South Western Railway (SWR) – whose subsidiary Island Line operates train services here on the Island – is set to return to public ownership next year, the government has announced.
The move comes just days after one of the Government’s first major pieces of legislation, the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024, received Royal Assent, paving the way for a major shake-up of Britain’s railways.
SWR will be renationalised in May 2025, with C2C – which operates services in East London and Essex – and Greater Anglia set to follow suit later in the year.
It is hoped that the changes will improve reliability and clamp down on the delays and cancellations seen on rail networks across the country in the last 3 decades since privatisation was implemented under then Prime Minister John Major.
The government plans to set up a new arms-length body, called Great British Railways (GBR), which will take over the existing service contracts currently occupied by private firms.
Island Line currently operates a rolling stock of 5 Class 484 units.
This is great news. I imagine they will turn off the heating to start with, to try to save money.
I imagine the first money saving exercise will be running it as a non-profit as opposed to creaming off the top.
Oh dear back to the 1970s we go you thought you payed too much tax now ..just you wait..
The country is doomed.
This Government in just 5 months have
upset pensioners, Farmers and Businesses.
Who will they upset in their next 57 months.
Next election August 2029
Now watch the train service revert to BR standards. Dirty and slow with filthy unpainted stations.
I though Labour said there was a black hole in the country’s finances. Where is Labour going to get the money for this especially as they promised not to increase taxes for workers?
Do you honestly think you can belive anything a politician says, they go on courses in how to lie, the unions are running the government and they say nationalise, the government nationalises
Since the Plandemic I will NEVER trust a Politician,
too be honest I have never been keen on many of them,
but this new lot are a joke.
This current Labour Government are taking the country
back to the 1970s
No matter what people think of the Conservatives,
they are better educated and understand economics.
We are already subsidising the privateers to run the trains. The trains themselves belong to Rolling Stock Leasing Companies and will remain so. It costs nothing to just let the present franchise expire, at which point SWR( First Group) step away and GBR steps in to administer it. The taxpayer doesn’t have to actually buy anything from SWR. We just carry on subsidising it, but the money no longer goes into the pockets of greedy shareholders. Instead it goes to overpaid Civil Servants, accountants and lawyers, much as it does now, but without Worst Group’s shareholders taking a cut.
Oh dear oh dear. Back to the dark ages.