Private railway companies keep increasing fares, to make a profit for it’s shareholders, with no improvement for their users.

With current concerns about Climate change, how do you persuade people to use public transport over cars when travelling by car is the cheapest option! And often more reliable.

Keep railways in the public domain, services will be better integrated, and any money that is made goes back to the public funds.

I have no choice about my train service provider. There is only one station and one company running trains. It is a monopoly and a license to print money for leeches like Branson and Soutar and for foreign governments. Why is my overpriced ticket being used to subsidise fares in the Netherlands?

Please, please ask the award winning Economics Professor Marana Mazzucato to be an adviser for this review. She is insightful, intelligent and a world authority on private vs public sector organisations. I understand that the railway operators are subsidised by the Government beyond that of when it was State Owned, this cannot be a morally just way to operate a Nation's infrastructure.

Under the present privatised regime, rail services are frequently cancelled, terminated or started at an interim station, often with seat reservations cancelled.As a result, people are using their cars instead of the train because they need reliability. I randomly check the National Rail app for different stations on the network and I see a railway that fails to deliver every day of the week. Public ownership is the only sensible way forward.

Passengers deserve to know that the rail fares they pay are going to be invested in maintaining and improving the service they rely in stead of being siphoned off to provide dividends to shareholders.

Money cannot be allowed to be taken from the system and into the pockets of shareholders, every penny must be ploughed back in to improve the service, it's got a long way to go before it can be called fit for service.

Travel by public transport is too expensive, and there has been too,little investment in the last 40 years. Public ownership would mean all profit put back into the services, meaning better and cheaper service. We cannot afford a season ticket, yet have to get to work. The current service is v bad indeed, overcrowded, over-priced, poor standards.

The railways are one of our most important and valuable public services, yet passengers are very obviously not a priority at the moment, and the experience of catching a train is far too often a nightmare: expensive, uncomfortable, cramped, delayed, cancelled. Shareholder profits will always come first if the trains are operated by private companies.

As a former bus conductor and regular user of buses and trains, I really feel passionately about public transport. It is a public service and should be run to benefit the public not make massive profits for private companies and shareholders, nor should it help the pension schemes of other countries. I'm fed up of paying ludicrous amounts to sit on cold platforms and bus stops for buses and trains that either don't arrive or turn up late and already full. The fares are absurdly high. It cannot be right that it is cheaper to fly from Bristol to Glasgow than to go by train. With different companies running different lines nothing is properly co-ordinated. I say re-nationalise them and ringfence ALL the profits to improve the services. Privatisation has been a total shambles and enough is enough.

Our railways should be an integrated service run for the benefit of the public and not to make profits for shareholders. With efficient public transport the health of both our people and our economy will improve.

It's a public service run as part of the transport infrastructure of a first world nation for the benefit of the citizens of our country and visitors to GB. Not for the short term profit of world wide corporate companies and shareholders. Our railways should be the people's railway. Time to give it back to the people of Britain.

As soon as these services were privatised their prime focus was on profit rather than efficiency. Prices have gone up year on year despite falling standards and reliability. It's time for rail to return to public ownership.

The East Coast lline seemed to be working well under public ownership, and made a profit for the public purse rather than for shareholders. When it was re-privatised, it failed again. The only sensible policy is to keep the East Coast line in public ownership and to re-nationalise other lines when their franchises run out

The network last year was a complete shambles and it's time it was turned over to public ownership to take control. Almost double the price of tickets on certain lines so one company running the railways would put a stop to these extortionate rates and give us a fair system.

Private ownership of rail franchises has consistently failed the general public. The railways need to be back in public ownership as in much of Europe.

We need a rail system run for the benefit of passengers, not shareholders

If private ownership is supposed to be so efficient, then why is 3 times more public money being spent on the railways, than when they were publicly owned.

https://fullfact.org/economy/government-funding-rail-industry-bbcqt/

Railway investment beggared by previous conservative government, is beginning to get back on its feet, but a long way to go. Paying shareholders doesn't make sense. Government ownership would need careful scrutiny and sufficient independent caretakers to protect this valuable public service. I do not wear rose tinted glasses but we could at least return to a simpler system of ticketing.

