and blue livery, the Government has announced.

State-owned company Great British Railways (GBR) is to unveil its branding on Tuesday, before it is rolled out to trains, websites and stations from next spring.

Stephen Bayley, founder of the Design Museum, criticised the new colour scheme.

Mr Bayley said: “It’s atrocious. A mad dog’s breakfast. A livery is branding and branding is all about associations and expectations.

“In this sense, they’ve got it right. It projects the values of the sponsoring organisation: artless, careless, clumsy, unintelligent and uncoordinated.”

Referring to Japan’s bullet trains, he continued: “Have they never seen a Japanese Shinkansen? That’s what a train should look like.

“We have some of the best designers in the world in this country. A pity they were not hired by Great British Railways.”

However, the Department for Transport said the “striking and memorable design” was developed in-house, to maximise value for money.

The new livery will mark a stark change from the “Rail Blue” colour scheme that defined publicly owned British Rail’s trains from the mid-1960s to the 1980s.

Christian Wolmar, a rail historian and author, said he found the new GBR livery “impressive”, saying: “I think it conveys an impression of speed. It’s elegant. It combines Union Jack colours, and I think it’s very important to have an identity.

“The design is bloody fabulous. I just wonder if it’s a bit too modern, whether they could have reflected at all on the past, but I have to commend it.”

The seven major train operators that have already nationalised have kept the branding of their previous operators.

The Government has said that existing train companies will rebrand as Great British Railways, a process that has now been brought forward to next year from the expected date of 2027.

Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary, said: “I’m immensely proud to unveil the new look for Great British Railways as we deliver landmark legislation to nationalise our trains and reform the railway so it better serves passengers.

“This isn’t just a paint job, it represents a new railway, casting off the frustrations of the past and focused entirely on delivering a proper public service for passengers.

“With fares frozen, a bold new look and fundamental reforms becoming law, we are building a railway Britain can rely on and be proud of.”

DfT has released details of improvements for nationalised operators under GBR

https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/gbr-improvements-train-operators-in-public-ownership-are-making-for-customers

“It gives power to the mayors of the combined authorities,” Hendy said. “GBR must interact with them and must listen to what they say about the provision of services in their areas.”

Rail minister Lord Hendy says he expects that rail reform will bring “more reliability, higher revenue and reduced cost” on the UK’s railways.

Last week, the government introduced its long-trailed Railways Bill to Parliament. This will establish Great British Railways (GBR) to bring control of the infrastructure and services under one publicly-owned entity that will be “responsible for coordinating the whole network: from track and train, to cost and revenue”, according to the Department for Transport. This, it says, will “create a simpler, more unified railway that delivers easier journeys and offers better value for money”.

[continues]

So go on - merge Graham's here too....

I have merged two topics here, as they all relate to the same piece of proposed legislation.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/railways-bill

Presentation of Bills

No debate (Standing Order No. 57)
Railways

Secretary Heidi Alexander

Bill to make provision about railways and railway services; and for connected purposes.

Declining public trust and pride in today’s railway are symptoms of a system which has lost sight of the very people and customers it is meant to serve. A railway that, for 3 decades, has been focused on contracts and codes rather than the needs of its customers and taxpayers.

Britain deserves a railway fit for its future. One that restores a lost sense of pride and rebuilds the trust of each and every one of its passengers, with a relentless focus on their needs and the growth of their communities. As Transport Secretary, delivering this change is one of my top priorities. This vision is already becoming a reality as we bring more operators back into public ownership. But the outdated model of franchising and structural fragmentation still inhibits how the railway is run.

To fix this, we will introduce a new Railways Bill to fundamentally reform the sector and establish Great British Railways (GBR) as its directing mind.