Skip to main content






Statement on the future of Rail Partners

14 November 2024

Rail Partners and its founding members – the owning groups of passenger train companies – have taken the decision not to continue providing services after the end of this financial year.

Our trade body was established by its passenger owning group members following the 2021 Williams Plan for Rail, to help deliver a better railway for customers and taxpayers within the framework envisaged by the previous Government – a reinvigorated public-private partnership where Great British Railways would harness train companies to deliver services.

That vision has not materialised. Following the general election earlier this year, in contrast to the Williams Plan, the new government has instead legislated to nationalise DfT-contracted train operations – the vast majority of services in Britain.

The Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill’s passage through the Houses of Parliament is almost complete and it will soon be receiving Royal Assent.

During this process, Rail Partners has made the views of its members clear, that simply changing who runs the trains will not fix the challenges the railway is facing. In itself, it will not reduce the burden on the taxpayer nor improve reliability.

There are also significant issues still to be addressed about how the new system will be structured and regulated to drive growth. However, while we still hold those views, we also recognise the democratic mandate of the government to enact the policy contained in its manifesto and that private train companies will play a very limited role in future.

Therefore, as the Bill becomes law, the focus of the industry and our owning group members must shift to the transition to public ownership. Passenger owning groups, as the current custodians of railway operations will focus on doing this in a professional and orderly way. Ultimately, we want the railway to be successful, regardless of how it is organised and our role in it, for the wider economic and environmental benefits it offers the country.

As a result of these changes, Rail Partners and its founding members have taken the decision to wind down our organisation in April 2025. In the intervening time, we will continue to support our owning group members collectively and to make their own representations to government individually. We will continue to advocate on behalf of our freight operator members and provide technical services to passenger train operators in both public and private sectors. We will also work through the implications for our team who have worked hard to improve the railway over the last three years.

We would like to thank all our members and stakeholders for their engagement over the last 3 years.