Is South Western Railway ‘now back in public control’?

4 December 2024

In posts earlier today on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook, the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer claimed that “South Western Railway is now back in public control”. 

But this hasn’t happened yet, so Mr Starmer’s claim wasn’t quite correct. South Western Railway will not pass into public ownership until May 2025, when the extension of its national rail contract expires.It’s due to be the first rail company to do this after the government’s Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act gained Royal Assent and passed into law last week. 

While Mr Starmer’s X post remains in its original form, his Facebook post was edited at 10:57am, to read: “South Western Railway is back in public control”, the word “now” having been deleted—though that still still isn’t really correct.

Later at Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Starmer said, accurately: “South Western Railway services will be the first to transfer into public ownership next year.”

We’ve contacted Mr Starmer and Number 10, and will update this post if we receive a response. 

Full Fact fights bad information

Bad information ruins lives. It promotes hate, damages people’s health, and hurts democracy. You deserve better.

Subscribe to weekly email newsletters from Full Fact for updates on politics, immigration, health and more. Our fact checks are free to read but not to produce, so you will also get occasional emails about fundraising and other ways you can help. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy.