It has not benefited passengers having numerous rail companies, nor is it ethical for these to be profit-making, even though I myself might benefit through my pension.

Joan Innes, Huddersfield

As a supporter of TUSC, I am 150% behind re-nationalising state infrastructure, including BR.

David Pearce, London

We deserve the best railway in the world.

Steve Smyth, Stonehouse

Public services should remain as public not private enterprise. Put people before profit.

Jenny Dimond, Ware

The public transport system must be attractive enough to leave your car at home, thereby helping to save the planet.

Brian Racher

Privatisation hasn’t worked and the debt is even bigger than British Rail ever had.

Darren Rafferty, Sheffield

Train travel in the UK is far too expensive for such a poor service.

Scott Foy, Paisley

Privatisation has been an expensive shambles, only made banks money, and has backfired as a way of scrapping rail travel.

Paul Leyland, Shaw

Good luck guys.

Simran Gill, London

Great idea, about time.

Patrick Hilley, Keighley

Trains in Suffolk are as rare as hens teeth.

Fred Vintner, Ipswich

Returning to British Rail would simplify all the Ticket Clerks’ jobs greatly.

John Conley

Things were so much better under BR.

Julia Burns, Cardiff

The current franchise agreements mean that profits can be sucked away from the railways by private companies, yet the government then has to stump up money for investment.

Peter Dickinson, Brierley Hill

Nationalisation is what the rail system needs.

Isaac Reid-Guest, Birmingham

How absurd to break up an integrated organisation and sell it to private companies and to other state railway companies.

Nick Shelley, Nottingham

Public transport should not be run for private profit.

Ray Packham, Bradford-on-Avon

People above profit.

Jim Forward, Brighton

There should be subsidised or free rail travel for the unemployed and those on low incomes. I can’t even afford to go to London for a day to see the free museums.

Mark Morgan, Petersfield

Too many words.

Lee Miller, Warrington

British Rail offered a good service. Left as it was, it would soon have reached the glossy standards of today’s overpriced, heavily subsidised private companies.

Roger Bridgman, London

Reopen as many of the stations as possible closed by the Beeching review. Glastonbury has no station. Neither does Wells or Shepton Mallet in Somerset.

Simon Ford, Glastonbury

Stolen from the British public by Tory capitalists. Re-nationalise now.

John Lomax, Manchester

Please bring back British Rail.

Hilary Hillier, Beeston

The sooner we get a public rail service, run for the benefit of the public rather than shareholders, the better.

Charles Reid, Leicester

East Coast is better now than it has been for years.

Timothy Wilson, Dundee

We need a joined up service and not a cartel of lots of different companies offering us the same tickets and prices.

Jean Coates, Harrogate

We did not have a say in selling it off and the way it was done cost the taxpayers a huge amount of money.

Peter Hencher-Serafin, Studley

Privatisation of the railways has proved to be as ridiculous and impracticable a notion as it always appeared. It’s time to go back to common sense.

Jim McClew, Washington

Time for a real change in politics, time for the nation’s good and the welfare of all, not just shareholders.

Geoff Walker, Stoke-on-Trent