The railways are an essential public service, like so many others including the roads which so far are almost all still public, and should be paid for by general taxation: Rail is much preferable to the crowded, dangerous, polluting roads, for both freight and as a public transport system for everyone if fares were reduced as in the rest of Europe where of course they have state-owned railways. This would enable more travel by those who cannot afford or do not want a car, could reduce car ownership, particularly in urban areas, reduce lorries, and result in much less pollution and fewer adverse climate change effects. I remember the publicly owned British Rail provided a good, integrated service and at much lower cost than the current privatised system which is fragmented not "joined up", in which individual companies are "not responsible" but blame each other for failures, where profits are taken out instead of being reinvested, where the ticketing and pricing are obscure and complicated, and where companies have a win/win, keeping profits but bailed out by the taxpayer, because it is an essential service, when they fail. The public East Coast mainline ran a good service (Iused it) and made good profits which went to the UK Treasury, but failed in private hands not once but twice, was bailed out at our expense twice and then privatised again - this is wanton ideology. As is not allowing public bodies such as the successful East Coast even to bid (public cannot be seen to succeed), but allowing bids from foreign state railways, so the Dutch, German and French states can own our franchises and run our railways but our state cannot. As with our other once public now private services, such as water, electricity (including nuclear now mainly built/run by the French and Chinese!), the NHS,..... this is surely against our strategic national interests, especially when even our European friends will just be competitor countries after Brexit.

If you have ever travelled on Cross Country trains between the south coast and Manchester you will know how bad the system has become. When I complained to the guard about the overcrowding he blamed the German government.

How have we got into such a ridiculous situation where most of our trains are being run by state backed European companies which are subsidised by the UK government?

There are enormous inefficiencies in splitting the rail network into many franchises. If it were brought under one publicly-owned organisation, there would be great savings in tendering for contracts, monitoring performance and shifting costs between the different elements. And of course, the profits currently paid to shareholders could be reinvested in the service.

It's been widely reported that 18 out of 25 UK rail franchises are run by foreign state-backed corporations. Foreign states/investors are not doing this for the economic health of the UK; they are doing it because ownership/investment creates substantial financial return for themselves. Separately, evidence both anecdotal and researched (it's all widely available online) generally reflects that UK railways are more expensive, less reliable, less connected/integrated, and much slower (between big cities especially) than the top performing European nations' railway services. So, we have a fragmented inferior railway service compared to the leading 5-7 nations of Europe, and the profits gained from running it are almost all going out of the UK. Decades ago the privatisation ideology/obsession might have made some sense, albeit very tenuously. The world was very different then, and all economic models are of a certain time, and then they become obsolete and counter-productive. In the modern world there is a need to be much more socially responsible. The past 20 years have proven that healthy societies are not about 'wealth creation' and the mythical nonsense of a nation of share-holders of profit-driven plcs. 'Wealth creation' and the free-market economy in truth creates vast wealth for very few people, and of course to the disadvantage of everyone else, notably staff and customers (the people who fund and enable the 'wealth creation'). The modern world, and the increasing pressures on societies, services and economies, mean that we must be now much more ethical, sophisticated and inclusive in how we value and operate our essential services and utilities. Railway services are not like supermarkets, car dealers, or online retailers, for which we have a wide choice. Railways are a monopoly, and also are an absolutely and increasingly crucial part of people's lives, and most certainly, when we consider road traffic congestion and pollution, of the health of people and planet too. Taking the railways back into social/national ownership is not just about quality or reliability or price; it's about the type of country we want for ourselves and our children. Do we want a nation whose vital services are run exclusively and determinedly to extract maximum profit out of our society (typically benefiting a very few faceless already obscenely wealthy people, who naturally put profit first), or do we want a nation whose vital services are run exclusively and determinedly for everyone in our country, where all 'profit' is reinvested for the good of the service, staff and customers, and the development of infrastructure/technology? The situation surely speaks for itself, and the railway companies must be taken back into social/national ownership. The question is then simply doing the maths to compensate the current ownerships, taking very firm account of how little the private sector paid for these assets in the first place, the vast profits that have been extracted, and the serious shortfalls in investment and development that must now be made good.

