THE test of success for the soon-to-be-renationalised rail operator that transports Devonians to London Paddington will be in its ability to run “efficient and punctual” services, a Devon MP has said.

The government announced on Friday, May 8 that the Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander, activated a contractual right to issue an expiry notice to Great Western Railway, confirming its contract with the Department for Transport (DfT) will end on Sunday, December 13 this year.

At that stage, services will be run by Great British Railways, the publicly owned rail company.

Proponents are optimistic that public ownership will lead to a better service, but one Devon MP said he and others would be watching to see whether that transpires.

“The proof of the rail service will be in the journey,” said Richard Foord, the Liberal Democrat member for Honiton and Sidmouth.

“Public or private, people want trains that are efficient and punctual.

“That will be the test that we Liberal Democrats and other passengers will apply to the nationalised service.”

A DfT spokesperson said the government was “delivering on its commitment to bring services back into public ownership and put passengers, not shareholders, at the heart of our railways”.

GWR was privatised in 1996 as part of the privatisation of British Rail, initially launching as Great Western Trains, before becoming First Great Western in 1988.

FirstGroup has operated the franchise since that time, and rebranded it as GWR in 2015.

A GWR spokesperson said the company would “continue to work closely with the DfT as we move into public ownership”.

“Throughout this process, our priority will be maintaining a punctual, reliable service for customers while continuing to support regional growth and connectivity across our network,” the spokesperson added.