Great British Railways is on track

On 5 November 2025, the Railways Bill was introduced before Parliament. This landmark legislation will enable the creation of publicly owned Great British Railways (GBR).

GBR) will be the single ‘directing mind’ formind’ for the railways, bringingrailways, bringing track and train together, putting passengers and customers first, rebuilding trust in the railway and operating theand operating the majority of passengerof passenger services under public ownership and control.

WeIntegrated have nowleadership unveiledteams thecombining newtrack logoand fortrain, GBR, alongsidewhich the branding for this new organisation. It will be rolledthe outmodel from the springfor toGBR, trains,have websites,already stationsbeen andset moreup –for bringingAnglia, theSouth wholeEastern railwayand togetherSouth underWestern, one brand with onefurther mission:regions to deliver for passengers.come.

GBR will will end years of fragmentation and will havewill have a relentless focus on driving up standards for passengers, includingpassengers, including simpler fares and ticketing. It will have the independence and tools it needs to deliver improvements to rail services and plan and run the railway on a long-term basis in the interest of its passenger and freight customers and taxpayers.

Instead of having to navigate 14multiple separate train operators, passengers will once again simply be able to use ‘the railway’. TheyIn place of private franchised services, they will travel on GBR trains, running on GBR tracks, and working to a GBR timetable – all run by a single body focused onon the theirinterests interests.of Thatpassengers and customers.

By unifying track and train under one organisation, GBR and public ownership will meanfocus feweron delays,getting athe betterbasics experience,right for passengers and acustomers, timetableas thatwell as better servesvalue theirfor needs.taxpayers.

Establishing

A Greatwhole-system Britishapproach Railways

• act more efficiently
• make better, more informed decisions
• fix problems faster
• give local leaders a say in how services are run in their regions

InThe Februarynew 2025,GBR theapp government’swill consultationalso help to simplify fares and ticketing by providing tickets, train times and support all in one place. This will build on thewhat Railwayshas Billalready outlinedbeen plansachieved in simplifying fares and ticketing – long-distance fares trials, extensions to setPay upAs You Go and the historic fares freeze.

GBR’s asbrand is being rolled out across the railway network in a newphased arm’sway lengthto body,ensure responsiblevalue for railmoney.

Establishing servicesGreat andBritish infrastructure.

Railways

The Railways Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 5 November 2025. Scrutiny of the bill continues in the House of Lords. GBR is expected to be operational around 12 months after the bill receives Royal Assent.

InUnder thepublic meantime, the government is working with publicly owned operators to ensure they deliver for passengers and significant progress is already being made:ownership:

• South Western RailwayWestern Railway has quadrupledaccelerated the numberrollout of its new Aterio£1 billion fleet of Arterio trains, increasingintroducing capacity39 by nearlynew 10%trains into service already
• a new East Coast Mainline timetable ishas beingbeen introduced this month to add 10,000 extra LNER services annually, meaning 60,000 more seats a week and more,week and more, cheaper tickets available
• Southeastern Railway has also investedhas invested £2 million in video and camera technology to help identify potentialhelp identify potential faults on the rail network so they can be fixed quickly
• wi-fi will be upgraded on more than 1,400 trains across the network, creating more reliable connectivity for passengers

Public ownership programme  

OnThe 4Passenger DecemberRailway 2024,Services the(Public governmentOwnership) launchedAct the2024 makes provision for rail passenger services to be provided by public ownershipsector programmeoperators, andinstead announcedof by means of franchises.

This act, which became law in November 2024, has enabled the firstgovernment servicesto deliver its manifesto commitment to transferbring passenger services into public ownership.ownership as a first step towards wider rail reform. The legislation applies to England, Scotland and Wales.

South Western Railway’s services were the first under new legislation to transfer into public ownership on 25 May 2025, followed by c2c’s services on 20 July20 July 2025, Greater Anglia’s services on 12 October 20252025, and West Midlands Trains’ services on 1 February 2026.2026 and Govia Thameslink Railways’Railway’s services willservices beon next to transfer on 31 May 2026,2026. followed by Chiltern Railways’ services will be next to transfer on 20 September 20262026, andfollowed by Great Western Railway’s services on 13 December 2026.

The transfer of passenger services operated under contracts with the Department for Transport (DfT) is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.

Ahead of the establishment of GBR, services willare transferbeing transferred to a new publicly-ownedpublicly owned operating company, which will be a subsidiary of DfT Operator Limited (DFTO).

The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 makes provision for rail passenger services to be provided by public sector operators, instead of by means of franchises. This act enables the government to deliver its manifesto commitment to bring passenger services into public ownership as a first step towards wider rail reform. The legislation applies to England, Scotland and Wales. 

Publications

• GBR: improvements train operators in public ownership are making for customers – DFT publication, 8 December 2025

• A railway fit for Britain’s future: government response – DFT publication, 5 November 2025 2025

• Railways Bill factsheets – DFT publication, 5 November 2025 2025

• Our roadmap to an accessible railway – DFT publication, 5 November 2025

• Public ownership of rail services: facts and figures – DFT publication, October 2025

Announcements

• Britain’s biggest train operator’s services enter public ownership this weekend – DfT press release, 28 May 2026
• More new trains, better journeys: SWR celebrates one year in public ownership – DfT press release, 25 May 2026
• Full steam ahead for Great British Railways as first branded train unveiled – DfT press release, 20 May 2026
• London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway services return to public ownership – DFT press release, 30 January 2026
• All change: The future of British trains arrives as Government reforms broken railways – DfT press release, 8 December 2025
• Rail reform and Great British Railways – written ministerial statement, 5 November 2025
• Rail Reform in the Wales and Borders area – written ministerial statement, 5 November 2025
• Journey to Great British Railways gathers steam with landmark legislation – DfT press release, 4 November 2025
• Greater Anglia services transferred to public ownership – DFTO statement, 12 October 2025
• Half of rail operators publicly owned with Greater Anglia onboard – DfT press release, 10 October 2025
• Next train services to return to public ownership revealed as government delivers railways reset – DfT press release, 26 September 2025
• c2c services transferred to public ownership – DFTO statement, 20 July 2025
• London to Essex c2c services return to public control in step towards Great British Railways – DfT press release, 18 July 2025
• Great British Railways in action – passengers benefit from track and train being united on South Eastern Railway – DfT press release, 25 May 2025
• New dawn for rail as South Western services return to public hands – DfT press release, 25 May 2025
• South Western Railway services transferred to public ownership – DFTO statement, 25 May 2025
• Transfer of South Western Railway’s services into public ownership – written ministerial statement, 22 May 2025
• Rail reform: a railway fit for Britain’s future – written ministerial statement, 25 February 2025
• New rail watchdog to give passengers a voice and hold railway to account – DfT press release, 18 February 2025
• First train services to return to public ownership revealed – DfT press release, 4 December 2024
• Public ownership: railway passenger services – written ministerial statement, 4 December 2024

Consultations

• A railway fit for Britain’s future – – DfT consultation, consultation, 18 February 2025