Closed petition Take back the Great Western franchise into public ownership

Closed on 29 October 2014

We call for the return of the Great Western rail franchise to public ownership when the current rail franchise operated by First Group comes up for renewal in 2015. At that time, the Great Western franchise should revert to the control of the Secretary of State, who will allocate it to a public body.

East Coast Mainline, which was taken into public control in 2009 following the failure of a private franchise, has been a great success. Under public control, Directly Operated Railways has delivered £600 million to the Treasury, increased passenger numbers, improved efficiency and consistently scored highly in surveys on passenger satisfaction.

We believe the private franchise model has failed. Passengers pay some of the highest fares in Europe but have to endure overcrowded trains and unreliable services. Since privatisation, the cost of train travel has risen by 23% in real terms, and the drain on the public purse has more than doubled.