# Complete rail public ownership by end of 2027

> “Great Western Railway’s services will be the next to transfer into public ownership on 13 December 2026, followed by Avanti West Coast’s services on 7 March 2027, and the rail public ownership programme remains on track to be completed by the end of 2027.”
>
> — Heidi Alexander, Secretary of State for Transport, Labour Party; Written ministerial statement, 13 October 2026

- **Status:** Delivering
- **Status ladder:** Promised → In plan → Legislated → Funded → Delivering → Delivered
- **Policy area:** [Transport & economy](https://ledgergov.uk/promises/area/transport-and-economy)
- **Speaker:** [Heidi Alexander](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/heidi-alexander), Secretary of State for Transport
- **Party:** [Labour Party](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/labour)
- **Made on:** 13 October 2026
- **Where:** Written ministerial statement
- **Deadline:** 31 December 2027
- **Cost a year:** No costing published
- **Who it affects:** Passengers of the train operators that run services under contract with the Department for Transport
- **When:** Great Western Railway on 13 December 2026, Avanti West Coast on 7 March 2027, and the whole programme by the end of 2027
- **Paid for by:** Not stated when it was announced
- **Quote source:** https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2026-10-13/HCWS369 (checked word for word on 16 October 2026; Open Parliament Licence v3.0)
- **Last updated:** 16 October 2026
- **Card:** https://ledgergov.uk/promise/uk-rail-public-ownership-2027

## Where it stands

Chiltern Railways' services moved into public ownership on 20 September 2026, so 10 of the 14 train operators running passenger services under contract with the Department for Transport are now publicly owned. The Transport Secretary says Great Western Railway's services transfer next, on 13 December 2026, followed by Avanti West Coast's on 7 March 2027, and that the programme "remains on track" to be completed by the end of 2027. The statement gives no dates for the other operators. The card moves as each operator transfers.

## Timeline

- 13 October 2026, Promised: The Transport Secretary says the rail public ownership programme remains on track to be completed by the end of 2027
- 13 October 2026, Delivering: The Transport Secretary confirms Chiltern Railways' services moved into public ownership on 20 September 2026, taking the operators in public ownership to 10 of 14 ([evidence](https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2026-10-13/HCWS369))
- 31 December 2027, Deadline (to come): Rail public ownership programme due to be completed by the end of 2027

## About the cost

No cost has been published.

## Sources

- [Written ministerial statement HCWS369, 13 Oct 2026: Transfer of Chiltern Railways’ Services into Public Ownership](https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2026-10-13/HCWS369)

## Checks

- Checked automatically by AI Journalist, not yet verified by an editor.
- Checked by AI Journalist (automated) on 16 October 2026.

---

LedgerGov.UK's own writing (headlines, status notes, cost notes, summaries) is licensed under [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): reuse it, crediting LedgerGov.UK with a link to the card. Official figures are under the [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) unless their source says otherwise; quotes from Parliament under the [Open Parliament Licence v3.0](https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright-parliament/open-parliament-licence/); other quotes are short extracts whose rights stay with the speaker. How the numbers and statuses are made: https://ledgergov.uk/method.