A Public Future for Scotland’s Railways
28th November 2017 | Evidence
As part of the campaign for the Public Ownership of Scotland’s Railway, this report by our friends at Common Weal & TSSA highlights the failures of ScotRail’s private train operator Abellio and the opportunities for passengers for taking it back into public ownership.
A Better Railway for Britain: A Report by Bring Back British Rail
1st October 2016 | Evidence
Bring Back British Rail’s first report A Better Railway for Britain: Re-unifying our railways under public ownership was launched in the Houses of Parliament in London on 13 October 2016.
Print copies are available to order in advance for just £5 (including free delivery in the UK), with all proceeds supporting campaign materials and activities.
The Four Big Myths of Rail Privatisation
1st June 2015 | Evidence / News
Read this report from our friends at Action for Rail! It’s all the evidence you need that rail privatisation has failed to deliver what they promised it would in the ’90s:
• reduction in government subsidies (we now subsidise rail by nearly three times more than we did as British Rail)
• cheaper tickets (rail fares have risen by 24% in real terms since privatisation)
• innovation and investment (90% of the investment in the railways has come from public money)
Rail Privatisation: A Timeline of Failures
1st April 2015 | Evidence / News
A special edited and updated version of Rail Privatisation: A Timeline of Failures (below) – based on the design of British Rail’s 1979 ‘Go Direct by Inter-City‘ poster – features in A Better Railway for Britain: Bring Back British Rail’s first report, launched in October 2016.
—
Today marks 21 years since the enactment of the Railways Act (1993), on 1 April 1994, which unleashed rail privatisation on the poor unfortunate public. Since then, Britain’s privatised railways have been beset by a series of failures, scandals and fatal crashes, each at great expense to taxpayers.
19 September 1997 – A collision between two trains at Southall kills seven people and injures 139. A passenger train running at high speed with defective Automatic Warning System equipment, a fundamentally important safety system, passed a signal at ‘danger’ and collided with a freight train crossing its path. Great Western Trains was fined £1.5 million for violations of health and safety law relating to this accident.
1 December 1998 – A report by the National Audit Office into the flotation of the national railway infrastructure company, Railtrack, found that taxpayers lost £1.5 billion because of the government’s decision to ignore the Public Accounts Committee’s recommendation to sell its shares in stages, opting instead to sell them all at once.
5 October 1999 – A near head-on collision between two passenger trains at Ladbroke Grove, outside London Paddington station, kills 31 people and injures more than 52. A signal with a bad safety record was passed at ‘danger’. A poor standard of driver training by Thames Trains was cited as a major contributory factor.
17 October 2000 – A train running at high speed derails at Hatfield when a rail affected by rolling contact fatigue fractures under its wheels. Four passengers were killed and 70 were injured. The crash exposed the major stewardship shortcomings of the privatised Railtrack plc and the failings of the regulatory oversight of the company (principally, failure to ensure that it had a good knowledge of the condition of its assets) which ultimately triggered its partial renationalisation. Following the crash, Railtrack imposed more than 1,200 emergency speed restrictions across its network, since it did not have the knowledge to predict where rolling contact fatigue might hit next.
24 October 2000 – Connex loses its South Central franchise after a decision by the Strategic Rail Authority to re-let the franchise following criticism of Connex’s poor customer service and poor financial management.
7 October 2001 – In the face of severe financial difficulties, Railtrack plc is placed into railway administration by the Labour government’s Transport Secretary, Stephen Byers. This leads to an explosion of costs and a severe drop in performance. Railtrack was subsequently replaced by Network Rail.
10 May 2002 – A train derails at Potters Bar, killing seven people and injuring 76. A poorly maintained set of points was to blame, the maintenance of which was the responsibility of the private sector railway maintenance contractor Jarvis (who had tried to blame the accident on ‘sabotage’). Eight years later, Jarvis and Network Rail (having taken on Railtrack’s liabilities) were both charged under the Health and Safety at Work Act. Network Rail subsequently took track maintenance back in-house.
