Good Riddance Govia!

31st May 2026 | News

Today Britain’s biggest private rail operator, Govia Thameslink Railway – which runs all services on Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern – is finally brought back into public ownership.

We’re taking the opportunity to celebrate.

This marks the end of a decade-long campaign to get rid of Govia – the disgraced private company co-owned by the Go-Ahead Group and Keolis, a subsidiary of the French state-owned rail operator SNCF.

The fight was begun by our friends at the Association of British Commuters during the crisis on Southern Rail in 2016 – and continued through the great timetable fiasco of 2018.

In 2022, following a series of scandals with Govia’s neighbouring rail franchise Southeastern, we worked together to take legal action to try to stop the Department for Transport extending Govia’s contract for Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern.

We weren’t successful then, but the momentum we’ve continued to build for a fully publicly-owned railway paved the way for the Labour government’s commitment to establish Great British Railways following the general election in 2024.

Funds raised during our CrowdJustice campaigns have continued to support legal advice on the new Railways Bill, which will create Great British Railways.

Write to your MP

The Railways Bill is currently making its way through Parliament, with its 3rd reading in the Commons planned for this Wednesday 3 June 2026.

We are backing a series of amendments aimed at ensuring that Great British Railways is truly run in the public interest, so that passengers, our environment and the economy are always prioritised before private profit.

Ahead for the debate this Wednesday 3 June 2026, please write to your MP to ask them to support the amendments.

And you can see which rail franchises will be next to be brought back into public ownership with our handy Privatisation Departures Board.

Privatisation Departures Board

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