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‘Build it, and they’ll come’ – the case for investment in rail
Aslef general secretary MICK WHELAN speaks to Ben Chacko about rail renationalisation, the Employment Rights Bill and why we shouldn’t write off this Labour government
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan (centre) on the picket line at Waterloo station in London, January 29, 2024

2025 may be the 200th anniversary of the railway, but train drivers’ union leader Mick Whelan isn’t celebrating.

“We’re not part of the Railway 200 celebrations,” he observes. The reason? A rail sector degraded by 30 years of privatisation, chronic underinvestment and a lack of long-term planning, meaning Britain’s network lags most European countries’ in speed and reliability, while costing passengers more.

“We go from parliament to parliament. In any other reality, having spent as much as we did on HS2, you wouldn’t stop, especially when it costs half what it would to finish just to put it into mothballs.

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