27 June 2003 – The Connex South Eastern franchise is terminated by the Strategic Rail Authority, citing the company’s poor performance and financial management.
15 December 2006 – GNER is stripped of its East Coast franchise by the Department for Transport, having fallen into financial difficulties and unable to meet the terms of its franchise.
13 November 2009 – National Express gives up the East Coast franchise (which it had taken over from GNER) owing to financial difficulties, having accumulated more than £1 billion of debt. The failure of this franchise deprived the Department for Transport of between £330 million and £380 million of revenue.
15 August 2012 – The Department for Transport announces FirstGroup plc as the winner of the InterCity West Coast franchise, prompting the incumbent franchise holder, Virgin, to seek a judicial review of the franchise decision.
3 October 2012 – The government announces the cancellation of the InterCity West Coast franchise competition after finding significant technical flaws in the bidding process, rescinding its decision to award the franchise to FirstGroup. The Public Accounts Committee found that civil servants had made “fundamental errors” in the way that the risks for each bid had been calculated, leading to the default surety required of bidders being too low. The government reimbursed the four bidders for all costs incurred; this amounted to £39.7 million, with a further £4.9 million paid to FirstGroup as reimbursement of their mobilisation costs. In the ensuing shambles, numerous incumbent franchise holders were directly awarded extensions to their franchises instead of opening them up to tender. So much for competition!
17 December 2014 – A report from the Public Accounts Committee is severely critical of the Department for Transport’s inept handling of the procurement of new trains for the Intercity Express Programme and Thameslink. The DfT had chosen to break away from previous procurement arrangements and carry out the procurement by itself, despite having no previous experience in this area.
3 April 2015 – The private train operator West Coast Railways has its operator’s licence suspended by Network Rail amid concerns over the company’s ability to perform its safety obligations. This action followed an incident on 7 March 2015, when a steam-hauled train operated by West Coast Railways passed a signal at ‘danger’ after the driver had switched off vital train protection systems, narrowly avoiding a collision with a passenger train running at 100 mph.
Is it anyone wonder we’re all shouting Bring Back British Rail?
Spread the word! Link to this post using www.bringbackbritishrail.org/timeline and read more compelling evidence for Public Ownership here: www.bringbackbritishrail.org/evidence
Towards Public Ownership
31st March 2015 | Evidence / News
This TUC Report summarises research by Transport for Quality of Life, to show the high costs of running rail franchise “competitions” – estimated at £45million for every single one!
Given that there are 11 of these unnecessary “competitions” scheduled to take place before the next parliament ends in 2020, the Report shows how much we could save by then if we chose to run these franchises under a single publicly-owned railway company instead. It’s more than £600million!
The Arguments for Public Ownership are Overwhelming
1st January 2015 | Evidence / News
There are so many reasons why privatised rail is failing us and the environment. Check out this brilliant leaflet, supported by Bring Back British Rail, which will be handed out at the nationwide Protests for Public Ownership on Monday 5 January 2015.
All on Board
30th May 2014 | Evidence / News
Our friends at Compass have today launched their All on Board report detailing a vision for a publicly owned railway that is efficient, affordable and good for the planet.
Echoing what Bring Back British Rail has being saying for the last five years, the All on Board report demands a publicly owned railway “that constantly improves, innovates and responds to passenger needs, because it is accountable to all of us.”
The Great Train Robbery
7th June 2013 | Evidence / News
Today sees the launch of The Great Train Robbery – a new report by the Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change (CRESC) about the failings of rail privatisation in the UK.
It rightly describes the privatised rail system as “a serial shambles creating artificial profits for the franchise holders and hidden costs for the public.”
Together with the 2012 Rebuilding Rail report by Transport for Quality of Life, this provides yet more strong evidence for the Bring Back British Rail campaign that we need a re-unified national rail network run for people not profit.
The New Home Front II
3rd September 2012 | Evidence / News
Bring Back British Rail founder Ellie Harrison was invited to write a text on the public ownership of our railways for the Green Party’s The New Home Front II, which aims to look to the post-war period for lessons on how to tackle climate change now. Read the full text below.
