Wales to nationalize rail network hit by Covid effects

Wales will nationalize its struggling railway after reaching agreement on a restructuring with the network’s private operators.

Transport for Wales, which is controlled by Wales’s devolved government, will take over day-to-day services from a joint venture of France’s Keolis and engineering firm Amey Plc, it said in a statement Thursday. A new plan for financing and operations will be finalized in the coming months.

Rail services across Britain are struggling with the mounting financial burden of the coronavirus crisis, which has depleted ridership as health concerns crush demand. The U.K. Department for Transport has granted an 18-month bailout to the bulk of the country’s rail companies, while negotiations are underway with London Mayor Sadiq Khan over a rescue of the city’s subway system.

Those talks have turned acrimonious, with the U.K. government threatening to take control of the network, known as the Tube, and Khan trading accusations of blame with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, his predecessor as mayor.

The Welsh venture’s routes span commuter, rural and regional services, as well as trains to English cities including Birmingham and Manchester.

A managed transition will be completed in February, while the venture, KeolisAmey, will retain some involvement in new train deliveries and matters including ticketing. Keolis is part of French state railway SNCF, while Amey is a division of Spanish infrastructure firm Ferrovial SA.