TSSA welcomes transfer of South Western Railway to public hands

TSSA has welcomed the transfer of South Western Railway (SWR) to public ownership on Sunday, describing it as a ‘landmark moment’ for the railways.  

SWR is the first train operating company to transfer from private (First Group) control to public ownership under the government’s Passenger Railways Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024.  

Operations will now be run by South Western Railway Ltd a Department for Transport subsidiary of DFT Operator Limited (DfTO) which will come under the umbrella of Great British Railways (GBR) once established.   

Commenting, TSSA General Secretary, Maryam Eslamdoust said: “The transfer of SWR into public hands is a landmark moment which heralds in practical terms the beginning of the end to three decades of failed privatisation across the railways.  

“The Labour government has taken the right decision and the necessary steps to bring our railways back in house, ending a broken system dreamt up by Conservative governments which cared only about profit, not the best ways and means of running our precious rail network.  

"However, we do have concerns about the future of travel concessions for railway workers and their families. These are long-standing entitlements that recognise the public service contribution of railway staff. We urge the government to protect and uphold these benefits as part of its commitment to a fair and just transition to public ownership 

“Our union is also making a series of key demands to Ministers during the transition to GBR – and these seek to not only protect jobs, ensure a safe railway, protect the environment but also put passengers at the heart of the network.”  

TSSA represents staff who are General grades and Control at SWR. 

Key demands during the transition to GBR -   

i)protecting TSSA members’ jobs, keeping the casual workforce to a minimum and ensuring there is access to training, 

ii) Improving pay, terms, and conditions – levelling up across the industry  

iii) Ensuring we have a safe railway for all.  

iv) Putting passengers at the heart of GBR – delivering a railway that the British people deserve.  

v) Protecting the environment by promoting green travel on our railways.  

**Notes -   

C2C’s services will be next to transfer into public ownership on 20 July 2025 and Greater Anglia on 12 October 2025.   

TSSA is TSSA is an independent trade union for the transport and travel industries. We have thousands of members right across the UK and Ireland, working for the railways and associated companies, as well as ferries, bus services and the travel trade.