5 April 2018
The only way to get Chris Grayling to choose public ownership for the East Coast franchise is to take away his other option.
Grayling has to decide between a not for profit contract with Stagecoach, or public ownership - but he keeps delaying his announcement! We think this might be because he is negotiating with Stagecoach over the new contract.
We need to intervene now and make sure they refuse any offer he makes.
Let's tell Stagecoach to back off.
There are three ways you can help:
Write to Stagecoach and tell them to back off
Use our simple tool to send an email to Stagecoach HQ and let them know that you want them to stay away from the East Coast line.
Come down to Kings Cross on Tuesday 10th April @8am
Come down and make a fuss with us and our big banner on Tuesday morning, 8am outside Kings Cross.
Here's our facebook event for more information - click 'going' and share with your London friends!
Tweet the hashtag #StayAwayStagecoach on Tuesday morning
We want to get #StayAwayStagecoach trending on Twitter! If you have Twitter, make sure you log in on Tuesday morning and retweet us while you eat your breakfast. It's important that we all use the same hashtag at the same time. We'll send you an email reminder if you're on our mailing list - so easy!
Comments
John Welsh replied on Permalink
Disability & Disabled People & Carers & PA Staff & PA Worker so have a lot more better good choice of rights & Life and a lot more better good choice of information in the community & Day Services and on the Bus for Disability & Disabled People in Northamptonshire & The East Midlands in the UK today now.
nicholas humby replied on Permalink
I have used East Coast for some years and can say it was much better with the state run company which provided loyalty points which gave me free
trips from Leeds to London and fares were lower anyway.
Last time I travelled from King's Cross to Leeds we had approx' four minutes to navigate the ticket barriers and get on the train.When I mentioned this to the ticket inspector onboard he was less than interested and then made a complaint to VEC and of course no reply...oh well that's Virgin
Lillian Lowery replied on Permalink
Public transport should be an asset owned by the Citizens of this Country - it should not for the Stock Market to decide the value of our assets.
Rose walsom replied on Permalink
Make the East Coast public.... It's an economic no brainer... We cannot afford to keep paying big subsidies to private companies for a non functioning service. The present government say they make evidence based decisions so again making the East Coast public should be approved by them.. Based on evidence based information and not political dogma.
Susan Shayler replied on Permalink
Greedy corporate interests. Only for the few and not the many! We’ve had enough of them! we want our railways back in the hands of public ownership.
Let’s get together and show them...No More apathy on our behalf.
Andrew Wood replied on Permalink
Two decades and the cracks are now appearing in the UK’s privatised railway. Three failed companies that have ran the East Coast route. Privatisation did not work in NewZealand now it is not working here.
Peter Baker replied on Permalink
Dear Sir Brian Souter, Martin Griffiths, Ross Paterson and Will Whitehorn,
I know that Chris Grayling is assessing and preparing for the possibility that Stagecoach continues to run the East Coast mainline for at least the next two years. I am writing to you because I don’t think this is in the public interest. His motives are idealogical, not commercially viable.
The East Coast Mainline has not worked in private hands and you can only make it work with millions of pounds of public money; not an ethical way to run a business, I am sure you will agree.
The public don't want a private business running our East Coast line at our expense; at any cost is not an option for us. For the sake of taxpayers and rail passengers everywhere, please turn down this contract, step out of the spotlight, and allow the line to be brought back into public ownership.
76% of the public want our railways to be in public ownership. 84% of people disagree with the way Chris Grayling has handled the failure to run the East Coast line so far. This contract is more hassle than it is worth, for you and for us. However much public money you are offered, it doesn’t make commercial sense to go against the wishes of the travelling public.
keith Winkworth replied on Permalink
SNCF although in France and state owned will be used as hammer to crack nut by Grayling. Long running industrial disputes in France will weaken any case for state ownership of rail in UK because it appears Mr Macron is Conservatives kind of leader and will undertake mass outsourcing in France and irony is Companies specialising in outsourcing: Compass Group, Serco, Capita are all UK based and will no doubt be lobbying French to get contracts under EU rules which Grayling wants to get out of!
Martyn Wood-Bevan replied on Permalink
I've stopped using railways because it is much cheaper to go everywhere by car and much safer unless there are guards on board. Totally messed up service!
Trevor Green replied on Permalink
It's called public transport and it should be owned by the public. Tell any would be buyers that the service will be renationised and they will not receive any public funding to compensate them for their inefficiencies.
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