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GEaston · 05-06-2013, 07:09

Perhaps we should take a moment to reflect on the golden age of rail when it was last in nationalised hands. 1979, a great year for many things (like flared trousers and Glam rock) but not so for rail. At that time the unions had brought the UK to a striking standstill and the country was by every measure bottom of Europe (below Greece and Portugal).

The problem with the UK rail system is not so much who owns it but the quality of people managing it. East Coast line was nationalised and is run by the government after the previous operator lost so much money they went bust. It has the worst record for punctuality of all the lines. There is no such thing as a profitable railway line in the UK - I believe that every single line (except maybe the Ribble Valley narrow gauge tourist track) loses money every year.

Privatisation cannot work for massively lossmaking industries - it just created a short term cash windfall for the government of the day that was subsequently squandered. Now that cash benefit is long gone we are left with the govt (read taxpayer) or rail users picking up the tab for both subsidy and loss, picking up the job of managing the line if the operator fails.

The Octopus system noted in the original article should have been rolled out 10 years ago when the technology became mainstream. Like unions......paper tickets, cash collectors, and signalmen are all legacy of a bygone age.

Crowding can be easily sorted by flexible time based pricing which the electronic cards system allows. Charge the card once and then just tap it at all the public transport points when you get on and off (system calculates distance traveled and charges accordingly). This can and should be integrated with bus transport, taxis and as here in Singapore even shopping.

To deal with overcrowding here they introduced FREE train travel on all weekday journeys ending by 7.30am, with compensating higher charges for people who want to travel peak time. Loads of people change behaviour for FREE travel - going to gym before work or going for breakfast in the city. Peak travel is thus also fine because half the country travels pre-7.30 so the carriages are less busy. Good for employers too as employees turn up earlier than they otherwise would.

05-06-2013, 07:09	#40
GEaston Full Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 198 Liked: 46 times Rep Power: 65	Re: the railways Perhaps we should take a moment to reflect on the golden age of rail when it was last in nationalised hands. 1979, a great year for many things (like flared trousers and Glam rock) but not so for rail. At that time the unions had brought the UK to a striking standstill and the country was by every measure bottom of Europe (below Greece and Portugal). The problem with the UK rail system is not so much who owns it but the quality of people managing it. East Coast line was nationalised and is run by the government after the previous operator lost so much money they went bust. It has the worst record for punctuality of all the lines. There is no such thing as a profitable railway line in the UK - I believe that every single line (except maybe the Ribble Valley narrow gauge tourist track) loses money every year. Privatisation cannot work for massively lossmaking industries - it just created a short term cash windfall for the government of the day that was subsequently squandered. Now that cash benefit is long gone we are left with the govt (read taxpayer) or rail users picking up the tab for both subsidy and loss, picking up the job of managing the line if the operator fails. The Octopus system noted in the original article should have been rolled out 10 years ago when the technology became mainstream. Like unions......paper tickets, cash collectors, and signalmen are all legacy of a bygone age. Crowding can be easily sorted by flexible time based pricing which the electronic cards system allows. Charge the card once and then just tap it at all the public transport points when you get on and off (system calculates distance traveled and charges accordingly). This can and should be integrated with bus transport, taxis and as here in Singapore even shopping. To deal with overcrowding here they introduced FREE train travel on all weekday journeys ending by 7.30am, with compensating higher charges for people who want to travel peak time. Loads of people change behaviour for FREE travel - going to gym before work or going for breakfast in the city. Peak travel is thus also fine because half the country travels pre-7.30 so the carriages are less busy. Good for employers too as employees turn up earlier than they otherwise would.