STORY
South Western Railway has today been nationalised as Heidi Alexander, the Secretary of State for Transport, conceded that the Government couldn’t reduce fares. Alexander said that under her department’s control the operator would now meet “rigorous, bespoke performance standards on things like punctuality, cancellation and passenger experience”, piling pressure on the new Great British Railways to significantly improve performance. Alexander committed to tangible improvements, noting:
“We have a generational opportunity to restore national pride in our railways and I will not waste it.”