Rail nationalisation not a silver bullet, says Labour government

Re-nationalising train operating companies was a key part of Labour’s manifesto.

Northern was taken into public ownership under the Conservative government in 2020 but its performance has failed to improve.

Alexander said that she and Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy will hold the Department for Transport Operator’s (DfTO) “feet to the fire” to deliver Northern’s published improvement plan, although she provided no further detail on how.

The operating division already runs 25% of train journeys on the franchises it controls: Northern, LNER, TransPennine and Southeastern. C2C, South Western and Greater Anglia will be added during this year.

In her speech, she said there was a need for unification across the train operators and Network Rail, which manages the railway infrastructure.

This would allow them “to work closer together, to rip out duplication, simplify the management of track and train and create greater accountability”.

The government is continuing to develop its new operating body, Great British Railways.

Alexander said the DfTO is key to ensure that Great British Railway “doesn’t end up as an umbrella of 16 separate organisations, each with their own incentives, back office systems and structures but instead becomes one integrated team, relentlessly focused on the passenger”.

Among her priorities, Alexander said there will be more trials of pay as you go as well as more innovation around the use of AI to improve passenger experience and efficiency.

Great British Railways is a publicly-owned body that will run both the network tracks and trains and will oversee the rail system across England, Wales, and Scotland.