Labour AM Vaughan Gething argued the case for a co-operative owned railway whilst leading a short debate on 28 November 2012.
The current model of franchising "is not a fit model for providing a valued service for passengers", according to the Cardiff South and Penarth AM.
"It doesn't take into consideration value for money and continuity for passengers," he added.
With a co-operative model, the profits would be ploughed back into the business rather than to a group of shareholders he argued.
Although the key decision making powers in terms of rail lie with the UK government, Transport Minister Carl Sargeant stressed that he would use the key levers he had to secure the future of rail networks in Wales.