Railways are to be renationailised at the end of the franchise period
I hope they manage this properly and we donāt get British rail again because that was properly shit.
We probably will because absolutely no operator is going to invest in the franchise and will be looking to strip out as much cash as they can between now and the end of their franchise
Mike Lynch will already be knocking one out at the mayhem he will be able to cause with the repeal of the union restrictions, let alone against publicly owned companies where the govt are more likely to roll over
There are so many people who either (a) were not born or were too young; or (b) have alcohol riddled memories; or (c) are just fuckwits, that would love to have BR back.
Lady Slowlane and I do miss the old British Rail Third Class carriages for our travelling retinue.
As responsible employers we always see that Chambers has supplied them with a packed lunch each. Fortunately the Third Class carriages were of the non-corridor type and we could enjoy the First Class Buffet car without fear of a lower class interruption.
BR was shite. It was slow, noisy, and uncomfortable.
However, at least it was cheaper than taking your own car, which is more than you can say these days. It infuriates me that I can spend far less money driving an otherwise empty car into London than taking the train. Quite ridiculous.
To be fair most trains piss all over the old BR rolling stock
I got an Avantia west Coast train up to Madchester and back last week and GWR to Brizzle today. Both comfortable, friendly train crew and on time ( despite BBC slagging them off). The worst bit was the Southwestern Trains suburban train - on time but crap carriages
Out of interest Cobbs, what did that cost you? Iām not slagging BR, for all the faults I listed it was an actual public service with plenty of trains running and affordable. The French approach is infinitely better, treating rail as a public service instead of a profit machine and doing it right.
I book all travel through the booking agency my firm uses - which are always way more expensive than say using Trainline - but we get an annual rebate (I think weāre being ripped off but none of the other Partners can see it).
Cost for Madchester was cĀ£180 and Brizzle cĀ£160. Not value for money for most.
You can get seats for significantly cheaper if you book ahead / use sites like Trainline -,or are flexible about when you travel. Or, and relevant to some on this site - get an old persons railcardā¦(or other railcard on offer)
Basically all essential services should be nationalised allowing everybody to benifit from lower prices as work is completed on a not for profit basis. Any extra money is reinvested in the industry.
These should include.
Electricity
Gas
Water
Trains
Buses
Post office
What should be gotten rid off
Food banks
Non payment of legal taxās by companyās
Lindsey and Darren Ramskill from Goole in East Yorkshire went to six out of Englandās seven matches and experienced packed trains, stop-start services and poor communication.
āIām not moaning about British trains anymore,ā said Lindsey. āOurs are better.ā
In essence the state runs at least 5 of the rail franchises now anyway as the operator of last resort, due to the ineptitude, greed and incompetence of the private companies awarded those franchises. I donāt see a big problem with nationalisation, providing that the new rail company is run by rail experts and not civil servants and politicians.
Kid Goat just had 7 nights in Agadir . Ā£360 for flights, transfers, hotel and breakfast.
Or 2 visits to Manchester on the train.
Somethings got to change.
