Take our railways off the profiteers
WELL done to the Mirror for backing the fight to take our rail services back into public ownership. As a retired British Rail worker, I can say the old BR was run far better than the service is today with different departments run by different companies.
When I was on track maintenance, if a job needed doing you contacted the signalman and it went ahead.
Now, by the time you have filled in all the paperwork, the job could have been done.
The Post Office is in similar disarray, with workers striking over closures and pensions.
I, for one, would love to see the rail network renationalised, along with other public services, so good luck in your campaign.
Dave Mellor, Warrington, Cheshire
I very much support your campaign to renationalise the railways. I travel regularly on Great Western trains and they are a disgrace. Since October I’ve sent in three claims for a refund for three different reasons, including long delays and charging me for a first class ticket when there were no seats available. So far they have not responded. The private firms run our railways for profit and there is no customer care at all.
Stuart Jarvis Abingdon, Oxon
It isn’t just the railways that need to be brought back into public ownership, it is the utility companies as well. For too long the British public have been held to ransom by private companies ripping us off with sky-high charges and the profits going into the pockets of fatcats. If the utilities and the railways were back in public ownership then those millions of pounds of profit would go to the Treasury. It’s a no brainer, surely.
David Marsden Bridlington, East Yorks
I agree 100% with your call for renationalisation. It’s nothing short of a national scandal that UK passengers are forced to put up with delays and cancellations, and yet have to pay some of the highest fares in Europe. And all the while foreign-owned rail firms reap profits to plough back into their own nationalised rail services.
Labour should make this their priority, along with saving the NHS. I believe such a policy would get a lot of public support.
Clive Manning Hove, East Sussex
Your call to renationalise the railways is the best thing I’ve heard in a long time. Like everything else under private ownership in this country, our rail service is in a mess. The problems began with Margaret Thatcher but let’s get everything back into public hands and that includes the NHS.
Michael Maher, Ashton-under-Lyne Gtr Manchester
In company law, I thought a contract was agreed between the parties involved. Therefore, in company disputes, such as the one between Southern Rail and the unions, it seems the contract is being forced on a reluctant workforce as happened with the junior doctors’ dispute. Why is this allowed to happen?
Terry Marriott, Waterlooville, Hants
The fact that the Southern Rail dispute concerns who is responsible for closing the doors on trains reminds me of the Carry On film Carry On at Your Convenience. In the film, union leader Vic Spanner protests about which worker should handle certain parts of a bidet. The rail dispute sounds just as trivial. How can farepaying passengers be put to such inconvenience? The Government should intervene.