Plans to establish Great British Railways are full steam ahead with public consultation now underway, but what do consumers really think of the Government’s plans to fix the broken franchising model by nationalising private train operators?

New research from Virgin Group - which is one of several operators to apply to run trains as an ‘Open Access’ operator - reveals that most British consumers welcome competition on the railways and think there are benefits to having both nationalised and private operators working alongside each other on the network.

In a survey of 2,000 rail passengers, 70% said they agree that people travelling by train should have the choice over which train operator to travel with and 67% think that passengers would benefit from having more choice of train operators on key routes.

Only a third of consumers (36%) would like to see complete nationalisation of the railways, with half (51%) saying they would like to see a mix of Open Access and nationalisation. This increases to 57% amongst consumers under 35 and 58% of passengers that have used the West Coast Main Line in the last 12 months.

In each case, more than 60% of passengers think that competition on the railways could result in lower ticket prices, more frequent services, more reliable trains and improved customer experience overall.

The findings come amidst ongoing discussions in Westminster over the future of competition on the railways. Last month, the Department for Transport said it welcomed the benefits that Open Access services can provide, including improved connectivity and choice for passengers, but noted that these benefits must outweigh costs to taxpayers and operational impacts. The House of Commons recently held a debate on the future of Open Access services, and the All-Party Parliamentary Rail Group held a session on the importance of an independent regulator of operators’ access to the rail network.

Virgin Group has applied to introduce 40 new services a day on the West Coast Main Line, which would add 13,680 seats for travellers on routes to Birmingham, Liverpool, Preston and Rochdale. These services would run in addition to existing services on the line.

The concept of Open Access train operators is not new – there are several operators already in the UK, which complement the incumbent government-contracted train operators. Unlike franchised operators, Open Access companies take on the full commercial risk of running a service and don’t receive any government payments or subsidies. These operators also pay track access fees and infrastructure charges. On the East Coast Main Line, where there have been Open Access operators for more than 20 years, evidence shows that healthy competition has resulted in more people returning to travelling by train post pandemic than on the West Coast Mainline, with more frequent services and more competitive fares.

Phil Whittingham, Rail Project Lead at Virgin Group, comments: “Virgin’s research shows that consumers value having a choice about who to travel with and see many benefits from there being healthy competition between train operators.

“As we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the modern railway, we have an opportunity to be more ambitious about how train travel serves passengers across Great Britain. Open Access can complement nationalised services, with operators working in conjunction to accelerate growth, inject investment and get more people travelling by train. Open Access services create revenue rather than abstract it, returning routes to profitability by growing the pie, rather than simply taking a slice of it.”

Phil Whittingham adds: “Great care has been taken in developing Virgin’s Open Access application and we are confident that the proposed services will bring value for money for customers and taxpayers alike.”

The Office of Rail and Road is expected to make a decision on May 2024’s Open Access applications later this month.

The survey was conducted in January 2025 using a Dynata panel and capturing views from 2,000 train travellers in Great Britain. Train travellers were defined as having travelled by train in Great Britain “in the past 12 months” (explicitly excluding the London Underground).

For more information please contact: press@virgin.com

About Virgin Group

The Virgin Group is a leading international investment group and one of the world’s most recognised and respected brands. Created in 1970 with the birth of Virgin Records, the Virgin Group has gone on to invest in, incubate, and grow a number of successful businesses in the private and public markets. The Virgin Group has expanded into many sectors since its inception, driven by Sir Richard’s ambition to create the world’s most irresistible brand. These sectors include travel & leisure, financial services, health & wellness, technology & internet-enabled, music & entertainment, media & mobile, space, and renewable energy. Find out more at virgin.com

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