An overwhelming majority of the public would support renationalising the railways amid cancellations, delays and complaints of poor service from private rail operators, a new poll reveals.
The exclusive survey for The Independent also found nearly six out of 10 people think that the privatisation of Britain’s railways has been a failure.
Pressure has been mounting on transport secretary Chris Grayling as thousands of commuters faced weeks of cancellations and delays, after sweeping timetable changes were brought in by Govia Thameslink Rail (GTR) and Northern Rail.
Theresa May branded the disruption “unacceptable” when she discussed the issue with her cabinet last week, increasing pressure on the transport secretary.
It also comes after the East Coast mainline was taken back under public control, as the troubled franchise agreement between Virgin Trains and Stagecoach had to be scrapped.
The BMG Research poll, which was conducted amid widespread rail chaos last week, found 64 per cent of voters would support bringing the railways back into public ownership, while just 19 per cent of people would oppose it.
And 56 per cent branded the privatisation of the railways a failure, with only 15 per cent of people saying it had been a success.
The poll found a major appetite for tougher sanctions against private…