It's time for full renationalisation of railways and utilities.

Privatisation means people pay higher charges and higher bills for privatised services then pay more money through tax used for government subsidies to privatised companies and customers pay even more for improvements whilst funding executive salaries, shareholder dividends and private profits.

Even worse some owners of privatised utilities have had billions of pounds of corporate debt loaded on to formerly debt free privatised utilities that results in higher bills for all customers including those on low incomes.

Some privatised companies have even used offshore tax havens.

It's time for public ownership by the people, with the people for the people, it's time for full renationalisation.

Why are our "privatised" railways owned in large part by European *State* owned companies? Why are we subsidising their networks?

Money invested in the railways and paid by travellers should generate profits which are returned to finance the network, not put into the pockets of those who do not even ride in the trains.

Privatisation has been a failure, it's time to take back control of them(!)

I'm not totally against free market competition, but the minute you need a "regulator", you cease to have a free market. All you have, is a cynical parody of a free market as a means of making money for shareholders. If I want to take the train to london, I can use Virgin or... Virgin.

As we move into a fifth the way through the 21st century, the predominance of the digital economy has rendered movement from domicile to place of work, irrelevant. Oh, did I get that wrong? An economy which relies on the transportation of workers from one place to another must provide, without exception, a means so to do. If this is an incorrect observation, simply let these irrelevant 'services' stop, for they are surplus to requirements. No services. No provision. No companies. No profit. No necessity. If you believe our 'commonwealth' deserves minute attention, then you'll be wanting 'route & branch' revolution. #ToriesOut

The British railway system should always have been in public hands. It is a public service and as such should be run for the benefit of the public, not for private investors and shareholders. Public ownership is the only justifiable way forward.

It is essential that the use of rail grows and grows to reduce the strain on the environment. It is also imperative that the rail network is affordable, integrated and efficient and to do this it must be a public owned service for the good of the public.

Privatised rail services have led to much higher fares and a poorer service. Only a publicly owned railway network can deliver the modern and efficient integrated transport system the UK needs.

Private rail companies have made an expensive shambles of our railway system. At a time when public transport is desperately needed, to help save the planet, our railway system is unpredictably over-priced and unreliable.

Privatisation isn't working for passengers. We need to renationalise our railways.

The railways are a public service we pay for the profits should be used to improve the service, not subsidise private companies or foreign organisations public services. Private companies cannot run the railways efficiently or provide an adequate service they are more interested in profit lines. When the east coast line was taken into public ownership, the service improved.

its been run badly.It's a public service and should be run for the public service.

Privatisation has proved a disaster. Never has there been so much dissatisfaction with the railways system. Timetables are difficult for passengers to follow, the multiple fare tables make travellin by train a nightmare. We need a centralised, cohesive railway system fit for a future where public transport will be more and more necessary if we're to fulfil our country's carbon reduction promises. The current system, run for profit, is inefficient, fragmented and unfit for purpose. Let's take the railways back into public ownership and make them great again.

When East Coast was taken back into public ownership the service was much improved and also the staff were happier.

The privately owned railways are in a bad way, and the need to remove money for shareholders can only make things worse.

Privatisation has been a disaster, allowing the trains and services to deteriorate whilst becoming ever more expensive.

We pay more for a badly run service than we would for a good one because companies can pass on the cost of delayed or cancelled trains (replacement bus services or taxis, fines) by increasing fares). We need railways that put people not first!

Public services are vital ,not making profit for share holders , any money made should be put back into the service.Let it be run fairly and in full public ownership

The railways were nationalised after the War to serve the nation, until in recent years they were sold off to make a profit for a few people at the expense of passengers and where services have become increasingly shambolic. The railways and other transport systems must come back under public ownership to be run efficiently and affordably for the people, as they are in other parts of Europe today.

