Rail must return to public hands
Rail unions are demanding the government “end the charade of privatisation and the grotesque waste of franchising” after it was confirmed that the Office for National Statistics has reclassified the debts of the private train operators as part of the public debt on the public sector balance sheet.
In March, when the population was told to stay at home, emergency measures agreements (EMAs) were introduced making all running costs the responsibility of the Department for Transport. This agreement is expected to continue until at least the end of next month.
The RMT said this effectively represented another move towards nationalisation, highlighting the precarious position of companies like FirstGroup — which runs the West Coast, South Western, Great Western and Transpennine rail routes. FirstGroup has seen its shares drop by nearly a quarter amid revelations of that there is “material uncertainty” over its ability to continue as a going concern.
And in a letter to transport secretary Grant Shapps, Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the TSSA, said that it was no longer acceptable “to continue lining the pockets of private operators”.
He said the EMAs are estimated to have cost the taxpayer in excess of £3.5 billion in order to stave off the insolvency of private rail companies. “Our railways are simply too important to be allowed to fail — and the only way to ensure their future is to bring them into public hands,” he added.
https://www.rmt.org.uk/news/rmt-calls-for-an-end-to-the-charade-of-rail-privatisation