# Chiltern Railways enters public ownership

> The train operator becomes the sixth to be nationalised under Labour's plan to bring all major passenger rail services into state control by end of 2027.
- Title: Chiltern Railways enters public ownership · the Guardian
- Summary: The train operator becomes the sixth to be nationalised under Labour's plan to bring all major passenger rail services into state control by end of 2027…
- Keywords: chiltern railways, rail nationalisation, labour government, great british railways, london marylebone, birmingham, peter hendy, rmt union, east west rail, driver-only operation, news, world
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/business/2026/sep/20/chiltern-railways-enters-public-ownership-labour-nationalisation
- Published: 2026-09-20T06:00:08+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: chiltern railways, rail nationalisation, labour government, great british railways, london marylebone, birmingham, peter hendy, rmt union, east west rail, driver-only operation, news, world
## Sixth operator enters state control
Chiltern Railways, which runs commuter services between London Marylebone and Birmingham, entered public ownership on Sunday as the sixth operator nationalised under Labour since 2025.
## Four more operators to follow
The government legislated in 2024 to renationalise private train operations as contracts allowed, with the remaining four operators due to transfer by the end of 2027.
## Rail minister promises passenger focus
Rail minister Peter Hendy said the transfer gives the chance to tackle issues people care about: more frequent, comfortable trains that turn up on time.

> Every transfer into public ownership gives us the chance to tackle the bread-and-butter issues people care about, more frequent, comfortable trains that turn up on time.
## Service improvements planned
From December, twenty-five additional daily services will run on the Chiltern network, adding ten thousand extra seats each weekday as new trains are rolled out across the operator.
## East West Rail opportunity unclear
The Department for Transport said the transfer provides a fresh opportunity to deliver East West Rail services on the Oxford-Cambridge line, though a start date remains unclear.
## Union strike threat over guard plans
The RMT union opposes driver-only operation plans backed by the Department for Transport and is balloting members for strike action, with a demonstration planned for Monday at London Marylebone.
## Key takeaway

Chiltern Railways has entered public ownership as Labour continues its rail nationalisation programme, with four more operators to follow by end of 2027.