Reports: Welsh government set to “nationalise” railways after bailout talks with the current operator fail

Transport for Wales will take direct control of travel on the country’s 900 miles of railway, replacing a joint venture that includes French-owned firm Keolis, after passenger numbers plunged as a result of coronavirus.

The telegraph report states: “Trains in Wales have been run since May 2018 by a joint venture between Keolis, a subsidiary of France’s SNCF, and engineering contractor Amey.

While the pair will continue to be responsible for tracks and other rail infrastructure, control of services will be handed back to the state.”

Wales’s “Operator of Last Resort” was hastily renamed “Transport for Wales Ltd” last week in anticipation of Welsh government officials stepping in.

Professor Stuart Cole Professor of Transport at the University of South Wales told BBC Radio Wales: “It’s not quite nationalisation as the Telegraph excitedly puts it.”

“It’s the transfer of the operations of trains and stations to a new company owned by Transport for Wales, that’s the option, it looks like the Welsh government will be going for.”

“It would fit into the Welsh government overall future ideas for the railway.”

The Welsh government tweeted on Wednesday evening:

Tomorrow, there will be an announcement from the Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales @KenSkatesMS on a series of measures to protect services for rail passengers, maintain jobs, and keep momentum on the Metro project, in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. pic.twitter.com/qYRV9LjFbv

— Welsh Government (@WelshGovernment) October 21, 2020