A new public body will be set up to oversee the day-to-day running of the rail system for the first time since the abolition of British Rail in the mid-1990s, the government announced today.

Great British Railways (GBR), which will be operationally independent of the Department for Transport (DfT), will have complete oversight of train operations and management of the 20,000 miles of track. It will set timetables and prices, sell tickets in England and manage rail infrastructure.