An actor portraying the ‘fat controller’ watches Thomas the Tank Engine drive pass
RAIL unions have slammed the government’s railway review as a “fix” after the investigation’s head suggested the government should not be running Britain’s struggling privatised railways.
Keith Williams, who is carrying out a review of Britain’s railways for the government, told the BBC that a new, independent “fat controller” style figure should be in charge of the railways, and that the Department for Transport should not manage it.
He also indicated that a railway franchise should last longer than the current average of seven to eight years.
The HS2 debacle exposes what happens when public infrastructure is handed to private contractors – especially when set against China’s state-led high-speed rail success, says CARLOS MARTINEZ
A just transition to Great British Railways and a clean and safe railway for all is not only desirable but also necessary. MARYAM ESLAMDOUST explains
On the eve of the 157th Trades Union Congress, MICK WHELAN, general secretary of Aslef, the train drivers’ union, celebrates victory in his campaign to get dignity for drivers at work