Doug Moffatt, Durham – Bring Back British Rail

Privatisation only benefits the rich.

Doug Moffatt, Durham + Share

Like Tweet Google+

« Older

Newer »

Your Views

This would help more than 40% of the population on really low incomes to afford travel, also increase the value of British industry and British travel.

Andrew Blakeway, Glasgow
It seems like this privatisation was completed using the worst of the umpteen awful schemes thought of at the time. It costs the taxpayer more now than it ever did.

Ken Jones, Bicester
Public service, not private profit

Stephen Pettitt, London
Because manufactured financial competition is not a good encouragement to do a good job.

Paul Hopwood, London
A reliable, affordable, state-run railway would benefit the whole country.

Sarah Hurley, Bristol

Latest from Facebook

— bringbackbritishrail

Bring Back British Rail

2 days ago

If FirstGroup go under, they'll take Avanti West Coast, TransPennine Express Trains, Great Western Railway and South Western Railway with them. Then Grant Shapps will have no choice but to #TakeBackOurTrains! Take action 👉 weownit.org.uk/take-back-our-trains ...

FirstGroup derailed by collapse in passenger numbers, 8 Jul 2020 09:49 | Shares Magazine

www.sharesmagazine.co.uk

View on Facebook

·Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

View Comments

Likes: 96
Shares: 23
Comments: 14

Comment on Facebook 124941131829_10158276403516830

Oh god I SOOO hope first go bust, they are the Britain's WORST EVER company. They recently lost the contract to provide most of the buses in Cornwall, I guess because they were totally incapable of being able to run the buses ontime and that's when they could be bothered to actually send one in the first place. Much less run an integrated transport system where by a train pulls up at a station and there is a bus waiting at the bus stop right outside. Often first would timetable the trains and buses so there was a 30-45 minute gap. Sheer incompetence would be a massive understatement when describing first group.

I had the misfortune to work for the company in a senior leadership role a decade ago. It was hell on earth, everything was about the bottom line, Aberdeen micromanaging the day job and being obsessed with protecting the brand. Profit before people for sure.

Have to say seeing the back of First would be a source of great rejoicing. Unfortunately the consequences for bus/rail passengers will probably not be good.

Who remembers John Major and John MacGregor with those promises by telling us that rail privatisation will deliver vast improvements and fares will be lower? In fact, I remember it well and it never delivered anything.

Anyone who had the misfortune to live in North Manchester and be 'served' by First knows only.too well.how appalling their services were

First Group has always been more focussed on its money-making ability than its commitment to its customers. The mess that it's in is of its own making and I have no sympathy for it whatsoever.

When you see the state of the Armed Forces, NHS and anything else the government runs be very, very careful what you wish for.

Of all the bus groups which emerged from de-regulation in 1986, First Group have always seemed to be bottom of the pile, a situation which has been entirely of their own making. I saw their share price last week, they were trading at 35 pence!

Avanti is the Italian state railway company, isn’t it?

they also run the buses in Leeds

Hull Trains are also backed by this lot and get nothing from the Government

And why will that be a good thing .

Worstgroup.

Ride acock horse to Banbury Cross..... Home again Home again Jigatyjig....

View more comments

Bring Back British Rail

4 days ago

Over the last month, 20,000 passengers have written to Grant Shapps & Rishi Sunak to demand they end the bailouts to failing private rail companies and take steps to bring all franchises back into public ownership. Please help us keep the pressure up to #TakeBackOurTrains! Take action 👉 ...

Time to take back our trains

weownit.org.uk

Grant Shapps and Rishi Sunak have a decision to make

View on Facebook

·Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

View Comments

Likes: 505
Shares: 108
Comments: 29

Comment on Facebook Grant Shapps and ...

What a pair to be making such an important decision. Schapps will botch it and Patel will insist it is only for white people!

No thanks I can’t afford it

We help put money into foreign transport so they can get better cheaper travel. They are laughing at us. We need to take OUR COUNTRY BACK.

It's all very well, to say this but aren't some franchises owned by state operators. Part of the irony, they're foreign ones. I should now, I live in the Abileo Greater Anglia area

Ironic isn't it- our railway companies part owned by the Dutch, French and German state railways.

