Political Opinion: Full steam ahead

I was really delighted to be at Leighton Buzzard Station as local trains returned back where they belong - in public hands.

For the first time in 30 years, they’re being run first and foremost in the interests of passengers, not private shareholders.

It’s all part of a plan for a new system designed around reliability, value for money and accountability, not complex contracts and finger-pointing when things go wrong.

London Northwestern now joins seven other operators already in public ownership. And by the end of 2027, all passenger services will be publicly owned, which is when it gets really exciting.

Public ownership is not a magic wand. But, as I dis­cussed with Rail Min­is­ter Lord Hendy recently, it is necessary and there are really good reasons for it.

For too long, commercial confidentiality has been used as an excuse to stop the Government accessing information about services it is paying for. That’s daft.

£150 million a year will be saved in fees at no extra cost to taxpayers.

Lessons learned in one part of the network will be easily shared across others, improving performance for everyone.

The Conservatives' privatisation experiment failed. The last government basically admit­ted that. But for ideo­lo­gical reas­ons, their half-baked plans for reform of the rail­ways stalled for years. Review after review was under­taken, but they didn’t take action for passengers.

Labour’s approach is different. Prac­tical. To deliver bet­ter ser­vices and bet­ter value for money.

For too long, our railways have been weighed down by fragmentation. One organisation responsible for the track, another for the trains.

So I was proud to vote to create Great British Railways to bring everything back together under a single guiding mind. It merges a confusing web of 17 different organisations into one. GBR will set timetables, manage the tracks, stations and passenger trains, creating a clear sense of direction and responsibility across the railway. Our railway.

Every­one will be able to use the GBR app to plan jour­neys and buy tick­ets without booking fees.

As a town home to thousands of commuters, and with 50,000-plus trains arriving and departing Leighton Buzzard Station a year, the benefits will truly be felt locally on red, white and blue trains. Yes, it’s full steam ahead.