"Watershed moment" as South Western Railway becomes publicly owned in "turning point" for Britain's railways

The first SWR service under public ownership left London Waterloo at 6.14am this morning (Sunday, May 25), with operator coming under control of a new nationally owned body, Great British Railways. The move has been heralded as marking the end of 30 years of poor performance under privatisation.

Heidi Alexander, Secretary of State for Transport, understands that actions will speak louder than words as the government looks to return the public’s trust in the train service. Operators will need to meet performance standards to come under the rebranding of Great British Railways.

Alexander said: “Today is a watershed moment in our work to return the railways to the service of passengers. Trains from Waterloo to Weymouth, Bournemouth and Exeter, will be run by the public, for the public.

“But I know that most users of the railway don’t spend much time thinking about who runs the trains – they just want them to work. That’s why operators will have to meet rigorous performance standards and earn the right to be called Great British Railways. We have a generational opportunity to restore national pride in our railways and I will not waste it.”

This is the first steps following the passing of Public Ownership Act in November which will see all passenger services operating under contracts with the Department returning to public ownership by the end of 2027. Eventually they will all be integrated into Great British Railways which will manage track and train with the aim of making operations run more seamlessly and reliably.

Lawrence Bowman, managing director of South Western Railway said: “I’m excited to join and lead the excellent team at South Western Railway, who come to work every day to deliver the best possible service for our customers, and moving into public ownership will make it easier for them to do so.

“My immediate priority is to work with colleagues to develop a plan for SWR, that will make the most of the new simpler industry processes to deliver improvements in reliability and an increase in capacity.

"Over the coming years I will focus on ensuring SWR moves into Great British Railways as a truly integrated industry-leading operation that delivers an excellent service to its passengers and the local communities we serve.”

Commenting on the changes, Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said he was delighted with the change which was a first step to give the city better services.

“For far too long Portsmouth passengers have had to put up with unreliable and overpriced rail services,” he said.

“I’m delighted to see the process of bringing train operators under public ownership has started – saving the taxpayer millions and ensuring our railways are run by the passenger, for the passenger.

“Given the years of neglect and waste, it will take time for our rail service to be up to the level Portsmouth people deserve, but this is a major step in the right direction in providing better services for local people.”

Ben Plowden, chief executive of Campaign for Better Transport, said: “Today marks a turning point for Britain’s railways and it’s good to see the Government’s plans for reforming the railways continuing at pace.

"The creation of Great British Railways presents a once in a generation opportunity to change how the rail system works – structurally, financially and operationally – and put passengers and freight operators first.”