I agree the rail network could be much better and maybe the franchise contracts are to blame.
But when accounting blame which are purely down the train operators and which are down to rework Rail which is not a private company.
Before privatisation the Rail network, rolling stock, train stations and the line and signal infrastructure were need great need of investment.
The food was the butt of a joke, as the British Rail Sandwich was infamous as it curled up at the edges.
My own line was ‘The Midland, which was the poor relation in the industry as the rolling stock was secondhand, passed on from other regions.
In my 20 odd years of using British Railways and then British Rail I hardly ever got on and off a train that was to time.
The various Governments over that period showed a distinct lack of interest and investment into the industry. Hence all the new rolling stock was came about during Privatisation. This led to very outdated systems, not fit for the 19th century, let alone the 20th and then the 21st.
Who would have thought that Great Britain invented the Railways, through early train inventors who were Matthew Murray who created first steam powered locomotive, Richard Trevithick who popularized trains series of showcasing in London, George Stephenson who become famous for ‘The Rocket’ and for the coal transporting trains.
But were some of these private companies up to the job and this goes down to the Tender process and in many ways still does, the NHS, other parts of the health service, Local Government and other such services. As it appears any contract is given to the lowest bidder without any apparent investigation into the bids to ascertain if they are, in fact, viable.
This a fault of the tender process and the Governments administering the process.
Then what about the Contracts themselves are they effective and efficiently written?, do they meets the needs of the industry and the customers?, are the companies themselves sufficiently solvent? and many more investigative questions.
Here again the Governments are at fault.
There are indeed many problems, but to re-nationalise them, would this go back to British Railways and British Rail.
If it does, then the required investment needs to be guaranteed for way into the future and not be allowed to run on the whims of any Government as it was previously.
Much like the NHS and Social Care, especially Social Care today.
Governments need to realise that these industries and organisations are not there to be used for political purposes, but for the benefit of the population of the UK.
For until that realisation comes into any Government, these areas will continue to faulter to the whims of each and every Government, who only care for themselves, irrespective of its Party colour.
I found this report in the I newspaper on our country’s failing rail network. The article states that a recent report has found that the current system of rail franchising doesn’t work and cannot continue as it is. The article, ‘Rail franchising ‘no longer delivers clear benefits’, on page 4 of today’s paper, 27th February 2019, by Neil Lancefield runs
Britain’s rail franchise system no longer delivers clear benefits and cannot continue in its current form, according to the man leading an official review of the network.
Keith Williams told industry leaders that operators were not adapting to changing consumer demands.
The contracting out of passenger services has drawn heavy criticism, with some contracts failing and customer complaints rising. The rail industry has said it accepts that the status quo cannot continue.
Mr Williams was appointed by the Government last year to lead its “root-and-branch” Rail Review. Speaking in London…
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61chrissterry 