The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) was a non-departmental public body in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

set up under the

Transport Act 2000 The Transport Act 2000 (c. 38) is an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided for a number of measures regarding transport in Great Britain; the first major change in the structure of the privatised railway sys ...

to provide strategic direction for the railway industry. Its motto was 'Britain's railway, properly delivered'. It was abolished by the Railways (Abolition of the Strategic Rail Authority) Order 2006, its functions being absorbed by the

Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport ...

or the Office of Rail Regulation (now the

Office of Rail and Road The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the economic and safety regulation of Britain's railways, and the economic monitoring of National Highways. ORR regulates Network Rail by setting its ...

Establishment

The Shadow SRA was established in 1999 following the election of the Labour government in 1997 in an attempt to increase public interest regulation of the fragmented railway network following the

privatisation of British Rail The privatisation of British Rail was the process by which ownership and operation of the Rail transport in Great Britain, railways of Great Britain passed from government control into private hands. Begun in 1994, the process was largely compl ...

. It incorporated the former

Conservative government Conservative or Tory government may refer to: Canada In Canadian politics, a Conservative government may refer to the following governments administered by the Conservative Party of Canada or one of its historical predecessors: * 1st Canadian Min ...

's Director of Passenger Rail Franchising. Its main function was awarding and ensuring compliance with passenger rail franchises – contracts between the state and private sector operators under which the operators committed to provide certain levels of service in return for public subsidies; some franchises were cash-positive, which meant that the operator paid the SRA for the right to provide the services. The SRA's other functions were concerned with the financial support of other unviable services, such as the giving of grants to support marginal rail freight services and the building of freight facilities. The SRA was placed on a formal legal basis by the

and came into existence on 1 February 2001. The government wanted the SRA to take a more interventionist role with

Railtrack Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the railroad, track, railway signalling, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the railway station, stations of the Transport in England#Rail, British railway syste ...

and its successor

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and railway infrastructure manager, infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. ...

, but never gave it the legal powers to do so. Those powers rested with - and were jealously guarded by - the Rail Regulator, who frequently clashed with the SRA when he believed that it was over-reaching its jurisdiction. The SRA operated under directions and guidance from the

Secretary of State for Transport The secretary of state for transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Departm ...

, also in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

from the Scottish Minister for Transport and in Greater London from the

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...

. In

the budget of the SRA was devolved to the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

under the terms of the Barnett Formula. The SRA's first chairman was Sir Alastair Morton, from February 1999 until October 2001. Its first chief executive was Mike Grant. Its second chairman (and also chief executive) was Richard Bowker, who served between October 2001 and September 2004. Its third chairman was David Quarmby, and third chief executive Nick Newton, from September 2004 to abolition.

Abolition

On 15 July 2004 the

Alistair Darling Alistair Maclean Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish, (28 November 1953 – 30 November 2023) was a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under prime minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party ...

MP, announced that the SRA was to be abolished within the next 12–18 months. Following the passing of the Railways Act 2005 it was wound up on 1 December 2006, and its functions transferred to the

Rail Group, to the

and to the Office of Rail Regulation. The Scottish Executive, the

Welsh Assembly Government Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

and the

Greater London Authority The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the Metonymy, metonym City Hall, is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved Regions of England, regional governance body of Greater London, England. It consists of two political ...

were given some input in their areas.

References

{{Authority control History of rail transport in the United Kingdom Defunct public bodies of the United Kingdom Government agencies established in 2001 Government agencies disestablished in 2006 Transport policy in the United Kingdom 2001 establishments in the United Kingdom 2006 disestablishments in the United Kingdom

Establishment

Abolition

See also

References