Selling British Rail was the worst thing John Major’s government did. Vandalism! The East Coast mainline shows public ownership can work when the right people run it.

Ian Hardy, Cambridge

Keep to one company not several in competition.

Dorothy Joyce Cox, Poole

Privatisation has not improved any of our services and the fares keep increasing. They are all in it for profit and their customers who have to rely on these services are not served well.

Marie Mcguirl, Clacton-on-Sea

And this goes for the NHS as well.

Lauren Murray, London

This alleged privatisation has been costing British tax-payers far too much and provided nothing for us. Seize the so-called rail companies’ assets and re-nationalise.

Tom Halpin, Aberystwyth

As a taxpayer I want that profit directly fed back into rail services and my rail fare.

Richard Sinclair, Hoyland

Improve the train service, and make it more affordable prices for workers.

Grace Keeley, London

Too expensive and all too crowded.

Margaret White, Cheltenham

Stop privatisation and serve the people. They pay enough tax.

Hazel Burns, Dunham-on-Trent

End this privatisation madness now.

Steve White, Barnsley

A national service should be in place which is run efficiently and fairly, where profit is secondary to customer service.

David Rice, Ipswich

Re-nationalise all our trains, rails, buses, power. Don’t let people get rich from privatising national services.

Geoff Proctor, Bury

My father, my granddad, my uncle, my ex-partner all worked on BR. How it has been run and maintained the past few years has been of great concern to me.

Sharon Roberts, Colchester

Competition doesn’t work in our public services. There’s no real choice. Attempting to create choice only creates waste. Profit is also waste. Adopt the East Coast model.

Sofia Layton, Heckmondwike

I’m fed up paying high ticket prices and often having to stand, fed up travelling on crowded trains, fed up with over-complicated ticket pricing and booking .

Sean Harvey, Leighton Buzzard

It’s time to stop subsidising fares in France, Germany, Holland, Japan and others with our franchises and start running a system that works for Britain.

Alex Lancaster

Put back public quality, get rid of private profit from an essential public service.

Geoffrey Griffiths, York

SNCF in France seems to work well as does DB in Germany. From home to university in Kent I go through five different companies which are never in sync.

Mal Kempsell, Liverpool

Bring back British Rail into public ownership. It’s a disgusting rip-off in privatised hands.

Annie Weatherly-Barton, Spalding

I’m a Master’s student from Newcastle living in Cardiff. Extortionate rail fares mean that I’ve barely been able to see my family over the last four years.

Liam Hamilton, Cardiff

It’s disgraceful that yearly tickets cost more than it costs to run an average car and the trains are late at least 50% of the time.

Igor Ryabukhin, London

I want it to be kept as British Railways.

Brian Adamson, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

I’m no socialist but privatising the railways was Major’s big mistake. It just doesn’t work.

Tim Jebbett, Llandrindod Wells

Privatisation of the railways created the TOCs (Train operators) and ROSCOs (Train leasing companies) all wanting a share of the subsidies. How can it not cost more?

Louis Stephenson, Fareham

End the privatisation disaster.

John Jenkins, York

I’ve caught the Cotswold Line trains for six years and I cannot recall a time when I could call them consistent or reliable.

Maddy Whitby, Stow-on-the-Wold

A national rail system should be just that, under the nation’s control.

Steve Pearson, Walsall

Only public service can deliver a service with the public not shareholders in mind.

Martin Cummins, Edinburgh

I believe in an integrated rail network, run as an entity for the benefit of all, without dividends paid to shareholders.

Susan Forrest, North Berwick

Travel is a necessity, a public service. No one should expect to make money out of it, and those who do should not be permitted to be in charge of it.

Joanne Cummins, London