If the money that has been spent on all these private train operators , even by govenment subsidys .had been spent on the old british rail , we would of had the best system in the world . thank god Branson is no longer so called opperating any trains , or he would of gone to the government , cap in hand demanding a bailout

And the buses! South Western Railway have failed to deliver on every promise they made when they got the franchise and are still rolling more than half their fleet in SWT livery! Their priority seems to lie in ticket collectors not counter staff and Friday afternoon's out of Basingrad are always a nightmare!

As the reason the government wanted to privatise the railways was because they had to subsidise them, there really is no reason to leave them in private hands when they are still subsidising them. It’s a nonsense.

CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME UK Government......Wake up n smell the roses The British need their railways n profits need to stay in the UK

All railways are owned by the government at the moment

What excuse can this SHAMBOLIC Government come up with now to not Take Back our Trains after all we are now out of Europe which they wanted , now Little Britain the Trains belong to us

Except HS2 thank you. We taxpayers do not want the responsibility for the catastrophic inevitable losses - neither the exorbitant cost of building this disaster NOR for subsidising and keeping it running because it will never, ever pay for itself. The latest report from the Infrastructure Authority has just downgraded HS2 from Amber-Red to Red. Go figure.

As much as I would like to see it having worked for Network South East I think your find it will go to managed contract's.Then they will be squeezed every year to make cost savings & unfortunately the staff will be the largest cost. 😢

It is time to take back OUR BRITAIN. Seize the assets spuriously acquired by the crown, government and the elite fat cat society. Return the assets to the NATION for the benefit (right) of the GENERAL PUBLIC.

Interesting they immediately bailed out the rail privateers but when it came to TfL (whose budget had already been cut by £700m pa) they left it to the 11th hour (when the Commissioner was about to shut down the whole bus and tube network) before agreeing a bailout - and then with onerous conditions. Bet it would've been another story if the Mayor was of a different political party.

The TOC's own absolutely nothing, the whole shooting match is still 100% owned by the UK government. The whole 'privatisation' excercise was an excercise in smoke and mirrors to stay on the right side of eu competition rules.

"Take back out trains" perfectly summarised by a platform with no trains.

Privatised rail had failed by the 1930s and private companies were secretly begging governments to buy them off them - whilst demanding compensation for nationalisation of course. That's how railways came to be publicly owned in the first place !! And they got compensation for decades!!

Take back our trains, you mean the ones built by Germany?

Get rid off SWR. That railway operator is beyond a joke.

What back to the good old days stikes late arrival dirty carriages dried up sandwiches unhelpful guards

Start with SWR ('owned' by GWR and MTR) as MTR is the Hong Kong Rapid Transit company. That'll excite the Chinese...

I agree 👍

Don't let governments run railways... They only think in the short term until the next election. You cannot plan railways for the future as long as you let governments with their short term thinking get involved

View more comments

Bring Back British Rail

2 weeks ago

Could South Western Railway and TransPennine Express Trains be about to be re-nationalised? 🚆 Read the latest exposé from our friends at the Association of British Commuters and take action to #TakeBackOurTrains 📝👉 weownit.org.uk/take-back-our-trains ...

CLUELESS: Chaos at the DfT as Shapps evades scrutiny on government plans for rail - Association of British Commuters

abcommuters.com

As predicted in our last blog, it is now clear that the government has no idea what to do when the ‘Emergency Measures Agreements’ run out in September. After news hit the press that train companies are seeking a 12-18 month extension to their bailout, Grant Shapps was able to bury the story at ...

View on Facebook

·Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

View Comments

Likes: 95
Shares: 27
Comments: 13

Comment on Facebook As predicted in our ...

Even though I have now Retired, I would LOVE to see it return to British Rail rather than how it now is. Yes I do have a few shares as such, but WHAT profit we do get a year, IS AN INSULT to say the least. Seriously, we get less than £25.00 per year.

Oh, pleeeeeeeeeeeease!! XX

As a railway employee the last 3/4 months the punctuality has been fantastic less trains means a railway that can run smoothly hopefully we don’t go back to the old model of a saturated railway

You put a spiv with no industry experience in charge of transport, and this is what you get

They have no plans they are just a bunch of rabbits caught in the headlights.

Nit called the Dept for Tomfuckery for nothing. ..

they're just thinking how to skim more out of the next budget, Never a thought about giving it back to the country.

More public money for failed privatisation. It's a win win situation for Tory donors.

The Tory Govt is sure to pick the worst option for the travelling public & the best option for skimming money into private pockets.

We get 159's past our house and today one was really crowded. There were three people on it.

