Rail reform: The Passengers’ Council – A new watchdog for rail passengers

The Railways Bill introduces the Passengers’ Council (commonly referred to by the Government as the Passenger Watchdog), a statutory body designed to serve as an independent champion for rail passengers in Great Britain¹. Established under Chapter 2 of Part 2 of the Railways Bill, the Council will be built from the existing Transport Focus organisation, inheriting its expertise and passenger-focused culture, whilst receiving additional powers under the new legislative framework. 

The DFT factsheet on the Council accompanying the Railways Bill begins:

“The Railways Bill will give passengers a powerful new voice in the railway, with a passenger watchdog responsible for setting tough standards, taking action to drive improvements where these are not met, investigating repeated issues with passenger experience and ensuring there is a clear route for passengers to resolve disputes."² 

The Council’s functions

The Council will carry out a broad range of functions aimed at improving the passenger experience, which include:

• Advocacy and advice: The Council will have a statutory right to be consulted on the Secretary of State’s long-term rail strategy, GBR’s policies and GBR’s licence. It also has duties to keep matters affecting passengers under review and to make representations regarding those matters. 
• Research and investigations: The Bill confers information-gathering powers on the Council, including the ability to require operators (including GBR) to provide information necessary for an investigation. The Council can publish a report of its findings and where it considers there to be a licence breach, refer the matter to the ORR. 
• Alternative dispute resolution: The Council is to establish and maintain a scheme under which an impartial person is available to resolve disputes between users of passenger services and the providers of those services. 
• Complaints: Complaints regarding the alleged infringement of passenger rights regulation (e.g. regarding compensation in the event of delay, accessibility, the provision of passenger information) may be made to the Council in the first instance. 
• Promoting accessibility: The Council will be under an express duty to consider the interests and needs of disabled passengers. Its research, investigation and standard-setting powers are designed to give it a practical role in monitoring accessibility and driving better, more consistent passenger assistance.³
• Setting and monitoring minimum standards: The Bill empowers the Council to set standards for key passenger-facing areas, including information during disruption, complaints handling, delay compensation and accessibility. These standards require approval from both the Secretary of State and the ORR before they take effect. The Council then has a role in monitoring compliance with the standards, requiring improvement plans where it considers there to be a contravention and referring the matter to the ORR where the relevant person fails to comply with the improvement plan.

Interface with the Office of Rail and Road

The Council is expected to take over some of the passenger-facing roles currently carried out by the ORR, particularly in relation to complaints handling and consideration of the needs of disabled passengers.  The ORR’s role will be more focused on escalation and enforcement. Where the Council identifies unresolved, serious or persistent concerns, it may refer those matters to the ORR, which will remain responsible for enforcing licence conditions and taking formal regulatory action where required.

The relationship between the Council and the ORR will be governed by a forthcoming Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Published heads of terms dated 30 June 2026⁴, outline a framework in which the Council leads on advocacy, standard-setting, investigation and escalation, whilst the ORR provides complementary monitoring and enforcement. The MoU will establish principles of timeliness, transparency, efficiency, collaboration, accountability and proportionality, and will include provisions for two-way data sharing and co-ordinated engagement with other authorities.

Independence 

The independence of the Council has been the subject of parliamentary debate. The Transport Committee's February 2026 report on the Railways Bill recommended that the Committee conduct pre-appointment scrutiny of the Council's Chair. 

Committee Chair Ruth Cadbury wrote to Rail Minister Lord Hendy on 3 September 2026⁵ reiterating this position, stating that pre-appointment scrutiny would "support public confidence in that independence." 

Issues for consideration 

Several legal and regulatory issues will warrant close attention as the Council becomes operational. The division of responsibilities between the Council and the ORR, particularly around standard-setting, monitoring, and enforcement, will need to be clearly delineated. 

Some have questioned whether the Council has sufficient power to be effective given that: 

• it does not have enforcement powers of its own: whilst it can investigate, require information and direct entities to provide improvement plans, it is the ORR who enforces standards as part of the licence or acts on a referral from the Council on other issues; 
• referral to the ORR for enforcement may lead to delay for complainants seeking an effective remedy; and
• the Secretary of State retains consent powers over the standards set by the Council. 

Conclusion

As Great British Railways assumes its expanded role, the Council will play an important part in ensuring that passenger interests remain at the forefront of decision-making.  Its effectiveness will ultimately depend on how well the new framework operates in practice. Stakeholders across the rail sector will be watching closely as the Council takes shape. 

If you have any queries in relation to this article or rail reform, please contact Lydia Cullimore, Patricia Cifani or a member of the Burges Salmon rail team.