The rail network should be brought back into public ownership and the East Coast Mainline should not have been privatised again says the North East England Green Party.
The North East Green Party urges the House of Commons to vote for the Bill for a publicly owned railway being presented by the Green MP Caroline Lucas in Parliament today. This comes on the day that the Government has announced the invitation to tender for the next Northern and Transpennine Express franchises – and two days before East Coast Mainline is handed over to Stagecoach and Virgin.
Peter Pinkney, RMT Union President and PPC for Redcar, said:
“It will be a sad day for the North East when the publicly run East Coast railway is handed to the private companies Stagecoach and Virgin. This is a decision which has been driven purely by Tory ideology and is overwhelmingly opposed by the public. In opinion polls 70% of people support bringing rail back into public hands.
Over the last five years East Coast has been run by the public company Directly Operated Railways and has returned nearly £1billion to the Government. That money should be used to improve services and cut fares but instead from March 1st the private companies will be making profits and paying dividends to their shareholders.”
The Bill Caroline Lucas is presenting will bring the rail network back into public hands step by step. As each franchise expires or private companies break the terms of their franchise agreements, they would revert to the control of a public body.
Shirley Ford, North East regional party coordinator and PPC for South Shields, said:
“The Greens are the only party with a commitment to bring our railways back into public hands and to invest in bringing fares down as well as improving services and expanding the network. Caroline Lucas’ Bill will save money, with no upfront cost by simply waiting for each franchise to expire, and then saving the considerable costs of the franchising process. In contrast the Labour Party are only promising to allow a public body to bid for each new franchise, despite pressure from some Labour MPs who support Caroline Lucas’ Bill.
We must reverse the foolishness of breaking up a railway system which by its very nature needs to be operated as one network. In Europe, between 80 and 100% of passenger train services are provided by the public sector. There is a golden opportunity now to halt the issuing of new Northern and Transpennine franchises and start a whole new chapter for rail for the North and the whole country. We are determined to fight for this bold change for the common good.”
Further Information/interviews:
Shirley Ford: shirley.ford@greenparty.org.uk
Peter Pinkney: peterpinkney@live.com
Notes
- In its last year before privatisation, our railways required just £431m in public subsidy. By 2006, the figure had reached over £6bn.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/mar/10/rail-privatisation-failed-nhs - Peak-time single tickets have risen sharply. For example, a single from London to Glasgow, which was £65 in 1995, is now £169 – a rise of 160%. A single to Exeter was £37.50 but is now £114.50 – a rise of 205%. London to Swindon has gone from £20 to £58.50, a rise of 193%.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21056703 - In France, a near fully publicly owned rail system manages to give its passengers fares, which are far lower than the UK, for almost exactly the same amount of public rail subsidy between 1996 and 2010.
http://www.cresc.ac.uk/sites/default/files/GTR%20Report%20final%205%20June%202013.pdf