Great Western Railway to be nationalised in December

Train operator will become 11th national service returned to public ownership since Labour was elected in 2024 Great Western Railway will be nationalised in December, the government has announced. The train service, which has been in private hands for 30 years, mainly run by First Group, will be the 11th train operator on the national railway brought back into public ownership. When the Labour government was elected in 2024, legislation was immediately passed to renationalise all passenger trains when contractually allowed, a process that is expected to conclude by the end of 2027. The date for GWR train services to be nationalised has now been set for 13 December, the Department for Transport (DfT) said, when new timetables around the country are set to take effect. GWR has worked closely with the DfT in recent years in upgrading the mainline and introducing a new fleet of intercity trains. The operator connects Paddington station in west London on the mainline to west and south-west England and south Wales, as well as running services on lines to Oxford and Hereford. Govia Thameslink Railway, the biggest single commuter service, which operates Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Expres