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@ISIDEWITHQuestionsTransportationStarted 9yrs agoActive 2yrs ago

Should the national railway be privatised?

Currently UK trains are operated by private franchises and the tracks are operated by the government. Proponents argue that the system would run more efficiently if the tracks and trains were operated by private entities. Opponents of privatization claim that a single government train system would end the disruptions caused by the fractured franchise system.

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Answer Overview

Response rates from 2.4m UK voters.

25%
Yes
75%
No
22%
Yes
73%
No
2%
Yes, but allow more local control
2%
No, eliminate any privatisation and have the government operate the trains and tracks
0%
Yes, privatise the operation of the trains and tracks

Historical Support

Trend of support over time for each answer from 2.4m UK voters.

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Historical Importance

Trend of how important this issue is for 2.4m UK voters.

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from UK voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @9PCSL3Lanswered…2yrs2Y

No, eliminate any privatisation and have the government operate the trains and tracks. Furthermore, increase funding dramatically and cap fares.

 @9M8FRNSanswered…2yrs2Y

It should be privatised but the operating companies need to be held to account on prices and service

 @9Q22KFFanswered…2yrs2Y

If you want people out of cars the rail has to be an affordable effective option for travel, so the government must take view on what that means. It cannot abdicate responsibility to the private sector who are driven to pay dividends to shareholders

 @9N5DPJGanswered…2yrs2Y

Allow a French style system where the Government holder 51% share majority, and the private sector 49%

 @9LD6X8Lanswered…2yrs2Y

No, eliminate any privatisation and allow local workers to opperate the transport and make the stations publicly owned

 @9Q4GZTBanswered…2yrs2Y

The trains are utterly ridiculous costs. You want us to use less cars and more public travel, and yet the costs are outrageous. In other countries I can go to the other end if the country for less

 @9PM8HF6answered…2yrs2Y

Partial Nationalization to ensure ethical prices for those commuting and to make more effective train schedules

 @9MXZ8JDanswered…2yrs2Y

No,. But stricter regulation required to stop operators stripping cash out annd not re-investment and Inflated price setting.

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Active 4mos ago

 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Russia is trying to sabotage European railways

Russia has made “thousands” of attempts to interfere with European rail networks in a campaign to destabilise the EU and sabotage critical infrastructure, the Czech Republic’s transport minister has said.Martin Kupka told the Financial Times that Moscow was suspected of having made “thousands of attempts to weaken our systems” since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.The hacking campaign included attacks on signalling systems and on the networks of the Czech national railway operator České dráhy, Kupka said. Past attacks have put ticketing systems out of service and raised concerns about successful interference with signals causing serious accidents.“It’s definitely a difficult point . . .[but] I’m really very satisfied because we are able to defend all systems [from] a successful attack,” Kupka said.Russian attempts to destabilise European energy infrastructure have been well documented but interference in transport networks has been less discussed. The EU Agency for Cybersecurity published its first report on threats to transport in March last year. It said there had been “attacks against railway companies with an increasing rate, primarily due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine”.It noted major cyber attacks by “pro-Russia hacker groups” on railway companies in Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Estonia.The Czech cyber security agency, NUKIB, has warned of rising cyber attacks in recent years. “One of the last year’s prominent trends has been the growing interest of malicious attackers in the energy and transportation sectors,” it said in a report published in July.České dráhy said it had “seen an increased number of cyber attacks on our digital infrastructure” and was “continuously strengthening” its cyber security.

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Active 2mos ago

 @ISIDEWITHDiscuss this answer...…6yrs6Y

Should critical race theory be taught in K-12 education?

No

▲  19.8k6 replies4 agree1 disagree

About This Data

Based on 2.4m responses to this question.

These results come from iSideWith's ongoing political issues survey. We collect over a million responses per day, filter out duplicate and multiple submissions, and break the results down by political party, ideology, age, state, and census demographics (income, race, education, household).

iSideWith is non-partisan — we don't advocate for any party, candidate, or position. We report what the public tells us.

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Cite This Poll

iSideWith. (2026). “Should the national railway be privatised?” — Public Opinion Poll Results. Retrieved June 25, 2026, from https://uk.isidewith.com/polls/2983107849

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