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

"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 Greater Anglia on 12 October represents the ninth major passenger service to be brought back into public ownership, leaving seven 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."

The majority of Great Britain's major rail operators are now in public ownership. Greater Anglia was nationalised on 12 October, marking the ninth major passenger service returned to public ownership and leaving seven operators to be nationalised by 2027. The rollout has been occurring at roughly one operator every three months as the government replaces a privatised system critics say was fragmented and profit-focused to the detriment of passengers. Several operators were nationalised before 2024 due to financial woes and poor performance, and Transport for Wales and ScotRail were nationalised by devolved governments in 2021 and 2022. Since May the Department for Transport under transport secretary Heidi Alexander has accelerated nationalisation, bringing South Western Railway, C2C and Greater Anglia onto public books, with West Midlands Trains next in February 2026.

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