West Midlands Trains to come under new ownership

It comes after Abellio UK and Holland's Nederlandse Spoorwegen announced a management buyout.

A new UK-run transport company will operate four of the country’s rail passenger services and more than 50 London bus routes.

The new company, Transport UK Group, will take over all of Abellio UK’s existing services, serving millions of rail and bus passengers in the Midlands, London, Liverpool and East Anglia.

It will be led by managing director Dominic Booth, who has decades of experience running public transport services in the UK.

Completion of the buyout deal is subject to formal approval from partners including the Department for Transport, Transport for London and Merseytravel as well as regulatory consent from the Office for Rail and Road.

After 20 years in the UK, Nederlandse Spoorwegen has decided to withdraw from the UK market to focus on domestic service provision within, and international railway services to and from, the Netherlands.

Mr Booth said: “I’ve been a railwayman all my life. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to return key public transport services back into UK ownership at a time when some of our competitors look destined for overseas ownership. We expect the business to transfer by the end of the year, following which we will focus all our energies and expertise on continuing to deliver the best possible services for our passengers, investing in our train and bus routes, and helping to develop a future ready, low emission UK transport network.

“Our wish to buy the company from Nederlandse Spoorwegen demonstrates our confidence in the existing Abellio UK team, both in our head office and on the ground. It’s the dedication of our 15,000 employees, together with a continuity of management, that will ensure our new company is a great success.

“We are grateful for the support and backing that we have received from Nederlandse Spoorwegen to date, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with them to manage this process to a successful conclusion.”

Bert Groenewegen, acting chief executive of Nederlandse Spoorwegen, which will continue to support the new company during a transition period, said: “After a successful 20 years in the UK passenger transport market, NS is proud to support this natural next step for Abellio UK as it transitions with our blessing into a new management-owned passenger transport group.”

Abellio UK is responsible for running rail passenger services in the West Midlands, East Midlands, Greater Anglia and Merseyrail.

Mr Booth added: “This deal will put us in a strong position to continue the smooth operating of our current routes as well as giving us the capability to grow the business and bid for new franchises in the future. Beyond that, we are, and will continue to be, thought leaders in our sector determined to play a long-term and vital role in future of UK transport.”

West Midlands Trains took over the regional franchise from London Midland in December 2017.