Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024

Bring passenger rail operators into public ownership as contracts expire.

The bill's long title explicitly states it makes 'provision for passenger railway services to be provided by public sector companies instead of by means of franchises.' This directly addresses the promise's core elements: (1) bringing passenger rail operators into public ownership (by transferring to public sector companies) and (2) replacing the franchise system. The bill has received Royal Assent, meaning it is now law, thus establishing the legal framework required by the metric. While the bill text excerpt does not detail the specific mechanism of 'as contracts expire,' the fundamental promise of establishing public ownership of passenger rail services through enacted legislation is clearly fulfilled.

Labour will bring the railways into public ownership as contracts with existing operators expire or are broken, without paying compensation.

The bill's long title states it will 'make provision for passenger railway services to be provided by public sector companies instead of by means of franchises,' which directly addresses the core element of bringing railways into public ownership. However, the provided bill text does not contain any specific provisions regarding: (1) the timing mechanism of transfer at contract expiry or breach, (2) the explicit prohibition on paying compensation to existing operators, or (3) the process for transition as contracts expire. While the short and long titles indicate the bill's purpose aligns with public ownership of railways, without the substantive provisions visible in the text provided, we cannot confirm that the specific conditions of the promise—transfer at contract expiry and no compensation—are addressed in the bill itself.