Nationalising railways was one of the big campaign promises of the past summer’s general election – and now that policy is finally be put into action. Ministers have just revealed which operator will be the first to be taken under public ownership.
South Western Railway, which is currently run by First Group and MTR, will be nationalised in May. SWR operates routes across the south of England, including London Waterloo, Portsmouth, Southampton, the Isle of Wight, Reading and Exeter.
Two more London commuter services will be next to get taken into public hands. London-Essex service C2C is expected to be nationalised by next July, while Greater Anglia – which operates in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire – should be publicly owned by autumn 2025.
According to a law passed last week, eventually all rail operations in the UK will eventually be nationalised. Arguments in favour of railway nationalisation say it will improve the quality and punctuality of services, and reduce costs for customers.
About the upcoming rail service nationalisation, transport secretary Heidi Alexander said:
‘For too long, the British public have had to put up with rail services which simply don’t work. A complex system of private train operators has too often failed its users.
‘Starting with journeys on South Western Railway, we’re switching tracks by bringing services back under public control to create a reliable rail network that puts customers first.
‘Our broken railways are finally on the fast track to repair and rebuilding a system that the British public can trust and be proud of again.’
The UK’s railways with Time Out
For more UK rail news, did you see that the Telegraph has crowned two British train services the best in the world? Plus, it could soon be quicker to get between London and Edinburgh by train, 12 of Europe’s best train journeys are in the UK and one of the UK’s most beautiful train stations is getting a generational makeover.
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