The campaign to make our railways affordable and publicly owned was supported again by local Green Party members who organised the protest at Weymouth and Dorchester train stations. West and South Dorset Green Party have been committed supporters of the Action for Rail campaign, which aims to put people before profit where rail transport is concerned.
“Privatisation has failed the British people. And we are now paying twice” says Caz Dennett, local campaign coordinator. “We have the highest train fairs in Europe and passengers pay over the odds for their journeys. Meanwhile, taxpayers have given huge subsidies to private train companies. We contributed £3.8bn net to the rail industry in the previous year and this enabled private train companies to pay out £183m in shareholder dividends. It’s easy to see that our money is being wasted.”
Commuters and day-trippers alike were enthusiastic to receive information about the campaign, and hundreds of postcards, calling for MPs to support the campaign for an affordable nationalised railway, were handed out.
The local event was part of a wider campaign with similar activities taking place at train stations across the UK today.
