RENATIONALISING RAIL

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: may/junel 2024 :: RMTnews 16 The Labour Party has unveiled its long-awaited vision for the railways including a clear commitment to bring privatised passenger train operations back into public ownership within the first term of a Labour government. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch has welcomed the plans as "in the best interests of railway workers, passengers and the taxpayer that should be a first step to completely integrating all of our railway into public ownership. "We strongly welcome these bold steps to fix years of Tory mismanagement of our privatised railways and Labour's promise to complete a transition to public ownership within its first term in office. "It is time for a railway fit for the 21st century that serves the public, not the privateers and shareholders,” he said. Under the title ‘Getting Britain Moving: Labour’s plan to fix Britain’s Railways’, the full document established the party’s intention to create “a new, arm’s length public body – Great British Railways – which will be a directing mind in charge of Britain’s railway infrastructure and services, responsible for the day-to-day operational delivery of the railways, for ensuring infrastructure and services work together, and for innovations and improvements in the experience of passengers and freight users”. In a radical departure from 30 years of free market orthodoxy on the rail network, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh announced: “We will fold the contracts currently held by private train operators into this new body, as they expire over the next few years or if they are broken by operators who fail to deliver for passengers. “We would therefore expect to complete this process during Labour’s first term in office, without the taxpayer having to pay a penny in compensation to outgoing private operators,” she said. RMT analysis shows Labour is right to say that they could achieve this in the first five years of office by ending the private train operators’ contracts either as they fully expire or at the end of their ‘core terms’. Under their new National Rail Contracts, the train operating companies (TOCs) have a core term, usually of around three years, and a full term of around seven. At the end of their core term, the Secretary of State can terminate the contracts without triggering any compensation payments (see table 1). It seems likely that passenger operations will transfer into the operator of Last Resort, which will be instructed to work together with Network Rail until legislation establishes Great British Railways. However, the plan claims that the Department of Transport will be instructed to deliver a new Railways Act within the first Parliamentary session. Crucially, Labour’s plan RENATIONALISE: RMT has campaigned for many years to bring the rail network back into public ownership RENATIONALISING RAIL Union holds Labour to election promises to re-unite trains and track to create a new single employer