Government to hold Eurostar in public ownership!

RAIL UNION RMT today broadly welcomed a commitment from the Government to hold Eurostar in public ownership heralding an announcement by Minister of State Sadiq Khan as " good news for rail workers and passengers alike".

RMT is also calling for further commitments from the Government which would ensure that:

• High Speed 1, the UK end of the Eurostar track, should be owned and maintained by Network Rail.

• The UK government should continue to work in partnership with the French and Belgian railways.

• New routes should be planned on a co-operative basis with these other State-owned railways for the benefit of passengers and railways and not on the basis of competition.

• The proceeds from the sale of the Eurostar property portfolio, currently held by London and Continental Railways, should be used for the benefit of the whole community with the emphasis on regeneration and social housing.

Bob Crow, RMT general secretary, said today:

"The commitment to hold London and Continental Railways, which runs the Eurostar, in public ownership is a welcome move which RMT has campaigned strongly for.

"We now want to see the Eurostar service developed as a co-operative venture with other European state-owned railways for the benefit of passengers and staff rather than for the benefit of share-holders and bankers.

"There is now no reason why other sections of the rail network, starting with the troubled National Express franchise on the East Coast route, can't be returned to public ownership as part of a genuine People's Railway," Bob Crow said.