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Finally Labour Have A Good Idea.....
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The systematic vandelism of our railways started by Beeching, is a travesty. Regular readers will know I hate nationalisation but in the case of a few things, rail included, the whole thing needs to be public. I don't mean go back to the bad old days of union barons and ovmanned with looneys who strike every five minutes but run properly and yes, subsidise it. Every nation should have a clean cheap proper railway system. Personally I'd restore our system to it's pre Beeching glory. Anyway well done Labour credit where it's due.
The systematic vandelism of our railways started by Beeching, is a travesty. Regular readers will know I hate nationalisation but in the case of a few things, rail included, the whole thing needs to be public. I don't mean go back to the bad old days of union barons and ovmanned with looneys who strike every five minutes but run properly and yes, subsidise it. Every nation should have a clean cheap proper railway system. Personally I'd restore our system to it's pre Beeching glory. Anyway well done Labour credit where it's due.
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Thanks for your praise and support on this issue TTT ! It is said that God always likes a repentant sinner best of all (!)
I hope that this comes off though, although I am not terribly hopeful. Its going to cost an awful lot of money, unless the Government plans to re-nationalise without compensation. I think the Labour Party would lose nothing if it did something radical like this. They shouldn't have any difficulty in making a case for this, as who could possibly say that the railways have been better since the disastrous dice and slice policies of the recent past ?
All that money wasted painting all the different infrastructures different colours, new uniforms, etc. Complete waste of time.
I hope that this comes off though, although I am not terribly hopeful. Its going to cost an awful lot of money, unless the Government plans to re-nationalise without compensation. I think the Labour Party would lose nothing if it did something radical like this. They shouldn't have any difficulty in making a case for this, as who could possibly say that the railways have been better since the disastrous dice and slice policies of the recent past ?
All that money wasted painting all the different infrastructures different colours, new uniforms, etc. Complete waste of time.
I think "the horse has bolted springs to mind."
Like most ministers, usually this includes the Chancellor of the Exchequer Beeching was doing the civil servant's dirty work. Too many people didn't use the railway.
Sixty years after his closures we still haven't got trains that as fast as on the continent.
Like most ministers, usually this includes the Chancellor of the Exchequer Beeching was doing the civil servant's dirty work. Too many people didn't use the railway.
Sixty years after his closures we still haven't got trains that as fast as on the continent.
Regular readers will know that I share many of 3Ts philosophies. They may also know that I am also an avid gricer (no, not a train spotter - a rail enthusiast). And on this matter I am torn.
Nationalised rail had huge benefits. Design, production and maintenance of locomotives and rolling stock was extremely efficient and in many respects the UK led the world. But the operation of the railways in BR's later years was a shambles. It had no customer focus, was union led and paid more heed to the needs of the staff than to the customers' requirements. So change was necessary.
The model used to privatise the railways was just about the worst that could have been devised. Separating the train operators from the infrastructure provider was a mistake. The complication brought about by the Rolling Stock providers made matters worse. Public subsidies to the railways now are far greater than pre-privatisation. There is no effective competition on most routes. Change is necessary again.
Much as it grieves me to say so I believe the only effective answer is renationalisation but with safeguards to ensure that all the best is preserved but that the network does not descend into the chaos that was evident in the 1970s (that decade again!).
Far from "doing civil servants' dirty work" Dr Beeching's cuts actually saved the railways from total oblivion. By the time his report was published some 3,000 miles of route had already been closed in the preceding 15 years. Among the problems he identified:
- 50% of the stations produced just 2% of the passengers
- 35% of the route miles carried just 1% of the passengers
- more than 1,700 stations had annual receipts of less than £2,500 (£48k at today's prices, less than £1,000 per week.
- Losses were running at £300k per day (£2.1bn per annum at today’s prices)
Obviously "Something had to be done".
Nationalised rail had huge benefits. Design, production and maintenance of locomotives and rolling stock was extremely efficient and in many respects the UK led the world. But the operation of the railways in BR's later years was a shambles. It had no customer focus, was union led and paid more heed to the needs of the staff than to the customers' requirements. So change was necessary.
The model used to privatise the railways was just about the worst that could have been devised. Separating the train operators from the infrastructure provider was a mistake. The complication brought about by the Rolling Stock providers made matters worse. Public subsidies to the railways now are far greater than pre-privatisation. There is no effective competition on most routes. Change is necessary again.
Much as it grieves me to say so I believe the only effective answer is renationalisation but with safeguards to ensure that all the best is preserved but that the network does not descend into the chaos that was evident in the 1970s (that decade again!).
Far from "doing civil servants' dirty work" Dr Beeching's cuts actually saved the railways from total oblivion. By the time his report was published some 3,000 miles of route had already been closed in the preceding 15 years. Among the problems he identified:
- 50% of the stations produced just 2% of the passengers
- 35% of the route miles carried just 1% of the passengers
- more than 1,700 stations had annual receipts of less than £2,500 (£48k at today's prices, less than £1,000 per week.
- Losses were running at £300k per day (£2.1bn per annum at today’s prices)
Obviously "Something had to be done".
thing is judge railways are one of the things that we should subsidise. All the figures accepted, so what if 50% of the stations produce 2% of the passengers. I'd rather pay for that and have a proper system. We could meet the costs by taxing road travel, it's far too cheap at the moment anyway. We spend billions on things that add nothing to our infrastucture not to mention the billions we pi55 away to our EU enemies. Cheap eficient subsidised publi transport, we owe ourselves that.
But that "something had to be done" wasn't wholesale privatisation NJ, which is what we got. Yet again, the Tories made short term gain and profits by sacrificing long term common sense. What happened was plain daft, and I am sure that the same mistake has just been with Royal Mail. Even Mrs Voldemort wouldn't dare touch anything with the Queens Head on it.
Shame on this Government. They couldn't even do it properly, and even more shame on the ghastly Liberals, for being a part of it. They will reap the benefit next May for their stupidity.
Shame on this Government. They couldn't even do it properly, and even more shame on the ghastly Liberals, for being a part of it. They will reap the benefit next May for their stupidity.
Inksplotter...they seem to manage very well in West Somerset ::::
http://
This is a working railway, as well as heritage concern...well worth a visit !
http://
This is a working railway, as well as heritage concern...well worth a visit !
The saddest part of the fragmentation to us was the difficulty of getting a "Runabout Ticket" and increasing vehicle congestion on the road to my seaside home.
The original nationalization was invaluable way of getting investment into a railway which had become as rundown as the rest of the country during WW11.
The original nationalization was invaluable way of getting investment into a railway which had become as rundown as the rest of the country during WW11.
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