Greater Anglia and West Midlands could be first nationalised trains under Labour

Train operators Greater Anglia and West Midlands’ core contract terms expire on Sunday, potentially putting the services on course to be the first ones nationalised by the Labour government.

The ending of the core term of their contracts means Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has the power to terminate their deal with 12 weeks’ notice.

She is not expected to act until the government’s nationalisation legislation completes its passage through Parliament.

But she said she would be “wasting no time” in bringing services back under public ownership.

These are the first two operators to reach the end of their core terms since Labour came to power in July.

The operators’ full contracts are not due to expire until September 2026.

But Haigh said: “For too long our broken railways have failed passengers day in day out with delays and cancellations.

“That’s why I am laser focused on overhauling the railways and wasting no time in bringing train operating companies back under public ownership where they belong.

“As soon as our public ownership Bill is on the statute book, we will be starting the process of public ownership by serving notice on these operators – putting an end to our wasteful and fragmented privatised railway and delivering for passengers.”

The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill has already been rushed through the House of Commons and is due to be debated in the Lords for the first time on October 7.

The legislation means the government will take over services from private firms as their franchises expire.

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