UNIONS have dismissed a long-awaited review of Britain’s chaotic rail industry as a blatant attempt to save the government’s privatisation experiment, rather than expose its failure.

Carried out by businessman Keith Williams, chairman of privatised Royal Mail, the review was launched in October 2018 but its conclusions were only published today.

Instead of recommending renationalisation of the rail industry – a move that a succession of opinion polls have shown would command wide public support – the Williams Review calls for the profit-driven private operators to be “incentivised” to stay in the industry.

Rail union RMT expressed concern that the report heralded an attack on rail workers’ jobs, pay and pensions.

General secretary Mick Cash said: “Instead of saving our railways, it looks like Keith Williams is more interested in saving rail privatisation and the fat-cat rail profiteering that has continued even during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We fear this will be largely achieved by continuing to use taxpayers’ money to directly subsidise the profits of the rail fat cats, whilst also declaring war on the livelihoods of rail workers, who have risked and, in some cases tragically lost, their lives keeping the country moving during the pandemic.”

He warned that RMT workers would resist any attacks.

Mick Whelan, general secretary of train drivers’ union Aslef, said that even the Tories recognised that rail privatisation had failed.

“But the Williams report – which was finished in November 2019 but put on the back burner by this government – does not engage with the fundamental problem that rail is a natural monopoly, a monopoly that should be run as a public service, not for private profit,” he said.

Manuel Cortes, general secretary of white-collar rail workers’ union TSSA, added: “Rail privatisation has failed and the government needs to face up to that. 

“We need a long-term view for our railways which breaks from the failure of privatisation, which has sucked profits out of the industry and morphed into an inefficient muddle of operators. 

"Instead, we need a simplified, publicly run railway which delivers for our country.”

And TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: “We must avoid any version of the failed privatised model. We need our railways fully back in public hands. 

“If every penny from every fare goes back into the service, our railways will be better quality and better value.”