Another wonderful institution built by the people for the people. Keep it decent. Keep it affordable!

Vivienne E Heatley, London

The British railway system is an awful experience. It can and should be done much better. You invented the railway system: claim it back.

Paco Terrasa, Rotterdam

I’m sick of poor service and profits going to shareholders not back into the service.

Paul Pennington Marshall, Brighton

Bring back a decent rail network.

Richard Lowe, Leeds

It, by rights, belongs to us anyway and was stolen from us.

Stella Haynes, Market Harborough

Fair railway ticket prices are the path to a zero carbon country!

Bruce Asbestos, Nottingham

Public service, not private profit.

Derek Wickham, Oxted

We’ve tried global privatisation – look where it got us. Let’s return to publicly-owned local and national services run for the public good.

Jacqui Lewis, Hook

Bring back British Rail, when open return tickets were the norm.

Mohammed Zulkernain, Slough

We need to bring the railways back into public ownership rather than giving money to private (and mostly foreign) companies.

David Black, Harrogate

The promise that privatisation would bring lower prices and a better service is as false with rail as with water, energy and, soon, the postal service.

Tim Byrne

The trains are old, dirty and late or cancelled.

Lesley Ward, Manchester

Give it back to the people, reduce the profit margins.

Kevan Broom, Chelmsford

The rail network does not work under privatisation and needs to be taken back into our hands, run for commuters not profiteers.

Dot Walker, Maldon

The present system is inefficient and wastes money. It’s time for change.

Michael Heslop, Durham

I always thought Labour should re-nationalise all our services as well as BR.

Eunice Wormald, Nuneaton

Re-nationalise and bring back efficiency.

Martin Gentile, Exeter

Of all the European countries that came to investigate Britain’s great railway privatisation experiment, not one country copied the British experiment.

Andrew Rosthorn, Darwen

Nobody did it better than BR.

Ian Donnelly, Preston

The longer this goes on, the harder it will be for people in this country. We want a functional and fair railway system like the rest of Europe.

Enrico Policardo, London

It’s time to bring in 24hr manned and serviced stations too.

Stephen Wearden, Lancaster

Buying a ticket takes so long. It used to be so simple when the ticket seller would tell you the best deal and you’d buy your ticket. Tax on fuel should fund public transport.

Jane Begley, Exeter

When British Rail was in existence the price of a journey was set. 1st and 2nd class. Now it is a muddle and many different fares depending on when you book. Not good.

Margaret Al-Rekabi, Nottingham

A confusing plethora of train companies and fares which does little for the customer.

Meg Gain, Stratford-upon-Avon

Now the East Coast line is in public ownership, it is more efficient and makes a profit.

Tim Byrne, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Railways and utilities should be owned by the taxpayers rather than exploited by investors both here and abroad. How can it be right that vital assets are owned privately?

Ian Wilson, Darlington

It would be good to have rail travel available to all of us and the need for profit to be at the bottom of the priority list.

Marie Macfarlane, Glasgow

Ticket prices are now so high that they will force commuters off the trains. Please re-nationalise the railways and run them as a public service.

Alison Smith, Hove

Privatised rail doesn’t work. It doesn’t allow for competition, so a private system can never work.

Jamie Anderson, Swindon

They were good old days. Where I live you could get a train and go a long way on it.

Lindsay McDowell, Leeds