It’s about time there was a serious debate about the re-nationalisation of the railways. The present system is a farce.

Katy Collins, Hastings

Re-nationalisation of our railway is the aim and let the people decide how it’s best run, from local to nationwide level.

Nick Dombkowski, Warminster

Keep British Rail as one.

M Spencer, Lutterworth

It’s time to get a proper train service back, instead of greedy investors taking the profits without putting any of the investment back into the network.

Kevin Munden, Newark-on-Trent

Bring back public railways.

Ali Ali, London

Under-investment, expensive fares and the farce of one company owning the track and others providing the trains. Capitalism for its own sake. Even the USA doesn’t.

Charles Docherty, Dumbarton.

Simple logic: a private company has to make a profit/pay a dividend to shareholders. Either there is less left over to invest in the railway itself or fares have to rise.

Paul Bungay, New Ash Green

Northern Rail Arriva couldn’t run a Hornby train set.

S Lazell

Bring it back. It works for the people.

Mary T Johnston, Edinburgh

We need fairer fares and more job security for rail workers.

Gurmeet Singh, Leeds

We need to bring back British Rail properly with an integrated public travel system like they have in Switzerland.

Paul Bright

The Tories privatised a lot of things from Maggie Thatcher onwards. The biggest mistake was our railway. It’s not British now. It’s time to buy it back.

Steven Harland, Bradford

Bring it back. Things are a joke with these companies.

Paul Tiebout, London

For too long the British public have been misled on this subject. Rail privatisation is a massive lie by government.

John Cupis, Bath

Privatisation was always a ridiculous idea and we need a transport network that is cheap, reliable and not dictated by the blinkered profit motive of rich investors.

Bryan Thomas, Bristol

The railways are abysmal. If the railways were run for a good service and not profit more people would use them. And we’d help the environment.

Tom McGiveron, Lower Peover

I long for the day when we have a national rail service for one and all.

Paul Rutter, Farnborough

Re-nationalise not just the railways, but the electricity, gas and water suppliers as well.

Steve Goodman, Wellingborough

The fragmentation and privatisation of the railways greatly compromised safety which lead to the Hatfield disaster and the subsequent re-nationalisation of Railtrack.

Matthew Eades, Bromley

Poking our digits into the tyranny of spreadsheets.

Ian Halstead, Hull

Could we get BR as good as SNCF?

Ian Buckley, Castle Douglas

Privatisation has been a completely failed capitalist experiment. We demand our railways be returned to us now.

Annette Mansell-Green, Birmingham

It is important that our tax money is invested properly in a nationalised, efficient service, affordable to passengers.

Natalia Hamon, Penzance

Please bring back BR.

Gill Boden, Cardiff

The East Coast line makes a net profit run by the public sector. Perhaps the rest can too.

Jenny Shevlin, Leeds

John Major stole the railways and sold them to his friends. It’s time to take back our railway.

Stuart Grant, London

I believe that a healthy democratic nation should own all of its own infrastructure, including Health, Education, Roads, Water and Railways.

Joseph McLaughlin, Coatbridge

I do believe in state-owned business, a working business but for the people and not for a small percentage of people to take advantage of the rest.

Ed Lung, London

GNER was the most efficient service in the country when back in public hands, which says it all. Privately owned means profit before investment.

Michael Barlow, Durham

The railway needs its efficiency and respect it once had. It will also create more jobs for the people who want work in the rail industry.

Evan Jenkins, Poole