TSSA warning over Arriva Rail sale

Rail union TSSA has described as “very troubling” the sale of the Arriva Rail group to the private equity firm ‘I Squared Capital’. 

Arriva runs CrossCountry, Chiltern, Grand Central and London Overground rail services in Britain, having been owned by Deutsche Bahn (DB) the German national railway company, since 2010.  DB have now sold the company to ‘I Squared Capital’ for 1.6bn euros. 

Commenting, TSSA General Secretary, Maryam Eslamdoust, said:  “To say the least it is very troubling to see Arriva Rail sold off in this way to a company with no knowledge or any background at all in the rail industry.  

“Our members work across many of the former Arriva companies and will now want reassurance about how this investment group, based in the Cayman Islands, plans to move forward. We will of course, actively seek those reassurances.  

“However, this deal is yet another reminder of the fractured nature of our rail network which so many millions of passengers rely on. Instead of private investment with no real interest beyond profit we should have a railway run for the public and owned by the British public.”