We'll make our railways great again

>>> First step in the public ownership of servicés >> Transport sec tells flop firms she'll rip up contracts

- LIZZY BUCHAN

FAILING rail bosses will get their contracts ripped up if they do not improve services, Labour's transport chief has warned.

The King's Speech will fire the starting gun on renationalising the railways with two bits of legislation to bring them back into public hands.

Great British Railways will take over the running of all lines in the next five years as private firms' deals expire.

But Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said she will not wait to act if firms are creating misery for travellers.

She hauled in the worst-performing operators into the department yesterday. And she is working with lawyers on whether it is possible to axe contracts for firms such as Avanti West Coast due to poor performance.

Ms Haigh said: "It's absolutely to something we're considering and we're going through advice at the moment.

"Avanti has delivered appalling performance for passengers on the West Coast mainline - and having served as shadow transport secretary for two-anda-half years, my views are very well known on their performance.

"But they are tied into a contract and we need to properly consider that in the round from a legal perspective." Four rail operators, LNER, Northern Trains, Southeastern and Transpennine Express, are run by the Government after franchise agreements collapsed.

The Tories awarded Avanti West Coast owned by FirstGroup and Trenitalia - a nine-year contract starting last October.

It can be terminated with three months' notice from 2026.