Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which includes Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express, has transferred into public ownership.

Responsible for one in six passenger rail journeys in Britain, GTR keeps the South East moving, delivering one of the UK’s most extensive rail networks and carrying hundreds of millions of passengers each year.

From 31 May 2026, GTR services transferred into public ownership and are now managed by DfT Operator Limited (DFTO) - the government’s rail owning group and delivery partner for its public ownership programme. It is responsible for bringing all the DfT-managed and privately-owned train operators into public ownership, ahead of the creation of Great British Railways (GBR).

Eight in 10 passenger rail journeys that GBR will ultimately be responsible for are now delivered by publicly owned operators under DFTO.

Transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, said: “Bringing Britain’s largest train operator into public ownership is a defining moment in our reform of the railway. It gives us an opportunity to tackle the bread and butter issues people want, like driving down cancellations and improving the frequency of services to Gatwick Airport.

“As we set up Great British Railways, we’re putting passengers first, fixing what’s broken, and delivering a railway people can rely on – one that rebuilds trust, regenerates communities and delivers the high standards passengers expect and deserve.”

GTR’s 100 day plan will focus on measures including:
Double Gatwick Express services: easier travel for holiday makers with double the number of Gatwick Express trains each hour between Gatwick Airport and London Victoria from December and more early morning services on Saturdays and Mondays from this summer. Additional Great Northern services will also commence in December.
Recruit more drivers to reduce delays: GTR’s ongoing train crew recruitment will deliver an additional 75 drivers across Thameslink and Great Northern this year as drivers complete their training, with an uplift of 40 drivers at Southern and Gatwick Express this year too. The increase in drivers will help improve train crew availability and reduce cancellations.
Create safer, cleaner toilets: Thameslink train toilets are being refreshed to crack down on graffiti and provide a better experience for passengers. GTR will resurface toilet interiors on two trains every week with more than half the fleet completed by the end of the year. In addition110 travel safe officers are also being trained.
Upgrade signalling to reduce cancellations: Secondary signalling system between Farringdon and Blackfriars to reduce delays and boost resilience. Improvements expected to prevent over 1,000 cancellations a year.
Establish better customer communication: Passengers will be able to get support when there is disruption from staff directly via a customer support WhatsApp channel. GTR is also adding more online payment options for customers.

The transfer follows the unveiling of the first Great British Railways (GBR) branded train at Brighton station last week and represents a landmark moment in the journey to public ownership.

GTR joins West Midlands Trains, Greater Anglia, c2c, South Western, Northern, TransPennine Express, Southeastern and LNER which are currently managed by DFTO. Chiltern Railways’ services will be next to transfer on 20 September 2026, followed by Great Western Railways on 13 December 2026.

The full public ownership programme to expected to be completed by the end of 2027.