Hundreds of civil servants from the Department for Transport (DfT) are being transferred to the state-owned rail operator, DfT Operator Limited (DfTO), as part of government efforts to cut Whitehall posts and overhaul the railways. The move comes amid a push to find savings across the civil service, though a government spokesperson denied there would be immediate redundancies.
Industry sources, however, believe jobs will eventually be cut as employees consider their future outside the civil service and the government seeks to reduce duplication in a nationalised railway. A formal consultation process is underway that could see 300 employees moved out over the course of this year, many to offices in London Waterloo, as DfTO takes more train operators under its control.
The Essex commuter service C2C was brought into public hands a week ago, following the first planned nationalisation of South Western services in May. Under government plans, all remaining passenger services will be renationalised and run by Great British Railways (GBR), which will also incorporate Network Rail functions to integrate track and trains.
A DfT spokesperson stated: “There will be no redundancies as a result of these moves into DfTO. The 200-300 DfT staff involved will transfer to DfTO, bringing their work, skills and expertise closer to the frontline of a publicly owned railway.” Meanwhile, DfTO chief executive Robin Gisby will step down in December, and sources indicated GBR may not be operational until 2028.
