Greater Anglia among first TOCs to be taken over by DfT operator in 2025, government confirms

Greater Anglia is among the first three train privately-operated train firms to be transferred to full public control next year.

The government has confirmed that DfT Operator Limited, previously known as DfT Operator of Last Resort Holdings Limited (DOHL), will take over from three firms in 2025.

South Western Railway (SWR) will be the first, in May, followed by c2c in July and Greater Anglia in the autumn.

While SWR and c2c were expected, due to their National Rail Contracts expiring next year, Greater Anglia’s had an official end date of September 2026.

The announcement comes after the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 received Royal Assent last week.

The government has said the move will encourage more people to use the railway and will “clamp down on unacceptable levels of delays, cancellations, and waste” from franchise contracts, and “save up to £150 million a year in fees alone”.

New Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, said: “For too long, the British public have had to put up with rail services which 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.”

The Railway Industry Association’s Chief Executive, Darren Caplan, described the announcement as an “important milestone on the journey to a restructured railway”.

He added: “There is now a real opportunity to provide more certainty and visibility over work plans, which will help a reformed railway be a catalyst for boosting growth and connectivity across the nations and regions of the UK, with better services for rail customers – passengers and freight – and ultimately ensure enhanced value for money for the taxpayer.”

The DfT has also said it is working on plans with operators and Network Rail to display performance information at stations in a move that will "provide passengers with transparency and will allow the public to hold the rail industry and the Department to account for delivery". 

Greater Anglia has been run by Transport UK Group since a management buyout of Abellio, which had operated services since 2012, was completed in February 2023.

In September 2021 a National Rail Contract with a core term expiry date of September 15 2024 and final end date of September 20 2026 was signed. However, it will become the third operator to be taken over by DfT Operator Ltd in 2025.

A DfT spokeswoman said that once the minimum term was reached in September, the contract allowed the Transport Secretary to end the agreement with a minimum of 12 weeks’ notice.

“We look forward to working with the DfT and ensuring a smooth transition to public ownership. Train services, timetables and station facilities will be unaffected by this announcement, with no changes to ticket validities or conditions of carriage,” a Greater Anglia spokesman said.

FirstGroup and MTR took over the South Western franchise in August 2017, owning 70% and 30% of SWR respectively. In February 2021 this franchise became a National Rail Contract to run until May 2023. In the February of that year, it was extended through to May 25 2025.

However, the operator came close to being returned to the government in early 2020, shortly before the COVID pandemic struck and franchises were replaced with management contracts.

An SWR spokesman said: “SWR already works incredibly closely with colleagues in the DfT and Network Rail to deliver for our customers and we’re looking forward to developing that joined up approach even further in the future.”

Trenitalia took over c2c when National Express sold the franchise in February 2017. Its first two-year contract was due to run from July 2021-July 2023, but in February 2023 this was extended to July 20 2025.

SWR, c2c and Greater Anglia will join four operators already under DOHL control: London North Eastern Railway; Northern; Southeastern and TransPennine Express.