John Whitehurst, chief operating officer at Southern’s parent company Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), said: “We’re very pleased to be the first train operator to have a Great British Railways-branded train on our network.
“It’s a significant milestone for everyone at GTR, which reflects our readiness for change and the improvements we’ve already been delivering for customers.
“As we move closer to our transition to public ownership, our priorities remain providing safe and reliable services every day, with customers, colleagues and communities at the heart of everything we do.”
Services run by GTR’s other operators – Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express – will also enter public ownership on 31 May.
They will join West Midlands Trains, Greater Anglia, c2c, Northern, TransPennine Express, Southeastern, LNER and South Western in being managed by DfT Operator Limited.
The public ownership programme is expected to be completed by the end of next year.
