Give the railways back to the public. Private ownership doesn’t work. It’s not a new idea and it can be done with next to no cost. What are they playing at?

Naomi Brown, Southampton

Public transport, not private profit.

Stuart Pratley, Lewes

Put railways back in the public domain.

Gordon Alcock, Stockton-on-Tees

It should never have been privatised.

Kenneth Jones, Treherbert

Better a public than a private monopoly.

Robin Holden, Chipping Norton

British Rail still exists so let’s have this wonderful company back and get rid of these rubbish private train companies.

Colin Flowerday

We are the people of Britain and we want our railways back.

Patricia Gurney, Newark

Will a mainstream party have common sense enough to adopt this policy? Why are they so scared?

S Read, York

The only investment I can see in the railways, is in painting the stations in their company colours

James

The successful return of the East Coast Main Line to public ownership makes an irrefutable case for the return of British Rail. Bring it back.

Chris Coulthard, Carlisle

The banks now own virtually all our trains alongside lots more important infrastructure that once belonged to the people.

David Latimer

An not-for-profit governmental agency (like the company that runs the East Coast line) is the best way forward. Profits put back into infrastructure, not pockets.

George Forth, Slough

Make our railways cheaper and more convenient for everyone, not run by a private company only interested in lining shareholders’ and fat cats’ pockets.

Jane Marsh, York

I have nothing to add that isn’t obvious and said already.

Michael Morrison, Chelmsford

Bring back British Rail.

Liam Sheerin, Brighton

With a reintegrated railway system, the bureaucracy could be cut benefiting the normal people in society.

Frank Nicholas Adam

Put an end to this disastrous privatisation.

Fred Johnson, London

Fair fares for all.

Polly Stubley, Bristol

We need services run for and by the people.

Hugh Mulcahy, London

Poking our digits into the tyranny of spreadsheets.

Ian Halstead, Hull

We must rebuild our country’s economy and to do this we need a fully integrated and affordable public transport system centred on the British railways.

Paul Bright

Why is the railway punished so much? It’s starved of funding, sold off cheaply and then selfishness bleeds the profits.

Pete Thompson, Blackpool

The public should not continue to subsidise private enterprise.

Christopher Corbett, London

We need a centrally-planned, efficiently-run railway again, run for the benefit of the people, and no more foreign-run franchises or shambles electrification projects.

Daniel McCarty, Sunderland

It’s bloody obvious.

Paul Hernon, Llangollen

We need more space to accommodate cycles

David Harrison, Washington

Yes, but we need more lines re-opened (and not HS2) to create more capacity.

Hugo Rogers, Newbury

We’ve had enough of companies taking profits and under-investing. All profits, responsibility and decisions should be the Government’s on behalf of the population.

Richard Morgan, Bradford

Privatisation is an utter shambles.

Ian Walker, Milton Keynes

I long for the old days when the railways were run by people who were truly interested in their jobs and not run for greedy profiteers but for the passengers.

Elizabeth Cross, Chichester