Bring Back British Rail
It is essential to remind ourselves that transportation is not just a question of how an individual gets from A to B. It is a social question; an ethical question. For an outstanding public transport system (based on a fully integrated train, tram and bus network) offers the potential to help solve many of the problems we face – from climate change, to inequality and social unrest. Not only could it prove vital in reducing C02 emissions by supplanting many of the individual journeys made by car and plane, but it could also improve the living environment in our cities, offer us better air quality and assist with social cohesion, as people from all walks of life become accustomed to travelling together.
There is no better place to look for this reminder than post war Britain. It’s no coincidence that British Railways was inaugurated in 1948, the same year as our National Heath Service. Both were part of the Labour government’s revolution inspired and supported by the real sense of community engendered by the war effort, to ensure that government had control over the infrastructure it needed to provide the essential services that we all need to live happily and well (health care, transport, communications and fuel).
These huge initiatives were driven by a desire for moral success and progress, rather than financial. On opening the NHS, Nye Bevan declared that it made us ‘the moral leaders of the world’. Even in this stricken, bankrupt war torn country there was a clear future vision. The founding statement of our new publicly owned rail service proclaiming “Plans for modernisation and improvements are ready and are being carried into effect as materials become available. Difficulties will be overcome; the plan is to make British Railways the best in the world.”
Prior to British Railways, our trains were run by lots of privately owned companies. Although these had been responsible for building the foundations of the system as a means of facilitating the Industrial Revolution, they had left our country with a railway network that suffered from uneven regional investment and lacked an overall cohesive structure or long-term plan for development. This core public service had been left to the whim of private interest. And yet, since the misguided and opportunistic privatisation of our railways in 1993, we have allowed ourselves to retreat on the moral ambition of our ancestors and have been left with an expensive and dysfunctional public transport system as a result.
Think of the frustrations you have experienced buying tickets and travelling on our trains today and dare to imagine a radical policy – the creation of a fully integrated public transport system spanning the nation, run by proud employees as a service for the people. Imagine knowing that you could walk up and buy a ticket to go anywhere in the country at a fair price. Imagine a universal and comprehensive ‘National Rail Service’, providing the basic human need to travel to work and for leisure. How much less stressful would this be? How many more journeys would you choose to make by train?
The two commonly cited hurdles – public support for the idea and cost – are not in fact hurdles at all. The popularity of the Bring Back British Rail campaign (and others like it) shows that there is widespread dissatisfaction with the present system and a massive desire for a radical rethink of the way our railways are run. And there is clear evidence (in the recent Rebuilding Rail report and other influential / critical studies) that renationalising the system – removing the inefficiency and added bureaucracy caused by dividing it up into so many competing ‘franchises’, not to mention the private profits continually being leaked out – would actually save us billions each year. The only real challenge is convincing those in power that there are some things in life – some basic public services – which should remain ring fenced from the profiteers. We need to popularise the notion of nationalisation, so that it no longer a dirty word but rather plain common sense. Because this is the only way we can be sure that we – the people – have the control necessary to build that outstanding public transport system, which will make all our lives better in the future.
Ellie Harrison
Founder, Bring Back British Rail
www.bringbackbritishrail.org
www.facebook.com/bringbackbritishrail
Rebuilding Rail
2nd July 2012 | Evidence / News
Today sees the launch for the Rebuilding Rail report by Transport for Quality of Life.
The report highlights the “fragmentation and leakage of public money that characterise the UK’s privatised railways”, and lays out the all important realistic blueprint of how we could go about bringing them back into public ownership.
This is a brilliant key piece of evidence for the Bring Back British Rail campaign, clearly demonstrating the need for a re-unified national rail network run for people not profit.
Bring Back British Rail
1 week ago
Keith Williams' Rail Review is due to be published this autumn. Will it recommend we Bring Back British Rail? ...
