Skip to main content

Bring Back British Rail

  • About
  • News
  • Support
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • Instagram

Your Views

What a mess.

Brian Cobb, Newton Abbot   + Share

Like Tweet Google+

« Older
Newer »

Your Views

  • Since British Rail disappeared we’ve had more trouble on rail – lines are not kept to the same high standard, and why is public money being used to prop it up?

    Avril Coleman, Siddington
  • Bring back British Rail and stop the Tory destruction of the country’s infrastructure.

    Anthony Hill, Crewe
  • Railways should be run for public benefit rather than private profit. The current fragmented and micro-managed network can never achieve this, and needs re-integration.

    Richard Connell, Leeds
  • I completely agree with this campaign. We should never have privatised what was originally a public service, as European companies are profiting instead of us.

    Jacqui Lovell, Stockton-on-Tees
  • I feel that public ownership is best for business.

    John Lane, Hastings

Latest from Facebook

— bringbackbritishrail

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

Bring Back British Rail

6 days ago

Bring Back British Rail

On the day rail fares rise by a whopping 2.6%, we've launched a new online action with our friends at We Own It. Please take 2 minutes to write to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to demand he seizes this moment to end rail privatisation altogether.
πŸ“πŸ‘‰ weownit.org.uk/demand-public-ownership-our-railway
...

PlayRail fares are going up by a staggering 2.6%
View on Facebook
·Share

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email

View Comments
  • Likes: 53
  • Shares: 10
  • Comments: 8

Comment on Facebook

I thought it was the rail companies who imposed fare increases, not the gov.

By the time HS2 is finished no one will be able to afford to use it.

Even if you don't use the trains you are still paying for them out of your and my taxes. So if you want a rail service that is worth its money get it back into public ownership and gas, electric, water, and oil. Britain was great at one time.

Coverage of our action in The Canary: www.thecanary.co/uk/news/2021/03/01/campaigners-criticise-broken-privatised-system-as-rail-fares-...

Coverage in Left Foot Forward: leftfootforward.org/2021/03/rail-fares-rise-by-2-6-as-government-set-to-freeze-fuel-duty-for-10th...

So true werst thing they ever did just like they did when they closed a lot of the lines

Well us British Rail workers told everyone not to privatise the railway and everyone laughed at us, well now you’re paying !

it was the same under BR price rises and the same shit service ,except its worse under franchising

View more comments

Bring Back British Rail

6 days ago

Bring Back British Rail

On the day rail fares rise by 2.6%, please take 2 minutes to write to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps to tell him:

πŸ’· Scrap the fare hikes.
πŸ“‰ End the contract chaos.
πŸš† We need public ownership now!
...

Link thumbnail

Demand public ownership of our railway

weownit.org.uk

Passengers are being hit with a huge fare hike
View on Facebook
·Share

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email

View Comments
  • Likes: 256
  • Shares: 101
  • Comments: 20

Comment on Facebook

YES!!!!

Coverage of our action in The Canary: www.thecanary.co/uk/news/2021/03/01/campaigners-criticise-broken-privatised-system-as-rail-fares-...

Coverage in Left Foot Forward: leftfootforward.org/2021/03/rail-fares-rise-by-2-6-as-government-set-to-freeze-fuel-duty-for-10th...

What a disgrace the railways have become, after scaring off 95% of regular users during the pandemic, they are now about to increase fares by 2.6%. They have risen by 40% in the last ten years, meanwhile, fuel duty on cars has been frozen for 12 years, is it any wonder we have clogged up roads.

More profit for the bosses and shareholders, who dont give a damn about us. We are the mugs who just keep paying and they know it

Signed

I joined BR (Southern Region) in 1970, Fare rises were an annual unwelcome event then, and the main reason was not to invest but to suppress demand so that investment became unnecessary, The Mandarins of Masham Street ruled fiercely then!

In public transport terms the tories have always been a disaster as the pander to the greed of their cronies. Buses and trains are a disaster across most of the country. Marples was bane enough but this shower are the worst of the lot.

How would a publicly owned (Government), railway prevent price hikes like this that are set by the Dft (Government)?

Sent off a letter, no doubt it will be ignored...

Don't just stop with trains gas electric buses nationalise the lot

Signed

Bring back the British Rail we use to have before privatisation such as Virgin Trains etc.

What the point it’s private profit for shareholders customers don’t care

I'd love to sign but your computer won't accept my EU postcode. Pity cos I'm a UK citizen and have a continuing interest in UK affairs.

Sadly, would the Government pay heed to the way privatisation has caused overheads to spiral out of control?

