Ministers are to take more direct control of the railways with legislation contained in Tuesday's Queen's Speech.

In four transport bills the government plans to claw back power over rail, support the Crossrail scheme, boost road safety and give local authorities more control over school transport.

In a white paper published last July, transport secretary Alistair Darling said the government would take more direct control of railways in order to reduce bureaucracy and poor planning.

As a consequence, the Strategic Rail Authority will be scrapped and the majority of its functions transferred to the secretary of state.

Responsibility for railway safety will be switched from the Health and Safety Executive to the Office of Rail Regulation, which would also be responsible for performance and cost issues.

As part of a wider transport strategy outlined in the white paper, the government said some transport decision-making would be moved to more local level.

In future, the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales and passenger transport executives would take on increased responsibilities for passenger services and, where appropriate, infrastructure.

In London, the government intends to extend the mayor's responsibilities to rail services within the GLA boundary.

The bill will also strengthen the Rail Passengers Council to make it a "stronger, more independent body that will report directly to the secretary of state".

Crossrail

The Queen announced that the Crossrail Bill will be brought forward to authorise construction of the scheme to provide a new link between east and west London.

The announcement followed a feasibility study led by Adrian Montague to evaluate the value and affordability of building the new route.

His study backed the plans in principle, but warned about rising costs.

Darling admitted that the funding remained a major challenge.

"The government will need to work with the mayor and the London business community to find a funding solution where everyone pays their fair share. That will include consulting on appropriate alternative funding mechanisms," he said.

However, the announcement should lead to a new fleet of trains, operating 24 times an hour to relieve congestion on the existing networks.

A further consultation is looking at the proposed route linking Maidenhead and Heathrow with Shenfield and Ebbsfleet through new tunnels under central London.

Road safety

The Queen's Speech also contained legislative measures to "reduce further the numbers of those killed and injured on the roads."

New measures include giving police the power to re-test persistent drink drivers and increase penalties for dangerous practices like driving whilst using a mobile phone.

The government also plans to improve driving standards and to deal with uninsured drivers by allowing the police to use automatic number plate reading technology.

It was also announced that "the government will continue to legislate to allow local authorities to provide innovative and safe school transport".

The bill will enable up to 12 pilots in 20 LEAs to find new ways of improving transport to schools.

It would also allow LEAs to charge those who can afford to pay for services with the money earmarked for investment in the system.