Thameslink Southern Great Northern

This article is about the future operator of the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise. For the current operator, see Govia Thameslink Railway.

Thameslink Southern Great Northern

Overview
Main region(s)	East of England Greater London South East England
Parent company	DfT Operator
Predecessor	Govia Thameslink Railway

Thameslink Southern Great Northern Limited ^[1] is a future British train operating company that will take over the services of Govia Thameslink Railway on 31 May 2026.

History

In the lead-up to the 2024 United Kingdom general election, the Labour Party of Keir Starmer committed itself to bring the passenger operations of the British rail network back under state ownership. ^{[2] [3]} Following its election win, the government introduced the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 that received the royal assent in November 2024. ^{[4] [5]}

In September 2025, it was announced that Govia Thameslink Railway would return to public ownership on 31 May 2026. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

References

1. Thameslink Southern Great Northern Limited Companies House
2. Labour promises rail nationalisation within five years of coming to power The Guardian 25 April 2024
3. Labour pledges to renationalise most rail services within five years BBC News 26 April 2024
4. Rail nationalisation takes a step closer under Starmer’s first major public reform in Commons victory The Independent 4 September 2024
5. Government reveals first three operators to be renationalised after law change Railnews 4 December 2024
6. Next train services to return to public ownership revealed as government delivers railways reset Gov.uk 26 September 2025
7. British passenger renationalisation progress International Railway Journal 29 September 2025
8. DfT names next operator to be renationalised Railnews 29 September 2025