Secretary of State for Transport (): I can confirm to the
House that yesterday (12 October 2025), Greater Anglia's services
became the third to successfully transfer into public ownership
under the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act.
Operations are now run by a new public sector operator –
GA Trains Limited – a
subsidiary of public corporation DfT Operator Limited
(DFTO).
This means that 7 of the 14 train operators that my department is
responsible for, and which will form the backbone of passenger
services under Great British Railways (GBR), are now in public
ownership. West Midlands Trains' services will be next to
transfer on 1 February 2026, followed by Govia Thameslink
Railway's on 31 May 2026. The intention is for Chiltern Railways
and Great Western Railway's services to follow. Expiry notices
will be issued to confirm the dates of transfer once a final
decision has been taken in regard to each operator.
Public ownership is putting passengers at the heart of the
railway, but public ownership alone is not a silver bullet. To
truly fix the structural issues that have long plagued our
railways, we need systemic reform. Legislation to establish
GBR will be
introduced later in this session, marking the next phase of
government's bold rail reforms.
GBR will build a
simpler, more unified railway that delivers reliable and safe
journeys to passengers and value for money to the taxpayer. It
will take responsibility for the day-to-day operational delivery
of the railways: from delivering services to setting timetables,
managing access to the network and operating, maintaining and
renewing infrastructure.
Ahead of the establishment of GBR, integrated leadership teams
are being set up across publicly owned train operators and
Network Rail routes to increase collaboration and accountability,
in turn delivering improvements for passengers and freight users.
Integrated leadership creates a ‘system-wide' view of the
railway, meaning better, faster decision making and is another
step towards GBR.
Jamie Burles has been named Integrated Managing Director
(Designate) for Anglia and will drive this change across the
region, working closely with leaders across Greater Anglia, c2c
and Network Rail Anglia.
The government is delivering on the Plan for Change, with
investment and reform driving growth, putting more money in
people's pockets and rebuilding Britain. Reforming our railways
is central to this and will drive improved performance, bringing
more people back to rail, generating greater revenue and reducing
costs.
