A campaigning group which opposes privatisation has launched a new report which calls on the government to complete renationalisation of the railways by abolishing rolling stock leasing companies, boosting rail investment and reversing the ’disaggregation’ of the railways which was a major element of privatisation 30 years ago.

The report, ‘Passengers, not profit: a vision for the Railways Bill’, has appeared two days before the publication of the Retail Prices Index figure for July, which is usually the base for changes in rail fares in the following year.

Unconfirmed reports are claiming that RPI last month was 4.5 per cent, and that this, plus a 1 per cent ‘real terms’ rise, would push up regulated fares by 5.5 per cent in 2026.

The group, We Own It, is welcoming renationalisation in principle, but adds: ‘There are huge risks for the government here too. Public ownership of [train operators] is absolutely necessary, but that policy change alone is not sufficient to deliver the “new future” that passengers in England, Wales and Scotland are desperate for.

‘Without the right implementation and package of broader reforms, the results could disappoint passengers. Public ownership must be a clear success and it must be seen as such.’

The report will make several ‘demands’. These include being ambitious for the railway by increasing investment to levels comparable with other European countries such as Switzerland. The report also calls for cross-subsidy, ‘using profits to provide more services, integration, collaboration, efficient planning and a vision for the whole network’, rather than ‘continuing with disintegration and chaos’.

It will also demand that competition law dating from 1993 should no longer apply to the railways, giving preference to ‘economic, social and environmental benefits like increasing services for rural communities and providing access to disabled passengers’.

Meanwhile, the most recent statistics suggest that railway demand has now returned to the levels last seen before the Covid pandemic, and that growth is continuing.

Figures published by ScotRail just before the weekend revealed that almost two million people travelled by train in the week from 8 to 15 August, many of whom were travelling to Oasis concerts at Murrayfield and the Edinburgh Festivals.

Around 328,000 people travelled with ScotRail on 8 August, which was an increase of 19 per cent compared with the same day in 2024, and 327,000 on Saturday, which was an increase of 12 per cent. The Scottish Government has also announced that peak fares will be abolished permanently on ScotRail from 1 September, reducing some fares by almost half.

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