Quote:
Originally posted by towny
Labour admitted recently that systematic under-investment over the last 40-50 years is to blame for the woeful state of our railways. That implicates both Labour and Tory governments of the past.
The infamous Dr Richard Beeching began to weild his axe over the network under a Tory government in 1963 but much of the damage was done following a Labour election victory in 1964. Despite sacking Beeching the Government did nothing to stop his branch line closure plan. Thanks to this even if the network were in good shape, it would have no answer to many of the kinds of journeys you just can't do efficiently by rail in the UK today.
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Actually, it was unfair of me to place the blame for the quality of the railway on the previous government. It is true, most of the damage was done by Beeching.
However, service levels have deteriorated noticably (compared to the final year of nationalisation), and subsidies are now higher.
Having said all that, the current government have done nothing, despite all their promises to improve public transport..