Private companies are only interested in profit, not the customer or the employee. It’s time to give the service back to the people via the government.

Robert Skillicorn, Chichester

Re-instate simple fare structures, with one price wherever you buy. The thought of a public service run for the public should not be a revolutionary concept.

Dorothy Nelson, St Austell

Railways and utilities for people.

Guy Harris, Saltash

Everything was so much better under British Rail. You didn’t need to know which train operating company you had to use because it was all British Rail.

Robert Jones, Bedford

The East Coast rail line has been in public ownership since private operators pulled out. It is now in profit.

J Winton, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Brexit has brought our sovereign country back to its senses. The UK railways privatised some 20 odd years ago have not worked and only Virgin has worked for the elite.

Jack Ormrod, Llandudno

It should never have been sold off in the first place, Give it back to the people.

Ian Clark, Aylesbury

Great Eastern commuters have no choice of rail companies, so how can privatisation be of any use to this line? Private business always wants to make profits, not run great railways.

Russell Stubbs, Colchester

Tory dogma over common sense. They sold the railway to friends and now they are renting it back to us at extortionate rates. That privatisation is choice is such a con.

Kelvin Cantlon, Chorleywood

It’s scandalous that the government wants to sell off Network Rail. We absolutely must keep it in public hands.

Michael Thompson, High Peak

East Coast line has shown it can be profitable over the last few years.

Judith Priest, East Lothian

Beeching began the demise of the railways.

Mary Blundell, Grantham

It’s about time we could book tickets on the day without having to pay stupid money compared with having planned a journey 5 weeks in advance.

Chris Bourne, Nottingham

No compensation to shareholders. After all, they got the shares at a knock-down price.

David Robinson, Sheffield

My late father worked for BR and Rail Track and always moaned about how bad things had got after the take over, about penny-pinching mend-and-make-do and poor management.

Leslie Holder, Reading

This is a public service and shouldn’t be run for private profit. Why should there be profits when most services are overcrowded, understaffed, out-of -date and running late.

Suzi Boardman, Bolton

It’s far too complicated a system with so many different companies involved and putting profits before people.

Kathleen McDermott, Worksop

Public transport in public hands.

Cecilia Ballesteros, Hove

Common sense.

Rory McGill

You can tell by the overcrowded trains that people want to use railways and there are others who want to use it but are put off by the fares. BR did it better.

Raymond Austin, Houghton-le-Spring

I can’t help comparing the situation in Britain with that of France, which is miles ahead in the provision of rail travel.

Patrick Hulme, Avon

Public transport should benefit the travelling public not shareholders.

Clive Attard, Hinckley

Government should be putting money into the rail infrastructure. It should not be run as a business as the fares are ridiculously high.

Susan Farquharson, Bexhill

The general public are being priced out of rail travel by the private owners of the rail firms who only care about their shareholders’ profits.

Mike Shilton, Stafford

The Post Office too while you’re at it.

Sarah Kay, London

We need a service run for the good of passengers not shareholder profits.

Ian Cameron, Scotter

We lost a chunk of Britain when the small railway lines and stations were closed, and then some more when what was left was privatised. Put it all back where it belongs.

Chrissie Keelan, Preston,

The fragmentation of public transport is a massive waste of money. The tendering process, consultants’ fees and shareholder profits could be reinvested in the system.

Gloria McNeil, Peterborough

All parts of our national infrastructure, including the railways, should belong to the nation, not private companies.

Ian Stalker, Ripon

Rail and all transport should be a public service, publicly owned and controlled, not the profit making toy of the private sector.

Alan Martin, Liverpool