From today (25 May 2025), the operation of all South Western Railway services has transferred into public ownership and is being managed by DfT Operator Ltd (DFTO).
The transfer does not impact planned journeys, tickets or timetables and all current tickets remain valid.
DFTO is the government’s public sector owning group that will manage all train companies as they move into public ownership ahead of the creation of Great British Railways (GBR).
Publicly owned operators under DFTO are now responsible for over 25% of the network - with more than 455 million passenger miles, over 6,000 services running each day and almost 24,000 colleagues.
The government’s vision is to provide a railway that works better for both passengers and taxpayers across Great Britain. DFTO’s purpose is to help deliver on this by unifying and integrating train operations under common public ownership.
See this Department for Transport press release for more information.