The Great Train Robbery

Richard Bagley writes:

Tory privatisation fanatics vowed to force through the East Coast Main Line sell-off despite admitting to MPs today that state ownership has been a glowing success. Transport Minister Simon Burns launched his Mad Hatter defence of government policy during a Westminster Hall debate on the franchise where he accused backers of public rail of having an "Alice in Wonderland" view.

The debate was prompted by shock news that National Express is again in the running to snap up the key rail franchise three years after walking away in disgrace. Middlesbrough Labour MP Andy McDonald detailed the public-sector success story since the 2009 debacle, which itself followed the 2007 collapse of GNER.

Under publicly owned Directly Operated Railways the line carries a million more passengers than three years ago, has made millions of pounds for taxpayers, and in late 2012 ran the most punctual services since records began.  Customer satisfaction was also the highest of any main line.

Mr McDonald said the country faced a stark choice "between an unending subsidy to private interests, or continued public ownership of a line which, in public hands, is 99 per cent self-supporting." Adding that German, Dutch and French state rail operators own various franchises in Britain, he said: "Why does this government believe that other countries can run our rail services, but that Britain itself cannot?"

Even brazen Mr Burns agreed that "East Coast has delivered a great deal in the past three years" in an "extended and successful" period of public ownership. But he then performed a political pirouette, rejecting the "implication that the running of East Coast by Directly Operated Railways represents an alternative model. This is not the case. The intention, as it always is, is to return it to the franchise."

News that National Express is again in the running for the franchise was revealed by Mr Burns in a written answer to Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn.  Rail, Maritime and Transport union general secretary Bob Crow said: "The East Coast in public ownership is currently ploughing hundreds of millions of pounds back into the Exchequer as opposed to robbing the taxpayer blind. News that National Express are back in with a spin of the roulette wheel on the East Coast shows once again the madness of casino franchising and reinforces the case for public ownership of the entire rail network."

Rail union Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: "The East Coast Main Line delivers a better deal to the public purse - to each and every taxpayer in Britain - and is a key tool against which we can measure the success or failure of the privatised train operating companies." He predicted that privatisation would mean "passengers, staff and the taxpayer are all set to lose out."