TRAIN operator Great Western Railway (GWR) will return to public ownership ‘in about a year's time’, the firm’s managing director has said.

Mark Hopwood made the announcement ahead of Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander's speech at Labour's annual conference, which got underway on September 28.

GWR runs trains across the South West of England, as well as Wales and services to London.

It is one of four operators expected to be named in the government's plan to nationalise the lions share of rail services in England by 2027.

The nationalisation process falls under the Rail Public Ownership Bill - the first major piece of legislation Labour passed since coming to power in 2024 - which allows ministers to take operators back into public control as their contracts expire.

The process began in 2025 and is expected to draw to a close in 2027.

The Department for Transport has said that the legislation to establish Great British Railways, the organisation that will take over responsibility for railway operations, will be introduced this year.