Press releases

LRC calls for ‘full and permanent’ public ownership of rail

1st July 2009

The Government has today annuounced that it will take over the East Coast Mainline rail franchise vacated by National Express, which has failed to meet its contractual obligations for the franchise which it won in 2007.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said:

“RMT welcomes todays announcement by the Government on the renationalisation of the East Coast route but this shouldn’t be a short term, crisis measure.

“It should be a long term solution to the chaos that privatisation has brought to the UK’s most lucrative rail franchise.

“RMT’s national AGM will send a clear message to the Government today that they should strip National Express of their other franchises and use this opportuinity to begin the process of renationalising the rail network,”

John McDonnell MP, LRC Chair, said:

“The public control of the East Coast Mainline franchise should be a stepping stone to full and permanent public ownership.

“This East Coast franchise should be used as a public sector benchmark - and if the public sector performs better then let’s have other franchises back in public ownership too.”

 

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