UK rail industry reaches key political junction
Overcrowded trains, especially when strikes add to disruption, are a common complaint by those who must use British railroadsShare on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email
Comment on Facebook
i hope so.
Well we live in hope, I despair at the state of our railways since privatisation..........
And...Electric/Gas/Post Office/Pilot training for the RAF/Water/buses...in fact everything that has gone to private companies. However...we need proper and knowledgeable managers to run them...NOT POLITICIANS!
I WISH .....
The way we are going it will probably recommend bringing back rationing.
Keith William's was a appointed stooge, with the whole point of the review being done for the prime purpose of stopping calls for re-nationalisation and thus 'Bring back British Rail' calls. It could not have been anything else whilst it was commissioned under the Tory's and during Greyling's watch. It will not be worth the paper that it is written on, leave alone the cost of producing a piece of rubbish!
We already know it's not going to recommend renationalisation. It's just another Beeching report.
One finding will be the urgent need to replace ageing rolling stock with new kit we just don't have
Not a chance. They wouldn’t have commissioned it if there was even a chance of it.
NO it won't BUT we wish it would!!!!
I wonder what the average age of UK trains are
Sadly not.
Fares rising by as much as 2.8% while our railways suffer further in the hands of politics since John Major's White Paper was imposed.
Don't think it will bring British Rail back. Look more likely more money and more maintenance for many years. As long as the Tories stay in power, privatsation likely to continue.
No unfortunately ☹️
Should do privatisation has failed well done Mr major even Maggie wouldn't touch it
Even if it did why on earth do you think they would listen. Post an example of where the right wing Conservative party have listened!
Just because an industry is nationalised does not mean that it has to be run by politicians.
It will if it's not 'stymied' by political interference!
No
No
No.
No. It will say what the Tory government told him to say.
Of course not. Williams is another ten-a-penny private business idiot consultant whose primary interest is financial... "how can I squeeze every drop of blood from this stone?".
View more comments
Bring Back British Rail
2 weeks ago
Two thirds of people in Scotland want ScotRail nationalised says a new YouGov poll. The Scottish Government were awarded powers for public ownership in the Scotland Act 2016. Why are they not using them? ...
Two thirds want state to take over ‘shambolic’ ScotRail
A significant majority of people in Scotland want to nationalise ScotRail, with persistent complaints of delays, cancellations and overcrowding, a poll for The Times has suggested. The YouGov...Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email
Comment on Facebook
Here is a bridge in Brum, an absolute disgrace - I remember in the days of BR these were superbly maintained. Ok it supposed to be back in 'our hands' being Network rail, but clearly not as good a set up as the BR days.
You need to think on a very high Political level here. Scotland wants independence and to remain in the EU. If Abellio are shafted by the Scottish Government, it is not only an attack on Dutch State Railway but also on the Dutch Government. If the Dutch Government get upset, they are in a powerful position to veto any attempt by Scotland to remain in the EU. The Scottish Government need to act carefully and with caution.
Just think of the cost of the Forth Bridge maintenance alone !! , or do they want to do it half measures only and still have Network Rail look after the infrastructure?
Shambolic has been used quite a bit in various subjects these days. But using it in the same sentence as "ScotRail" is no surprise.
Isn't it already owned by the Dutch government??
We should re nationalise all utilities!
Re nationalise without compensation!
That could be the problem
Give the SNP a break they are very busy at the moment taking advantage of the brexit situation for independence to worry about such mundane things as Scotrail.
If it is...That will upset the Scottish witch Sturgeon and independence drive! 🤣
Only 2/3rds?
It has to pass The SNP policy test. Will it promote independence? Will it have a knock on effect to any other policy that promotes independence? Unless the answers are Yes then No then it won’t happen
Is that independent Scotland ,or do they want England to pay for it ?
Independence Rail ! Run by Nicola Crankie and the rest of her cabinet....
Aye cause it worked out perfectly fine when it was public owned before
Sam Hayward
Craig Hildersley
Why? Twice as many trains running now.
The SNP are fake Socialists Like Blair their promise to renationalise public services was a lie If it wasn't, like the poster said, why haven't they done it?
