In a nationwide poll, some 68 per cent of those interviewed said that passenger rail services, including overground and Tube networks, should be run by the public sector.

"Today's announcement that Stagecoach will retain the South West Trains franchise runs counter to what the public wants to see happen to their railways," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

"After the debacle of the GNER franchise it is also deeply worrying that Stagecoach has agreed to stump up a premium of £1.2 billion over the ten years of the SWT franchise.

"We warned that the GNER franchise would result in massive fares hikes, service cuts and attacks on jobs and working conditions, and that is exactly what is happening.

"Poll after poll has reported consistently massive majorities in favour of returning rail operations to the public sector, and there is a £500 million annual rail rebate waiting to be reaped by ridding the railways of the privateers.

"Bringing franchises back in-house as they come up for renewal or are unable to operate without jeoparidising services and jobs is the zero-cost way of achieving what the public, the unions and the Labour Party all want.

"Increases in capacity and staffing and new rolling stock are all to be welcomed, but just think how much more could be done without the fat-cat controllers taking their shareholders' cut.

"Private-sector investment is a myth because ultimately every penny invested in our railways comes from fares or taxes, but private profit is a reality that has drained well over £8 billion from the industry since 1996.

"The bottom line is that private operators are now getting nearly four times the subsidy that British Rail got, yet we still have a less efficient railway," Bob Crow said.

 ends

Notes to editors: Ipsos MORI interviewed 972 adults aged 15+ across Great Britain face-to-face between August 31 and  September 7, 2006. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. Where percentages do not sum to 100, this may be due to computer rounding, the exclusion of "don't know" categories, or multiple answers
 
Do you believe that passenger rail services, such as overground trains and the Tube network, should be run by the public or private sector?

BASE:   972 British adults

Public sector
68%
 
Private sector
15%
 
Don't know
17%
 
A recent Parliamentary report found that between 1990 and 2004 Greenhouse gas emissions from road transport rose by 10%. Environmental groups believe that improving public transport will help to reduce traffic and thus reduce Greenhouse emissions. Do you believe that the Government is currently spending too little, too much, or about the right amount on improving public transport?

BASE:   972 British adults
 
Too much
4%
 
Too little
64%
 
About right
18%
 
Don't know
15%
 
Asked in London and the South East Only (A sample of 528 British adults)
 
Currently the Tube is run by Transport for London, a public sector organisation. Transport for London is proposing to expand the Tube's East London Line, which currently runs from Shoreditch to New Cross, further into North and South London. If it were to be expanded, do you believe that this expanded passenger service on the East London Line should continue to be operated by the public sector, or by a private rail company?

BASE:   528 British adults in London and the South East
 
Public sector
74%
 
Private rail company
10%
 
Don't know
16%