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Member of the TSSA and RMT unions picketing outside King's Cross station, London, August 6, 2015
RAIL unions have criticised the Tories’ draft Rail Reform Bill, which will create a “commercially focused” Great British Railways (GBR).
The Department for Transport said that GBR will “leverage private-sector innovation” while having responsibility for infrastructure, operations and oversight of whole industry finance where it is the franchising authority.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “This Bill, in its current form, will do nothing to address the 30-year-long decline in our railways since privatisation.
The HS2 debacle exposes what happens when public infrastructure is handed to private contractors – especially when set against China’s state-led high-speed rail success, says CARLOS MARTINEZ
A just transition to Great British Railways and a clean and safe railway for all is not only desirable but also necessary. MARYAM ESLAMDOUST explains