AN ITALIAN train operator running rail services in England was accused today of trying to push the taxpayer into a £20 million bailout for its troubled Essex and east London franchise.

Transport union RMT accused Trenitalia of blackmailing the government into coughing up the cash to prop up its running of the C2C routes after its own predictions of economic growth for 2019 proved to be wrong.

The company is seeking to recover the amount in ongoing talks with the Department for Transport (DfT), threatening to quit its services, which run from Shoeburyness in the east into the capital’s Fenchurch Street and Liverpool Street stations.

Rail sources told the Star that the government is ready to step in to run the service as operator of last resort if the talks fail.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that “the only solution that can keep trains running is to bring these basket-case franchises into public ownership.

“‎The crisis on Britain’s privatised railways is deepening by the day. The Tories have been forced to strip Arriva of the Northern franchise, South Western Railway is on financial life support and likely to be the next to fall and now Trenitalia have taken C2C to the brink.

“This madness cannot be allowed to continue. For passengers and staff alike, these constant reports of private rail operators ‎driving services into financial meltdown is deeply unsettling and means we are running on an ad-hoc, short-term basis when we should be investing and planning for the long-term future.”

The DfT said it does not comment on financial discussions with contractors.