Unite reaction to the end of rail franchising - private sector will continue to feed off the taxpayer
- Monday 21 September 2020
Responding to the government's announcement today (Monday, 21 September) that the rail franchise system has been ended, Unite national officer for rail Harish Patel said:
“Rail franchising has been broken beyond repair for years but the Covid-19 pandemic has finally forced the government to accept the inevitable.
“However, yet again the government is failing to act decisively, allowing private providers to continue to profit by receiving huge amounts of taxpayers' money. This is simply unacceptable.
“Instead of the proposed new model which will allow privateers a renewed opportunity to feed off the taxpayer and passengers, the government should be permanently renationalising rail services to increase services, improve punctuality and reduce tickets prices.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
For media enquiries ONLY please contact Unite senior communications officer Barckley Sumner on 07802 329235 or 0203 371 2067.
Email: [email protected]
Unite is Britain and Ireland’s largest union with members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Len McCluskey.