Britain’s railways are in the midst of a period of significant change, with a flurry of developments unfolding across both the public and private sectors. On the one hand, government plans to nationalise nearly all rail services in England by 2027 are gathering pace, while on the other, private operators like FirstGroup are pushing the boundaries of open access rail, seeking new routes and service expansions despite regulatory hurdles and capacity constraints. The last week of September 2025 has offered a microcosm of these broader trends, with major announcements, infrastructure upgrades, and ongoing negotiations shaping the future of the UK’s railways.
On September 29, 2025, tube bosses made a significant move to avert another strike on London’s network by offering a three-year pay deal to the transport trade unions. According to the BBC, the proposed agreement includes a 3.4% pay rise in the first year, followed by increases in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) for the subsequent two years. The offer was presented in a meeting with leaders from the RMT, Aslef, Unite, and the TSSA—unions whose members have flexed their industrial muscle earlier in the month. With inflation still a hot topic for most UK households, the RPI linkage is an attempt to address workers’ concerns about the cost of living, while also ensuring some predictability for management and commuters alike.
Meanwhile, the government’s plans to bring more rail services under public control took a decisive step forward. Mark Hopwood, managing director of Great Western Railways (GWR), announced that the operator is expected to return to public ownership within a year, as reported by the BBC. This move is part of a wider government strategy to nationalise nearly all rail services in England by 2027, a policy set to be discussed at Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool. Hopwood’s remarks, made ahead of Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander’s scheduled speech, underscore the scale of the transition underway. GWR, which runs key routes across the south-west of England, Wales, and into London, is one of four operators tipped for imminent nationalisation.
Infrastructure upgrades have also been making headlines. In the Midlands, a key section of the M6 motorway near Birmingham reopened nine and a half hours ahead of schedule after HS2-related works were completed early. As detailed by Birmingham Live, the motorway between junctions 4 and 4a had been closed to allow the installation of a massive 3,400-tonne viaduct. Originally slated to remain shut until 10 p.m. on September 28, the road was back in business by 12:30 p.m., much to the relief of weekend motorists. The early completion is a rare bit of good news for HS2, the high-speed rail project that has faced its share of delays and controversies.
Further north, rail passengers in Huddersfield witnessed a milestone as the first train pulled into the newly rebuilt platforms after 30 days of intensive upgrades. This marks the completion of phase one of the Huddersfield station overhaul, a key component of the wider Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) scheme. The aim, as The Telegraph and Argus reports, is to deliver faster, cleaner, and more reliable rail services across the North of England. James Richardson, managing director for TRU, captured the sentiment of many when he said, “Seeing the first train pull into the new platform this morning was a proud moment for everyone involved.”
While the public sector is busy with nationalisation and infrastructure improvements, the private sector is far from idle. FirstGroup, a major player in the UK’s rail industry, is planning to submit a revised West Coast Main Line (WCML) open access application, aiming to launch new services by the end of the decade. Stuart Jones, Managing Director of First Rail Open Access, told RAIL that he hopes the network can be more ambitious, especially after FirstGroup’s previous Euston-Rochdale Lumo plan was rejected by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) earlier this year due to capacity concerns. The ORR’s main issue was the need to maintain “firebreak” paths—spare capacity slots to ensure overall performance—but Jones argues that by 2028, these may no longer be necessary. “Surely we should be more ambitious and not needing to build firebreaks into the timetable forever more,” he remarked, questioning whether the industry is doing enough to resolve these issues as the decade progresses.
The shadow of HS2 looms large over these plans. The ORR and Network Rail have agreed that, once HS2 trains join the WCML at Handsacre Junction, the baseline will be eight passenger and four freight services per hour. Any additional HS2 services would require the removal of existing ones unless the infrastructure is enhanced. The regulator warned, “For every HS2 service introduced north of Birmingham on the conventional WCML infrastructure, one existing service will have to be removed (without infrastructure enhancements).” Jones, however, remains skeptical about letting HS2’s uncertain timeline stall growth, stating, “There’s no certainty when it will be on the network and interacting with services. There’s a danger of holding back any growth before HS2.”
FirstGroup’s ambitions are not limited to the WCML. On the East Coast Main Line (ECML), the company’s bid for two return services between King’s Cross and Sheffield was rejected in July due to capacity constraints and a not primarily abstractive (NPA) score of 0.19—below the ORR threshold of 0.3. Jones admitted to “frustration” at the lengthy review process but remains hopeful of revisiting the proposal, possibly with new rolling stock and a focus beyond Sheffield, targeting the end of 2028 for any new service launches.
Fleet expansion is also on the horizon. FirstGroup has ordered 14 new Class 80x units, expected to arrive from December 2027, to support both ECML and the new Paddington-Carmarthen Lumo service. In the meantime, the company has managed to extend two Down Lumo services from Edinburgh to Glasgow Queen Street and will add a new Newcastle-London return service from December 2025, though these expansions are constrained by the current fleet of five Class 803 electric multiple units.
Elsewhere, Hull Trains’ bid for an eighth northbound service was approved for December 2025, but the extra southbound journey was rejected. FirstGroup is pushing for that service to be included from May 2026. The company also has applications pending for new services from Paddington to Paignton and Hereford, with decisions expected before the end of the year. Approval is critical, as an additional order for up to 13 new trains hinges on timely decisions to meet production deadlines.
Despite a challenging regulatory environment, FirstGroup remains optimistic. Jones points to the success of Hull Trains and Lumo as proof that open access operations can thrive, even on crowded or unconventional routes. “We still believe we have a big role to play,” he said, noting that Lumo’s early morning 05:48 departure from London was regularly over 60% loaded in August. The company’s willingness to run services at unconventional times and serve under-connected markets is, in their view, a recipe for continued relevance and growth.
The coming years promise to be a defining era for Britain’s railways. With nationalisation, infrastructure upgrades, and determined private sector innovation all unfolding at once, passengers and industry watchers alike will be keeping a close eye on how these competing forces shape the future of rail travel in the UK.
