The government is being urged by the train drivers’ union, ASLEF, to commit that all new rolling stock will be in public ownership.
ASLEF contends that the evidence shows it will provide value for money for the taxpayer, be better for the environment, and create skilled jobs.
Since privatisation, rolling stock, which includes locomotives and carriages, has not been owned by either the government or the train operating companies.
Instead, they have been leased at vast expense from private rolling stock companies, with a cost in the financial year 2024-2025 being £4.1 billion.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham recently announced major plans for vocational education at the Alstom factory in Derby, which until recently was under threat of closure, until it was awarded a contract to build new Elizabeth line trains.
If new rolling stock was procured publicly, jobs in both manufacturing and the supply chain would be protected and created.
ASLEF ‘s case for rolling stock to be publicly owned is that it:
- Provides better value, and would deliver at least a 40% saving on investment.
- Is better for the environment, since private rolling stock companies maximise their profits by keeping outdated, polluting trains in service.
- Will benefit passengers by using the money saved by procuring trains publicly to reduce ticket prices.
- Would secure the future of Alstom in Derby and other train assembly and manufacturing sites in the UK, and create highly skilled jobs.
In October 2024, the General Secretaries of the railway unions the RMT and ASLEF sent a joint letter to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, requesting that the Elizabeth Line and London Overground be brought into public ownership.
In February last year, ASLEF backed a major report by the Transport Action Network that recommended scrapping a proposed £10 billion road linking Essex and Kent under the Thames, suggesting that investment in existing public transport and rail infrastructure would be a viable alternative.
”Huge sums of money are being taken out of our railway in profits and dividends by private rolling stock companies. A lot of it ends up in offshore tax havens. We need to keep that money on the track, not send it offshore. ‘We’re calling on the government to commit to public ownership of all new rolling stock. Labour is bringing franchised passenger rail services into public ownership with Great British Railways. The majority of the railway infrastructure – including the track and most of the stations – is already publicly owned through Network Rail.”
”ASLEF is calling for the government to bring all future rolling stock into public ownership as well. These private companies took £2.9 billion out of Britain’s railway in the last five years alone. There is another way. On Merseyside, Labour Mayor Steve Rotherham has purchased new trains for Merseyrail using public funds. This has allowed them to specify the design of the trains to best suit the region and the passengers.”
Dave Calf, General Secretary, ASLEF
Responses
Train operators such as ScotRail, Northern, Southeastern, Great Western Railway and South Western Railway should get new trains to replace older trains that are decaying. With Alstom to continue on mass production on new trains as well to manufacture new London Underground tube trains for the Bakerloo Line, Central Line and Waterloo & City Line.
Aslef, the same pack of wolves, who have, and will do their utmost to put the consumer last, and have vigorously thwarted any attempts at autonomous trains which would save billions. The union is just an out of date Victorian financial racket, overseeing a huge scam called a gravy train, at the expense of the taxpayer. It’s 2026 ASLEF, well past your coffin time.
“Is better for the environment, since private rolling stock companies maximise their profits by keeping outdated, polluting trains in service.”
Hmm….anyone who argues this is probably too young to remember the ancient, worn out publically owned trains that British Rail used to run. They were never allowed by the Treasury to spend much money on new trains, so made do with patching up what they had, and adapting bus designs to be trains – the infamous Class 142 Pacers.
Not to mention the fascination that the DfT has had for things like the Hitachis, being convinced that some Holy Grail could be found with yet another new variant. All done by the sort of people that will undoubtedly be in charge of procurement for GBR
Well said, plus the fact, where is the money coming from for the Government to pay for the new rolling stock, one can only assume that they will have to borrow it, rather than the Train operators.