The UK Labour government has revealed plans to bring South Western Railway (SWR) into public ownership this May, marking the first railway nationalisation under Sir Keir Starmer’s administration. The move signals the beginning of Labour’s broader strategy to return Britain’s rail network to state control.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander announced that the current contract, held by FirstGroup and MTR, will not be renewed when it expires. Control will transfer to the Operator of Last Resort, a public body managing nationalised train services, which is set to be rebranded as DfT Operator Limited in 2025.
The nationalisation programme will extend beyond SWR, with c2c, operating commuter lines between London and Essex, scheduled for public ownership by July 2025. Greater Anglia, serving routes from London to the east of England, will follow in autumn 2025.
This cautious approach differs from the more aggressive strategy initially proposed by former Transport Secretary Louise Haigh, who had planned to exercise break clauses for earlier nationalisations before her recent resignation following a criminal conviction.
The government’s recently passed public ownership bill effectively ends the privatisation era that began in 1994. Approximately 40 per cent of rail services are already under state control, following the Conservative government’s previous intervention with struggling operators.
Industry response has been mixed, with Transport UK’s CEO Dominic Booth expressing surprise at Greater Anglia’s inclusion in the initial wave of nationalisations. Rail Partners’ chief executive Andy Bagnall has criticised the move, arguing that ownership changes alone won’t address fundamental service and efficiency challenges.
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