The first train to be brought back into public ownership under Labour was (metaphorically) derailed today, turning the major moment into a bit of damp squib.
South Western Railway (SWR) officially came under public ownership at around 2am on Sunday morning as part of the government’s promise to create “better services”.
The first service of the day – normally be the 2.27am train from Guildford to Waterloo – was cancelled.
So that meant the pressure was on the 5.36am service from Woking to London Waterloo to mark the historic occasion.
But any jubilation from the occasion quickly evaporated when the journey had to rely on a rail replacement bus service between two stops, Surbiton and Clapham Junction.
It turns out that bank holiday engineering works had overrun meaning the train was no longer able to go down the intended track.
But Keir Starmer seemed to overlook the embarrassment this morning, claiming on social media that his new public ownership scheme was “just the start”.
“After decades of Tory failure, our Plan for Change will put passengers first, as promised. That will mean better services, with simpler ticketing, on more comfortable trains,” the prime minister wrote on X.
The Department for Transport also promoted the “historic” occasion, claiming it “kicks off a reset of the railways to improve performance and boost economic growth as part of the Plan for Change.”
Despite this government spin, many people were quick to complain – including Liberal Democrat MP Monica Harding.
“This is hardly the fresh start my constituents in Esher and Walton were promised,” she wrote on X. “Let’s hope SWR under government control gets better than this!”
Others, of course, wasted no time in finding the hilarity of the situation.
