Rail union leaders were today leafleting commuters in a campaign to halt the "reprivatisation" of a train franchise.

The Rail Maritime and Transport union (RMT) wants the public sector to be given a chance to run South Eastern Trains, which runs services in East Sussex, south-east London and Kent.

These include trains to Horsham, Gatwick airport and Hastings.

The Strategic Rail Authority is seeking private sector bids for the franchise, formerly run by Connex.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow and other officials were meeting commuters at Cannon Street station in London to seek their support.

Mr Crow said: "The South Eastern franchise was taken out of private hands because Connex proved to be expensive and incompetent.

"Connex gobbled up half a billion pounds in subsidies yet one in five of its services failed to arrive on time.

"Three-quarters of the public now want passenger services back in the public sector and here is a golden opportunity for a publicly-owned operator to prove its worth.

"It is astonishing the Government intends to privatise the franchise all over again - no matter how efficient public hands prove themselves to be."

Thousands of commuters will receive a free glass of wine and slice of cake this week.

The give-away at Brighton station is part of Fairtrade Fortnight, designed to promote goods for which growers in the developing world have been paid a fair price.

Passengers will also be encouraged to grab coffee and chocolate.

The free items, provided by the Co-op, will be available between 7am and 7pm from today until Sunday.

Shoppers will also be able to get 20 per cent off Fairtrade products at the Co-op.

For more details see www.bhft.org.uk