Shapps is more slippery than a greased weasel ... in a game of 'Whack-a-Mole' I would concentrate on him ...

No they maybe renegotiated but will never be run by the state. Problem will be what incentive will there be in future to continue to invest in new stock . Improved facilities and timetables. Very little i suspect

Under privatisation there's no such thing as a business model in recovering costs even with the highest fares in Europe. It's simply totally subsidised by the taxpayer.

View more comments

Bring Back British Rail

3 weeks ago

‘Britain's railways will be 'renationalised' using emergency coronavirus measures - ending the current franchise system’ 🚆 Grant Shapps’ proposal is to replace rail franchises with contracts managed by publicly-owned Network Rail, instead of the Department for Transport. It could be an improvement on the current shambles, but do we really need private rail companies involved at all? Let's #TakeBackOurTrains! Take action at 📝👉 weownit.org.uk/take-back-our-trains

Britain's railways will be 'renationalised' using coronavirus measures
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has claimed the pandemic has provided the government the chance to build a 'different type of railway'. ...

Play

Britain's railways will be 'renationalised' using coronavirus measures

View on Facebook

·Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

View Comments

Likes: 238
Shares: 41
Comments: 35

Comment on Facebook Transport Secretary ...

Rail travel, along with all public transport should be a standard cost per mile (or Km) and should be compatible with travelling in a car alone. Say 12 p per mile. It should not be a profit making business but a public service. There should not be huge differences according to when you travel and NO class system.

We need a single, integrated publicly owned and accountable entity. No need for or point in any privateer involvement.

The government can't manage private companies with the NHS, so don't hold out hope for the railways.

Oh I see where they're doing. During the Coronavirus crisis, social distancing means that the privatised rail franchisees can't make their huge profits, so the state jumps in to take that loss. Once they're profitable, they'll be given back. Don't we just love neoliberal capitalism?

Let’s keep it permanent and run it for our benefit, not just for shareholders and top execs

Another privatisation failure, it’s hilarious that the conservatives are having to do it, they have used public funds to support these companies.

Well as this report is in the Daily Fail, and concerns a "report" about a "Grant Shapps' proposal", I wouldn't believe a single word of it, because I am in a quandary as to who tell more lies, the supposed "journalists" who write articles in the Daily Fail, or tory government Ministers !!!!

Now as long as we're currently in the EU we can't can we? I thought that the EU rules were that one company couldn't run the infrastructure and trains. So to nationalise the trains, they'd have to be run by a different company. Government owned but separate. That was my understanding.

Network Rail's charter doesn't allow for it to be a train operator, so I don't see how that is feasible...

We don`t need nationalised company`s, fat cat wages more managers than workers seen it all before

They are only taking them back so that the taxpayer can pay to fix up the shambles that the private sector made of them and then give away taxpayer business value for a song to other rich Tories to make a private sector fat profit and shambles of again.

Fares and timetables in the hands of ministers??? Of what fun lies ahead

Yet when Labour suggested this it was crazy

As if bike use is going to continue in the same way after the virus has passed! Once winter comes it will be locked in the shed.

doing his best there to resemble a bygone image of trainspotters

Renationalise yes franchise of any name NO

Would be nice! But i honestly think this is fake news

tories have to have their pals involved so they can blame public when its crap private when its good

bring back br !!

Pure evil, they need to go, all of em.

In Germany DB is state owned and runs 80% of the German Network, the same as NL 🇳🇱. 80% of the bus network is the same too. The local council runs buses and only contractors are bought in to make up any shortfall.

Get it done

34 of the top 50 highest paid people in the public sector work on the railway. So that will now be relegation for the other 16.

I see no nationalisation anywhere in these proposals. Very little change from the current system. I know what he's at. He'll say to the public, 'There. We nationalised the railways just as you wanted.' While nothing real has happened at all. Another Con-trick.

A managed franchise is probably the worst outcome. If they are given a certain amount of money to run it then the only cost savings are the staff 😢

View more comments

Bring Back British Rail

3 weeks ago

Don't let Rail Barons Hold us to Ransom! Take action to tell Grant Shapps and Rishi Sunak to #TakeBackOurTrains 📝👉 weownit.org.uk/take-back-our-trainsOn the front page of today's Morning Star - our campaign to take back our trains and end the farce of privatisation.

Join the campaign now: weownit.org.uk/act-now/time-take-back-our-trains ...