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The Today Programme debate

27th August 2016 | Media Coverage / News

Bring Back British Rail’s Ellie Harrison debates rail re-nationalisation with Pete Waterman on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

The Huffington Post report on the debate here >

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Your Views

  • Passengers shouldn’t have to pay more than ever for a system that’s getting *worse* than ever – that just doesn’t make any sense. Private railways aren’t working.

    Charlie McIlwain, Roundhay, Leeds

  • I think this is such a good cause. I get the train almost every day to Leeds to get to college and every day I pay 12 pounds for a return ticket. These prices aren’ t OK.

    Travis Speight, Doncaster

  • Monthly travel prices are not value for money.

    Kathrine Barlow, London

  • The country needs this again. The railways are in an awful way. The current political class has an obsession with outsourcing. It doesn’t work. The state needs to intervene.

    Scott Moore, Walton-on-Thames

  • As a rail engineer, I’m proud of what Network Rail has achieved. Let’s stop giving money away to shareholders and spend it on what matters – trains and tracks.

    Jenny Cooke, York

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Bring Back British Rail
1 week ago

This week the Railways Bill, which will establish our new publicly-owned #GreatBritishRailways, enters Committee Stage at the UK Parliament 🚆 The fight is now on to ensure the Bill actually creates a fully-integrated railway that is run in the public interest ✊ Read more 👇 @top fans We Own It
bringbackbritishrail.org/2026/01/railways-bill-committee ... See MoreSee Less

This week the Railwa
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Bring Back British Rail
1 month ago

It's that time of year again... Fancy some Bring Back British Rail campaign merch? 🚉 Order by the end of Tuesday 16 Dec 2025 to receive in time for Christmas🎄👇
🛒 bringbackbritishrail.org/support
All proceeds help support our volunteer-run campaign 😊 ... See MoreSee Less

Its that time of yea
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Bring Back British Rail
3 months ago

We'll never get a simplified unified railway if private Open Access operators are allowed to continue running their own services & selling their own tickets🚆 The frustration of only being able to use specific tickets on specific trains will persist 😤 Heidi Alexander must #ScrapOpenAccess now! ... See MoreSee Less

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Bring Back British Rail
4 months ago

Today we celebrate Greater Anglia coming back into public ownership 🥳 We'll be keeping our Privatisation Departures Board updated as the next dates are announced:
⏱️ bringbackbritishrail.org/departures
But the real fight to make Great British Railways a success begins with the #RailwaysBill later this year 🚆 Watch this space We Own It @top fans ... See MoreSee Less

Today we celebrate G
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    We are the collective voice of disgruntled rail passengers and disheartened train employees, demanding a re-unified national rail network run for people not profit.

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    Our Supporters

    • Taking our railways back from private profiteers will mean better services, fairer rail fares and more than £1 billion a year in savings for the public purse.

      Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP

    • Privatisation has delivered… a system in which train operators and energy firms compete not on service – but on how many tariffs they can bamboozle customers with.

      Aditya Chakrabortty, The Guardian

    • Only a publicly owned railway can deliver affordable fares, good services, high customer satisfaction, properly staffed stations and a profitable return to the public purse.

      Charles Secrett, The ACT! Alliance

    • Privatisation is only progress, if you mean progressing towards an apocalypse of injustice. Bring back British Rail!

      Josie Long, comedian

    • Now is the moment to re-nationalise the railways and it has never been cheaper or more possible.

      Andrew Gilligan, journalist

    • If the private companies that took over the national railways are cutting back and eroding services at a time when the climate crisis demands expanded low-carbon transportation alternatives to keep more of us out of planes, then these services too must be reclaimed.

      Naomi Klein, writer

    • Research into privatisation… boils down to one key finding: the only way Branson and the vast majority of train barons make their profits is through handouts from the taxpayer.

      Aditya Chakrabortty, The Guardian

    • A good public transport system should be the foundation of a fair, just, happy, low-carbon world.

      Ellie Harrison, campaign founder

    • In 1948 Labour nationalised rail to rebuild Britain after a world war. Today bankers and speculators use privatised trains for tax scams. Time to bring back British Rail.

      Alex Gordon, former RMT President

    • Let’s make the case for democratic social ownership, fit for the 21st century, ensuring our railways are run in the interests of passengers, not profiteers.

      Owen Jones, writer

    • East Coast shows us that publicly owned rail works better for passengers and taxpayers. We need a railway fit for the future – it’s got to be in public hands.

      Cat Hobbs, We Own It

    • At its heart privatisation in Britain was never about selling public networks but about selling the rights to tax those who are obliged to use them.

      James Meek, writer

    • To be able to reduce C02 emissions, by persuading people to leave cars at home, we need a fast, efficient subsidised railway system that’s run for people not profit!

      Ellie Harrison, campaign founder

    • Privatisation of the railways has failed. Its time to make a virtue of public ownership, and the public service provided by state employees.

      Charles Secrett, The ACT! Alliance

    • There is no good excuse left for rail privatisation beyond enriching wealthy elites. Public ownership delivers for social and environmental needs over private profit.

      Professor Andrew Cumbers, University of Glasgow

    • Like most people in Britain, I think that a railway is a natural function of the state, and so ought to be run by the state – for the sake of coherence, transparency, continuity, accountability and national pride.

      Andrew Martin, writer

    • Transport is an essential public service and ought to be publicly owned and publicly controlled. We need an enormous expansion in the investment in our railways and that is the best way of achieving it.

      Tony Benn, politician

    • The privatisation of the railways was a scandal that created an unworkable and expensive structure which should be replaced with a national unified network.

      Christian Wolmar, transport commentator

    • Something as important and necessary (and enjoyable) as train travel should be in the hands of the people, be affordable and safe, not making money for shareholders.

      Nina Power, writer

    • The UK public wants a publicly owned railway, and so do we. Lush calls for an end to the failed experiment of privatising essential services.

      Tamsin Omond, Lush Campaigns

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    Bring Back British Rail is coordinated from Glasgow by Ellie Harrison, with the help of a small network of volunteers around the UK.
    The campaign operates as a ‘non-charitable campaigning body’ and so is free to carry out political activity and act as a pressure group.
    It aims to be a completely autonomous and transparent passenger-led organisation, which has no direct affiliation with any political parties.
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