Same in Wales. But ''Welsh'' Labour are Thatcherites.
View more comments
Bring Back British Rail shared a post.
3 weeks ago
More great detective work from our friends at the Association of British Commuters. Private train companies will do anything to protect their own interests... ...
Three consumer rights issues every rail passenger needs to know about - Association of British Commuters
Last week, we learned that the Rail Delivery Group failed to communicate changes to penalty fares legislation to train operating companies, leading to the overcharging of up to 10,000 passengers. The overcharging follows a similar scandal revealed in 2018, when the Rail Delivery Group failed to upda...Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email
Comment on Facebook
Bring Back British Rail shared a post.
1 month ago
End the Rail Rip-Off! protests are taking place at stations across Britain today against rail fare increases of 2.8% from January 2020. As the Department for Transport announce First Group are to take over the West Coast rail franchise from London to Glasgow from December, join us at 5pm at Glasgow Central Station for a Protest for public ownership of rail! 🚆Just in: Passengers are to be hit by a 2.8% rail fare increase.
We've just been outside Kings Cross to say loud and clear that the public have had enough of the rip off. We need Keith Williams, head of the government's rail review to recommend public ownership now! ...
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email
Comment on Facebook
www.theguardian.com/business/2019/aug/14/firstgroup-consortium-to-replace-virgin-on-west-coast-ma...
How can adding 2.8% too fares be fair. When Transport for Wales services are even worse than when Arriva Trains Wales ran the service with cancellations galore, dirty and in kept rolling stock.
Be good to see some collated benefits vs year on year fares increase "reasons given" for say the last 10 years. I also believe theres much jam tomorrow schpiel wheeled out by each subsequent "head of communications" of these money grabbing companies. Soon we will all be working just to a) keep the roof over our heads and b) paying to get to work to cover a). This country is going backwards. Cut cut cut in services (not just railways) but increase increase increase on prices.....
Keith should definitely be under public ownership. It’s clear Bring back steam, slam door carriages and strikes. The good old days
The other side of this is that the Government needs to explain why fuel duty has not risen in line with RPI for the last 7 years. This represents a significant subsidy to the motorists. And, indeed, does the Government have any strategic transport policy?
Railways are for public transport not for private profit.
benefits either frozen or up only by CPI, fares up by RPI. A national scandal
A video I took on Friday of last week This is not acceptable
As I am very unwell.
Is the chao called Beeching still around to help?
Who is Keith?
everybody should publicly own keith.
Sorry I couldn't make it yesterday.
🤬
Yes
Sam Hayward
Keith?
Utterly ridiculous, I'm from Rotherham South Yorkshire and a disabled manual wheelchair traveller here is what BBC ceefax say's in my area. Northern has admitted that some of it's heavily - criticised Pacer trains will be used in South Yorkshire next year, despite a pledge to remove them. The rail firm began rolling out it's new trains in June, saying it would take all Pacers out of use by 2020. It later said some of the trains - which no longer comply with disability access rules - would be around for longer. A spokesman confirmed " a small number would be used in South Yorkshire" So according to the head of the railway system has said, as he said after this year's ticket price hike, it will mean more public and private money generated from the price rise will be invested in better trains, less delays, less crowded trains and less cancellations, how come year on year ticket price increases have, from my experience, had little, if any, effect on all the above issues and further as a Northern Rail disabled user if Pacer trains no longer comply with disability access rules surely using Pacer trains where tickets and Passenger Assistance has been booked for a disabled person like me is breaking disability access rules and therefore disabled passengers should have a right to take Northern Rail to Court where their scheduled journey is on a Pacer train. I have booked, in advance, to travel from Rotherham Central to Sheffield this Friday and I have absolutely no doubt that it will be a Pacer train when I am at Rotherham Central and when I return from Sheffield to Rotherham Central I will upload pictures of the trains that turn up. This price hike like all the past price hikes has little to do with improving the trains and all the continuous over crowded, late and indeed cancelled trains more I firmly believe it is in the interests of shareholders.
you don't own nothing all sold off by the tories to foreign governments
View more comments
Bring Back British Rail shared a photo.
