[BBKing]

Here's an example - a local PTE, such as in Glasgow, should be able to get their train services run by whoever they choose, the state railway or a private company. After all, Merseyside is doing roughly that under a modification of the existing privatisation where their trains are run by a joint venture between the Dutch Railways and Serco, who run the Docklands Light Railway. Again a bit of privatisation idiocy there, in that foreign state-owned (and presumably state-subsidised) railways are allowed to operate UK passenger trains, but not the UK state-owned railway.

Long-distance Inter-City services should probably be state run, for no other reason than proper through ticketing and connections, and best use of track. However, there has got to be scope for people like Hull Trains who operate a niche service from Kings Cross to Hull (and I believe Cleethorpes/Grimsby) where the main operator GNER isn't interested. Would be a shame to lose them I think.

Chiltern of course benefit from being the only operator of brand new trains on a brand new railway (the so called Total Route Modernisation that replaced pretty much everything in the early 90s). They've also benefitted from the West Coast nightmare by offering a service to Birmingham that, while longer, actually gets there, and is cheaper too. I certainly always use them to get to my parents in Birmingham.

Rolling stock procurement was always a nightmare under BR due to the long memories at the Treasury of the amount of money wasted in the 50s building steam engines and lots of small, early, untested diesels. After that they weren't really allowed to spend what they wanted, we were lucky to get the HST (being a cheap stopgap before widespread electrification that never came).