The Transport Secretary has appointed Chief Executive of West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), Laura Shoaf, as chair of Shadow Great British Railways (SGBR).

In her government role, Laura will be responsible for bringing senior leaders together to deliver improvements for passengers and work towards a more unified rail system, the government says.

Before Laura found herself leading WMCA she was managing director of Transport for West Midlands and the first female chair of the Urban Transport Group.

Laura was also one of the UK’s first ‘transport champions for tackling violence against women and girls.’  

The Transport Secretary described establishing SGBR as a significant step towards unifying the railways and expressed her enthusiasm for Laura’s appointment.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said: “It’s fantastic we have someone of Laura’s calibre to drive forward reforms.

“Laura brings immense hands-on experience of delivering change and a shared desire to move fast and deliver change – I’m looking forward to working with her to fix our railways and getting Britain moving again.”

SGBR Chair, Laura Shoaf, said: “I recognise the great power that our transport network plays in our day to day lives, but in order for it to work and in order for it to keep opening up these opportunities, it has to be built around our passengers and freight users.

“It is my privilege to have been asked to Chair Shadow Great British Railways and my focus will be ensuring people are at the heart of the railways and to ensure this remains a focus for years to come.”

According to the government, SGBR is said to ‘lay the groundwork’ for a new system delivering improvements for passengers and freight as the government looks to overhaul the railway and transition to Great British Railways.  

Leaders from Network Rail, DfT’s Operator of Last Resort and DfT’s Rail Services Group are expected to work together to build a new integrated, customer-focused national rail network.