Will TfL Take Control of Nationalised Train Services?

South Western's suburban lines have long been a target for the Mayor

A South Western Railway train. Picture: CA850

December 4, 2024

With confirmation coming this Tuesday (3 December) that South Western Railway (SWR) will be the first franchise to be taken back into public ownership by the current government, the question arises as to how this will affect suburban routes such as the Hounslow Loop.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has long argued that it would make sense that the lines which operated primarily in London and its outskirts should be under the control of Transport for London. This would enable better integration of services and improved operation of Oyster and contactless system with some fares being cheaper for passengers if these services were incorporated into existing zones and price caps. It is also argued that more local control would benefit passengers as for instance many regular users felt SWR prioritised south coast routes during industrial action cancelling all suburban services mean stations such as Brentford, Chiswick and Kew Bridge were completely closed during industrial action.

A recently issued report has concluded that plans for a West London Orbital route would be feasible and this envisages the linking of lines currently used by SWR with those used by London Overground, a process that would be made easier if they came under the same management.

SWR is one of the largest rail franchises in the UK, serving routes from London Waterloo to suburban and long-distance destinations in the south and southwest of England.

London Mayor’s before Sadiq Khan have proposed taking over suburban services of SWR and other rail franchises, but these plans have stalled due to political, logistical, and financial disagreements between TfL and the UK government. Some non-London local authorities and MPS have been opposed to TfL taking over services which operate in their area.

A similar transfer has occurred with some Greater Anglia services, which became part of the London Overground network however, it is believed that the context for SWR is more complicated due to the network's structure.

Recently appointed Transport Minister, Heidi Alexander, used to be London’s Deputy Mayor for Transport in which capacity she oversaw Transport for London so she will be familiar with the Mayor’s aspirations for the suburban rail services.

SWR’s contract comes to an end next May and it remains to be seen if public ownership will raise its performance. Although its punctuality record is patchy, it faces particular challenges including the bottleneck for trains entering and leaving Waterloo. Many of the delays are caused by problems which are Network Rail’s responsibility and this organisation is already in public ownership.

The government says it will save £150 million in fees paid to the franchise owners and no compensation will be paid as the contracts are being allowed to expire with SWR’s.

Publicly run services will be managed by DfT Operator Limited – previously known as DfT Operator of Last Resort Holdings Limited (DOHL) – which will eventually be incorporated into Great British Railways (GBR).

There will be no change ticketing and staffing once the change takes place and the introduction of the new Arterio trains on SWR routes will proceed as they are being leased through Angel Trains.

Ms Alexander, said, “For too long, the British public has had to put up with rail services that simply don’t work. A complex system of private train operators has too often failed its users.

“Starting with journeys on South Western Railway, we’re switching tracks by bringing services back under public control to create a reliable rail network that puts customers first.

“Our broken railways are finally on the fast track to repairing and rebuilding a system that the British public can trust and be proud of again.”

Mick Whelan, general secretary of train drivers’ union ASLEF said: “This is the right decision, at the right time, to take the brakes off the UK economy and rebuild Britain.

“John Major’s decision to privatise British Rail in 1994 was foolish, ideologically-driven, and doomed to fail. It was described even by that arch-privateer Margaret Thatcher as “a privatisation too far” and so it proved.

“The privateers have taken hundreds of millions of pounds from our railways and successive Conservative governments have pursued a policy of managed decline which has sold taxpayers, passengers, and staff short.”

RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said, “This is a significant step forward for passengers, rail workers, and those who want to see an efficient rail system run for the public good, rather than private profit.”

Andy Bagnall chief executive of Rail Partners which lobbies for the private rail operators, said, “Publishing the timeline for bringing SWR, C2C and Greater Anglia into public ownership is a watershed moment that means the Government is now taking charge of fixing the railways, but has parked the big decisions about how to do that until next year.

“Simply changing who runs the trains won’t deliver more reliable and affordable services for passengers, reduce subsidy for taxpayers, or grow rail freight.

“The key to both improving performance and holding down fares is restoring the railway to financial sustainability. It is counter intuitive to start removing private sector operators from the system, with their track record of delivering growth to reduce subsidy, when the question of what will replace them long-term won’t be answered until further rail legislation is introduced.”

The Conservative’s shadow transport secretary Gareth Bacon said, “We are concerned that the Government’s plans are simply an ideological undertaking that does not put passengers first.

“Keir Starmer’s latest Transport Secretary has a worrying record of failure when it comes to delivering projects on time that improve passenger services. We will closely monitor the impact of these plans.”

TfL has not commented recently on any plans to take over suburban rail services.