British taxpayers and rail customers pay for rail services – but don’t get the service they need – and private companies and shareholders take the profits. It’s mad.

Sally Millar, Edinburgh

Bring back BR. It was cheaper and less complicated than today’s tangle of different rail companies.

Alan Gent, Frodsham

After spending time living in Norway where the state owns the rail system and you can travel cheaply, I am even more furious at the cost of travel in the UK on rail.

Jesamine Bartlett, Market Drayton

We need railways to provide public services not profit for millionaires.

Annabelle Killworth, Basildon

I used to be proud of our railways as were my uncles who were train drivers.

Cathie Thomson, Manchester

I totally agree that we need a consolidated British Rail again run for passengers not private profit.

Jill Lepper, Stagsden

Too expensive, not enough infrastructure investment, too much is paid in subsidies to companies who don’t provide a good service. Re-nationalise the railways.

Boyd Fletcher, Basildon

It’s ludicrous that the profit-making (for the taxpayer), East Coast Trains has been re-privatised. That’s dogma gone mad.

David Broadmeadow, Louth

It was so much better when we ran it ourselves.

Susan Rogers, Manchester

East Coast works fine. Leave well alone. We don’t need it in private hands. Re-nationalise.

William Lynch, Aberdeen

Keep up the good work!

Terence Dart, Whitchurch

The railway is currently a disgrace. I missed a job interview today due to the current incompetence of the service.

George Horobin, Penshurst

Yet another totally fed up railway user.

Andrew Ganley, Sutton, Surrey

Public transport in public hands.

Paddy Carstairs, Dalkeith

National transport should belong to the nation.

Jeanette Harold, Consett

I will join your fight for freedom.

Axel Blackston, Redhill

We need more trains. Where I live we are lucky if we get one train an hour. As for the train company they are really bad. British Rail is needed.

Elizabeth Steenton, Craven Arms

Bring back British Rail.

Marsh Stephens, Hull

I depend on this train for my daily commute and it is an absolute disaster!

Fouad Saad, London

I don’t travel by rail because I don’t know how to go about getting a ticket. Nothing seems to be joined up, finding things out is difficult, so I’ll just clog up the roads.

Neil Kempten, Sudbury

Does support from overseas also count?

Eliot Lopes, Eischen – G.D. Luxembourg

It’s time to return all our assets to the people – water, gas, electric too.

Kevin Madden, Birmingham

If you remember British Rail, this is a complete no-brainer – a system that worked and did not give inflated profits to incompetent private companies.

Rev Padma Sumananda, Bournemouth

Something has to be done.

Richard Steer, Birmingham

We used to complain about British Rail, but the expensive privatisation is a dog’s breakfast. Kill it dead and bring back proper public services.

Frank Burgin, Sheffield

It’s time we returned to a service that respects its passengers rather than rips off its customers.

Paul Robson, Hartlepool

Return the rail network to public ownership, not shareholders.

Michael Riches, Wymondham

The government want us to use public transport rather than cars. How is this persuading them to change?

Wojciech Simpson, York

Time to stop pandering to the failed markets and letting foreign government-backed organisations buy our railway.

Raymond Howells, Dinnington

I’ve been to other countries on the Continent, Germany for instance, and seen how fine their publicly owned system is in terms of price/quality, it makes me want to cry.

Graham Brook, Woking