More than a year after South Western Railway was renationalised, its performance metrics indicate a decline, with trains running less frequently on time and a rise in cancellations. Data from the Office of Rail and Road shows that in the last quarter before renationalisation, 86.2% of the company's trains ran on time. This figure slightly decreased to 85.5% in the first quarter of the current year. Concurrently, the proportion of cancelled trains rose from 3.0% to 3.6%.
Similar trends have been observed on other recently renationalised services. Passengers on the Cambridge to King's Cross route, operated by Govia Thameslink which was renationalised in May, have experienced multiple cancellations and delays. In one instance, a service arrived with fewer coaches than usual, leaving many passengers unable to board.
Greater Anglia, another operator renationalised in October of the previous year, also reported a significant drop in punctuality, ranking second worst among rail operators over the past year. LNER, which returned to state ownership in June 2018, saw 29% of its services run late in the first quarter of this year. Trans Pennine Express, renationalised in May 2023, reported 27.1% of its services running late and 3.9% not departing at all.
Beyond operational performance, concerns have been raised about fare increases on nationalised lines. The standard return fare from London to Edinburgh on LNER is reported to be £409, a price point higher than some transatlantic flights. This contrasts with the expectation that renationalisation would lead to lower fares due to the elimination of shareholder profits. Inflation-adjusted costs for the same journey have reportedly doubled since the line was operated by National Express in 2008.
Instances of complex and seemingly arbitrary fare rules have also emerged. A passenger attempting to use a young person's railcard on a Northern Trains service, renationalised in 2020, was informed that the card was not valid on certain fares before 10 am, despite previous acceptance. The situation was resolved after intervention from the Department of Transport, which stated the company was treating passengers as fare-dodgers.
These developments come amidst a broader debate about the efficacy of returning railways to public ownership. Supporters, such as Cat Hobbs of We Own It, have hailed renationalisation as a move away from a perceived ideological experiment in rail markets, aiming to address years of inefficiency and delayed services. However, critics point to these recent performance issues and fare hikes as evidence that a return to a model resembling British Rail may not be the solution envisioned by proponents.