Campaign to keep Thameslink / Southern / Great Northern public
On 31 May 2026, Thameslink / Southern / Great Northern will be the fifth rail franchise to be brought into public ownership by the Labour government, following the passing of the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act in November 2024.
See which franchises will be next with our handy new Privatisation Departures Board.
Privatisation Departures Board
Since September 2014, the Thameslink / Southern / Great Northern franchise has been operated by Govia, a joint venture between Go-Ahead Group, a British private-sector transport company, and Keolis, which is 70% owned by SNCF, the national state-owned rail operator in France. In July 2015, it was merged with Southern, encompassing most train services in south London and Sussex (including Gatwick Express), to become Britain’s largest rail franchise (known as TSGN). This was intended to run until 2021, but was extended to 2025 despite our intensive campaign to Take Back TSGN.
• Do you use the Thameslink / Great Northern service regularly?
• Do you believe it should be returned to public hands as part of a re-unified national rail network run for people not profit?
• Then, why not start a campaign building up to the franchise end?
Bring Back British Rail will support you by promoting your campaign’s details on this website and putting you in touch with other local activists via our Facebook, Twitter and Riseup communities. Please get in touch on the email address below!
Existing Campaigns / Groups:
• Govia Thameslink Railway should have its contract immediately removed
• Southern rail is a disaster. Let’s bring it back into public hands
• Association of British Commuters – taking the Department for Transport to court over SouthernFail.
• We say ‘No’ to East Mids Trains/Thameslink overcrowding and service cuts from May
• Keep Guards on Southern Trains
• Southern Rail (Govia Thameslink Railway) Franchise Review
• Southern Trains UK Twitter campaign
• Petition to Stop Govia Thameslink Station Ticket Office Closures
