The British government renationalizes a first railway group – Liberation

A turning point for British railways. South Western railway, a railway company that operates in southwest England, has become the first to iron in the Giron As part of the Rail Rail of the British Labor government.

It is « A new era for rail »welcomed the Ministry of Transport in a press release. « We are going to say goodbye to thirty years of ineffectiveness, waste and frustration of passengers »said Minister Heidi Alexander during a visit this week in a trains deposit in southern England. « We will move forward with confidence to a new future for railways. »

The privatization of rail operators had taken place in the mid -1990s, Under Prime Minister John Major, in continuity with the liberal policy of Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s. Despite the promise of better service, increased investment and lower spending for the State, the project was however very unpopular, denounced by unions, opposition, certain conservatives and a large part of the population. The number of passengers had increased at first, as well as investments.

But a derailment caused by microcracks in the rails, which left four dead in 2000, deeply shocked public opinion. Cancellations and delays have also become commonplace and passengers complained about prices.

The Ferré network has since returned to public, managed by the company Network Rail. Four out of fourteen operators in England have already been ironed in public control in recent years due to their poor performances. But the idea was then Manage them temporarily before returning to the private sector.

The Labor majority, in power since July, has approved at the end of November a law which requires nationalizing private operators at the expiration of their contracts – or even earlier in the event of poor management – to group them in an organization named « Great British Railways ». According to the end of the contracts, according to the government, makes it possible to avoid paying compensation to current operators. They will all expire by 2027.

The sector unions, which have launched in recent years a wave of strikes under pressure from the crisis of purchasing power caused by inflation, have greeted the recovery by the State. « Everyone in the railway sector knows that privatization (…) has not worked and still does not work », commented Mick Whelan, secretary general of the ASLEF train drivers union in statements published Thursday.

The return of these companies in the public fold « Guarantee that the services are managed in the interest of passengers, and not shareholders », but resolve « The structural problems that hinder the rail network (…) will take time », warned Minister Heidi Alexander. The government announced in December that the first company concerned would be South Western Railway. The company will follow « C2C » on July 20 and then « Greater Anglia » on October 12.