Publicly owned rail is popular. But is it making the trains run on time?

Key points

• Labour has nationalised six passenger rail operators since May 2025, starting with South Western Railway.
• A YouGov tracker poll suggests almost two thirds of the public support public ownership of rail.
• Experts say it is too early to judge whether nationalisation will improve reliability, with a decade needed for proper assessment.

Labour is steadily bringing nearly all passenger rail services into public ownership, with six operators nationalised since May 2025. South Western Railway (SWR) was the first, and a YouGov tracker poll suggests almost two thirds of the public support public ownership. However, experts caution that the policy is still in its early stages and its impact on reliability remains unclear.

The summer of 2025 saw repeated heatwaves, a power failure near Manchester, a serious derailment near Lewes and another incident near Wickford, adding to passenger frustration over delays and cancellations.

Performance data so far

SWR saw a clear increase in cancellations during its first year in public hands. The Conservatives have cited this as evidence that public control does not guarantee improvement. The government argues SWR's early period was affected by high summer temperatures, signal failures and trespass incidents.

TransPennine Express, nationalised in May 2023 under the Conservatives, has seen cancellations fall noticeably, though they remained above the Great Britain average in the year to August. Experts note that data is limited because only SWR and c2c have completed a full year in public ownership, and the pandemic clouds comparisons.

I think the phrase 'emperor's new clothes' comes to mind… it's still unreliable.

— Leo, a commuter at Woking station

Plans for Great British Railways

The government hopes that a new publicly run body, Great British Railways (GBR), will bring together the running of trains and tracks. A new law to create it is making its way through parliament. Some trains already carry GBR branding, but the organisation does not yet exist.

Alex Hynes, chief executive of DfT Operator Limited, says the railway is a system of track, train and people, and that a publicly owned GBR can make them work in harmony. But experts warn that there is little money and that political interference over fares and services could be a problem.