A late change to the Railways Bill means that Great British Railways will not be subjected to casual or informal privatisation.
The government says the amendment will make it impossible to change the status of GBR by simply reintroducing the private sector, because such a change would need a full Act of Parliament.
However, it pointed out that GBR would still be able to attract private investment or work in collaboration with privately-owned companies.
It is expected that GBR will be established in the second half of next year, as the programme of renationalising the former franchises continues.
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said: ‘For too long, decisions on our railways were made for private profit. This Government made a promise to change that, to build a railway run for the public good not private gain.
‘Today we strengthened that promise, futureproofing Great British Railways to ensure it will always be in public hands.
‘GBR will be run by industry experts and publicly owned – open to private investment with the flexibility to grow, but its founding purpose will always be the same: to serve passengers, not shareholders. Today takes us one step closer to delivering this lasting change and a railway this country deserves.’
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