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THE PRICE of train tickets could be slashed by 10 per cent if the railways are brought back into public ownership, an expert study reveals today.
This good news for long-suffering passengers comes as new polling shows just 17 per cent of people still want railways to be run for profit.
The Treasury would save £1.5 billion if 11 rail franchises due for renewal in the next five years were run by the public sector, according to the Transport for Quality of Life analysis of operating costs.
A massive £520 million saving would be made simply by stopping privateers siphoning off profits for shareholders.
And that money could be used to cut the price of season tickets and anytime day fares by 10 per cent.
There would also be enough cash to give free off-peak travel to children travelling with their parents and cut the cost of all other fares by 3 per cent by 2020.
TUC general secretary and Action for Rail chair Frances O’Grady said: “The UK has the most expensive rail fares in all of Europe.
“If services were run by the public sector, it would make a big difference to families and hard-pressed commuters who have suffered year after year of wage-busting fare increases under privatised rail.”
The report is released on the eve of the 21st anniversary of rail privatisation.
British Rail was broken up on April Fools Day 1994 under an act of Parliament passed by John Major’s Tory government.
Rail workers and campaigners will mark the date of the disastrous sell-off by joining Action for Rail rallies at 40 stations across Britain.
They will target early morning travellers on the 11 lines which are up for renewal in the next Parliament, including the Northern, Transpennine and West Coast Main Line.
Unite national rail officer Tony Murphy said commuters are paying a high price for the imposition of right-wing ideology.
“The UK has the most expensive rail system in Europe because of the demands of shareholders who cream off the cash at the expense of rail travellers who are faced with annual fare rises way beyond the rate of inflation,” he said.
