The Office of Rail and Road (ORR), the rail regulator, has launched a consultation on a draft code of practice to keep the online rail ticket market fair once Great British Railways (GBR) takes over.
GBR will run most passenger services, set the customer offer and sell tickets online, at stations and on trains.
It will also manage the functions that rival retailers rely on, including central industry IT systems, data processing and the licensing of third-party sellers.
Those functions currently sit with the Rail Delivery Group, the industry body for train operators.
That dual role creates the risk the code is designed to address.
The draft Retail Code of Practice would require GBR to give independent online retailers fair, transparent and non-discriminatory access to fares, products, systems and related services.
It would also bar GBR from giving its own retail business an undue advantage.
The code sets expectations on managing conflicts of interest, protecting commercially sensitive information and making market-wide decisions openly.
GBR would be bound by the code through its licence, which would let ORR monitor compliance and consider formal enforcement action.
GBR will also be subject to competition law, which prohibits excluding competitors, distorting the market or abusing a dominant position.
GBR's online retailer will replace the 14 websites and apps of train operators contracted by the Department for Transport.
Independent retailers, open access operators and devolved operators will keep selling tickets as they do now.
Stephanie Tobyn, ORR's director of strategy, policy and reform, said: "Our proposed Retail Code of Practice will provide enforceable safeguards to help maintain a fair and open online retail market, supporting passenger choice."
The consultation closes on 11 December 2026, and the final code is expected in spring 2027.
