Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the East Midlands Railway will come into public ownership when its contract expires on 18th October 2026.

The Expiry Date of East Midlands Railway’s National Rail Contract (NRC) with the Department is October 2030, with a ‘Core Term Expiry Date’ of October 2026. Under the terms of NRCs, the Secretary of State can give the operator at least three Railway Periods’ notice (usually 12 weeks) to end the contract on a date stipulated by the Secretary of State, provided that the date is no earlier than the Core Term Expiry Date and coincides with the end of a Railway Period.

The Secretary of State has previously announced that Govia Thameslink Railway services will transfer into public ownership on 31 May 2026, and has outlined the intention for Chiltern Railways’ and Great Western Railways’ services to then follow. Expiry notices will be issued to confirm the dates of transfer once a final decision has been taken regarding each operator. Ministers will take decisions on further transfers in due course.

Services currently delivered by private sector operators under contract with the Department will transfer to a public-sector operator as current contracts expire, after they reach their contractual break point or if the contractual right to terminate is met - avoiding the need to pay compensation to the current operators for early termination.