Take back our trains from the fat cats

Delayed, overcrowded, and expensive trains. That’s what the privatisation rail rip-off has brought us.

The scam works a treat for rail bosses. As another rise in rail fares was announced on Tuesday rail company shareholders were enjoying a bumper dividend—up 21 percent to £222 million last year.

That’s why Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was right when he said rail bosses “cannot be trusted” and argued for renationalisation of the railways.

Company profits come first in an industry more than 96 percent funded by public money.

Bosses are making cuts to unprofitable routes while packing more people on less trains on the profitable ones.

Their vision is of a rail network with fewer staff on stations, no ticket offices, no train guards and driver only operated trains. At every turn they squeeze out as much profit as possible and undermine safety. That’s why workers have been striking back to defend jobs and safety.

The Tory government is pushing more privatisation and supporting bosses to weaken the unions.

It has asked city bankers to sell off Network Rail assets including its largest railway stations. It hopes to raise £1.8 billion but it will cost us an estimated £10 billion over ten years in knock on costs, fees and bailouts after more private failures.

It’s time to renationalise our railways and boot out these parasites.