Skip to main content

Bring Back British Rail

  • About
  • News
  • Support
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Bluesky
  • Vimeo
  • Instagram

Your Views

Linnea Rowlatt, Conyer, Kent

4th November 2013 | Your Views

Public services, such as transport, health, or education, ought to be operated by servants of the public – not private companies.

+ Share

Like Tweet

« Older
Newer »

Your Views

  • It is long past the time for our rail network to be returned back to public ownership and to providing reliable, quality service and not just profit.

    John Lean, Maidstone

  • We need a green transport policy which meets the needs of people and business first. Railways cannot be run as a competition. They will only succeed as a strategic resource.

    Dean Reeves, Wisbech

  • I believe the way forward is to start up a cooperative of unions, commuters and other interested parties to bid for franchises when they come up for renewal.

    Edmund Chinnery

  • I’m not a regular passenger, but have always been against all privatisations of public entities.

    John Newton, Cambridge

  • We need a good affordable transport system to serve what is, after all, a small island.

    Mike Friend

Latest from Facebook

— bringbackbritishrail

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons
Bring Back British Rail
12 hours ago

The #RailwaysBill which will create our new Great British Railways is now being scrutinised by the UK House of Lords 🚆 Can they close the loopholes for re-privatisation & help deliver a fully-integrated railway? Please read & share the Association of British Commuters' excellent briefing 👇 @top fans ...

Shared link preview image

Railways Bill Briefing 1: Ownership and Structure

abcommuters.com

The Railways Bill is supposed to be a tool for bringing the railway fully into public ownership and integrating its structure and finances. However, there is great uncertainty on both these counts,…
View on Facebook (opens in a new tab)
· Share
Share on Facebook (opens in a new tab) Share on Twitter (opens in a new tab) Share on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab) Share by Email (opens in a new tab)
View Comments Like reaction Love reaction Reactions: 32 Shares: 2 Comments: 0

0 CommentsComment on Facebook

View more comments

Bring Back British Rail
2 months ago

Great to see Liverpool City Region Combined Authority agree plans to take Merseyrail back into public ownership when the Serco/Transport UK contract ends in 2028 👏🚆 But there's still a big loophole in the #RailwaysBill meaning a future Mayor could easily re-privatise it 🤦‍♂️
Kim Johnson MP Maria Eagle Dan Carden Paula Barker MP @top fans ...

This content isn't available at the moment

When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it, or it's been deleted.
View on Facebook (opens in a new tab)
· Share
Share on Facebook (opens in a new tab) Share on Twitter (opens in a new tab) Share on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab) Share by Email (opens in a new tab)
View Comments Like reaction Love reaction Haha reaction Reactions: 61 Shares: 1 Comments: 3

3 CommentsComment on Facebook

View more comments

Bring Back British Rail and Association of British Commuters
2 months ago

🚨 Privatisation loopholes discovered in the Railways Bill 🚨 Last month, we thought we had a big win when the government amended the Bill to ensure that Great British Railways is fully publicly owned. But no one checked the small print… Read more from Emily Sullivan, co-founder of the Association of British Commuters in RAIL Magazine 👇 @top fans ...

Shared link preview image

Drafting issues in the Railways Bill put public ownership at risk

www.railmagazine.com

Emily Sullivan explains why the new ‘wholly owned’ requirement for Great British Railways will not deliver the public ownership Parliament expects.
View on Facebook (opens in a new tab)
· Share
Share on Facebook (opens in a new tab) Share on Twitter (opens in a new tab) Share on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab) Share by Email (opens in a new tab)
View Comments Like reaction Love reaction Wow reaction Angry reaction Reactions: 19 Shares: 5 Comments: 1

1 CommentsComment on Facebook

View more comments

Bring Back British Rail
3 months ago

📢 The 3rd Reading of the #RailwaysBill will now take place this 𝗪𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝟭𝟬 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 🚆 Don't miss your chance to email your MP and ask them to back crucial amendments to ensure that our new publicly-owned Great British Railways always puts passengers' rights before private profit 👇 @top fans ...

Shared link preview image

Railways Bill: Demand your MP protect passengers' rights and our environment

weownit.org.uk

The Railways Bill must protect passengers' rights and our environment
View on Facebook (opens in a new tab)
· Share
Share on Facebook (opens in a new tab) Share on Twitter (opens in a new tab) Share on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab) Share by Email (opens in a new tab)
View Comments Like reaction Love reaction Reactions: 21 Shares: 4 Comments: 4

4 CommentsComment on Facebook

View more comments

Bring Back British Rail
3 months ago

📢 Last chance to take action! The #RailwaysBill which will establish Great British Railways get its 3rd Reading in the Commons this 𝗪𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝟯 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 🚆 Please email your MP to ask them to back our amendments ensuring passengers' rights are always put before private profit 👇 @top fans ...

Shared link preview image

Railways Bill: Demand your MP protect passengers' rights and our environment

weownit.org.uk

The Railways Bill must protect passengers' rights and our environment
View on Facebook (opens in a new tab)
· Share
Share on Facebook (opens in a new tab) Share on Twitter (opens in a new tab) Share on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab) Share by Email (opens in a new tab)
View Comments Like reaction Love reaction Reactions: 31 Shares: 16 Comments: 3

3 CommentsComment on Facebook

View more comments

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 54390 other supporters.

    Bring Back British Rail

    Read or Edit the Petition

    You can add formatting using markdown syntax - read more
     
    54,390 signatures

    Our Supporters

    • 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

    • 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

    • 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

    • 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

    • 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

    • 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

    • 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

    • 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

    • 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

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

      Andrew Gilligan, journalist

    • 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

    • 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

    • 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

    • 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

    • 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

    • 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

    • 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

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

      Josie Long, comedian

    Products

    • Bumper Sticker Bumper Sticker £3.00
    • Enamel Badge Enamel Badge £6.00
    • Rail Card Wallet 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.