Government sets date for nationalisation of Great Western Railway
The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that Great Western Railway (GWR) services will be nationalized from 13 December.
This will be the 11th operator to be taken into public ownership by government contract.
The GWR connects Paddington in West London with south and south-west England and south Wales.
The three remaining privately owned operators will be Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry and East Midlands Railway.
A DfT spokesman said: “This is another important moment for the Government’s flagship public ownership program and brings a simpler, more reliable network under Great British Railways a step closer.
“The government is delivering on its commitment to bring services back into public ownership and put passengers, not shareholders, at the heart of our railways.”
Ministers have previously said their plans for publicly-owned British Rail are aimed at delivering better value.
As well as investing in super-fast Wi-Fi, they also include streamlining ticketing with check-in, check-out and digital options.
Great Britain’s trains, websites and stations will also get new branding in the coming months.
Large train operators brought under state control have so far retained the brand of their former owners.
The new red, white and blue design was inspired by the Union flag and developed in-house to maximize value for money.
The process of nationalizing Britain’s trains began in 2024 with the passage of the Passenger Rail Services (Public Ownership) Act, which will allow the Government to take over rail contracts without penalty.
South Western Railway became the first major operator to be brought under state control in May 2025, followed by c2c (operating between London and Essex) and Greater Anglia (operating in the east of England).
February marked the halfway mark in the creation of Great British Railways, as London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway, franchisees of West Midlands Trains (WMT), became the latest operators to come into public ownership.
The government said half of the rail journeys for which the new unit will be responsible are now public.
Govia Thameslink Railway will be the next company to come into state ownership on May 31.
