UK: The operation of Greater Anglia passenger services transferred from Transport UK to the public sector DfT Operator Ltd at 02.00 on October 12. The transfer means that almost 50% of the passenger-journeys that the future Great British Railways will ultimately be responsible for are now operated by publicly-owned entities.
A benchmark for other operators
Transport UK said the transfer ‘marks the conclusion of a highly successful chapter’ under its stewardship, with Greater Anglia the most punctual operator in the UK since April 2023, and winning Train Operator of the Year at the Rail Business Awards in 2025. Transport UK added that in 2024, it was also the only privately run operator to generate income for the Treasury.
’We are proud of the transformation we’ve delivered at Greater Anglia in recent years and we’re fully committed to maintaining those high standards as we pass into public ownership’, said Greater Anglia Managing Director Martin Beable. ‘We are pleased to end the current era with Greater Anglia as one of the best train operators in the UK and look forward to building on that positive legacy under public ownership in the years ahead.’
The Department for Transport sees an opportunity for Greater Anglia to act as a benchmark and a source of best practice for other public sector operators.
Beable said there is ‘an exciting opportunity’ from Greater Anglia to work with other publicly owned operators to ’share expertise, drive innovation and deliver even better journeys for our passengers across the Anglia region’.
Responses
Secretary of State for Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said ‘passengers commuting into Norwich or heading for a day out in Cambridge will be travelling on services that are owned by the public, and run with their interests front of mind’.
TSSA trade union General Secretary Maryam Eslamdoust welcomed the transfer, but said ‘this must not be half-baked. We need a properly funded, joined-up approach that protects jobs, delivers fair pay and conditions, and invests in the infrastructure and services needed to make rail the backbone of a sustainable transport future. Sustainable transport cannot be achieved on the cheap. Public ownership must come with a real commitment to long-term investment and workforce security if we are to meet our environmental and economic goals.’
