Madrid, July 17 (European Press) –
England’s King Charles III on Wednesday announced the renationalization of the United Kingdom’s railway system, including the creation of a public government body responsible for overseeing the service, called Great British Railways.
As the UK government has explained, transferring operations to the public sector will save taxpayers millions of pounds currently paid each year in fees to private sector operators.
“This will end the fragmentation of our rail lines, create a more efficient and reliable rail service for passengers, help people get to work on time and boost productivity,” he said in a statement.
The aim of the new state-owned company is to simplify prices, discounts and ticket types, as well as ensure that innovations, such as automatic compensation, pay-as-you-go and digital subscriptions, are implemented across the network.
A Better Buses Bill has also been included to fulfil the government’s stated commitment to reform the system, giving new powers to local leaders to franchise local bus services and lifting restrictions on new bus operators.
The British state added: “This will end the postcode lottery on bus services and give local communities across England the ability to take back control of their bus services.”