Shares in Trainline PLC (LSE:TRN) and FirstGroup PLC (LSE:FGP) fell on Thursday morning after the Labour Party unveiled plans to nationalise the UK’s railways if it wins the upcoming general election.
Online ticketing group Trainline dipped 7% following the news, while FirstGroup, which runs the Avanti West Coast, Great Western and South Western rail franchises, sat 2.3% lower, after falling almost 8% early on.
Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh announced Labour’s plans this morning, which would see the party bring trains into state ownership within five years of forming a government.
Passenger services would be renationalised as contracts expire, the proposal said, while open-access operators such as Hull Trains and Grand Central would be allowed to continue operating privately.
Most companies are currently paid fixed fees to operate on UK railways, with bills footed by the taxpayer, while four major operators are already under government control as a last resort.
Rail companies have also faced scrutiny over reliability issues and fares.
"We know there are no quick fixes and we're not going to see enormous change overnight," Haigh said. "It will take time to legislate and put the structural changes in place."
????JUST ANNOUNCED: Labour will create Great British Railways.
Under Labour our railways will be:
✅Publicly owned
✅Passenger focused
✅Fit for the future
Only Labour has a plan to get our trains back on track:https://t.co/VOW3LmtGpV pic.twitter.com/WePttcKfJD
— Louise Haigh (@LouHaigh) April 25, 2024