Govia Thameslink Railway Transfers to Public Ownership

Govia Thameslink Railway enters public ownership on Sunday, making it the fifth operator returned to state control under the current government. The operator runs Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express services across south-east England and beyond. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander called the change a defining moment in railway reform.

She said millions of passengers across the South East and East of England will travel on services run for the public good rather than private profit. GTR carries more passengers than any other UK operator and accounts for one in six train journeys in Britain. Alexander said public ownership provides an opportunity to reduce cancellations and increase Gatwick Express frequency.

The Department for Transport has committed to doubling Gatwick Express services between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport from December. Additional early-morning services on Saturdays and Mondays will begin this summer. Signalling between Farringdon and Blackfriars has been upgraded.

The government will also deploy 110 new travel safe officers and increase efforts to remove graffiti from Thameslink toilets. Great British Railways will become the first public body since the mid-1990s to hold responsibility for both tracks and trains. Legislation establishing the organisation was included in the recent King's Speech.

A Southern train displaying GBR branding was unveiled in Brighton earlier this month. Satellite connectivity funded at £57 million will be rolled out across nationalised main-line services after trials on LNER, South Western Railway and Great Western Railway. A nationwide upgrade of train WiFi has also been announced.

GTR chief operating officer John Whitehurst said the railway carries millions of people to work, school and family visits each day. He said staff have spent the past year deepening integration with Network Rail ahead of the transfer. Previous operators taken into public ownership are c2c, Greater Anglia, South Western Railway and West Midlands Trains.

Chiltern Railways services will follow on September 20 and Great Western Railway on December 13. Fares remain frozen until March next year. Temporary cuts affecting two per cent of services will run from July 18 to August 29.