Analysis

The single biggest organisation in the railway, Network Rail, is already publicly owned. And taking passenger franchises into public hands as they expire is relatively straightforward.

However, all of the rail freight companies apart from Direct Rail Services are privately operated, and Labour simply says it will expand the provision of publicly operated freight services - possibly via DRS. There are also open access passenger and charter operators with rights to run on the network.

Virtually all rolling stock is privately owned and acquiring train fleets from leasing companies is likely to be hugely expensive. It is unclear whether Labour would seek to achieve this, and the manifesto makes no commitment to do so.

An easier option could be for a publicly owned railway to itself replace existing fleets when they are withdrawn - but this could then be dependent on Treasury funding.

On structure, Labour’s intention appears to be to reintegrate track and train, but this could be complicated if it holds a referendum which keeps Britain in the European Union.

There are no rules preventing railway companies from operating publicly (as most in Europe are), but there has to be a clear accounting separation between infrastructure and operations in order to allow fair competition on networks. In theory, a parent company could have separate infrastructure and operating arms, which would fulfil that requirement.

If Britain left the European Union, then Labour might be free to create a completely integrated railway - albeit one that would likely have an element of open access passenger and freight operation.

If Britain were to remain in the EU, from 2023 competition measures under the Fourth Railway Package come into effect, which mandate that subsidised routes must be put out to tender in a commercial process. A state-run operator could win these contests, but it would be up against private competition with no guarantee of success.

Labour’s commitment to end Driver Only Operation could be popular with some users and rail staff - but it will come at a cost in those areas where the policy is in operation.

Can Labour make more of the railway public? Yes, it can. But it seems unlikely that it will be able to do it all, or (if the Fourth Railway Package comes into effect) to keep all that it does make public in stateowned hands.