Labour has finally announced its plans for rail, and the long-promised nationalisation is what many industry observers expected – bringing franchised operators in house when their contracts expire.
In many ways, the policy is similar to that of the Government: Great British Railways will be created, fragmentation will be reduced, track and train integrated more, and an independent guiding mind will execute policy. Labour says it would support ‘successful’ privately owned open access and freight operators. This is not in any way full nationalisation – but it is a pragmatic and more realistic approach.
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