‘Britain’s trains have effectively been nationalised’
23rd March 2020 | News
Today, as a result of the Coronavirus Outbreak, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps utilised Section 118 of the Railways Act 1993 to suspend all current franchise agreements with private Train Operating Companies and replace them with temporary Emergency Measures Agreements.
This led The Guardian newspaper to report that ‘Britain’s trains have effectively been nationalised‘, despite this actually looking more like a massive bailout for failing private companies whose share prices then surged as a result.
These Emergency Measures Agreements also only apply to franchises currently let by the Department for Transport and, of course, exclude LNER and Northern, which are already in public ownership – a fact we were celebrating at the start of the month:
So, the new Emergency Measures Agreements do not apply to:
• the ScotRail or the Caledonian Sleeper franchises let by the Scottish Government,
• the Transport for Wales Rail franchise let by the Welsh Government,
• the TfL Rail or London Overground contracts let by Transport for London, or
• the Merseyrail contract let by Merseytravel
Please explore the ‘Franchises‘ pages of our website (first launched in 2015 and now updated regularly) to find out who runs the railways in your area, and how you can help campaign for public ownership:
Bring Back British Rail
5 days ago
Our friends at the Association of British Commuters have exposed the secret government talks about the future of our railways happening right now 🚄 Please read this and write to your MP today to ensure we use this opportunity to end privatisation for good. ...
Transparency Now: no more secret talks about the future of our railway - Association of British Commuters
abcommuters.com
Secret talks between government and train companies have been underway for the past two weeks. There is a crisis over the future of the railway and big decisions will be taken imminently – including the question of public ownership. The Department for Transport had been hoping to convert the rail ...Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email
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Bring Back British Rail
2 weeks ago
This crisis has shown the future has to be publicly-owned 🚄 Time to Bring Back British Rail! bringbackbritishrail.org ...
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people or changed who can see it, or it's been deleted.Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email
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How has it shown that !!! There is no revenue so how can you say that this is the right way to go .
I thought we had..?
it'll never happen as long as there is a prospect of a tory government, and the last few years has proven that people despite getting screwed by them will still vote for them, the mind doth boggle
We're dependant to the one thing that binds every Left/Right Government, and Human Being on the Planet.. The World Economy.. We can't blame, 'the players' of the game.. (economists) for 'playing' within the rules of the said game, the World Economy.. It's, 'the game' that needs to change.. Why have we allowed an unsustainable ethos to divide us to the point, of who lives, and who die's, based entirely on you're place of birth.. We are now seeing 'our' high-streets, succumb to the crumbling cliff, and as we check over our shoulders from, 'our-rung' of the ladder, we are now (hopefully) awakening to the fragility and inequality of the system we're all desperately clinging onto??? We need a brand-new 'game,' with brand-new 'players.'.. This economy perpetuates itself by definition, it's how it works..
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Bring Back British Rail
4 weeks ago
Join us in remembering public transport workers and all other key workers who have lost their lives during the coronavirus crisis #IWMD20 One minute silence at 11amJoin us to remember every worker who has died from #COVID19 and other work related injuries and diseases on International Workers' Memorial Day.
28 April at 11am for a minute silence.
#IWMD20 #NeverForgotten ...
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With respect and the gov. give the familys help
International Workers Memorial Day happens on 28th April every year to commemorate workers killed at work. Unfortunately this year the tragic deaths of workers who’ve died from Covid-19 have been included. Lack of PPE is a breach of health & safety legislation.
Good idea but what about everyone else who has also died? Are they not worth stopping for too.
Give them ppe
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Bring Back British Rail
2 months ago
On April Fools’ Day 2015, Abellio - the company owned by the Dutch government - took over running ScotRail 🚆 Last year, after years of poor performance, Michael Matheson MSP agreed to end Abellio's contract three years' early (on 31 March 2022). Sign our #MakeScotRailPublic petition to demand that a publicly-owned operator takes over 📝 you.38degrees.org.uk/p/publicrailwayscotland ...
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No Tim, we will not ‘give it a rest’. We will continue haranguing you tories who want a privatised railway but continually demand that the public bail you out with subsidies, and are somehow happy that every single franchise is foreign-owned. Two faced hypocrisy.
Timing of this post is appalling. Give it a rest during this worldwide crisis.
any train company should be public
Renationalise all railways
Nationalise the lot 👍
Sam Hayward
Ed Henry
Make all rail public ASAP.
