The managements of state-owned operator Southeastern and the Kent Route of Network Rail are being combined, and the Department for Transport says it is a ‘significant milestone’ towards Great British Railways, creating ‘clear accountability’ for performance.

The new organisation will be known as South Eastern Railway, and is being led by managing director Steve White.

The change is only partial at this stage. The DfT said the new organisation is a ‘contractual arrangement between Southeastern and Network Rail. No accountabilities are being transferred and each organisation will remain responsible for decision-making for its respective accountabilities. There are no changes to any staff terms and conditions.’

Even so, the change is a step towards restoring a ‘vertically integrated’ railway, which existed in the days of British Rail but was broken up as part of privatisation 30 years ago.

Great British Railways will be running most passenger trains and also take on the infrastructure responsibilties of Network Rail.

GBR currently exists only in shadow form, but a Bill to give GBR legal powers is expected to be introduced in Parliament in the autumn.

Meanwhile, renationalisation of the former franchises is continuing, after South Western Railway returned to state ownership in May. c2c is due to be renationalised on 20 July, with Greater Anglia following on 12 October. The remaining seven private sector operators with DfT contracts are set to follow in 2026 and 2027.

Rail minister Peter Hendy said: ‘Track and train are two sides of the same coin but for too long they have operated independently of each other – leaving customers and taxpayers to bear the consequences of this illogical approach.’

Lord Hendy continued: ‘Uniting track and train leadership in the South East is the first step in our journey to create a railway we can all be proud of; delivering the Government’s Plan for Change with better connectivity, leading to more growth, jobs and homes and ultimately to the creation of Great British Railways.’

South Eastern Railway managing director Steve White said: ‘We know that for our customers what matters most is a railway they can depend on, is reliable and responsive when things go wrong. By joining together track and train under a single leadership team, with accountability for the whole railway instead of different parts we can remove friction, and make better, faster decisions to deliver a better service.’

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