Labour begins campaign to keep rail line in public hands

A national campaign to keep the East Coast Main Line in public hands was launched today.

Critics of government plans to hive off the London-to-Aberdeen line to the private sector say that since the route was renationalised in 2009 it has paid back more than £600 million to the Treasury.

The Government insists privatisation will go ahead and plans to sell the line by February 2015, before the General Election.

Labour has pledged to keep the line under public control if it wins in 2015. Shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle kicked-off the campaign at King’s Cross station, backed by Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the TSSA transport union, who said: “The success of the East Coast line has exposed the myth that private rail companies offer better value for money to the taxpayer. They don’t.”

For the four weeks ending 25 May ECML trains were on time 89.4 per cent of the time against a national average of 91 per cent.