Labour Party ...A busted Flush ? (1 Viewer)

[Rich]

4) re-nationalise the lousy train service?
Col

Was it any better when it was nationalised? In any case many of the problems surrounding the railways now are of the governments own making.
Take the fines for late trains, all well and good until you realise that before if a connection was slightly late the main train would wait for it, not now, they can't afford the fines. Good job we have intelligence in high office eh?

 

[ColinEssex]

Was it any better when it was nationalised? In any case many of the problems surrounding the railways now are of the governments own making.

I don't know if it would be better - I threw it out as a discussion point

So what about this privatisation generally? good or bad? is safety better? or are private companies 'skimming' the money at the expense of investment?

Good to have 6 or 7 different railway companies or one national one? Has the government got it right?

Should lottery money go towards any of the "services"?
like our air ambulance helicopter in Essex is run solely on voluntary charity contributions - should such an important lifesaver be reliant on contributions and fund raising events? should it be government financed?

Col

 

[Len Boorman]

The bullet train system in Japan used to be run by the state but it was crap.

So they sold it to private industry. The whole service I understand, Trains track the lot.

Result excellent quality service because they had nobody else to blame for any aspect of the service

L

 

[Rich]

I don't know if it would be better - I threw it out as a discussion point

So what about this privatisation generally? good or bad? is safety better? or are private companies 'skimming' the money at the expense of investment?

Good to have 6 or 7 different railway companies or one national one? Has the government got it right?


Col

It really depends on what eras you use for comparison, in the golden era railway companies were run usually by enthusiasts with entrepreneurs making or losing fortunes. The trouble is that era ended long before the war, too many branch lines, too few passengers etc.
The railways were nationalised at the end of WW11 of course because the government couldn't afford the reparations due to the private operators.
Since then railways have been run by accountants. Companies today need long term contracts in order to invest the huge sums required for modernisation, those long term contracts don't exist, it's a catch twenty two situation at the minute where only the strongest financially will survive.
We love the motor car too much at the minute to return to the railway and in any case it's too bloody dear to travel by rail!
Anyway I stick to the few surviving rescued preserved steam lines down here.

 

[ColinEssex]

I think privatisation could be ok, but our government seem incapable of getting things right from the offset.

Long term contracts are a must (and obvious I would think) and of course cost of travel (as you say) it must be attractive to travel by train. It needs to be clean, efficient and cheap (ish) Our trains (in Essex) are dirty, vandalised, no air-con, 30 years old and often no toilets.

It costs £21 (return) to go to London off peak from Colchester, a trip of 50 minutes (earliest train is 9:15am). They advertise the trip on telly from as little as £5 - but you need to travel in the dead of night, with 32 days in the month and a full moon to get that.

As you say, its run by accountants, as is the NHS. Patient care sadly, is way down the list.

Col