A historic moment for Britain’s railway marked as the first Great British Railways (GBR) branded train was unveiled in Brighton.
The first GBR-branded train, a Class 387 operated by Southern, has been unveiled, to mark Britain’s largest train operator Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) joining the growing publicly owned network next Sunday, 31 May 2026. It also comes ahead of the first anniversary of South Western Railway entering public ownership.
From 31 May, Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Express services will enter public ownership. GTR joins West Midlands Trains, Greater Anglia, c2c, Northern, TransPennine Express, Southeastern, LNER and South Western, which are currently managed by DfT Operator Limited (DFTO).
Chiltern Railways’ services will be next to transfer on 20 September 2026, followed by Great Western Railway on 13 December 2026, marking another significant step in plans to bring services into public ownership. The full public ownership programme is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.
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