Campaigners to lobby MPs to keep Metro in public sector
May 5 2009 by The Journal
CAMPAIGNERS will lobby MPs later today in a bid to keep the Tyne and Wear Metro system publicly owned.
The Keep Metro Public Campaign Group are travelling to London to protest against plans which could see the system sold to private investors.
Representatives from the five boroughs that make up the Passenger Transport Authority travelled to London this morning and will lobby outside the House of Commons.
The Metro has been up for sale for more than two years as a condition of government cash to modernise the system. The 20-year, £1bn project, includes renewing trains and stations and eventually replacing the 90-strong fleet of Metrocars.
Bosses at transport operator Nexus, which owns and currently runs the Tyne & Wear railway, confirmed last December they had received nine “expressions of interest” in the contract from next year.
A shortlist has been drawn up which includes their in-house bidder Nexus Rail, a separate company created by Nexus.
German State Railway Deutsche-Bahn, Dutch consortium Serco-NED and Hong Kong based rail operator MTR Corporation are also said to be on the list.
Vicki Gilbert, from the campaign group, said that if the Metro operations are handed over to a private operator then profits would go to shareholders instead of being re-invested in the local network.
Nexus have said that the Metro will continue to be publicly owned and that they will set fares and services, be responsible for the delivery of the reinvigoration programme and maintenance of the railway’s infrastructure.
