Gradual renationalization of UK trains

If Labour can do a good job hopefully they can start eroding the poisonous failed neoliberal model in Britain.

Railways, water, national power transmission, and any other critical infrastructure should not be owned by private companies or individuals for profit.
 
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atypical_boro said:
I’m too young to really remember British Rail.

But I’ve been a frequent train user for 25 years and at the moment it’s the worst it’s ever been (in that time).
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living on the East coast main line it was good, quick to get to York or Newcastle. Darlo station hasn’t really changed in 40 odd years but I remember the Travellers fare buffet, choccy machines and platform tickets.

Once we got the train from Hartlepool to Darlo and took forever, my mum was like never again.

The Manchester - Saltburn service seems to have improved in the last year getting it to home games, 6 carriages most of the time.
 
SCG said:
living on the East coast main line it was good, quick to get to York or Newcastle. Darlo station hasn’t really changed in 40 odd years but I remember the Travellers fare buffet, choccy machines and platform tickets.

Once we got the train from Hartlepool to Darlo and took forever, my mum was like never again.

The Manchester - Saltburn service seems to have improved in the last year getting it to home games, 6 carriages most of the time.
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TBH I am mainly slagging off the WCML from Manchester to London. Haven't used the TPE for a while.
 
They weren't cheap in the days of nationalisation, iirc. The stale white bread sandwiches were legendary and generally everything was shabby. But then again, they didn't cancel Saltburn to Darlo trains when one staff member had a hangover, and then lie that it was due to 'signal failure'.
 
An example of how it currently works

The Government specified and ordered the Azuma trains for LNER/Virgin at the time.

When delivered there was no luggage space - they ordered commuter trains. So Hitachi had to retrofit the whole lot.

The folk who run the companies at the moment flit from one failing operator to another with no consequences.

Taking profit making out of it, same as with water, will just allow more for investment. Also more joined up pricing. The franchises mean some journeys end up being ridiculously expensive because they cut across competing franchises. One network means one pricing model, which again should be better for us customers
 
Nano said:
Automated ticket machines instead of ticket sellers. Barriers instead of manned ticket checkers at stations. No conductor on trains to deal with anything, only a driver. Etc.
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As ever there's a balance. The government wanted to shut down virtually every ticket office in the country last year, there was a huge public backlash and they backed down.

There's still a need for most of those things you describe, guards do far more than just check tickets.

Most sensible unions will work with employers to facilitate modernising, but there has to be give and take. You can't just take a sledgehammer to everything.
 
Nano said:
Automated ticket machines instead of ticket sellers. Barriers instead of manned ticket checkers at stations. No conductor on trains to deal with anything, only a driver. Etc.
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Irish Railways did away with a lot of this some years ago, now they’re bringing back extra staff and have gates manned at a lot of the big stations - Dundalk, Drogheda and Dublin Connolly/Heuston to name 3.
Would like to see how much money the barriers at Darlington and Hartlepool are making for the companies
 
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