It may be late in the day, or premature if you remain sceptical. Either way, Network Rail is about to begin engaging with the rail industry. Throughout 2026, it is preparing charges and performance options for Great British Railways (GBR), ahead of formal consultation in 2027. For rail freight, this is not a procedural detail. Charges and performance regimes define whether paths exist, whether reliability improves, and whether growth targets are remotely achievable.
The sense of lateness reflects the now-vanished Great British Railways Transition Team, which already involved Network Rail. The sense of premature engagement comes from the small print. Consultation in 2027 implies that GBR itself remains several years from becoming a legal reality. Freight operators must continue making investment decisions under today’s rules, while being told tomorrow’s framework is already taking shape.
Freight will pay – and perform
The Railways Bill, which will nationalise Britain’s rail network, entered Parliament on 5 November 2025 and has now received its second reading. When enacted, it will create Great British Railways as the single guiding mind for infrastructure and publicly funded passenger services. Despite last week’s livery launch, this remains unfinished legislation.
Once in force, GBR will set track access charges and performance schemes. These will not be limited to passenger operators. They will apply to open access services, devolved authorities, charter operators, and freight. For freight, this is the sharp end of reform: the price of access, the treatment of delay, and the balance between passenger priority and commercial flexibility.
Same settlement, new label
As part of the transition, the UK government’s Department for Transport has asked Network Rail to begin developing the “Great British Railways Charges and Performance Schemes for Funding Period 1 (2029–2034)”. The long horizon will not be lost on freight operators planning terminals, wagons and contracts that extend well beyond the current control period.
Observers have already noted the scale of change. The existing regime of rigid five-year cash settlements, known as Control Periods, is being replaced by rigid five-year cash settlements known as Funding Periods. A profound shift — subject, of course, to consultation.
Engagement before incorporation
The DfT directive also requires a review of the existing charging and performance frameworks to ensure they align with the new legislation and industry structure. Network Rail says reviews “of this scale take time”, drawing on its experience of previous nationalisation exercises — the last of which concluded in 1948, just 54 years before Network Rail itself was incorporated.
In 2026, Network Rail will run a programme of “Early Industry Engagement”, billed as open and collaborative. Freight operators are invited to help shape a system that does not yet exist, for an organisation that has not yet been created.
Workshops and waiting
A series of workshops will follow, allowing stakeholders to test ideas and share perspectives before formal GBR consultation in 2027. Freight companies may also discover what the new order of Funding Periods means for their access bills.
The stated aim is to ensure proposals are practical, transparent and proportionate. Stakeholders can look forward to a workshop near them in 2026 — or perhaps 2027. If GBR is still some way off, there is at least time to redesign the livery. Freight, meanwhile, waits — sceptical, premature, or both — and prepares to tick the appropriate box when consultation finally arrives.