Merseyrail trains will be brought back into public control when the current concession ends in 2028.
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority is to take over the transport operation and work will now begin on forming plans ahead of the existing contract ending.
Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said public ownership is “deliverable, achievable and secures the best option for securing strategic control” of the network, while allowing the combined authority to set services to suit communities rather than for profit.
Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool Council and a former railway employee, said: “Merseyrail’s coming home.”
Public ownership of the network would work alongside the move to bring buses back in house which will begin in September.
Since March, work has been taking place to assess legal requirements, financial implications and operating models in partnership with the Department for Transport, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.