Our public infrastructure should be owned by the public for the benefit of the public.

A privatised rail system has failed massively particularly in rural areas where train services are almost non existent, it is time to bring all rail ack into public hands and run it as a public service for everyone, not just a money tree for th shareholders of private companies or worse overseas countries benefiting from the profits made to improve there systems, invest any profit back into the system here and build a system that works and is accessible for everyone.

The evidence shows that since privatisation the railways have performed appallingly. We need an efficient service that works for everyone. This will encourage more people to use it thus reducing congestion on our roads. There are so many positives to putting the railways back into public ownership.

I am a frequent train traveller, nowadays mostly for leisure and longer distance. I believe the ridiculous franchising system results in inefficiency, lack of co-ordination and a huge waste of public money. There is enormous cost involved in tendering and managing (badly) the contracts. Any change results in expensive branding changes and an outrageously complex ticketing system. A ticket I purchased recently I managed to reduce from £93-30 to £24-60 by ticket splitting. I resent the fact that I have to waste time like this but most of all I'm concerned for people who can't do this for some reason

Public ownership doesn't have to be a monolith. Private investment is ok (cf Deutsche Bahn) but control should be with a single public body fully accountable to us, the public.

Why should we continue to let (mostly) foreign companies make profits from our railways while they provide diminishing standards of safety and efficiency in return? The government is deliberately running down all public services in order to sell them off, which is not in the interest of the ordinary people of this country. It can be done better for us!

The UK railways were privatised in 1993/4. It was stated and clearly envisaged that two things would happen. Firstly, that the discipline and efficiency of the private sector would improve rail services and service delivery. Secondly, that rail subsidies from the tax payer would be tapered down due to the effectiveness of new business centred leadership of our railways.

The reality has been that costs, subsidies and fares have risen exponentially. Performance has never exceeded the 1994 levels achieved by British Railways. Furthermore deterioration in services, costs and efficiency have also been self evident. Control, leadership and oversight are and have been weak from the DfT, Network Rail and private enterprises. The franchise system has failed despite several reviews and direct interments from the government.

Renationalisation is popular with taxpayers, rail users, unions and the general public. We have had enough of inept leadership and empty promises of new investments that will at some uncertain point in the future promises us a decent and fit for purpose 21st century railway network.

The railways work for the good and benefit of all best as a public service and it makes no sense at all to have private companies competing for profit. No only does it make no sense but there is also the non-market place question of the tax-payer being used as a handy insurance policy by the government when companies fail. Further, the split up system is ridiculous and inefficient. It is a night mare to book journeys and there is no truly accountable customer service. Privatisation of the railways is a broken system that should never have happened in the first place.

Fragmentation of the railways has worsened services for all. Services are nolonger run when people wish to use them outside of commuter services. These services are used as cash cows for share holders. There aren't enough staff and lack of joined up services mean that employees of different companies cannot assist. Ticket prices don't make sense with costs per mile being exorbitant in many cases. There is no accountability for the service. Bring back into public service.

The success of the East Coast line under public ownership has set a precedent.Grayling must follow the logic and return the railways to public ownership.

The privatisation of the UK's railways has clearly been a failure. It has led to a fragmented system with poor service and extortionately high fares. The rail companies are putting shareholders before passengers. I am a regular user of trains as I do not drive and the fares are way too high. On longer journeys it is prohibitively expensive if I do not book in advance.

I would very much like to see the railways in the UK brought back into public ownership and I believe opinion polls show the public support this by about 58-60%. Therefore, there is a clear majority for brining the railways back into public ownership and this is the logical thing to do.

We need to stop the gravy train of European state companies running our trains and go back to a public railway. BR built the finest trains such as the Mark 3 and 4 which were comfertable and had seats that lined up with the windows! BR suffered from lack of investment by the Tory goverment so I do think it is unfair to say public owned rail was a bad thing. Despite all this, Intercity and Network Southeast operated with no subsidys, something the alleged wonderful private operators seem unable to do.