THE job of running Kent’s railway services must not be handed back to the private sector if improvements in services are to be maintained, say union chiefs.

Union leaders have launched a campaign calling on the Government to abandon plans for a second privatisation of South East Trains after Connex was stripped of the job for poor performance.

The TSSA union says ministers risk creating a “Connex Mark Two” if they press ahead with awarding the franchise to one of the private companies bidding for the job. Its general secretary Gerry Doherty urged newly-appointed transport minister and Kent MP Dr Steve Ladyman to intervene and halt the bidding process.

At a press conference in Ashford, Mr Doherty said that since Connex was stripped of its franchise in 2003, punctuality and reliability had both improved significantly while delays had fallen.

Giving the job to another private operator would not guarantee those improvements would continue, he warned while millions of pounds of public subsidies could be squandered.

“South East Trains is working well under the current system but if it is given back to the private sector, we are in danger of creating a 'Connex Mark Two.’ It has been shown that in public hands, improvements in both costs and quality are being made.”

He said the Government should be prepared to let South East Trains continue to be run as a public service for at least five years to allow its performance to be properly judged against private operators.

“They should not put it in private hands again when it has already failed. The only train service in public hands are in Kent and they are working.”

The union’s call is being supported by Medway MP Bob Marshall-Andrews, who also spoke at the conference. He said millions of pounds could be freed for investment in transport infrastucture rather than being used to bail out private operators.

“Privatisation was badly botched. It has not worked despite massive amounts of public subsidy. Keeping South East Trains public will not cost us anything. We have a golden opportunity to provide a public benchmark, demonstrating how trains can work in public hands,” he said.

TSSA is the second big rail union calling for a rethink. The RMT also wants privatisation to be halted.