Thursday, August 18, 2011

Neil Clark: Bring Back British Rail- a surefire vote winner

This article, by CPO co-founder Neil Clark, appears in the First Post.

Back in the 1990s, supporters of privatisation claimed it would lead to a reduction in the amount of government subsidy to the railways - in fact it has led to the very opposite, with private companies sucking in around five times more in public funds than the state-owned British Rail did. Effectively, taxpayers' money is going to help to boost the privately-owned rail companies' profits - no wonder Richard Branson is regularly pictured with a huge grin on his face.

If Ed Miliband were to move decisively to end this 21st century legalised version of the Great Train Robbery, he would reap a sizeable electoral dividend.


You can read the whole article here.

UPDATE: You can sign a petition to the government, calling for the renationalisation of the railways here. Please try and spare a minute or so to sign, and also tell your friends about the petition too.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Age of the £10,000 train season ticket: 'Scandalous' 30% fare increase will hit millions

Isn't rail privatisation wonderful?

The Daily Mail reports:

Rail fare rises of up to 30 per cent over the next four years were denounced today as a ‘national scandal’ that will price millions of people off trains.

The increases will herald the era of the £10,000 annual season ticket.

Passengers enduring overcrowded and late-running trains will face average rises of 8 per cent next January.


You can read the full story here.