RAIL passengers on South Western Railway will be the first to experience Labour’s sweeping renationalisation plans.

The new Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has named the operator as the first to return to public hands next year.

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By 2025, c2c and Greater Anglia will also come under public control as part of Labour’s effort to overhaul Britain’s railways.

Ms Alexander said: “For too long, the British public have had to put up with rail services which simply don’t work.

“A complex system of private train operators has too often failed its users.

“Starting with journeys on South Western Railway, we’re switching tracks by bringing services back under public control to create a reliable rail network that puts customers first.

“Our broken railways are finally on the fast track to repair and rebuilding a system that the British public can trust and be proud of again.”

The industry launched a fightback last night, with Rail Partners’ Andy Bagnall saying: “Simply changing who runs the trains won’t deliver more reliable and affordable services for passengers, reduce subsidy for taxpayers, or grow rail freight.

‘The key to both improving performance and holding down fares is restoring the railway to financial sustainability.

“It is counter intuitive to start removing private sector operators from the system, with their track record of delivering growth to reduce subsidy, when the question of what will replace them long-term won’t be answered until further rail legislation is introduced.”

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