The main issue, which has brought the idea of re-nationalisation to the public, is rail safety. Statistics show that there has been an increase in all accidents after privatisation and areas that have improved in rail safety are at a slower rate than when the rail industry was part of the public sector. The main company responsible for this is Railtrack. Railtrack is in charge of maintaining the signals and track. It is believed that Railtrack were aware of the poor state of their track and signals but hadn't done anything about it with any urgency, if they had done their job properly then these crashes and derailments might not have occurred. There is little doubt that Railtrack are largely responsible for the accidents. The problem has largely occurred because Railtrack has monopoly over their market. Train operators have no choice but to travel on Railtrack's track in England. The lack of competition has meant that Railtrack have become complacent in regularly maintaining its track and signals leading to crashes and derailments. Another factor which has compromised safety is the private contractors who have failed to keep up to date with their work schedule, this has meant that there is an even larger gap between parts of the railway becoming unsafe and it being repaired. .
The argument that privatisation has provided investment to the rail industry can be easily dismissed. Railtrack's only major investment project is already way behind schedule and taxpayers still subsidise billions of pounds every year. If Railtrack were publicly owned the government would at least get some returns on the amount of money injected.
The other issues that have strengthened the case for re-nationalisation are punctuality, overcrowding and prices. Statistics show the frustrations: 134% increase in punctuality complaints, 149% increase in overcrowding complaints, a 70% increase in complaints in the 1st full privatised year and some of the highest prices in the world.