To many foreigners taking over key industries and services . Profits are leaving the country in millions but services provided are abysmal. High time all key services were nationalised.
Most of our railways are nationalised. The trouble is it's all foreign nations. How on earth did our government let that happen? No replies please, I know.
It already is, the Dutch public own it.
Nationalisation is here to stay !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not the best climate at the moment but they can now see what Northern & LNER achieve in public ownership before anymore decisions
That's the SNP's plan.
We can't wait till 2022 - needs done NOW.
The franchise system is past its sell by date
I'm all for nationalisation in the bigger picture. But dont we subsidise the Scots enough. Thanks to us they already get,free prescriptions, tuition fees dentistry and all. So no let them pay for something themselves and generate their own income
In fact, people should be doing maths, not rocket science. The importance of passenger revenue under privatisation has declined. In the last ten years of BR, it averaged around 64% whereas in the first ten years of privatisation, its 55%.
SNP and Alex Salmond?
Abeltitio more like
Can't nationalise it as Westminster /network rail are in charge of the tracks points and signalling and some Scottish stations
Phil Taylor Rio was the first name down
Shug Cumming
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Bring Back British Rail
2 months ago
A momentous day 🚆✊ 'Britain’s trains have effectively been nationalised' amidst the coronavirus crisis. This proves what we've been saying all along - public transport is an essential public service, not a cashcow for private operators. ...
Covid-19: government suspends rail franchise agreements
www.theguardian.com
Emergency measures will be in place for six months to avoid train companies collapsingShare on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email
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Terrible decision, the franchise holders should be made accountable and bail themselves out with the profits they have made. If not they should surrender the franchise. The government should commence an emergency nationalisation of the railways and rolling stock due to the pandemic. Forcing the discharged of all the private rail franchise contracts due to frustration and bringing them under the control and operation of the government.
Not nationalisation. Just allows them to bail out the franchises as their incomes fall. Branson will probably try to sue HMG for not allowing his gravy train to keep running. (He will just have to depend on whatever he gets from NHS!)
However, the train operators will continue to run the services "for a small predetermined management fee", the DfT said. Private companies will run the trains but the government underwrites it all and, during this exceptional time, carries the losses.
I wonder how many don't realise you've deliberately reversed the BR logo? At first I thought you'd 'hung the Union Flag upside down'.
Bloody Northern started arbitrary rolling cancellations on the day I was trying to get to Manchester Airport (March 20th). Had to get a taxi in the end after I'd paid for rail tickets. Good riddance I say, and welcome back BR (permanently I hope).
I still can't understand why we are subsidising the railways most of which are Dutch, Italian, French & Japanese owned ??
Corbyn is proved right, yet again, as Johnson is forced to follow Socialist policies and put People before shareholders Profits!
To keep the 2 metre distance put more trains on don't reduce them which increases overcrowding ffs get the basics right.
temporarily nationalised, to stop rail operators from going bust, they will be handed back when this emergency is over.
It has not been done for us, it has been done to protect their profits
Socialise the losses then hand it back to the same companies later? No, keep it.
Wish they would close the Tube. Cut services mean people are so jammed together and no air or space. Use the buses if you have to.
This is amazing news! Nationalise railways like China, have the transport at a standardise price for all to utilise and benefit from!
Let's make it permanent. Next up, public utilities!
It's a temporary bail-out, that's all.
as things progress we see more of labours manifesto pledges being implemented, and they called him an extremist.
Personally I would let the private companies take the hit as they have had 24 years of profit now it getting tough they all cry
If it were a (proper) Labour government in power I'd be a lot happier about this news.
The creditable alternative is BR
Is the UK Government also removing the subsidy going directly to share holders and to management group?
Many of the operators are foreign!
Nationalised the debt
Call me a cynic but I see this as the Tories protecting their friends from losses associated with this crisis. The public purse will cover the damage. When this is all over the franchises will resume and we’ll be back to square one.
Let's try to make it permanent (although I think an arms length wholly owned organisation (ALMO) would be a better prospect in the long term).
When JC proposed re-nationalisation the howls of derision were ‘where’s the money coming from?’ Now the toryscum do it when there’s hardly any revenue coming in, so either this is an excuse to axe lines in favour of their beloved money pit HS2 or there really is a ‘magic money tree’ 🤔
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