RENATIONALISATION CALLS GROW

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: september 2020 :: RMTnews 11 F ollowing research that private rail companies stand to make £500 million from Coronavirus bailouts calls for rail nationalisation continue to grow. Britain’s private rail companies stand to make almost £500 million in profits over the next 12 months according to new research, amid widespread speculation that the government is about to extend its Emergency Measures Agreements. Groups representing passengers and rail workers have written to MPs from across the political spectrum calling on them to demand proper scrutiny of any government decision on the EMAs and urging them to support nationalisation of the network to stop the scandalous profiteering at public expense. The letter, sent on behalf of rail unions and passenger groups, says that Britain needed a safe, affordable and accessible railway to support public transport and decarbonisation and that every penny of public money should be used to invest in a recovery plan that will get badly needed rail services back on track rather than leaking out into private profit. We Own It campaigns officer Ellen Lees said that if the government continued to pursue bailouts of the rail industry, they'll once again be ignoring the reality that's staring them straight in the face. “No matter how many times they try to prop up a failing system, the private rail companies will always come crawling back cap in hand for more cash. "It's time we ended this farce. Instead of funnelling millions into the pockets of private companies, we should bring our railways into public hands - so they can work for people and the planet, not for private profit,” she said. Emily Yates, co-founder of the Association of British Commuters, said that passenger trust was more important than ever, but it has been severely damaged by years of crisis on the railways. “Public ownership is now the only way to restore this trust, and start building the integrated, efficient and accountable system we deserve.’ Ellie Harrison of Bring Back British Rail said that privatised rail had never worked. “'Natural monopolies like our railways need to be centrally co-ordinated and run for the public good. “Now the coronavirus crisis has laid bare this simple truth. Public transport is an essential public service to get our key workers to their jobs. We must stop the bailouts to failing private rail companies, and seize this opportunity to 'take back our trains' for good,” she said. RENATIONALISATION CALLS GROW and people moving during the pandemic. What we cannot accept is that the privatised rail industry has continued to make profits on the back of this intervention. Far from being nationalisation in reality, we now know it was a continuation of profiteering by any other name. A new report by my union has shown that as a result of the EMAs, the train operating companies are making roughly the same operating profits that they were before and stand to walk away with £231 million over a 12-month period under these agreements. Worse still, the taxpayer is now directly paying for obscene profiteering by the rolling stock companies, the Roscos. These three companies, which own most of the vehicles on the network, charge rent for the use of their assets and these costs have been growing steadily as the government demands new vehicles and the Roscos exploit their monopoly positions to set prices as high as possible. In the last year for which accounts are available for all three companies, they made a profit before tax of £241 million and paid out £267 million in dividends to their owners — mostly asset management funds with networks of subsidiaries located in tax havens. So as the EMAs are bedded in as the new form of privatisation, around £500m in desperately needed public money will leak out of the railways to the train operating companies and rolling stock leasing companies. It’s a scandal that while rail workers have risked their lives to come into work and keep our services running throughout the pandemic, a few big businesses have been busy with the government rigging the system so that they can continue skimming off public funding to make profit. Last month RMT, together with public services campaign group We Own It, the Association of British Commuters and Bring Back British Rail, wrote to every MP pointing them to this new research and calling on them to support the growing campaign for a real return to public ownership. An announcement on new EMAs was due to be made before MPs broke for summer recess but has been delayed due to continued wrangling between the train companies and government. The government should used the delay to rethink should stand up for the interests of passengers and recognise our heroic public transport workers and bring our rail, and indeed bus network back into public ownership. But we are not RENATIONALISE: Ellie Harrison of the Bring Back British Rail campaigns outside Glasgow's Central Station