Try GOLD - Free
Publicly-owned rail may not get us back on right track
The Independent
|November 20, 2024
Nationalisation is often touted as a golden ticket to a better train service. Simon Calder is less optimistic it will work
“Britain’s railways are broken.” So says – or said – the transport secretary, Louise Haigh. Her social media assessment of the dire state of the rail industry, made six weeks ahead of the general election in July, remains true today. “Cancellations have soared to record levels, fares have risen almost twice as fast as wages, and taxpayers are paying through the teeth to prop up a failing system.” Ms Haigh spelled out what she intended to do about it: “Labour will deliver a publicly-owned railway that puts the passenger first.”
Rail nationalisation is an undoubted vote-winner. For anyone who can remember the 2019 election, it was one manifesto promise from Jeremy Corbyn that was popular with a majority of voters.
For all of us passengers who feel let down by the railways, bringing trains back under state control sounds tempting. Baroness Blake of Leeds, the Labour peer who is steering the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill through the House of Lords, says: “Public ownership will allow us to end the failed franchising system which has inflicted misery on passengers through delays, overcrowding, and poor service.”
“This bill will ensure that trains are run for the benefit of the British public, not for the profits of shareholders around the world.”
This story is from the November 20, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM The Independent
The Independent
What is Trump's 'board of peace' and who is on it?
One of the more significant moments at the World Economic Forum in Davos will be the formal signing of the charter of the \"board of peace\".
3 mins
January 22, 2026
The Independent
Raducanu's Melbourne exit offers a sobering conclusion
Cameron Norrie now last remaining Brit at tournament
4 mins
January 22, 2026
The Independent
Get ahead of the curve with the top adaptations of 2026
From 'Wuthering Heights' to 'The Odyssey', here are the best works making the jump to screens.
5 mins
January 22, 2026
The Independent
SCHLOCK AND AWE
The co-creator of 'American Horror Story' is getting worse, says Patrick Smith - as evidenced by this lurid, superficially glamorous TV adaptation of 2015 comic book 'The Beauty'
3 mins
January 22, 2026
The Independent
Press made Meghan's life a misery, Harry tells court
An emotional Prince Harry appeared to choke up in court as he referenced media attacks on Meghan, claiming: \"They have made my wife's life an absolute misery, my Lord.\"
4 mins
January 22, 2026
The Independent
Could the Greenland crisis spark a World Cup boycott?
Gianni Infantino's courting of Trump has left Fifa in an awkward situation, writes Miguel Delaney, with the real prospect of heavy ramifications for this year's tournament
4 mins
January 22, 2026
The Independent
Why Norway could be next in the Trump firing line
While the president's focus seems to be Greenland, there is another country that is crucial to Nato security. This, reports Richard Williams from Stavanger, could explain a few things
7 mins
January 22, 2026
The Independent
'My son is a sitting duck left to fend for himself in Syria'
The mother of Jack Letts, stripped of his British citizenship and held by the Kurds, tells Bel Trew why she fears for his life
4 mins
January 22, 2026
The Independent
Market plunge is too much heat for bragger-in-chief
Well, Donald, what changed your mind? During an unusually repetitive and soporific bragathon at the Davos meeting, even by his standards, the president of the United States at least gave us one big news story about his obsession with annexing Greenland: \"I don't have to use force.
3 mins
January 22, 2026
The Independent
AI judge puts Pratt in dock in dismal dystopian sci-fi
'Mercy' skips the big questions about justice and instead delivers something truly maddening, says Clarisse Loughrey
2 mins
January 22, 2026
Listen
Translate
Change font size

