Most of Great Britain’s major rail operators are back in public hands – is it working?

*Estimate based on contract expiry and government plans to nationalise every three months. Operator route maps are approximate The majority of Great Britain’s major rail operators are now in public ownership, as the Labour government continues its efforts to make the railways “more reliable, affordable and accessible”. The nationalisation of Govia Thameslink on 31 May represents the eleventh major passenger service to be brought back into public ownership, leaving five to go before the government’s deadline of completing every operator by 2027. The rollout, which is resulting in an operator being nationalised roughly every three months, is gradually bringing an end to a privatised system that critics argue has been overly fragmented and focused on profit, to the detriment of passenger experience. Several operators were already under public ownership by the time Labour were elected in 2024, having been nationalised by the Conservatives over financial woes and poor performance. Meanwhile, Transport for Wales and ScotRail were each nationalised by the Welsh and Scottish devolved governments, in 2021 and 2022 respectively. However, under the current transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, the Department for Transport (DfT) has accelerated the pace of nationalisation, bringing five operators on to the public books since May 2025: South Western Railway, C2C, Greater Anglia, West Midlands Trains and Govia Thameslink. …