Bring Back British Rail

2012-01-03T10:34:00.000-08:00

There's been a lot of protest today about fair increases. The real problem is the way John Major privatised the railways back in the nineties

The result is a system which takes even more in taxpayer subsidy than it did in the old days of British Rail, in which profits go to shareholders rather than going entirely into investment, and in which the operators key objective is profit rather than customer service.

So for example, we can moan all we like about overcrowding at Ledbury, but actually, for London Midland, overcrowding is good for profits. There is no extra cost for them in running the service, but they get all those extra people buying tickets. Well, most of the time. If the ticket office is open. Or the machine works. Or the conductor actually walks the train. One of those.

It only becomes a problem when the overall level of complaints means passenger numbers might fall, or the renewal of the franchise is called into question. Any why? Because shareholders - not passengers - get jittery.

To be fair to London Midland, I've found them receptive to passenger suggestions and they are definitely one of the better run companies. Not that they are up against much opposition. But it's the system itself, not individual companies, which is wrong.

Whilst the rest of us want to see the rail network improve and expand, the train operating companies can see only risk in any major expansion. So, despite handing the profits from our railways to the private sector, those companies expect government to foot the bill and take the risk for any major investment. Of course, this rarely happens. So obvious solutions to traffic problems, such as a doubling of the Malvern to Hereford line, never get past the first signal.

Then they have the cheek to demand fare increases for the limited investments they are making. Is it only me, or do we seem to be paying twice for a mediocre product?

I don't think this problem can be solved whilst we have track and operations run separately, and different companies try to compete in what cannot actually be a competitive situation. I don't really have much choice if I want to travel to Birmingham from Hereford. And I am fed up of companies blaming each other, or National Rail, for delays. Having said that, most delays to London Midland Hereford trains seem to be due to Worst Late Western.

The coalition policy seems very similar to Labour's - fiddle but don't fix. Is it time to bite the bullet and

, but this time with proper German style investment and organisation?

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Bring Back British Rail