trains

one of the things i enjoy about my job are the occasional trips i get to make around the country. when i do travel i let the train take the strain. there is something civilised about being on a train. now i am not getting romantic about the train experience, as there is always a good chance that any journey i make is going to have a problem.
but what can i say i just like trains (and no i do not train spot).

one of the, many, things that we can probably never forgive the last conservative government for was their half arsed privatisation of british rail. one of the, many, things we can be disappointed about with the current new labour is their continuation of the privatisation policy.

one of the major arguments in favour of privatisation was the simple one that a private company could run the railway more efficiently and even profitably. this was going to happen because of the power of entrepreneurs, those skilful risk takers who know how to drive a hard bargain and see a golden opportunity. they are the giants who stride across the battlefield of capitalism.
ah the dream. how quickly it turned to a nightmare, and what a long running nightmare it has been.

it seems some new franchises have been awarded on the railways. arriva has beaten virgin trains to the cross-country line. good for them. now it might be me but one of the criteria i would have used in order to choose who should have gotten the nod to run the line would have been value for money. simple really.

how odd that arriva are now talking about raising a range of fares at a rate over inflation. still it is not like they are alone stagecoach and go-ahead are also planning on hiking up prices.
if that was not bad enough arriva will be getting a subsidy of a £1 billion over the duration of their contract. so money from the state, more money from the travellers and still they can’t provide us with a service that is good.

what a great idea we get rid a nationalised industry that was underperforming and we sell it off to thrusting capitalists who provide an underperforming service (trains late, trains over crowded, ticket prices higher…).
but don’t feel too sorry for the arrivas of the world they make a profit and for all intents and purposes they get to do all of this at no risk because they know that the state will always be there to bail them out.
truly they are the kings of capitalism.

thanks for this maggie. thanks tony for not facing up to it and re-nationalising the railways.
tories you just have to hate them.