Renationalising British Railways Could Save Taxpayers £1.2 Billion A Year, Study Says

Renationalising the railways could save the taxpayer £1.2 billion a year, according to a union-commissioned study.

The report - for Aslef, the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, the Transport Salaried Staffs Association and Unite - said savings could be achieved through cheaper borrowing costs, removing shareholders' dividends and reducing fragmentation.

The study, by the Transport for Quality of Life think tank, said £300 million alone could be saved by taking train operating companies into public ownership.

A survey of 2,000 people as part of the research found that 71% believed privatised train companies were more concerned with making profits than providing affordable fares and a decent service for passengers. Only 19% believed that the railways should remain in private hands.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said the findings countered recommendations in the recent McNulty review of the railway industry, which are being studied by the Government.

He said: "This research nails the lie of the McNulty review that the answer to the inefficiencies and over-charging on Britain's railways is more cuts, more rip-off opportunities for big business and higher fares.

"The solution is simple - stop the greed, fragmentation and profiteering of privatisation, and we can save more than a billion pounds that could be invested back into the system. If Labour fail to grasp the popularity and economic common sense of renationalising the railways, they will be throwing away the political opportunity of a lifetime."

Aslef general secretary Keith Norman said: "Last week, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond warned that the railways were becoming a rich man's toy. To prevent that disaster he needs to control the industry, and that can only be done by ending the anarchic free-for-all that's emerged from the discredited private franchise system."

TSSA assistant general secretary Manuel Cortes said: "We can no longer continue to tinker at the edges. Privatisation has failed passengers, workers, business and the economy. We now need to open our minds to bold new alternatives that serve the interests of passengers and taxpayers rather than the god of profit."

A Department for Transport spokesman said: "We welcome the RMT's recognition that the cost of rail needs to be reduced, however, the case for renationalisation was examined as part of Sir Roy McNulty's independent study into the cost effectiveness of the railways. He concluded that the time, effort and cost of renationalisation means this is not the right way forward."

Comments

[Derek Lantin]

10:09 PM on 09/28/2011

Sir

RMT general secretary Bob Crow is huffing and puffing about the dire state of the railways.

Many would agree with him.

Mr. Crow believes that renationalisation would be the answer. I would be interested to learn where Mr. Crow thinks the British government would find the money to do so.

Sincerely, Derek Lantin. http://dereklantin.booksabuzz.com

[Peter Speight]

11:24 AM on 09/28/2011

"Renationalising British Railways Could Save Taxpayers £1.2 Billion A Year, Study Says"

aaaaahahahahahaha!
what a joke. BR was pretty poor, and over 20 years later, it's still wasting money. British transport is a joke in the world.

[Alazarin]

08:33 AM on 09/28/2011

Utilities and essential services should never have been privatised. Lest of all by a government too spineless to regulate said industries to prevent price-fixing, profiteering and racketerring.

Predictably, the BR privatisation turned into a trainwreck of epic proportions. They should have left it well alone. Sooner or later one government or another will have to bite the bullet and pick up the pieces. A rail service that is overpriced and undermaintained is of no use to anyone. What point is there in having a rail service if it's cheaper to fly or drive?

[Derek Lantin]

10:13 PM on 09/28/2011

I agree that privatisation turned into a train wreck.

However we must remember the shambls that was British rail before the privatisation, - poor rolling stock, bad service, poor punctuality, and a management and staff that was totally indifferent to customer service.

I would not trust any British government to run a business properly, MPs are simply not qualified to do real jobs.;

[Lawyer13]

07:31 AM on 09/28/2011

I do not doubt this is correct, there are too many rail companies, too may fares, the saying "t00 many cooks spoil the broth" comes to mind.

[Tim Haselden]

05:53 AM on 09/28/2011

At last: SANITY.
Anybody remember those days when you bought one ticket to travel anywhere in the UK? No this isn't an Arthurian myth. It actually used to be the way one travelled by train.
Or when the weather was nice, unseasonably like it is now, you could get on a train and go to the coast and have it not cost an arm & a leg or have to stand up most of the way because there's only one carriage on the damn train?
Of all the tories privatisations , British Rail is the one too far. A grave yard of promises ,Ever ridden the west coast mainline..? It makes you look at Richard Branson in a new light. Unless you book weeks in advance now, it's cheaper to fly than travel by train, which is frankly ludicrious. Pricing the poor off the trains leaves you with what you've got now, fewer services, fewer passengers and a massive hike in car journeys.
Re-nationalisation ASAP.

[FrancisKing]

09:02 AM on 09/28/2011

"Anybody remember those days when you bought one ticket to travel anywhere in the UK?"

You still can.

[Tim Haselden]

09:39 AM on 09/28/2011

No, you have to specify the route. Back in the BR days. The ticket was from A to B by any route. Now it's one route only because of having to specify which individual company you use on that route.

[Derek Lantin]

10:19 PM on 09/28/2011

Yes Tim, but the rail service you remember was quite a while before privatisation.

Pre privatisation the rail service network had been badly savaged by the Beeching Report cuts.

At the times you remember, the rail service was run as a oublic service; not run very well; and certainly run at a huge loss, but nevertheless it did extend to most parts of the country and was affordable, - even a 3rd Class was provided for the less well off..

The Beeching Report made things even worse because politicians simply are not qualified to do real jobs, - let alone run a huge business like british Rail.

Regards, Derek

[Miserable Swine]

05:09 AM on 09/28/2011

Rail prices here are beyond a joke: overpriced, overcrowded with the companies trying to pack as many people as they can in knowing they`ve got a captive market (the other choice is to drive, which for many is not really feasible - as well as not being very `green`). Renationalising is a good idea if it can bring prices down.

[FrancisKing]

09:04 AM on 09/28/2011

Most trains are very variable along the route. In some places, the trains are empty, in others (approaching a large terminus, for example), the trains are packed. More carriages means carting more fresh air around large parts of the countryside.

Alternatively - we could run parallel buses over the busiest parts of the route. Over short distances, the difference in travel time between a point-to-point bus route and the train are very small, with a useful cost reduction.

[Derek Lantin]

10:21 PM on 09/28/2011

But it is hard to see how it would bring costs down.

Prices may come down, but the cost would be subsidised by the tax payer.

[Matthew Harrold]

05:09 AM on 09/28/2011

Renationalise under a what is effectively a Tory government? I'm trying not to laugh/snort. Having said that in these times of austerity it'd be interesting to see if they would if independent figures bore this out. As it states, under 20% of the public feel that privatisation has worked for British rail, with companies being perceived as putting profit ahead of the public using the network. Not surprising when year after year we've seen above inflation ticket cost increases, with no real improvement in running times.

Dare I say that the public would like those running the rails to be held a little more accountable then the current batch of jokers?

[Stefan Davey]

04:56 AM on 09/28/2011

Compared to Europe our rail network is over priced and NOT fit for purpose! Renationalise!

[Derek Lantin]

10:26 PM on 09/28/2011

Yes Stefan, but where would the government find the money to do so?
Regards, Derek

[Stefan Davey]

05:45 AM on 09/29/2011

Can you remember what the UK rail network was like when it was not in private hands? Thatcher privatised it, and it's gone downhill ever since!!!