AVANTI West Coast bosses caught joking about getting “free money” from taxpayers shows the need for public rail ownership, rail unions said today.

An internal presentation at by senior managers at the notoriously unreliable rail firm described performance-related payments as “too good to be true,” Novara Media revealed.

One slide entitled “Roll up, roll-up, get your free money here!” described how the Treasury and Department for Transport supported the firm with taxpayers’ money, provided third-party suppliers and inspections and then paid Avanti fees on top.