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Govia Thameslink Railway NRC
Govia (Go-Ahead and Keolis)
The Labour Government elected on 4 July 2024 announced that all National Rail Contracts would be terminated and run by the Department for Transport’s Operator of Last Resort (now DfT Operator Limited) until Great British Railways could take over.
Each contract would be terminated when it expired or at the first available break point (which may be the ‘core expiry date’), and possibly sooner in the event of a breach of contract by the operator.
The termination date of this operator’s contract is 31 May 2026.
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Govia Thameslink Railway NRC
National Rail Contract
replaced
< Govia Thameslink Railway
to be replaced by
(Great British Railways) >
start date
24 March 2022
end date
31 May 2026
owned by
Govia (Go-Ahead and Keolis)
legal title
Govia Thameslink Railway Ltd
description
This National Rail Contract replaced the original 2014 Govia Thameslink Railway franchise, and its final expiry date was to have been 1 April 2028, unless extended. The core expiry date is 1 April 2025.
Govia Thameslink Railway operates as four routes: Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink.
The government confirmed on 4 December 2024 that it expected to terminate this contract at a future date after April 2025, when it would return to public ownership after the operator had been given notice of not less than twelve weeks.
The Department for Transport announced on 26 September 2025 that the Govia Thameslink Railway contract would end on 31 May 2026.
service area
Commuter and outer suburban services. Bedford-St Pancras International-Gatwick Airport-Brighton, London King's Cross-Hertford North-Stevenage/Peterborough/Cambridge-King's Lynn, Luton-St Pancras International-Wimbledon/Sutton, plus some journeys operated jointly with Southeastern between Bedford/Luton/Kentish Town and Sevenoaks/Ashford. Also commuter, regional and local services between London Victoria/East Croydon, Gatwick Airport and Brighton, local and regional Sussex Coast services to Eastbourne, Ashford, Seaford, Littlehampton, Bognor Regis, Portsmouth Harbour and Southampton Central, plus inner south London Metro routes and South Croydon-Clapham Junction-Watford Junction-Milton Keynes Central.
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