Dear Hackney Gazette

Peter Boxall of the East London Line Project wants to reassure us about the privatisation of the line and it extension (Letters, 22 January). But I am not reassured at all.

Peter tells us about the benefits of extending the line into Hackney, the new stations and extra services it will bring. We know that. That is why Hackney people have campaigned for a new Tube for years.

The issue is not whether the extension is a good thing - we are all agreed that it is - but whether it should be a public service or a private enterprise. I believe that public transport should be run as a public service, not as a source of private profit.

Most people share this view, which is why opinion polls repeatedly show that three-quarters of the population want the entire railway system brought back into public ownership. With the record of the private railway in the decade since it was privatised, it should be obvious why. The last thing people want is to see a railway line that is currently publicly-run (the East London Line), franchised out to a private company.

Peter thinks we should rest easy in our beds because the line will be compliant with the Railway Inspectorate. I assume he means the same Railway Inspectorate that gave Railtrack a clean bill of health before the Hatfield crash, and which approved London Underground's 'Public-Private Partnership'. I do not share his faith.

Hackney TUC opposes this privatisation because we want to see the extension come to Hackney as a public railway. We will be campaigning alongside rail trade unions and local communities to ensure that it does.

Janine Booth
President
Hackney Trades Union Council