Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which includes Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express, will transfer into public ownership on Sunday 31st May.

It is hoped this will lead to more accountable and reliable journeys, as the renationalised GTR will deliver a range of initiatives to improve performance and passenger experience. This includes doubling the number of services between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria every hour and training 110 new Travel Safe Officers to crack down on anti-social behaviour on the network.

GTR is responsible for 1 in 6 passenger rail journeys in Britain.

Under the new system, GTR plans to recruit an additional 75 drivers across Thameslink and Great Northern and another 40 at Southern and Gatwick Express. 10 Travel Safe Officers are also being trained to support revenue protection, improve security and combat anti-social behaviour.

Thameslink train toilets are being refreshed to crack down on graffiti and provide a better experience for passengers. GTR will resurface toilet interiors on 2 trains every week with over half the fleet completed by the end of the year.

A secondary signalling system will be installed between Farringdon and Blackfriars to reduce delays and boost resilience. Improvements are expected to prevent over 1000 cancellations a year.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: "From this Sunday, millions of passengers across the South East and East of England will be travelling on rail services back in public hands – run for the public good, not private profit.

"Bringing Britain’s largest train operator into public ownership is a defining moment in our reform of the railway. It gives us an opportunity to tackle the bread and butter issues people want, like driving down cancellations and improving the frequency of services to Gatwick Airport.

"As we set up Great British Railways, we’re putting passengers first, fixing what’s broken, and delivering a railway people can rely on – one that rebuilds trust, regenerates communities and delivers the high standards passengers expect and deserve."

John Whitehurst, Chief Operating Officer for GTR, said: "This is a railway that carries millions of people to work, to school, and to see friends and family every single day.  From this Sunday every one of them will be on a publicly owned service, which is a responsibility we take seriously and one we have been preparing for.

"We have spent the past year building the foundations, and bringing even deeper integration into our operations with Network Rail, with a single focus on what’s right for our customers and communities.

"That work means customers are already getting a railway that’s been transforming, and public ownership gives us the chance to go further to deliver the railway that millions of people across the South East deserve."