Pressure is mounting on the Government to reform the national rail system - which has been best with industrial unrest and disruption this year - with Labour and the consumer group Which? calling for major change.
With an announcement on annual rail fare rises expected tomorrow, the issue has risen in the news after what has been called a 'summer of discontent' on the network.
Favourite to recapture the Labour leadership, Jeremy Corbyn, has a long- standing and well-publicised desire to return the railways to public ownership.
Fellow candidate, Owen Smith has also committed to renationalisation. He told Transport Network: 'The Tories’ shambolic oversight of our railways has caused delays, price hikes and cancellations. The Southern Rail debacle shows the urgent need for action and the dire situation hundreds of thousands of passengers have been forced to put up with.
'That’s why, under my leadership, Labour will fully commit to re-nationalising the railways. As the contract for each franchise expires, the next Labour Government will return the railways to public ownership.
'A publicly-run rail network will reduce the number of delays and cancellations and make for a more efficient and profitable service.'
The comments come as a poll by Yougov, shows 58% support renationalising the railways.
And consumer group Which? has reiterated calls for regulatory reforms and a statutory ombudsman, following the recent troubles.
Which? said that it should be mandatory for all companies to join the ombudsman scheme to help resolve passenger complaints.
It also said the rail regulator, Office of Rail and Road (ORR), should implement a compensation system that ensures passengers can still claim after experiencing persistent delays of under 30 minutes, or overcrowding due to reduced services.
Which? highlighted that such problems are not covered under the current compensation system.
The Government and rail regulator should also speed up the introduction of automatic compensation payments, Which? said.
Alex Neill, director of policy and campaigns at Which?, said: ‘The extreme disruption experienced by Southern passengers highlights a summer of discontent. Passengers shouldn’t have to deal with persistent poor service, disruption and inadequate compensation for their journeys. It’s little wonder that trust in the rail industry is falling.
‘The Government must hold the industry to account by ensuring that passengers complaints are properly heard and where things go wrong they are put right promptly.’
Which? made similar calls ahead of this year's Queen's Speech and have previously said the Government must ensure the ORR ail regulator has all the powers and duties it needs to be a consumer watchdog 'with real teeth'.
The consumer group also produced fresh research to show falling public trust in the rail sector.
Figures from the Which? Consumer Insight Tracker in July showed only 26% people trusted train companies, down seven percentage points on July 2015, while distrust had risen to 30% in July 2016 up seven percentage points from July 2015.
Industrial unrest and disruption has been rife on the network this summer, with much of the conflict between unions and bosses surrounding the issue of driver only operation. The focus of this battle has been the beleaguered Southern Rail.
Analysis by Which? of data from raildar.co.uk suggests that one in five Southern rail services were still delayed or cancelled even after the introduction of a controversial reduced timetable by Southern designed to reduce delays.
In the first three weeks following the emergency timetable, Which? claim that 20% of weekday services were cancelled or delayed: 314 delayed and 67 cancelled out of 1,917 services per day.
In addition, more rail services faced delays of between 10-29 minutes than they did during the same period last year, reaching 108 a day compared to 63. Southern has cited unprecedented levels of staff sickness following its battle with the unions, for disrupting services.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: 'When things go wrong it is vital that passengers understand their rights and can easily access compensation. That’s why we are working with industry and the regulator to deliver improvements, including responding to issues raised by the Which? super-complaint.
'At the same time, we are delivering the biggest rail modernisation programme for over a century, investing a record £40bn in our rail network to give passengers the journeys they demand and fixing the problems that cause delays in the first place.'
ORR said it does not have the powers to introduce a different compensation system for passengers and could not comment on DfT plans. However its own reasearch, which showed 80% of passengers who could claim compensation do not.
'We are working with the DfT and industry on seven key areas, most of which are around improving clarity and consistency of information for passengers, a spokeswoman said.
