Half of UK train journeys have now been nationalised
Half of all rail journeys that Great British Railways (GBR) will ultimately be responsible for are now on services run by publicly owned operators from Sunday (1 February). This comes after London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway services were officially nationalised this weekend.
West Midlands Trains joins Greater Anglia, c2c, Northern, TransPennine Express, Southeastern, LNER and South Western Railway, which are currently managed by DfT Operator Limited (DFTO). Govia Thameslink Railway’s (GTR) services will be next to transfer on 31 May 2026.
Chiltern Railways and Great Western Railways services are then expected to follow, with the Secretary of State for Transport due to make final decisions on when exactly this will happen in the coming weeks. It is expected that the full public ownership programme will be completed by the end of 2027.
“We are proud to be one of the fastest-growing train operators in the country, with millions of passengers travelling on London Northwestern Railway (LNR) and West Midlands Railway (WMR) services every month,” said Ian McConnell (Managing Director of West Midlands Trains).
“We’ve introduced more than 100 new trains as well as upgrading our depots and station facilities. We’re looking forward to opening five brand new stations later this year and we’re also rolling out ‘Pay-As-You-Go’ ticketing across 75 locations to enable seamless tap-in, tap-out travel for our customers.
“Public ownership is an exciting opportunity to build on this success through a strong culture of collaboration and integration with the wider family of publicly owned operators.”
New designs coming soon
The logo and train livery for GBR will be rolled out from this spring to trains, websites, stations and more – bringing the railway together under one brand owned by the public, delivering for the public, not for private shareholders.
The design features a red, white and blue colour scheme and sharp angles to create a striking and memorable design mirroring the Union Flag. The GBR logo has also been revealed, featuring the iconic double arrow symbol in a nod to Britain’s proud railway heritage.
The design will also feature on the GBR ticketing app, which will be a one-stop shop for passengers to check train times and buy tickets at the best prices across the rail network without any booking fees. Disabled passengers will also be able to use the app to book Passenger Assist when buying tickets, creating a seamless experience.
