I am deeply dissatisfied with the level of service we have received from the Elstree and Borehamwood railway station.

Fares have over the years been hiked to exorbitant levels, and we, the commuters, are constantly being afflicted by breakdowns, delays, and poor service.

To me, the last straw in the treatment of commuters has been the way the short-term parking situation has been handled at the front of the station. A lot of Borehamwood residents drive to the station to pick up and drop off commuters, and there is only one area with half a dozen parking spaces for that service. What does the station do to alleviate the congestion? The station converts some space into premier parking spaces, only for those commuters who can afford to pay extra money to park. That has been the tale of the privatisation of the railways. Cater to the minority of rich commuters and ignore the inconvenience caused to the majority of commuters who are not rich.

It is about time we renationalised the railways. France, Germany, Spain and Italy all have railways which are either government-owned or run by government-owned companies, and they are all more efficient and have less delays than ours, and the fares are cheaper. That is the model we should be following. Fortunately, there is one party committed to the renationalising of the railways, and that is the party I will be voting for in the next General Election. The Greens are in favour of renationalising the railway, and they will be fielding a candidate for the first time ever in Hertsmere in May.

The Greens will be getting my vote, if only for their stance on renationalising the railways.

Michael Siva

Hackney Close, Borehamwood