Labour’s pledge to ‘renationalise the railways’ if it wins election

LABOUR has pledged to renationalise the railways if elected, with the shadow transport secretary saying that “today’s broken model simply doesn’t work”.

A Labour government would expect to transfer the 10 remaining privately run rail networks to public ownership “well within the first term” by folding existing private passenger rail contracts into a new body as they expire, Louise Haigh said at a launch event.

The shadow transport secretary said the UK deserves “to be proud” of its rail legacy.

She added: “But under the Conservatives, our railways have become a symbol of national decline – of a country that no longer works, and a Government with no plan to fix it.

“Cancellations are at record highs, fares have risen almost twice as fast as wages since 2010, and strikes are costing £25 million a day.”

Ms Haigh said the plan was “fully costed”. She said taxpayers would save £2.2 billion annually, but said she did not have agreement from shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves that all of those savings could be invested back into the railways.

The Government’s own proposals for rail reform, published in a draft Bill in February, include the creation of a new public sector body named Great British Railways (GBR) to hold responsibility for rail infrastructure and awarding contracts to operate trains.

But a Labour government would create a publicly owned version of GBR led by rail experts rather than Whitehall. “We will establish Great British Railways – a single, directing mind to control our railways in the passenger interest,” Ms Haigh said.

The shadow transport secretary said it was Labour’s ambition to make fares more affordable.

Ms Haigh said: “I can’t today set out that we will lower fares, not least because they are incredibly complex and regulation needs reform as well.

“But we have said that we will simplify them, that we will make them more accessible, more transparent and more trustworthy for passengers.”

Labour also plans to establish a watchdog, the Passenger Standards Authority, to hold GBR to account.

Labour also plans to bring in automatic delay and cancellation refunds, make digital season tickets available on all networks, and make timetables, tickets and fares more integrated.