Train operator across Bucks, Beds, and Herts is now under public ownership from today
The Government plans to nationalise the rail network and set up Great British Railways by the end of 2027.
London Northwestern Railway which operate train services across Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, and Hertfordshire, has been taken into public ownership from today.
The move is part of the government’s plans to nationalise all privately owned operators and create Great British Railways by the end of 2027.
The Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander, said: "Passengers travelling from Leighton Buzzard Station with London Northwestern will be using services that are owned by the public and run with their interests at heart.
"This Labour Government is reforming a broken system to deliver a reliable railway that regenerates communities, rebuilds the trust of its passengers, and delivers the high standards people in Bedfordshire and beyond rightly expect.”
A spokesperson for London Northwestern Railways said: "We are committed to ensuring a smooth transition to public ownership. Our customers can be assured this change will not impact our train services, timetables or stations. All ticket validities and conditions of carriage are unaffected."
Alex Mayer, Labour MP for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard says, “our trains are absolutely back where they belong”.
“This was something I was really proud to vote for in Parliament, fulfilling a Labour manifesto, because what we're doing is we're making sure that we've got one organisation that's responsible for everything - for the trains, the signals, the track, and for the stations - that hasn't been the case for 30 years.
“The idea is that by bringing all of that together, we will be improving reliability and accountability for passengers because that key difference is that now the trains are being run in the interests of passengers, not private profits.
“I very much think that by having less fragmentation, we'll be able to make quicker decisions on the railway, there'll be clearer accountability and that's the idea, that's the promise of Great British Railways.”
She added: “This is a real step in the right direction. In fact, I think I'd say it's full steam ahead.
Further operators, such as Thameslink which run services in Bedford, Luton, Leagrave, Harpenden and St Albans, is also expected to be nationalised in May.