Chiltern Railways becomes sixth operator nationalised under Labour

Chiltern enters public ownership

Chiltern Railways became the sixth train operator nationalised under Labour on Sunday 20 September. The operator runs services from London Marylebone into Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and the West Midlands. It was privatised in 1996. The Department for Transport said passengers will see no change on day one, with the promised improvements due from December.

Rail minister Lord Hendy said every transfer into public ownership gives the government a chance to tackle "the bread-and-butter issues people care about", including more frequent, comfortable trains that turn up on time. The DfT said the move would bring more reliable services, with plans to end what it called the "daily frustration" of overcrowding.

First day disruption

The first day under public ownership brought minor disruption. Overrunning engineering work near Bicester Village temporarily blocked lines towards Oxford and London Marylebone on Sunday morning, the train operating company said. A late-notice closure of the West Coast Main Line was expected to make Chiltern services much busier between Birmingham and London Marylebone. Chiltern said it would run extra trains with "significantly enhanced capacity" and warned that queuing systems would be enforced at major stations including London Marylebone and Birmingham Moor Street. No trains ran between Amersham and Aylesbury Vale Parkway all day, and rail replacement buses served some routes.

December timetable

From December, the DfT says 25 additional daily services will provide 10,000 extra seats each weekday. The plan includes half-hourly weekday trains on the Chiltern main line between London and Birmingham and more weekend services. Weekend capacity will rise by nearly 5,000 seats on Saturdays and more than 3,000 on Sundays. Six more Chiltern Explorer trains will enter service with the December timetable, completing a fleet of 13. The DfT said they will offer air conditioning, improved accessibility and upgraded onboard wifi on London to West Midlands services. A £12 million refurbishment of the Class 168 fleet will continue until 2028, with power and USB charging at every seat and refreshed interiors.

Stations will get deep cleaning, repainting, refurbished toilets and graffiti removal. Five of Chiltern's busiest stations will receive new signs, customer information screens, help points and accessible boarding ramps. Tony Baxter, Chiltern's interim managing director, said: "Sunday is a significant milestone for Chiltern Railways." He said customers would see improvements "made possible thanks to years of planning, dedication and hard work by Chiltern colleagues."

Dispute over doors

The RMT is due to demonstrate outside London Marylebone on Monday 21 September and is balloting members for strike action over driver-only operation. The union argues the onboard conductor should keep a safety role and control the doors rather than the driver. The same dispute holds up East West Rail, the Oxford to Milton Keynes Central service Chiltern was named a year ago to operate. The DfT said the transfer "also provides a fresh opportunity to deliver East West Rail", but it is unclear whether a start date has come any closer. Railnews reported that it is not known whether DfT Operator will inherit the dispute along with staff and rolling stock leases. It also reported that Chiltern would be the first former franchise renationalised while involved in an industrial dispute, unless a settlement is reached.

What public ownership means

Chiltern is the sixth operator nationalised under Labour. Govia Thameslink Railway, c2c, Greater Anglia, South Western Railway and West Midlands Trains went before it. LNER, Northern, Southeastern and TransPennine Express were already in public ownership when Labour took office, and ScotRail and Transport for Wales are owned by the Scottish and Welsh governments. The government legislated in 2024 to take operators into public ownership as contracts allowed. Great British Railways, the body meant to unite track and trains, does not exist yet. Its legislation was set out in the recent King's Speech. Chiltern was the last former British Rail Network SouthEast sub sector to be renationalised, carved out on 1 April 1994.

Next operators

Great Western Railway is due to follow on 13 December, with the remaining four due by the end of 2027. The RMT ballot result is expected within weeks.