9 Feb 2026
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Our new poll shows 7 in 10 Brits say the government should use all savings from ending rail privatisation to cut fares or open new rail services
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A majority say they’d be more likely to travel by rail if fares were reduced, which campaigners say can create a "virtuous circle” in the railway
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Almost 6 in 10 say public ownership should involve passenger representatives on the board of Great British Railways
With more than half of train operating companies now in public ownership, a new poll shows the public expect the government to prioritise reducing fares in their ongoing rail reforms.
The poll, commissioned by us and carried out by Survation, reveals that 7 in 10 Brits believe the government should use all savings from ending rail privatisation to cut fares or open rail services.
Furthermore, 51% of those polled say they would be more likely to use the railway, rather than another form of transport or not travelling at all, if rail fares were reduced by between 25% and 33%, for example with a new national railcard available to all passengers across the network.
The poll comes a week after West Midlands Railways and London Northwestern Railway were both taken into public ownership.
The government has said that ending rail privatisation would save £150 million a year in fees alone.Figures by the rail union, the RMT, suggest savings from ending rail privatisation could be as high as £1 billion a year. Campaigners say using these savings to cut fares can create a “virtuous circle” in the railway.
The new poll also shows that 57% of the public, including 70% of Labour voters, want the government to nationalise rolling stock. Analysis by the Office of Rail and Road shows that private rolling stock companies have paid out dividends of £390 million a year on average since the end of the pandemic in 2022.
The poll revealed an appetite from passengers for a stronger role in how the railway is run, with 58% backing our proposal for a DfT-created passenger organisation that can put forward ideas for running the railway and have a representative on the board of GBR. Only 6% of those polled opposed it.
We are working with MPs Chris Hinchliff, Richard Quigley, Steve Witherden (Labour) and Sian Berry (Green) on amendments to the government’s Railways Bill to secure fares cuts for passengers, end to private rolling stock, create a stronger role for passengers in GBR and (re)open rail services in un/underserved areas.
Chris Hinchliff MP, member of parliament for North East Hertfordshire, said:
"We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to prove that public ownership works - that Labour values really do put more money in people’s pockets. That’s why I’ve tabled an amendment to the Railways Bill, supported by We Own It, to bring rail fares down.
“Public ownership can’t just be a new logo or a rebrand - it has to be something passengers feel every time they buy a ticket. It must mean a railway run in the public interest, ending the rip-offs that treated people as cash cows just to get to work, school or the doctor. Labour froze fares for the first time in decades - now we must bring them down. And the public is with us.”
Steve Witherden MP member of parliament for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr commented:
“Railway privatisation has proven to be a colossal failure, which the government is addressing with the creation of Great British Railways.
"New polling now shows that the public wants us to go further. My amendment to the Railways Bill will give MPs a tool to push for more services and stations in their constituencies, by legislating for the creation of a department that restores provision to underserved areas.
“If passed, this government will be known as one that finally put control of our railways back into public hands.”
Richard Quigley MP, member of parliament for Isle of Wight West, said:
“This polling demonstrates why it is so important that a strong passenger voice is so key to the future of Great British Rail – I will continue to champion any measures that ensure that the public are put first so we never face the rail situation we did under the Tories.”
Green MP for Brighton Pavilion Siȃn Berry said:
“The public is fed up with the outrageous profiteering of rolling stock leasing companies as they line the pockets of shareholders with record profits, while rail passengers are made to pay the bill with rising rail fares.
“The Government must fill the gap in its rail reform plans and bring rolling stock into public ownership too. This massive drain on public finances must end, along with this gross injustice.”
