South West Rail to be nationalised in 2025

South Western Railways’ services will be the first to transfer into public ownership next year, the transport secretary has said.

The move will see services across a wide area of southern England and East Anglia come back into public control by autumn 2025.

It will be followed by the London to Essex route c2c in July and east coast operator Greater Anglia in autumn.

It hopes £150m will be saved by passenger fares going to services rather than company shareholders.

Eventually, all companies will come under the control of a new state-owned company called Great British Railways.

In total, there are 28 British rail operators.

Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said: “Starting with journeys on South Western Railways, we’re switching tracks by bringing services back under public control to create a reliable rail network that puts customers first.”

Alexander did not say rail fares would come down under nationalisation.

Railway Industry Association chief executive Darren Caplan said: “Today’s announcement is an important milestone on the journey to a restructured railway. The UK supply chain will work with and support the government’s plans to deliver improved rail performance and reliability, as we together develop world-class rail, both track and train.”