Rail Partners: Trade body that representers passenger owning groups to be wound up

The trade body that represents passenger train companies and freight operators is to be wound up early next year.

Rail Partners has announced it will not continue providing services after the end of the current financial year in April, as the Labour government prepares to bring passenger operations back into public operation.

The organisation was set up after the 2021 Williams Plan for Rail to “help deliver a better railway for customers and taxpayers within the framework envisaged by the previous government”, which was for a “reinvigorated public-private partnership” between Great British Railways and train operating companies.

“That vision has not materialised. Following the general election earlier this year, in contrast to the Williams Plan, the new government has instead legislated to nationalise DfT-contracted train operations – the vast majority of services in Britain,” a Rail Partners statement said.

“During this process, Rail Partners has made the views of its members clear, that simply changing who runs the trains will not fix the challenges the railway is facing. In itself, it will not reduce the burden on the taxpayer nor improve reliability.

“There are also significant issues still to be addressed about how the new system will be structured and regulated to drive growth.”

Rail Partners has said passenger owning groups will now focus on the transition to public ownership in a “professional and orderly way”, adding: “Ultimately, we want the railway to be successful, regardless of how it is organised and our role in it, for the wider economic and environmental benefits it offers the country.”

On Wednesday, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said the government will announce which will be the first train operations to be taken over by the Department for Transport’s OLR Holdings Limited, when the Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill – currently in the House of Lords – receives Royal Assent.

While she didn’t name which operators are set to be taken over, South Western Railway and c2c’s contracts are due to expire in May and July next year respectively.

A Rail Partners statement added: “As a result of these changes, Rail Partners and its founding members have taken the decision to wind down our organisation in April 2025.

“In the intervening time, we will continue to support our owning group members collectively and to make their own representations to Government individually. We will continue to advocate on behalf of our freight operator members and provide technical services to passenger train operators in both public and private sectors.

“We would like to thank all our members and stakeholders for their engagement over the last three years.”

During 2024 Rail Partners has spearheaded the British rail industry’s ‘Kit for Kyiv’ campaign.

The campaign raised around £65,000 to support the Ukrainian Railway's need for protective kits for employees working near the frontline, with train drivers in high-risk regions beginning to receive their protection.