TSSA have today remarked upon the recent viral success of their video campaign on railway re-nationalisation, five years after its initial release by the union in 2017.
The video, which amassed over 3.3 million views across multiple channels after being shared widely on twitter this week, highlights the ownership of British rail companies by national Governments of other European countries. It shows citizens of neighbouring states explaining how their publicly owned rail networks profit from having bought up British rail networks on the private market.
The success of the video follows calls from TSSA earlier this week for rail companies to be brought back into public ownership after the announcement of the July Retail Price Index, which indicates the public are likely to see rail fares sore across Britain next year.
Manuel Cortes, TSSA General Secretary, said: “We have been inundated with calls about our campaign video, which although is five years old, is as relevant today, perhaps even more so given the demise of franchising which now guarantees, heads, or tails, a win for the train operators.
“The only part of the video which is not still accurate is ScotRail is no longer owned by the Dutch state government, thanks largely to a campaign by our union.
“The Tory Government guaranteed huge profits for train operators during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now people are facing real hardship under the Tory cost-of-living crisis, and of course people are seriously questioning why railway profit is not going back into the British economy, and why their taxpayer money is being handed to other Governments instead.
"The video is not intended to criticise other countries for making smart financial choices on behalf of their citizens but questions why the Tories are not doing the same for our people.
“Rail privatization in Britain is a rip off for passengers and taxpayers alike.”
The video can be viewed below or viewed and shared on Youtube.
