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[News] East Coast train line to be put into public control



Ernest

Stupid IDIOT
Nov 8, 2003
42,739
LOONEY BIN
Been commuting from Fav to London for 30 years. It got seriously shitter and more expensive after Major flogged it off in a last gasp attempted election bribe that failed. And locked it into an arrangement that can't be reversed without massive reimbursement. Corbyn has been on a serious skunk binge if he thinks he can renationalise the lot. The compo would be interstellar, never mind inter city...
Shows how little you know as at least 4 other franchises are on the brink of going under and will return to public ownership without a penny being paid.
Put me on ignore me if you don’t like the facts
 




Hampster Gull

New member
Dec 22, 2010
13,462
Shows how little you know as at least 4 other franchises are on the brink of going under and will return to public ownership without a penny being paid.
Put me on ignore me if you don’t like the facts

Get those printing presses going Ernest, Momentum, I mean Corbyn want to go beyond rail when nationalising. We will all work for red Jeremy, incentivised by doing good for the Momentum visionaries
 


Harry Wilson's tackle

Harry Wilson's Tackle
NSC Patreon
Oct 8, 2003
49,337
Faversham
Do you have commuting buddies, share beers on journeys back on Fridays, Christmas breakfast last day going in, silly hats on birthdays? Or is it not like that?

There was a bunch who had a piss up on the way in every last Friday of the month back in the eary 90s but, no, I sit quietly with my iPod on and read the paper, do the Sudoku, then read some of my book. First class is shit and not much more expensive than standard but is supposed to guarantee me a seat...mostly it does....in a few days I will be eligible for a geriatric's pass so that may take the sting out of the sufferage going forward, if I don't simply retire ... and at one time I was so young and full of optimism and resiliance....<sigh>
 


Hampster Gull

New member
Dec 22, 2010
13,462
There was a bunch who had a piss up on the way in every last Friday of the month back in the eary 90s but, no, I sit quietly with my iPod on and read the paper, do the Sudoku, then read some of my book. First class is shit and not much more expensive than standard but is supposed to guarantee me a seat...mostly it does....in a few days I will be eligible for a geriatric's pass so that may take the sting out of the sufferage going forward, if I don't simply retire ... and at one time I was so young and full of optimism and resiliance....<sigh>

I have an image of Reginal Perrin. You're still young at heart HWT. Buy an iPad Pro, expensive but you can get work done if you want and more importantly good for all the fun stuff too. I’ve got one myself and now rarely use the work laptop. I only have a short tube commute if I don’t drive but it does mean I work less frequently when at home.
 




brightn'ove

cringe
Apr 12, 2011
9,136
London
I guarantee delays and cancellations will be no better under a nationalised rail network. Claiming compensation will be worse, because of course it is partly state-owned, and where there's government interference there's copious bureaucracy to negotiate with each claim.

Nationalisation in the 90s wasn't all that, surely?

This line was publically owned before it was given to virgin/stagecoach under the tories. During public ownership it was absolutely brilliant and made a profit for the government.
 


Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Jul 11, 2003
59,198
The Fatherland


Simster

"the man's an arse"
Jul 7, 2003
54,110
Surrey
pre-privatisation rail was perfect. trains where clean, comfortable and quick, always ran on time and had gourmet buffet cars. friendly British Rail staff did everything in their power to make a pleasant trip and never any disputes. we can look forward to return of those halcyon days of rail.

I don't think you're looking at the bigger picture when you talk glibly and sarcastically about performance prior to privatisation. I'll start by saying that I don't think it was any worse in those days. There were always overpaid, striking workers, and frequent delays, but those problems haven't been resolved by privatisation. (In fact, they've got worse - certainly on the Southern network). But I could put my bike on the train, and I could honestly say that I didn't feel ripped off by the cost of train tickets which have increased by absurd levels year on year for decades since 1993.

I'd say that the biggest problems have always been caused by chronic lack of investment. These days we get investment, but it all seems rather superficial. So instead of train companies buying proper rolling stock that costs a bit but does the job and lasts for decades, they buy the cheap Italian crap made of tin foil that break down constantly. That's not cost control, that's penny pinching at our expense. Additionally, because they are all separate companies, they are not part of a coherent transport policy, so ticketing across companies is a mess and they don't have carriages to allow bikes to be taken on board.

Your argument has always been that the cost control they now implement means they now make money rather than bleeding the state. But what good is that if we are allowing our rail companies to be bought by entities outside this country? It means we get all the downside of privatisation (lack of integration, control, no competition to drive improvements, and a national asset the state no longer owns) and none of the upside (the corporation tax profits to the treasury is paid for by us, in the form of higher fares, but a lot of the remaining profit has left the country). Meanwhile, the service has been appalling for years, to the point of being a national disgrace.

I'm not against privatisation of state assets at all. It should be encouraged wherever competition can improve service, the privatisation of British Telecom and some of Royal Mail's services for example. But rail? It's been a shambles and a failure on pretty much every level as we all knew it would be when Major rushed it through before he was trounced at the polls.
 
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Brovion

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Jul 6, 2003
19,322
Been commuting from Fav to London for 30 years. It got seriously shitter and more expensive after Major flogged it off in a last gasp attempted election bribe that failed. And locked it into an arrangement that can't be reversed without massive reimbursement. Corbyn has been on a serious skunk binge if he thinks he can renationalise the lot. The compo would be interstellar, never mind inter city...

Or alternatively they could just wait until the franchises expire.
 


beorhthelm

A. Virgo, Football Genius
Jul 21, 2003
35,264
I don't think you're looking at the bigger picture when you talk glibly and sarcastically about performance prior to privatisation.

i'm poking fun at the notion that privatisation is the cause of the problems in rail. a passing interest in the history of rail tells me they have always had the same problems, under-investment, delays, old rolling stock, apart from a narrow window in early 20th century which is romanticised. nationalisation will not address any of these problems without massive public money, which no one wants to pay for. they didn't in the post-war period, fudging the transition to diesel then electrification in an adhoc manner, cant see it happening now or the future, they'll change ownership but investment will remain low. rolling stock has massively improved on many lines in the past couple of decades, so its not been all bad. that said, i dont see a good case for privatised rail as the scope for competition is limited, should be run along not-for profit lines imo.
 


Harry Wilson's tackle

Harry Wilson's Tackle
NSC Patreon
Oct 8, 2003
49,337
Faversham
Or alternatively they could just wait until the franchises expire.

Doesn't some other lot own the tracks and trains? But you have a point.
 





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