Infographic: nationalise rail and public transport! By Laurel Fogarty for the Socialist Party

Infographic: nationalise rail and public transport! By Laurel Fogarty for the Socialist Party   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Laurel Fogarty

Rail fares have risen three times faster than wages over the last five years. Meanwhile, profiteering rail companies continue to neglect public safety, threatening to axe more essential guards and station staff.

The cost of season tickets shot up by as much as 25% – compared to a paltry wage increase of just under 9%, according to union research.

Private rail companies are holding workers hostage with higher and higher fares. They preside over a crumbling, understaffed service, wringing huge profits from ordinary people and government subsidies.

Assaults on passengers and staff have risen steeply. Violent attacks on commuters and rail workers reached a high of over 2,880 last year.

And a further 14,000 train guards and station workers are expected to be cut by 2019. This will put commuters who rely on rail, as well as those who work on it, in increasing danger.

Public ownership

Bringing the railways back into public ownership – a move supported overwhelmingly by ordinary people – could save as much as £1.5 billion by 2020. A third of this would come from recouping enormous shareholder dividends.

Running the railways for public good rather than private profit could reduce fares by 10% over the next two years, and reverse dangerous staffing cuts.