The UK government has announced the timetable for the next three rail operators to go back into public ownership in the coming months.
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The Department for Transport (DFT) confirmed that Greater Anglia¡¯s services will be renationalised as scheduled on 12 October, followed by West Midlands Trains on 1 February 2026 and then Govia Thameslink on 31 May 2026.
UK train operators are slowly being brought back into public ownership as their management contracts with private rail companies come to an end. South Western Railway and c2c have already completed this process earlier in 2025.
DFT added that services run by Chiltern Railways and Great Western Railways will be the next to return to public control, with transport secretary Heidi Alexander making final decisions on when they will be renationalised in ¡°due course¡±.
All UK passenger services operated under contracts with the DFT are expected to be renationalised by the end of 2027.
These train services will be eventually integrated into Great British Railways (GBR), a new public body that will manage the day-to-day operations of the rail network. Legislation to set up GBR is due to be introduced in the UK Parliament in the next few months.