This is an historic moment.
With yesterday’s enactment of the Passenger Railways Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024, this Labour government is already fulfilling its manifesto commitment from the general election in July to start the process of bringing train services back into public hands, a change which represents the biggest overhaul of our railways in a generation.
These reforms are rejecting continued failure of deregulation which has seen services cut, investment dry up, and quality decline in services constituents of mine rely on. Instead, we are choosing to have more affordable and more accountable railways which can better foster in our borough more well-paid and secure jobs in the long term, a local priority of mine at the general election.
Local people for too long have had to bear the brunt of deregulation failure. However, with this new law, the Bee Network continuing to be rolled out across Greater Manchester, its integration deepening, and commuter rail services being set to join the network in a few years; communities across Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton can be confident that their local transport services from now on will be run in their interest as passengers and taxpayers, creating a more comprehensive network which they can trust.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 