Govia Thameslink Railway, the UK’s largest train operator and a lifeline for millions of passengers across the South East, has been taken into public ownership and is now run by the government’s rail operating company.
The transfer, which took effect on 31 May 2026, means the Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern and Gatwick Express services are now managed by DfT Operator Limited (DFTO), the Department for Transport’s public-sector owning group. GTR is responsible for approximately one in every six passenger rail journeys in Britain, carrying hundreds of millions of passengers each year across an extensive network.
The move is the latest step in a government programme to bring all privately operated rail franchises into public ownership ahead of the creation of Great British Railways (GBR). Unlike nationalisations in other industries, where the state purchases a company’s shares, rail franchises operate on time-limited contracts. When those contracts are cancelled or expire, they simply revert to government control. This process was enabled by the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024, which formally abolished the franchising system introduced by the Railways Act 1993. Under the old system, private companies bid for the right to run services for a set period. Now, as each contract reaches its natural end, the franchise is transferred directly to DFTO without the need for a buyout. The 2024 Act was a key piece of legislation that allowed the government to take ownership without compensating private operators for the remaining term of their franchises.
The shift to public ownership began with South Western Railway on 25 May 2025, followed by c2c on 20 July 2025, Greater Anglia on 12 October 2025, and West Midlands Trains on 1 February 2026. GTR’s transfer on 31 May 2026 is the fifth under the new legislation. The government has said it expects the full public ownership programme to be completed by the end of 2027. Chiltern Railways is scheduled to transfer on 20 September 2026, and Great Western Railways on 13 December 2026. Three operators — Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry and East Midlands Railway — are expected to remain in private hands after these transfers, although CrossCountry is anticipated to move into public ownership later.
DFTO, established in 2018, acts as the government’s rail owning group and delivery partner for the Public Ownership Programme. Its remit is to bring all Department for Transport-managed and privately owned train operators under public control, serving as a predecessor to Great British Railways — a new public body intended to integrate track and train operations under a single “directing mind”. DFTO is responsible for bringing all DfT-managed and privately owned train operators into public ownership ahead of the creation of GBR. With the addition of GTR, DFTO now manages nine operators: LNER, Northern, Southeastern, TransPennine Express, South Western Railway, c2c, Greater Anglia, West Midlands Trains, and Govia Thameslink Railway. Collectively, these operators deliver approximately eight in ten of the passenger rail journeys that GBR will ultimately be responsible for.
The government has stated that public ownership aims to deliver a simpler, more reliable network, putting passengers — not shareholders — at the heart of the railways. Under the new arrangements, passengers will benefit from greater flexibility, including the ability to travel on another publicly owned service at no extra cost if their train is cancelled. For GTR’s network specifically, the operator has announced plans to double the number of services between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria, and to recruit 110 new Travel Safe Officers to tackle anti-social behaviour. The company is a significant contributor to the UK economy, generating £3.2 billion and supporting 40,000 jobs in 2025.
GTR’s services span a wide area of the South East. Thameslink runs cross-London services linking Bedford, Peterborough and Cambridge with Brighton, Horsham and East Grinstead, as well as routes from Luton and St Albans to Sutton, Wimbledon and Rainham, plus services between London and Sevenoaks. Great Northern operates between London and destinations including Welwyn, Hertford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King’s Lynn. Southern connects London with the Sussex coast — Brighton, Worthing, Eastbourne, Bognor Regis and Hastings — and extends to parts of Surrey, Kent and Hampshire, including Ashford International, Southampton and Portsmouth. Gatwick Express provides fast, non-stop services between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria.
As of May 2026, eight in ten passenger rail journeys that Great British Railways will ultimately oversee are now delivered by publicly owned operators under DFTO.
