LONDON - The Labour government in Britain is preparing to nationalise three train services currently run by the private sector, the start of a plan to take the industry back into public hands.
South Western Railways, which provides one of the biggest commuter services into London, will be the first franchise returned to state control when its contract ends in May.
It is currently operated by a joint venture between FirstGroup Plc, a transport business with operations in the UK and North America, and MTR Corporation Ltd, the Hong Kong transit operator.
Two other lines that run services directly into the City of London — c2c and Greater Anglia — will follow later in the year.
The government said on Wednesday that the move follows the passing of its first major piece of legislation since Labour swept to power in the July general election. The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act officially became law last week.
Rail nationalisation is popular with the British public. Surveys by polling company YouGov show more than two thirds of people support the policy, while fewer than one in eight oppose it.
Train services in Britain were privatised in the 1990s, but several operators have been renationalised in recent years by previous administrations, some of them losing their franchises after underperforming.
The government wants to set up a publicly owned Great British Railways which will inherit passenger rail contracts held by private firms as they expire, a process it expects to be completed within its first term in office.
Battered by the Covid-19 pandemic and disrupted by industrial unrest, key services have been heavily criticised for deteriorating quality.
The government said the nationalisation would clamp down on “unacceptable levels of delays, cancellations and waste seen under decades of failing franchise contracts”.
Services across a wide area of southern England and East Anglia are expected to come back into public control by the fourth quarter of 2025, the transport department said, adding that the services would be managed by a public body, Operator Limited, which runs nationalised trains on behalf of the government.
Operator Limited’s functions will eventually be integrated into Great British Railways.