West Midlands train operator is coming into public ownership very soon
A rail operator serving the West Midlands public transport system will is coming into public ownership on February 1.
This means that West Midlands Trains which operates West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway will enter nationalisation on that date.
West Midlands Trains, which has run non-express services across the region since 2017 is being taken over by the Department for Transport next month as part of the Government's nationalisation of some railway services.
In a message to registered passengers West Midlands Railway sated: "From February 1 2026, West Midlands Railway will be operated by a new company 'WM Trains Limited' as part of a planned transition into public ownership
"Although the legal operator is changing, you'll continue to see the same West Midlands Railway services, and the same teams running your trains.
"Responsibility for your personal data will transfer from West Midlands Trains Limited to. This is a legal change only - your data will continue to be handled in the same systems, by the same teams, and used for the same purposes. You don't need to take any action now. The updated privacy notice for WM Trains Limited will be published on February 1 2026."
West Midlands Railway which took over the routes from London Midland will now join seven other train operators already in public ownership followed by Govia Thameslink Railway, which operates Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express services on Sunday May 31.
It is due to open new stations including in Willenhall and Darlaston this year as part of Walsall's regeneration project.
The company has pumped £1 billion investment in two new train fleets and the company led the successful public transport operation during the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. More than 100 new trains have been introduced since it took over the network, which stretches from Liverpool to London.
Those already in public ownership include Northern, South Western Railway, Greater Anglia , LNER, C2C, Scotrail, Caledonian Sleeper, and TransPennine Express.
