Lilian Greenwood MP, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, commenting on reports that train companies have suggested that Network Rail should be broken up, said:

“There are areas where Network Rail needs to improve but more fragmentation and more privatisation are the last thing that passengers need. Selling off our rail infrastructure shouldn’t even be on the table and but the Government is actively deciding whether to press ahead.

“Such a policy risks dragging us back to the dark days of Railtrack when passengers’ safety was endangered and the country’s network ground to a halt. The Conservative Party tested the theory to destruction twenty years ago but it seems that they have learned nothing from the mistakes of the past.

“If rail services are to improve then we need more public ownership, not less. Ministers must reject these calls from train companies and rule out the privatisation of Network Rail.