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Speaking to reporters travelling with him in Rwanda, he said: “We’ve got to make the railways run economically for the very benefit of the railway workers themselves and their families.<\/p>\n
“There’s no point having a railway system that’s so uneconomic that you keep having to put ticket prices up and you have to drive more and more people off the railways.<\/p>\n
“You need to modernise.”<\/p>\n
Mr Johnson pointed out that daily passenger numbers on trains in recent months were “down about 25 per cent” compared to numbers before the pandemic.<\/p>\n
He added: “We spent £16billion supporting the railways during the pandemic, that cost each household £600.”<\/p>\n
Mr Johnson rejected accusations the Government wanted to “crush” the unions.<\/p>\n
“I wouldn’t endorse such language,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Look, I think we’ve got to work with the public sector workers.<\/p>\n
“Five million of them are getting a pay rise. We’re going to continue to support the public services.”<\/p>\n