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Exclusive: £7bn loot for Northern Rail robbers

Privateers' gravy train hits buffers as lavish subsidies revealed

PROFITEERING operators of the Northern rail franchise have been handed more than £7 billion in taxpayer subsidies in the last decade — while bringing chaos to millions of passengers.

Figures from the government’s Office of Rail & Road (ORR) reveal that the two operators of the franchise between 2010 and 2020 — Serco-Abellio and Arriva Rail North — have creamed off £7.1bn in taxpayer subsidies between them.

The financial support goes toward “operating, maintaining, renewing and enhancing the railway.” Serco-Abellio received £5bn between 2010 and 2016 and Arriva has pocketed just over £2bn since 2016.

Rail companies are also compensated by the taxpayer for any loss of profits caused by strike action.

The subsidies come despite current operator Arriva Rail North delaying the replacement of decrepit rolling stock, introducing chaotic timetable changes and stinging passengers with repeated above-inflation fare increases.

Northern rail services are to be renationalised next month after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps finally recognised the chaos presided over by the privateers.

Mr Shapps is also considering taking South Western Rail (SWR) back into public ownership after admitting “the franchise is not sustainable in the long term.”

East Coast Main Line services have already been renationalised because of privateer incompetence.

The RMT union says the “basket case” failures are indicative of the wider failure of the whole rail privatisation project.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “The collapse of Arriva Rail North and its nationalisation by a Tory government tells us everything we need to know about the scandal of rail privatisation, 25 years on.

“It now joins the East Coast in public hands after the spivs and speculators of the private sector reduced both to a laughing stock.

“Make no mistake, with other basket-case franchises on government life-support, the fight to sweep away the whole racket of privatisation‎, which has condemned Britain’s railways to the slow lane, is stepping up a gear and we won’t stop until we win.”

Northern is Britain’s biggest rail franchise, operating services between east and west coasts and from the Scottish border to Nottinghamshire.

Despite pledges to replace old and uncomfortable rolling stock, the service still runs decrepit Pacer trains, which passengers have nicknamed “shake, rattle & roll.”

For two years York’s National Railway Museum has had a place reserved for a Pacer alongside relics such as Stephenson’s Rocket.

RMT said that the “rewards for failure have been sweet,” with Serco-Abellio managing to pay its shareholders £178 million in dividends between 2010 and 2016.

The union is demanding to know what the government has planned for SWR, the failing service operated by multinational transport firm FirstGroup.

Mr Cash said: “It is now two weeks since the Transport Secretary put South Western Railway on notice and we believe that it is perfectly reasonable to demand to know what is going on and when he is going to make a decision.

“In the mean time, staff and passengers alike are left in limbo as the existing operator continues to stagger on. This is no way to run a railway.”

 

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