Coming to a station near you! Railways and public ownership protest, Jan 5 2015

Mike Cross of Worcester Left Unity writes

On Monday January 5, three days after new fare rises take effect, activists will be carrying out mass leafleting of commuters in support of renationalising the railways. This action, on major stations throughout the country, has been coordinated by the People’s Assembly and is supported by trade unions, Bring Back British Rail, We Own It and environmentalists. This is an important protest and I would urge all Left Unity branches to support it enthusiastically.

Privatisation of British Rail has been a disaster for rail users. Enacted by the 1993 Railways Act it was put into effect 1994-7 by the Tory government of John Major. Passenger services were divided into 25 local monopolies, sold as franchises to the highest bidders. A number of operators now hold more than one franchise. Freight was split into six companies, five of which were bought by one bidder.

The result is a system that is fragmented, overcrowded, expensive and suffers from lack of investment. It benefits only those who own or run the trains. A clear majority of the UK public wishes to see the railways re-nationalised. This has remained the case over many years, in many different polls, despite an almost complete silence on the matter by the mainstream media.

Privatisation of rail: Myths and reality
1. Privatisation has been successful as passenger numbers have increased so much.
This is more to do with the rising costs of housing, forcing people to commute further, also the rising costs and problems of travelling by road.
2. Privatisation has been a better deal for the taxpayer.
In real terms the cost to the taxpayer has more than doubled in the period since privatisation although services have only increased by 33%.
3. Private competition makes fares cheaper.
We have some of the highest ticket prices in Western Europe.
4. Privatisation is needed to bring investment to make major projects possible.
Most of the major developments such as HS2, Great Western electrification and Crossrail are state funded, even if they go on to be operated by the private sector.
5. State-owned companies will always be less efficient than those in the private sector.
Two of the major train operators ARE state owned: Abellio (Dutch national railways) and Arriva Trains (German national railways). During 2009-14, when operated as a public company, East Coast Mainline returned nearly £1 billion to the government.
6. Private operators deserve good profit margins as a reward for the risk they have taken.
Train operator company franchises offer limited risk as the state acts as “operator of last resort” should the company fail. “Lots of upside, not much downside”; Chief executives have salaries of £640,000-£1.35 million.
7. Privatisation would be expensive and difficult to reverse.
Not at all… it couldn’t be simpler! As franchises expire they can simply be taken over by the state. No fuss, no compensation needed, just as happened when National Express pulled out of East Coast Mainline in 2009 and the state assumed responsibility.

The railways are an outstanding example of the chaos, fragmentation and inefficiency of privatisation. The case for returning them to public ownership is overwhelming. Profits should be re-invested or used to reduce fares not used for large executive salaries and shareholder dividends. We need proper investment to make rail travel an attractive, economic and environmentally beneficial alternative to the cars, trains and trucks that produce 85% of global CO2 transport emissions. A majority of the public are already with us on this one.

It’s clearly time not only to fight further privatisation currently proposed in many areas of public life but to put nationalisation firmly back onto the public agenda. Publicising the case for taking the railways back into state hands would be an excellent start. Left Unity members and sympathisers, let’s make a fighting beginning to 2015 by making the 5 January Railways for Public Ownership Protest a successful one.

For further details of stations, times and leaflet availability contact peterfrobinson@ntlworld.com or see the list here