Good luck, we're approx 100,000 billion miles off from having anything like a socialist left wing agenda anywhere near Number 10 with Kier Starmer being an absolute wet wipe. Great stuff. Can't wait to get back to commuting and spending 3/4 of my wages on rent and travel. FUN FUN FUN.

Nationalise the lot. Privatisation of Rail has failed dismally.

The current situation is totally unacceptable, it's time it was scrapped.

Signed and sent

View more comments

Bring Back British Rail

2 weeks ago

Bring Back British Rail

Privatisation costs more! πŸšπŸ’·πŸ’Έ For passengers and for tax-payers, so it’s no wonder it exacerbates poverty. Hear former UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston talking about his research into the human rights impacts of the UK’s deregulated bus system at Get Glasgow Moving’s public meeting tonight at 7pm πŸ‘‡πŸ‘‡ ...

Link thumbnail

Public Transport: Privatisation & Poverty w/ special guest Philip Alston

www.eventbrite.co.uk

Register here for Get Glasgow Moving's Public Meeting & Annual General Meeting, w/ special guest Philip Alston
View on Facebook
·Share

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email

View Comments
  • Likes: 87
  • Shares: 14
  • Comments: 6

Comment on Facebook

What's the problem with saying Special Reporter? We are not in France 😏

The whole railway should be brought back into public ownership under British rail. Railways are supposed to be for the average people not the rich

www.facebook.com/199676720083396/posts/3951806331537064/ Cut costs with jobs so the greedy profiteers can make more money!!! I knew the tory scum wouldn't get rid of privatisation, too much money in their pals pockets at stake!!!

Yeah and they still plan to continue to freeze fuel duty for the private motorist in the next budget.

All this government efforts in trying to make rail privatisation work have proved to be unsuccessful yet they always seem to try again.

Privatisation was an EU directive so that they could buy into our industries. Now we are out we should be able to sort out what we have left.

View more comments

Bring Back British Rail

2 weeks ago

Bring Back British Rail

Now more than a year late, the recommendations of Keith Williams’ Rail Review are due to be released this Thursday 25 February 🚊 The Telegraph claims the Review will offer β€œfresh proposals designed to convince private train operators there are returns to be made.” Why do we need to beg private companies to run our railways for us? It's time to put people before profit and #TakeBackOurTrains ...

Link thumbnail

Reforms aim to derail renationalisation fears

www.telegraph.co.uk

Fresh proposals will be set out this week, designed to convince private train operators there are returns to be made
View on Facebook
·Share

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email

View Comments
  • Likes: 153
  • Shares: 18
  • Comments: 23

Comment on Facebook

The telegraph would support any idea to keep our railways in the hands of racketeers even if it cost the taxpayers £billions. Profit before service.

Bring in the Fat Controller from Sodor πŸ˜‰

Time to renationalise the railways so that we have a coherent service and investment of profits make sure that the north and west have decent trains and carriages.

The Torygraph proposing people before profit ! ? Typical oxymorronic crap spouting from these pages. Wot have they been payed to write this, we all know public services should never be put in the hands of Capitalists their remit is to bleed companies dry and throw away the husk.. The Torygraph should investigate the criminality of their masters in Westmonster.... Grrrrrrrr

Network rail has just undergone a reform under the guise of putting passengers first, it has been set up in a way pretty much the same as pre nationalisation with east coast and anglia put together like the eastern region now why would this be happening? Could they be looking at operator and maintainer all in one- if only I had crystal balls....

If giving British taxpayers money to French and German railways is right I'll eat my hat

Look at what just happened in Texas with a deregulated energy market. There simply isn’t any advantage to privatization. It’s a get rich scam.

They'll decide to get one of their mates as a "consultant" in and get past d lots and lots of money and still come up with the same old claptrap.

we get what we vote for

Private enterprise my arse, they have all been subsidised to the hilt by the taxpayer since day one.

Telegraph does not support the people!

There are only returns to be made when big fat subsidies are provided.

Private companies have created chaotic rail services

Bring back British Rail!

Like the utility companies should never of privatised the railways

I thought the companies contract when to 2026

I don't fear renationalisation. Daily Telegraph was run by Conrad Black.

The Tax Payer has been subsidising this while the profits still go to the share holders. Bring it back under National control.

Loads more taxpayers money down the pan, and we don't even own it!

I'm sure Matt Hancock's got a mate who used to own a hairdressers who's perfectly capable of handling a multibillion pound contract to run the railways 😟

I'm fearing another botched privatisation not nationalisation

Now, when was the last time I decided to try and persuade a tiger that I really wouldn't taste very nice?

Flogging a dead horse springs to mind.

