South Western Railway services nationalised

South Western Railway (SWR) services came back under public control on Sunday (25th May 2025), ending almost thirty years of privatisation.

SWR is the first of Britain’s train companies to be nationalised and made part of ‘Great British Railways’, although this comes with rigorous targets on punctuality, cancellations, and passenger experience. Rather than 14 separate train operators, Great British Railways will be under government control and will manage train operators and their staff, in a move to improve the UK’s rail services for all.

Nationalised rails have their support from two-thirds of Briton, and it has the potential to save the taxpayer up to £150 million a year in fees alone. The Public Ownership Act, which passed in November 2024, will mean that all passenger services operating under contract with the department for transport will eventually become part of Great British Railways, as and when their contracts end, or when contracts can be ended early, to ensure there is no extra cost for the taxpayer.

Secretary of State for transport, Heidi Alexander, said: “Today is a watershed moment in our work to return the railways to the service of passengers. Trains from Waterloo to Weymouth, Bournemouth and Exeter will be run by the public, for the public.

“But I know tat most users of the railway don’t spend much time thinking about who runs the train — they just want them to work. That’s why train operators will have to meet rigorous performance standards and ear the right to be called Great British Railways.

“We have a generational opportunity to restore national pride in our railways and I will not waste it."