Strategic Rail Authority
Encyclopedia
In existence from 2001 to 2006, the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 set up under the Transport Act 2000
Transport Act 2000
The Transport Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided for a number of measures regarding transport in Great Britain, most notably, the first major change in the structure of the privatised railway system established under the Railways Act 1993...

 to provide strategic direction for the railway industry
Rail transport in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom consists of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and previously consisted of Great Britain and the whole of Ireland. Rail transport systems developed independently on the two islands of Great Britain and Ireland, and most of the railway construction in the Republic of Ireland was...

.

The Shadow SRA was established in 1999 following the election of the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

 government in 1997 in an attempt to increase public interest regulation of the fragmented railway network following the privatisation of British Rail
Privatisation of British Rail
The privatisation of British Rail was set in motion when the Conservative government enacted, on 19 January 1993, the British Coal and British Rail Act 1993 . This enabled the relevant Secretary of State to issue directions to the relevant Board...

. It incorporated the former Conservative government
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

's Director of Passenger Rail Franchising
Director of Passenger Rail Franchising
The Director of Passenger Rail Franchising is a statutory office created in 1993 by the Railways Act 1993 and usually called the Franchising Director...

. 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 Transport Act 2000
Transport Act 2000
The Transport Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided for a number of measures regarding transport in Great Britain, most notably, the first major change in the structure of the privatised railway system established under the Railways Act 1993...

 and came into existence on 1 February 2001.

The government wanted the SRA to take a more interventionist role with Railtrack
Railtrack
Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until 2002...

 and its successor Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...

, but never gave it the legal powers to do so. Those powers rested with - and were jealously guarded by - the Rail Regulator
Rail Regulator
The Rail Regulator was a statutory office, created with effect from 1 December 1993 by section 1 of the Railways Act 1993, for the independent economic regulation of the British railway industry....

, 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
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...

, also in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 from the Scottish Minister for Transport and in Greater London from the Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...

.

In Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 the budget of the SRA was devolved to the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...

 under the terms of the Barnett Formula
Barnett formula
The Barnett formula is a mechanism used by The Treasury in the United Kingdom to adjust the amounts of public expenditure allocated to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales automatically to reflect changes in spending levels allocated to public services in England, England and Wales or Great...

.

On 15 July 2004 the Secretary of State for Transport
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...

, Alistair Darling
Alistair Darling
Alistair Maclean Darling is a Scottish Labour Party politician who has been a Member of Parliament since 1987, currently for Edinburgh South West. He served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2007 to 2010...

 MP, announced that the SRA was to be abolished within the next 12–18 months. Following the passing of the Railways Act 2005
Railways Act 2005
The Railways Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning the regulatory structure for railways in the United Kingdom.- Overview :...

 it was wound up on 1 December 2006, and its functions transferred to the Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...

 Rail Group some to Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...

 and some to the Office of Rail Regulation
Office of Rail Regulation
The Office of Rail Regulation is a statutory board which is the combined economic and safety regulatory authority for Great Britain's railway network. It was established on 5 July 2004 by the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, replacing the Rail Regulator...

. The Scottish Executive
Scottish Executive
The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998...

, the Welsh Assembly Government
Welsh Assembly Government
The Welsh Government is the devolved government of Wales. It is accountable to the National Assembly for Wales, the legislature which represents the interests of the people of Wales and makes laws for Wales...

 and the Greater London Authority
Greater London Authority
The Greater London Authority is the top-tier administrative body for Greater London, England. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of London, currently Boris Johnson, and an elected 25-member London Assembly with scrutiny powers...

 were given some input in their areas.

The SRA's first chairman was Sir Alastair Morton
Alastair Morton
Sir Alastair Morton was Chief Executive of Eurotunnel and Chairman of the Strategic Rail Authority and an industrialist of considerable achievements and renown....

, from February 1999 until October 2001. Its first chief executive was Mike Grant. Its second (and last) chairman was Richard Bowker
Richard Bowker (British businessman)
Richard Bowker CBE is former Chief executive officer of National Express Group. He attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn, read Economics at Leicester University, and played as a professional session pianist for a year, after which he joined the London Underground as a Graduate...

, who occupied both posts between October 2001 and September 2004.
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