Margaret Mullane, Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Dagenham and Rainham at the next General Election, has pledged to get train services back on track by backing Labour’s plans to overhaul Britain’s broken railways.
A growing economy and public services fit for the future need a modern transport system to support the flow of people and goods across the country. Labour’s plans to get Britain moving are central to boosting productivity and driving growth.
Under the Conservatives Britain’s broken rail network is simply not delivering; cancellations have soared to record high levels, fares have risen almost twice as fast as wages since 2010, and strikes are costing taxpayers £25m for every day they go ahead, whilst taxpayers fork out huge subsidies to pay for trains that are overcrowded, delayed or cancelled.
Labour will fold existing private passenger rail contracts into Great British Railways as they expire, without the public paying a penny in compensation costs, as part of a publicly owned and passenger focused railway.
During its first term, a Labour Government would:
Put the passenger first, by delivering a best-price ticket guarantee for passengers, and rolling out automatic delay repay and digital season tickets across the network,
Establish a powerful new passenger watchdog, the Passenger Standards Authority, to hold Great British Railways to account for passengers,
Deliver significant savings to the taxpayer by eliminating fragmentation, waste, bureaucracy and by stopping profits leaking out to private operators,
Create a unified, publicly owned, accountable and arm’s length Great British Railways, which will be led by rail experts, not Whitehall,
Expect to complete the transition to public ownership within the first term of a Labour Government, by folding existing private passenger rail contracts into the new body as they expire, without the taxpayer paying a penny in compensation costs,
Give devolved leaders, including Mayoral Combined Authorities, a statutory role in the rail network, allowing decisions about the railways to be taken closer to the communities they serve,
Support successful open access and freight operators to continue to deliver and set clear objectives and targets for passenger services and freight growth.
Margaret Mullane PPC for Dagenham & Rainham said: “For too long many people in Dagenham and Rainham have been let down by unreliable and inefficient train services, holding back our economy and stopping people accessing commuter opportunities outside London. That’s why I am supporting Labour’s plans to create Great British Railways - a new, publicly owned and expert-led body to run our railways and put the passenger first. Labour’s plans will mean reliable, safe, efficient, accessible, affordable, and quality train services, no matter where you live.”
Louise Haigh, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Transport said: “Labour will deliver the biggest overhaul in our railways for a generation, ending the deepening crisis and chaos that passengers have been forced to endure in recent years. Underinvestment, fragmentation, inefficiency, waste and 14 years of tinkering by Conservative Ministers have left our railways unfit to meet the demands of modern Britain. Under Labour, a publicly owned and controlled railway will focus on what matters to passengers.”
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