View more comments

Bring Back British Rail

4 weeks ago

Bring Back British Rail

Today we celebrate the Transport for Wales Rail franchise being brought back into public ownership by the Welsh Government after 25 years of failed privatisation πŸš‰βœŠ Why don't The Scottish Government and the UK government learn from their example? Stop the bailouts to failing private companies πŸ’·πŸ’Έ It's time to #TakeBackOurTrains! ...

Today we celebrate the Transport for Wales Rail franchise being brought back into public ownership by the Welsh Government after 25 years of failed privatisation πŸš‰βœŠ Why dont The Scottish Government and the UK government learn from their example? Stop the bailouts to failing private companies πŸ’·πŸ’Έ Its time to #TakeBackOurTrains!
View on Facebook
·Share

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email

View Comments
  • Likes: 767
  • Shares: 274
  • Comments: 46

Comment on Facebook

I can answer that, easily... It's because the central government gets these things called "political financial donations" from people like Sir Richard Branson who own the companies that get the public transport franchises. And these "donations" are not officially linked to a contingency of "I give you this money, you give me an advantageous business opportunity" as that would be "bribery" which is a criminal act... So nobody openly say what the donations are for or why certain people get the government issued contracts, but we all know what's up!

FFS, dont let the SNP near the Scottish trains, every thing they go near ends up a disaster.

Agreed Bring Back British Rail not individual companies

Debbie Jones one for Gwyn

Ciaran Watling xx

Shug Cumming Liam Tansey Craig Robertson

It's the Wales and Borders franchise. This highlights the undemocratic nature of the UK. Why should the Welsh Assembly have control over many services that run mostly through England, (Hereford to Manchester, Liverpool to Chester etc) who have no electoral means to influence rail policy, it was not acceptable for the situation to be reversed so why is this okay? Last year had Welsh MPs voting on England only legislation again, which is utterly corrupt. Time the UK broke up into it's 4 nations, or an English parliament led railway is set up.

They made a right bollocks of it though

All monopolies should be in public ownership because they only serve to exploit people when in private ownership. Necessity of services demands that the public sector run it for the public and serve everyone. Services include train, busses, gas, electric, water, post office and telecommunications.

Delighted that Wales has taken back control of the railways which serve us in the Welsh Borders as well.

Welsh government can’t organise a piss up in a brewery

Time they brought it all back in the public sector, the only people it benefits is the rich investors who care little for the public, what next, gas, electric, post office, the list is endless !!

When the ECML franchise was briefly back under public control things started to improve but the Tories have to see a profit being made and it has to go into a private pocket.

'Wales & Borders rail franchise taken into public ownership' Here's the Railway Gazette International's coverage www.railwaygazette.com/wales-and-borders-rail-franchise-taken-into-public-ownership/58456.article

8 years living in maesteg and working in Cardiff. Used arriva every single day. What a pile of crap that company was!

Mae hynny'n newyddion gwych... Dim mwy o breifatisation ConSelfServaTory

Great news, now get on with it for the rest of the UK.

The myth of competition in public services. We see it not only in transport, but in education and many other sectors. Unnecessary.

Economy of scale, one single management structure no shareholders

Well done Wales!

I’d like to see the Intercity Swallow livery back on all intercity trains in the country (including the sleepers) and bring back restaurant cars too.

Arriva we're really good though

Can't be any worse than the customer service under Arriva, eh Anthony AntDav? πŸ—

How does this work for trains covered by the franchise that run in England? I am fully behind nationalised railways, but wonder how the Welsh government can have authority over trains that run in England?

The private monopolies are excellent at extracting money from their customers whether it be trains,electricity or water etc but hopeless at running the services because they are just not interested at all

View more comments

Load more

Latest from Twitter

— @bringbackBR

Join the conversation using:
#bringbackbritishrail #bbbr #bringbackBR #BringBackOurRailways #railfail #farefail #publicrail #railripoff #RailRevolution #failrail

Latest from Flickr

— bringbackbritishrail

    Petition

    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.

    Sign the petition now and join 53709 other supporters.

    Bring Back British Rail

    Read or edit the petition

    %your signature%

    You can add formatting using markdown syntax - read more
     
    53,709 signatures

    Share this with your friends:

       

    Our Supporters

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

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

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

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

      Ellie Harrison, campaign founder
    • 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
    • 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
    • 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
    • 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
    • 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
    • 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
    • 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
    • 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

    Products

    • Embroidered Patch £4.00
    • Enamel Badge £5.00
    • Rail Card Wallet £4.00

    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.
    Accounts | Privacy Policy | Press & Media Enquiries: info@bringbackbritishrail.org

    Bring Back British Rail logo / identity designed by Fraser Muggeridge. Website by Neil Scott.