London Campaign for Better Transport backs nationalisation of Northern Rail:

A commuter group is calling for railways around London to be put back into public ownership, in order to give passengers a better deal.

Credit: Financial Times

The London Campaign for Better Transport spoke out this week in the wake of the proposal to nationalise Northern Rail. The campaign has said that the performance of the Northern Rail as of late “needs to change”, due to constant delays.

London Campaign for Better Transport has ushered its concerns over the amount of late-running services and it’s “ridiculous expenses”.

Chairman Andrew Bosi of London Campaign for Better Transport has said that he is “in favour” of the nationalisation of the Northern Rail.

Adding in his own experience of being a commuter, Mr Bosi said: “Being a commuter myself, I face the constant struggles of finding out that my train has been delayed. The public need to take control.”

The campaign’s call comes in the wake of recent news.

Chris Barker, a Campaigner, for London Campaign for Better Transport said: “As of now the fare prices are “significantly high” and “have to change”.

The transport campaign strives to combat local issues as well as supporting organisations on a national scale for sustainable transport.

Leader of the Labour Group in Hillingdon, Peter Curling, said the rail should be in “public ownership” and that “The main problem with them being private companies, is that they are effectively a private monopoly. Therefore, they are able to get away with high prices and fares, whilst boosting their profits for their shareholders.”

However, according to Office of Rail and Road (ORR), just over half the number of Northern Rail trains run on-time. They have announced that this year, an average of 67 percent of trains in the UK run on-time with 2.8 percent of cancellations in 2019-20.

Cllr Curling added: “This proves just how broken our current system is, with a very unreliable service and excessive fares charged for it.”

A final decision to nationalise the rail is expected in the coming months. The Northern Rail would be the second rail franchise to be under state control, as it follows the renationalisation of East Coast rail in June 2018.