On Sunday 1 February, London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway services will become the latest to join DfT Operator Limited (DFTO), the Government’s public sector rail owning group.
The milestone marks a further step towards creating an integrated rail network that passengers can rely on and be proud of under Great British Railways, which will deliver reliable, safe and more affordable journeys.
The move brings the two sides of the West Midlands Trains (WMT) business under public ownership: London Northwestern Railway, which operates services between Liverpool and Birmingham and along the West Coast Main Line to and from London Euston, and West Midlands Railway, which serves destinations across the West Midlands via Birmingham New Street and Birmingham Snow Hill.
WMT is the fourth operator to enter public ownership under the government’s Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act, marking another step towards a simpler, more unified railway under Great British Railways (GBR) and coinciding with the government’s decision to freeze rail fares for the first time in 30 years.
GBR will be accountable to passengers and will drive a relentless focus on responding to their needs with responsibility for coordinating the whole network: from track and train, to cost and revenue.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “From this Sunday, the thousands of passengers who travel with London Northwestern and West Midlands Railway will be using services that are owned by the public and run with their interests at heart.
“We’re working hard to reform a fragmented system and deliver a reliable railway that regenerates communities, rebuilds the trust of its passengers, and delivers the high standards they rightly expect.”
West Midlands Trains joins Greater Anglia, c2c, Northern, TransPennine Express, Southeastern, LNER, and South Western Railway which are currently managed by DFTO.
Ian McConnell, managing director of West Midlands Trains, commented: “We are proud to be one of the fastest-growing train operators in the country with millions of passengers travelling on London Northwestern Railway (LNR) and West Midlands Railway (WMR) services every month.
“We’ve introduced more than 100 new trains as well as upgrading our depots and station facilities. We’re looking forward to opening five brand new stations later this year and we’re also rolling out ‘Pay-As-You-Go’ ticketing across 75 locations to enable seamless tap-in, tap-out travel for our customers.
“Public ownership is an exciting opportunity to build on this success through a strong culture of collaboration and integration with the wider family of publicly owned operators.
“Together, we can drive performance by sharing best practice and accelerating innovation and continue to deliver even better journeys for our passengers across the LNR and WMR networks.
“We are now a step further on the journey to Great British Railways – a railway that we can be proud of and one that benefits the passengers and communities we serve.”
Govia Thameslink Railway’s (GTR) services will be next to transfer on 31 May 2026, marking another significant step in the government’s plans to bring services into public ownership.
Chiltern Railways and Great Western Railways services are then expected to follow, with the Secretary of State for Transport due to make final decisions on when exactly this will happen in due course. The full public ownership programme is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.
Image credit: DFTO
