UK renationalises first train operator under Labour reforms
LONDON
Britain's South Western Railways on Sunday becomes the first private train operator to be returned to public ownership under the Labour government's plans to renationalise the country's much-maligned railways.
Renationalising all of the U.K.'s rail operators is among the key policies launched by Prime Minister Keir Starmer since his party's return to government last July following 14 years in opposition.
Train passengers in Britain suffer from frequent cancellations, in addition to high ticket prices and regular confusion over which services they can be used on.
The privatisation of rail operations took place in the mid-1990s under the then Conservative prime minister John Major, but the rail network remained public, run by Network Rail.
Four of the 14 operators in England are already run by the state owing to poor performance in recent years, but this was originally meant to be a temporary fix before a return to the private sector.
Labour triumphed over the Conservative party in elections last year, re-entering Downing Street with promises to fix the country's ailing transport services.
Legislation was approved in November to bring rail operators into public ownership when the private companies' contracts expire, or sooner in the event of poor management, and be managed by "Great British Railways."
Rail unions, which have staged a stream of strikes in recent years over pay and conditions due to a cost-of-living crisis, welcomed the state takeover.
"We're delighted that Britain's railways are being brought back where they belong -- into the public sector," said Mick Whelan, general secretary of union Aslef.
