The Labour government has promised to gradually nationalise rail firms within five years as part of a promise to fix the broken service
A major rail operator has confirmed it will be nationalised later this year as part of Labour’s plans to bring the system back into public ownership.
Greater Anglia, which runs trains across the East of England and into London, will be brought into public ownership on October 12 after Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander issued notice that its contract would expire.
Train services, timetables and station facilities will be unaffected by change, with no changes to ticket validity, the operator said. Employees will see their roles transfer over to the publicly owned company.
Labour vowed to nationalise all rail firms within five years as part of a promise to fix the broken service. The plan is to bring operators into public ownership as their contracts expire – or are ripped up due to poor service.
South Western Railway will be the first operator to be nationalised this month, with c2c following in July. Large operators including Govia Thameslink Railway, Great Western Railway (GWR) and CrossCountry have longer contracts so no date has yet been set for their move to public ownership.
Martin Beable, Greater Anglia managing director, said the firm would “remain focused” on delivering its services. He said: “I am very proud of what we have achieved here in East Anglia over the past 13 years, significantly improving standards, investing in a complete fleet of new trains and working closely with the local community.
“As we transition to a publicly owned railway, we remain focussed on delivering outstanding levels of service for our passengers.”
Britain’s railway lines are run by train operating companies as franchises for a fixed term. The Government has decided to take control rather than handing contracts to privately owned companies once the franchise periods end.
Ministers will also set up Great British Railways, a publicly-owned body to oversee the rail system across Britain, which is due to be up and running in 2027. Legislation to create GBR is due to come to Parliament later this year.
A Department for Transport spokesperson, said: “Bringing services into public ownership as contracts expire will enable us to join up track and train and deliver the best value for taxpayers in the longer term”
“We’re already improving services and will save up to £150 million a year in fees — money that will not go back to private shareholders.
“We’re working closely with operators to ensure a smooth and seamless transition for passengers.”