Will virus-hit rail f irms be nationalised?
MINISTERS are considering bringing struggling rail operators into public ownership to help them survive the coronavirus crisis.
Rail bosses say passenger numbers are ‘falling like a stone’ and getting worse every day.
Industry sources have told the Mail they are expecting just a third of normal traffic by tomorrow, while many ‘ghost train’ services are likely to be completely empty.
The sudden and severe fall in ticket sales has left struggling rail operators with significant cashflow problems and means many are at risk of collapsing within weeks.
This has led to mounting speculation in the industry that Transport Secretary Grant Shapps will seize control of the railways to help them weather the storm.
The move would effectively put operators under temporary public control. Mr Shapps confirmed the action was being considered in a Commons debate on Tuesday.
He said organisations ‘shouldn’t be going bust’ as a result of problems caused by the spread of Covid-19, and one option was to have them ‘run by the public sector’.
A spokesman for the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) said it expected ‘most’ rail operators to be at least partly renationalised.
Operators including South Western Railway (SWR), one of Britain’s biggest rail networks, have been cancelling services at short notice because of staff sickness. On Tuesday, SWR introduced an emergency timetable to help cope with the outbreak. A spokesman said: ‘Like most organisations, we’re seeing more staff having to stay at home unwell.’ Meanwhile, the RMT warned that Eurostar could collapse without ‘urgent and decisive action’ from the Government. The high-speed rail network, which connects London with mainland Europe, has been running a heavily reduced service.
RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: ‘Eurostar is down to a skeleton service already and action must be taken by the Government as a matter of urgency to guarantee the wages of staff and contractors before the company runs out of money.’
The Department for Transport declined to comment.
‘The situation is dire’