David Horne named integrated chief customer and commercial officer for Britain's railway

LNER managing director David Horne has been appointed Integrated Chief Customer and Commercial Officer, a new industry-wide post spanning Network Rail and Department for Transport Operator (DFTO) ahead of Great British Railways (GBR), Network Rail announced on 21 October.

Horne starts in November and will lead the development and delivery of a single customer and commercial strategy for the railway, working with government, train operators and the freight sector, Network Rail said.

The role is intended to align customer insight and commercial priorities across the network for passengers and freight customers, while supporting efforts to increase revenue. Horne will sit on the executive leadership teams of both DFTO and Network Rail.

Alex Hynes, DFTO chief executive, said: "His focus now turns to putting customers at the heart of a new era for Britain's railway, as we accelerate towards GBR."

Integrated roles across both bodies

The appointment follows that of Molly Neal, who in September 2026 was appointed Integrated Communications Director across DFTO and Network Rail. Network Rail said at the time that it was the first time a single communications function had spanned both organisations. Neal, like Horne, sits on both executive leadership teams.

Network Rail said integrated leadership arrangements, bringing track and train under single leadership, are already being introduced across its routes and the publicly owned operators as the industry establishes GBR.

In Anglia, a unified leadership team brought c2c, Greater Anglia and Network Rail Anglia together in May 2026, with former c2c managing director Rob Mullen as its chief customer and commercial officer. Network Rail said then that the integrated approach would become the industry standard across the network as the government sets up GBR.

Jeremy Westlake, Network Rail chief executive, said: "As we move towards GBR, we have a real opportunity to put passengers and freight customers at the heart of how we run the railway."

Horne's background

Network Rail said Horne joined LNER in 2018 and has played a leading role in bringing the publicly owned operator and Network Rail's East Coast Route closer together. It credited him with improvements to services and the customer experience, including the introduction of the Azuma trains.

Westlake's own remit includes overseeing the amalgamation of Network Rail with GBR. He had been the infrastructure owner's chief financial officer since 2016 before taking the top job.

Hynes took over as DFTO chief executive from Robin Gisby in a handover on 23 December 2025. DFTO is the government body bringing privately owned train operators into public ownership, and legislation to establish GBR was going through Parliament when his appointment was announced in November 2025.

The scale of the railway

DFTO said in March 2026 that more than 8,500 services a day were running through publicly owned operators under its control, with Govia Thameslink Railway due to move into public ownership on 31 May 2026.

Network Rail owns and operates 20,000 miles of track and 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts.

DFTO said in March that its work was paving the way for the creation of GBR in 2027.