South
Western
Railway


will
be
the
first
private
passenger
operator
to
be
renationalised
under
the
new
Passenger
Railway
Services
Act,
the
Government
has
confirmed.

The
former
franchise,
which
is
currently
a
National
Rail
Contract,
was
to
have
expired
on
28
May
2023
but
was
extended
by
a
Notice
of
Variation
to
25
May
2025
and
will
end
then.

South
Western
Railway
is
owned
by
FirstGroup
(70
per
cent)
and
MTR
(30
per
cent).
SWR
took
over
from
Stagecoach’s
South
West
Trains
on
20
August
2017.

The
next
in
the
queue
will
be
Trenitalia’s
c2c,
where
the
contract
ends
on
20
July
2025,
followed
by
Greater
Anglia
in
the
autumn
of
2025,
although
no
exact
date
has
been
quoted.

Greater
Anglia’s
National
Rail
Contract,
owned
by
UK
Transport
Group
(60
per
cent)
and
Mitsui
(40
per
cent),
had
not
been
due
to
expire
until
20
September
2026.

Chiltern
Railways
and
Govia
Thameslink
Railway
both
have
earlier
break
points,
with
core
expiry
dates
of
1
April
2025,
but
they
have
not
yet
been
listed
for
renationalisation.

The
DfT
told
Railnews:
‘Once
a
core
expiry
date
has
passed,
the
transport
secretary
can
end
a
contract
by
giving
the
operator
twelve
weeks’
notice.
Greater
Anglia’s
core
expiry
date
was
15
September
2024.
We
need
to
remain
flexible
about
the
dates
when
contracts
actually
end,
so
that
we
can
manage
the
transition
to
public
ownership
smoothly.’

The
DfT
is
also
changing
the
way
renationalisation
is
being
described.
DfT
Operator
of
Last
Resort
Holdings
Limited,
previously
known
as
DOHL,
has
become
DfT
Operator
Limited,
and
its
functions
will
eventually
be
part
of
Great
British
Railways.

The
DfT
said
its
renamed
Operator
‘will
continue
to
focus
on
transforming
Britain’s
railways
into
a
more
reliable,
affordable,
and
accessible
system’.

The
Passenger
Railway
Services
(Public
Ownership)
Act
2024,
which
makes
public
ownership
the
default
option
rather
than
the
last
resort,
received
Royal
Assent
on
28
November,
only
a
few
hours
before
transport
secretary
Louise
Haigh
resigned
after
it
came
to
light
that
she
had
received
a
conditional
discharge
for
fraud
in
2014
in
connection
with
a
mobile
phone,
which
she
had
wrongly
said
was
stolen.
She
said
it
had
been
a
mistake
on
her
part,
and
she
regretted
following
legal
advice
not
to
comment
when
she
was
interviewed
by
police.

Her
successor
at
the
DfT
is
Heidi
Alexander,
who
is
now
responsible
for
continuing
the
Government’s
railway
renationalisation
programme.

She
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
DfT
quoted
Railway
Industry
Association
chief
executive
Darren
Caplan
as
saying:
‘Today’s
announcement
is
an
important
milestone
on
the
journey
to
a
restructured
railway.
The
UK
supply
chain
will
work
with
and
support
the
Government’s
plans
to
deliver
improved
rail
performance
and
reliability,
as
we
together
develop
world
class
rail,
both
track
and
train.
There
is
now
a
real
opportunity
to
provide
more
certainty
and
visibility
over
work
plans,
which
will
help
a
reformed
railway
be
a
catalyst
for
boosting
growth
and
connectivity.’

However,
the
group
Rail
Partners,
which
has
been
campaigning
on
behalf
of
the
private
sector
operators,
remains
doubtful.

Rail
Partners’
chief
executive
Andy
Bagnall
said:
‘Publishing
the
timeline
for
bringing
SWR,
c2c
and
Greater
Anglia
into
public
ownership
is
a
watershed
moment
that
means
the
Government
is
now
taking
charge
of
fixing
the
railways,
but
has
parked
the
big
decisions
about
how
to
do
that
until
next
year.

‘Simply
changing
who
runs
the
trains
won’t
deliver
more
reliable
and
affordable
services
for
passengers,
reduce
subsidy
for
taxpayers,
or
grow
rail
freight.

‘The
key
to
both
improving
performance
and
holding
down
fares
is
restoring
the
railway
to
financial
sustainability.
It
is
counter-intuitive
to
start
removing
private
sector
operators
from
the
system,
with
their
track
record
of
delivering
growth
to
reduce
subsidy,
when
the
question
of
what
will
replace
them
long-term
won’t
be
answered
until
further
rail
legislation
is
introduced.’