RAIL workers were today completing a country-wide march to press for the renationalisation of their industry.

They say they have strong public backing for their campaign.

Members of the Rail Maritime and Transport union were staging a rally in London to mark the end of the two-week protest against rail privatisation.

Union activists left Glasgow two weeks ago and have marched through 14 towns and cities, where they said they received a "great reception" from the public.

Bob Crow, the union's general secretary, said: "The message they have received, loud and clear, all along the way, is that Britain wants a publicly owned railway.

"That is what rail users want, it is what the unions want and it is what the Labour Party overwhelmingly voted for.

"It is about time that choice was put before the British people.

"There is a huge rail rebate to be had from bringing rail back into the public sector."

The union has published its own transport manifesto, which it said would raise more than £10bn for the railways over the next decade.

The plan, including renationalisation of both main line and Tube services, would "usher in a golden age for public transport".

The union also wants a windfall tax on the "excess profits" of train rolling stock companies.