Written question asked by Richard Holden (Conservative) on Wednesday, 10 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 15 June 2026 (named day). It was answered by Keir Mather (Labour) on Monday, 15 June 2026 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Railways: Nationalisation

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the annual net cost to the public purse of operating passenger rail services under public ownership inclusive of inherited operational liabilities and the annual allocation to the British Transport Police.

Answer: For 2026-27, for the 8 Train Operating Companies that were publicly owned at 31/3/26, the contracted annual net subsidy was for £1.5bn. This includes their collective contribution to the British Transport Police for 2026-27 of £71m. Since the start of the COVID pandemic, the costs of operating franchised passenger services have been borne by taxpayers, not by private sector train operators. This includes the costs of each operator’s Police Service Agreement with the British Transport Police Authority.

Secondary information