Minister confirms that the public pay for railway profiteering

RAIL UNION RMT has renewed the call to end the great rail rip-off after it revealed that the government has confirmed that the taxpayer will continue to ‘pick up the tab’ for profiteering on the ownership of trains on Britain’s railways.

In the same week that one of the three companies who own 87% of Britain’s trains announced that it had paid £80 million to its shareholders overseas – enough to pay for more than 400 new vehicles - the Rail Minister Chris Heaton Harris confirmed that the UK taxpayer will be footing the bill in full as he made clear that the government will carry on paying the rising costs of leasing trains through PFI-style contracts.

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said;

“This shows it’s one rule for the government’s big business mates and one rule for keyworkers and the taxpaying public.

“These new agreements are rigged to keep the profits flowing at the expense of taxpayers, even as companies all over the network start to attack jobs, pay and conditions for workers.

“The government should put a stop to this fat cat feeding frenzy now and nationalise our railways.”

ENDS.