NEARLY TWO BILLION SUCKED OUT OF RAIL

6 RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: jan/feb 2026 :: RMTnews Private rail companies have quietly extracted £1.8 billion from the railway in dividends since 2016, new RMT analysis has revealed. The findings, published to mark the first anniversary of the Passenger Railways (Public Ownership) Act receiving Royal Assent, exposed the sheer scale of cash leaving the system under privatisation. The report shows more than £510 million was paid out during and after the pandemic and £190.6 million in 2023/24 alone. This is wealth extracted from the network into private shareholders pockets, instead of being reinvested to strengthen and modernise the railways. RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said that nearly £2 billion had been taken out of the railway to line the pockets of shareholders and private company bosses. “Even during the pandemic, when operators were entirely reliant on public funding, dividends kept flowing out of the industry and often leaving the country altogether. “The Public Ownership Act is a major step forward and we need Great British Rail to bring track and train together as soon as possible to ensure every penny is reinvested in a railway run for the interests of rail workers and passengers. “That also means tackling fragmentation and the scourge of outsourcing which also leaks money out of the network and into the hands of privateers. “Tens of thousands of workers are sub-contracted on our railways, including cleaners, caterers, security guards, revenue protection and infrastructure maintenance, renewal and engineering workers,” he said. CUT PROFITS: Protest at Victoria station, Southend on Sea, August 20, 2022 in support of striking railway workers. NEARLY TWO BILLION SUCKED OUT OF RAIL New RMT report reveals £1.8 billion extracted by private sector in last ten years • FirstGroup extracted £203.7 million post- pandemic, including £60 million from Avanti West Coast, and spent £92 million on share buybacks in 2025 with another £50 million planned for 2026. • Govia paid out £154 million, mainly from its Thameslink operations, even after its Southeastern franchise was removed for financial misconduct. • Transport UK, the rebranded Abellio, took £114 million from three franchises now back in public hands. • Arriva, owned by a Luxembourg-based private equity firm, paid out £35 million, almost all from CrossCountry. • Publicly owned LNER returned more than £90 million to the Treasury. Key report findings: