This must be a joke: the government just handed out £20 million to shore up privately-run Southern rail.
Southern has been in chaos for too long -- hundreds of cancellations, chronic delays, suspected lies from bosses, and gross mismanagement have meant a nightmare for those who rely on it.
Yet the government claims privatisation works! Now for ideological reasons they’re happy to bail out Govia, the private company responsible, which has been creaming off the profits all along.
Enough is enough. Let’s get Southern rail back into public hands, where it can be run for passengers, not for profit.
Tell the Department for Transport to strip Govia of its franchise and put Southern rail back into public hands by signing our petition now.
Southern rail already got £40 million of public money as part of a government deal last year. And just one day after Southern got another public cash injection, Govia’s owner revealed its profits have soared by 27% to nearly £100 million! Meanwhile, passengers helplessly watch ticket prices go up and services get worse.
But there is another way. When the East Coast mainline ran into trouble, public ownership transformed the service with huge success. That can work again, and if ministers are throwing money at Southern, then surely they should be open to it.
As this scandal grows day by day, so does the pressure on the government to act boldly. If we work together now, we can get the government to bring Southern back to public hands. And that means passengers get the decent, reliable and affordable service they so desperately need.
Sign the petition now to the Department for Transport to put Southern rail back into public hands, where it belongs.
More information
The Guardian. 6 June 2016.
The Telegraph. 2 September 2016.
The Independent. 1 September 2016.
Sky News. 4 July 2016.
The Guardian. 4 July 2016.