1 month ago
Today our new Transport Secretary Grant Shapps MP cancelled the Southeastern rail franchise competition, which had been open to tenders since November 2017. What a waste of time and money. It's time to End the Farce of Franchising altogether and Bring Back British Rail! Join us at bringbackbritishrail.orgEND THE FARCE OF FRANCHISING
Print your own Bring Back British Rail placard!
bringbackbritishrail.org/materials/placard-black.pdf ...
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email
Comment on Facebook
Read the story here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49262115
I worked for BR and saftey and time keeping along with customer care were paramount. Best of training, working conditions and a general rule that the service MUST work. This is a shite system now.
I cant see it. Would love it if we went back to excursions and reliefs and diversions with an end to the rail replacement bus but imagine the legal costs involved in paying off all the existing moneygrabbing shareholders.
All public services should be renationalised! Public transport, water, gas, electricity! 😤
But it will never be the same. BR was all about safety safety and safety. Not PPM profits and money. Bringing back BR. Has to include standard raising instead of lower and lower. Job for the boy's and if you do anything for the money.
"It will also allow the government to ensure that the recommendations of the review being conducted by the former boss of British Airways, Keith Williams, in to the railways, are taken into account. Williams Review will be published in the autumn but he has previously told the BBC government involvement should be limited to overall policy and budget decisions, and the Department for Transport should not manage the system." Here we have another outsider, like Beeching was, telling us how the railways should be run.
End of the day those of us that worked under BR and who can be objective about the past openly admit it wasn't perfect. There were many areas that could gave been improved but generally it was a damned sight better overall than the shite were forced to work with now.
As Eric Morecambe said, i am playing the right notes but no necessarily in the right order. So it was with british rail they ran the trains but not necessarily when the table said. So the only difference is that now a private company makes a profit for the failures, so bring it back into public ownership.
There was such pride in working on the railways.
Football specials and BR sandwiches and Jimmy Saville? No thanks!
Southern Fail even got its charter renewed and the fares go even higher. No wonder they have separated themselves from inter-rail - Naples to Rome return for £20 which won't even get you the 60 odd miles to London ....
Every other (successful) railway in the world is just one big integrated company that does the whole lot. That's what we had with BR and by and large....it worked and it's only problem was that it was starved of investment by ideological politicians.
Not to mention the complexity of our rail network/ pricing almost certainly had a hand in shafting our participation in Interrail. Every other European rail network can apparently handle it, but we’re special (and not in a good way). FFS!
Grant Shapps-what on earth does he know about transport? Answers on a post card.
If renationalisation is illegal, as some here say, then how come the Scottish government have just nationalised the Ferguson shipyard in Port Glasgow??
Currently travelling behind 60163 Tornado in original British Railways livery, en route from Edinburgh to Aberdeen :-)
I say yes to BRS
Absolutely, save a lot of money on legal/consultation nonsense to prevent the same franchise wheel with a few tinges of improvement or removing improvements of the past...
Franchises are a waste of time and money. May we see the return of NSE.
I hate rail privatisation, but who honestly believes anyone in this country could run a national rail network? We don't know how to build a nuclear power station (Hinckley Point) so we farmed it out to the French. Why not invite them (SNCF) to run the railway network? Or the Dutch, who already run parts of it. Or the Germans...and so on.
Be interesting to know whether this has anything to do with the pensions saga (see Stagecoach bid being thrown out). Cynic in me suspects DTp have something to hide.
All very nice but people want to wake up to the fact that this useless lump of rock in the north sea will never have another state owned rail system.
Nationalise industry and the banks...take 'em back from the cronies they were sold off to in various fire sales!
To be fair to Southeastern a little, atleast their not cutting and running like Stagecoach are especially on East Midlands trains where they've been running it into the ground before exiting.
Of course if we remain in the EU this site will be irrelevant
View more comments