Bring on renationalisation

If the money successive governments have given to the private companies had gone to British Rail, we would now have the finest railway system in Europe. And most of that money goes to foreign state-owned railway companies.

As for all the extra trains now running after privatisation: demand has created the extra trains, extra trains haven’t created the demand.

I recently travelled on a nice new Great Western Railway train from Bristol to Paddington. Half the coaches were locked out-of-use because there was no corridor connection between the units, and there was only one train manager, so we were all crammed in like sardines with people all along every gangway and vestibule. Is this the bright new world of privatisation?

Corridor connections have been on trains for over 100 years, but somehow the private companies are allowed to take us backwards.

And in all my travels around the country by train, I have never spoken to a passenger who thinks trains should run without a guard, not one. Just one incident where passengers have detrained after an accident or failure and are mown down by a passing train due to the lack of a guard to look after their safety, and we will wonder how on Earth it was thought a good idea to run trains without guards.

So, bring on renationalisation.