Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western has welcomed the return of West Midlands Rail Services to public ownership.

On Sunday (February 1), West Midlands Railway (WMR) returned to public ownership, joining Great British Railways (GBR) - the publicly-owned body set up to run the UK rail network.

WMR was joined by London Northwestern in moving to public ownership which means that more than half of all rail journeys that GBR will ultimately be responsible for are now operated by publicly owned companies.

The routes now in public ownership include the Coventry to Leamington line and the Leamington to Worcester line, which also stops at Warwick Station.

Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western at Leamington Station. Picture supplied.

placeholder image — Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western at Leamington Station. Picture supplied.

Chiltern Railways, which currently operates the London Marylebone to Birmingham Moor Street service stopping at Warwick and Leamington, is due to return to public ownership before the end of 2027.

A specific date for this has yet to be confirmed.

The Government says bringing these services back into public ownership is part of its plan to build “a simpler and more reliable railway with the best interests of passengers at its core”.

Mr Western said: “For too long, rail services haven’t been run with the best interests of passengers at their heart and as a result passengers have lost trust in our railways and their reliability.

"Something needed to change and I’m delighted that we’re taking the bold steps to bring our railways back into public ownership and ensuring that they will be run in the interests of passengers, not shareholders.

“This is not a silver bullet but a vital step which will see us move closer to a simpler, unified, rail system under GBR.”