South Western Railway (SWR) has been renationalised this weekend as part of the government’s transition towards Great British Railways.
The train operator officially came under public ownership at around 2am on Sunday – and the first journey, the 5.36am from Woking, was partly a rail replacement bus service due to engineering works.
So what difference will renationalisation make to passengers and will journeys be cheaper?
What is nationalisation?
Nationalisation means the government taking control of industries or companies, taking them from private to public ownership.
England’s railway lines are currently run by train operating companies as franchises under fixed-term contracts, but Labour have said they want to take control of the lines when those fixed terms end.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander. Pic: PA
In its manifesto, the party vowed to return rail journeys to public ownership within five years by establishing Great British Railways (GBR) to run both the network tracks and trains.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, who travelled on the first renationalised departure from London Waterloo, said, before boarding, it was “a new dawn for our railways” and “a watershed moment”.
