Quote:
Originally Posted by denphone
l am just about old enough to remember British Rail and it was severely unloved and underfunded by successive governments of both political persuasions over many years and they were the ones who failed it in the end.
Rail privatisation since has failed nearly on every count as we have some of the highest fares and yet receive one of the worst services in Europe and sadly its always the passenger that picks up the bill.
Since privatisation, fares have increased above inflation for a large number of routes and the ticketing system is ridiculously complicated for many plus we have severe capacity problem's on large parts of the network and antiquated rolling stock which is still on many lines in large parts of the country so when some espouse that privatisation has been a great success then sadly they are very much a small minority as the vast majority are clearly very unhappy with things as they stand.
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Den ... this is just boilerplate British commuter whingeing. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be offensive, but it is. This is just the standard stuff anybody who wants to moan about the railways says. Little, if any, of it is actually true. It just sounds like it should be true and so, far too often, it is assumed to be true and therefore goes unchallenged (like the nonsense about East Coast proving that state operation is better, when in fact, the statistics that are available, suggest the opposite).
Through-ticketing doesn't get any more simple than turning up at a staffed station and stating your destination. You can go online and do similar. "Confusing" ticketing arises from single-operator offers which *did*not*exist* under British Rail. If you don't want to be confused by any of those (often fantastic and very cheap) deals, the solution is simple - don't buy them. Stick to the straightforward (expensive) through-ticket, just like the good old BR days.
Regarding capacity issues - where do you think those issues arise, if not from the miserable failure by BR to plan strategic development? It was BR that pushed for network shrinkage, and yet now, private operators are clamouring for more capacity, longer platforms for longer trains, and even the re-laying of lines exterminated by Beeching.
Regarding government under-investment - what exactly do you expect is going to happen, when the railways are just another government department competing for limited funds alongside the NHS, schools, defence and the rest? The longer a government's spending list is, the higher taxes have to go to pay for it all. Who is supposed to pay all that tax? Money for building and running state railways does not grow on trees. Everyone pays for it, right out of their wage slip, every month.
Yes, some tickets on some routes are expensive. They are expensive because they are a truer reflection of what it actually costs to use the service. That cost is being paid by the service users who are *still*, nevertheless, benefiting from a pretty significant chunk of State subsidy. That subsidy comes from tax. Some of that tax comes from places like car owners' fuel bills. And so it goes on.
British Rail was a shambles, and a freaking lethal one at times, too.