00:01From next February, West Midlands Trains joins Great British Railways,
00:05the government's new central body, for running the network.
00:09That means that services currently branded as West Midlands Railway
00:12and London North Western will shift from private hands to public control.
00:19But for now, the trains stay the same, so do the time tables.
00:22This isn't a big bang, it's a quiet handover.
00:26Ministers say it's the first step in fixing a system that's been broken for decades.
00:31The existing model where multiple private companies run different parts of the network
00:36has led to delays, confusion and a constant blame game whenever things go wrong.
00:43And with taxpayers already propping the system up to the tune of £12 billion a year,
00:48the logic is simple, if we're already paying for it, we might as well own it.
00:53Supporters say re-nationalisation will streamline the system, save money and make it accountable.
01:00A single public body could reduce duplication, stabilise fares and simplify ticketing.
01:06But critics aren't sold.
01:08They warn this could become just another bloated bureaucracy,
01:11swapping one logo for another without real improvement.
01:15There's no fair cut, no extra investment, no promise of faster journeys or more reliable trains
01:21in the short term.
01:23What's clear is that the change is happening and the entire country's rail system
01:27is set to follow over the next few years.
01:31Whether this is bold reform or just a reshuffle depends on what happens next.
01:36For now, the question isn't who owns the trains, but when they'll start running better.
01:45What happens next?
Comments