From today (1 February 2026), West Midlands Trains’ London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway services have transferred to public ownership. Operations are now managed by DfT Operator Limited (DFTO), the government’s public sector owning group. (gov.uk)
A written statement to Parliament confirms the services will be run by WM Trains Limited, a DFTO subsidiary. The Department for Transport (DfT) reports that, with this transfer, eight of the 14 train operators it oversees are now in public ownership. (gov.uk)
DfT positions the move as preparation for Great British Railways (GBR), with DFTO managing operators as they enter public ownership ahead of GBR’s creation. Government communications state that public ownership is intended to improve performance, reduce subsidy and increase passenger satisfaction. (gov.uk)
For passengers, immediate arrangements are unchanged. West Midlands Trains has said there will be no impact on services, timetables or stations and that existing tickets and conditions of carriage remain valid. During disruption, DfT says tickets can be used across publicly owned operators at no extra cost. (westmidlandsrailway.co.uk)
Operational priorities flagged by the operator include expanding Pay‑As‑You‑Go tap‑in, tap‑out ticketing to 75 locations, introducing further new trains and opening five new stations later this year, alongside continued performance work across the LNR and WMR networks. (gov.uk)
DfT cites Office of Rail and Road (ORR) datasets indicating that publicly owned DFTO operators, on average, perform better on punctuality and cancellations than operators yet to transfer. These comparisons refer to ORR tables 3124 (cancellations) and 3138 (punctuality). (gov.uk)
Regulated rail fares are frozen for a year from March 2026, following decisions announced by HM Treasury and DfT. Ministers present the freeze as part of the wider rail reform programme intended to simplify fares and improve value for money. (gov.uk)
The legal basis for today’s transfer is the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024, which ends franchise renewals and enables passenger services to be provided by public sector companies. The Act received Royal Assent on 28 November 2024. (legislation.gov.uk)
This change sits within a staged programme. DFTO already manages LNER, Northern, Southeastern, TransPennine Express, South Western Railway, c2c and Greater Anglia. Govia Thameslink Railway is due to transfer on 31 May 2026, with Chiltern and Great Western expected to follow; DfT expects the programme to complete by end‑2027. (gov.uk)
DfT says the end‑state is a single publicly owned system under GBR that brings track and train under one structure, with integrated leadership between DFTO companies and Network Rail during the transition. The government argues this should support reliability for passengers and better value for taxpayers. (gov.uk)