On the train to London

[Nero]

Yes they are paid concessions. Dft sets the timetables, fares, which rolling stock is used, the lot.

But that’s like saying OFWAT tell the Water Companies what investment needs looking at and decides whether they can increase bills.

It doesn’t mean English water isn’t private.

 

[Corcaigh_the_Cat]

The tracks etc are publicly owned, a handful of train companies are too, the majority are not.

Deutsche Bahn own some very lucrative routes in the UK, in this area Grand Central and Cross Country are operated by them under the name Arriva, who also operate the London Overground, and a number of other ventures.

Rail transport certainly isn't nationalised.

 

[Geoff_B]

5 posts and then the thread gets completely derailed

 

[thewanderer]

The tracks etc are publicly owned, a handful of train companies are too, the majority are not.

Deutsche Bahn own some very lucrative routes in the UK, in this area Grand Central and Cross Country are operated by them under the name Arriva, who also operate the London Overground, and a number of other ventures.

Rail transport certainly isn't nationalised.

They are all nationalised. They then pay a company a set fee to run everything exactly as the DfT says. What are you not getting?

 

[Capybara]

LNER is spot on and shows a service doesn’t have to be ran privately by some random foreign company. In fact, the East Coast service was also very good when it was called East Coast about 12 years ago - also publicly ran.

Virgin took over for a short while, couldn’t make millions so ditched it. I’m just surprised the Tories have allowed LNER to remain public for as long as they have.

Don't be fooled into thinking that LNER is great because it's nationalised. Some of the stuff they are doing on fares is pretty scandalous, first by doing away with return tickets, and then getting rid of saver fares between Edinburgh and London. It's clear they are trying to do away with flexible, pay-on-the-day ticketing in favour of a complete airline-style book-in-advance system which some of the private companies have wanted for years but haven't been able to do. The Labour Party could win back my vote tomorrow by promising to stop this and revert to what it was only two years ago.

 

[Nero]

Don't be fooled into thinking that LNER is great because it's nationalised. Some of the stuff they are doing on fares is pretty scandalous, first by doing away with return tickets, and then getting rid of saver fares between Edinburgh and London. It's clear they are trying to do away with flexible, pay-on-the-day ticketing in favour of a complete airline-style book-in-advance system which some of the private companies have wanted for years but haven't been able to do. The Labour Party could win back my vote tomorrow by promising to stop this and revert to what it was only two years ago.

That’s an interesting point. I’m a frequent traveller on LNER and always book advance. It’s way cheaper and if people can do that they should. It’s not even hard to change the ticket if plans change either.