PERFORMANCE OF NETWORK RAIL

That this House notes the Secretary of State for Transport's statement during Transport Questions on 22 July 2010 that Britain's privatised railways are up to 40 per cent. more expensive to operate than the integrated state-owned railway systems on the continent of Europe; recalls the report by Catalyst which found that nationalised British Rail had the highest level of productivity amongst European railways; further notes the comment by the former Railway Regulator, Tom Winsor that BR worked miracles on a pittance and was handed over to the private sector `in good order'; observes that, by contrast, Britain's railways have seen costs balloon since privatisation at great expense to taxpayers and passengers; and therefore calls for the recreation of an integrated, publicly-owned and publicly accountable UK railway industry as a matter of urgency.