http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011 ... -franchise

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales ... -28673146/

When I saw the headline I almost started dancing around the room. I have already written to my MP, pleading him to ask Philip Hammond to award the franchise to someone else.

As anyone who lives in South Wales or the South West knows, FGW are a [LIFTED] terrible Train Operating Company.

I'm sure you'll all want to join me in writing to your representative to try and get rid of this horrible, horrible company once and for all.

PS. On another note, presumably this means we'll have a publicly-run railway in the South West and South Wales for the first time since privatisation. Can we use this and East Coast as precedents and bring back British Rail now?

I always found GNER to be quite good. Vastly better than Virgin Cross Country in the late 90's/early 00's.
I rarely use trains these days though.

What was so wrong with British Rail? None of the replacements have been cheaper or better on my sector of the network.

I think the theory was that it would cost too much to invest in getting it up to a good standard and, like many publicly run bodies, cost a lot due to inefficiency in management. The idea was that private companies could stump up the money up front so the tax payer would get better services. That seemed to fit in the Tory idea of low tax low spent at the time.
I'm sure they could have borrowed a fraction of the amount they're borrowing annually now and get it working quite well.
As it is, there's no economies of scale when it comes to designing and buying trains etc in the current fragmented system. It's a right old mess cost wise these days. As a result they're still getting massive tax payers subsidies.
Normally I hate the idea of nationalised companies like the ones we had in the 70's. To many unions (and strikes) refusing to move with the times an modernise to provide a better service/product as they were serving their own interests. However with the railways the current system is even worse.

The rail system is a test case in how not to introduce 'market forces' to a previously government run system. The anticipated investment hasn't been made, the ticketing system is such that even Kafka would find it comical and the general service has not improved in any real way. The thing it's shown pretty much beyond argument is if you want to privatize (or even 'marketize') a system you have to get it right at the beginning or it'll never be right. Still, onward with the ill-thought out and rushed NHS reforms, what?

Jon

Unfortunately I think I'll be in the South West a lot less by March 2013 when FGW's current contract expires. I have to say though, I don't have too many problems with the vast majority of train operators. Arriva CrossCountry could do with a bit more rolling stock, at least on the sections I travel on regularly, but I think the majority of issues seem to stem from Network Rail. Certainly both of the WCML operators I use a lot have suffered equally. Things like the South Eastern services, running on new or does-not-need-updating track are pretty reliable. FGW does seem to be particularly crap, though, and FCC is a bit hit and miss depending on the route.

Yes the unions were excessive but employees have rights, and I do think that the system now is not working. It has cost a lot more than if we had kept it as a state enterprise. The problem is that ideology was the main reason for privatisation.

Not going to disagree with that.



Sadly no it will go out to tender.


Not going to disagree with that.

Well we should use it as a way of eliminating subsidies then.

They will have to save up for the rest of the locomotive!

The things that for the modern train companies, running an actual train service is an occupational hazard in, and at times an obstruction to, the business of making money.

From somebody that pays £1600 plus per month for trains ending subsidies is the last thing I want.

Ba Dum, TISH!

I can totally understand your perspective. I like to think that I am green, so I want to see more people tske trains and that means the cost to end users has to be lowered which would benefit you. The problem is that with so many companies taking their slice it means higher prices overall. A single organisation that can have its prices set by the goverrnment, lets call it British Rail. That could be a better prospect.

Renationalising the railways would be an excellent thing to do. It would standardise prices, as well as getting rid of the confusing, and idiotic pricing structures.

+1
Oh god do we need that. It's a nightmare at the moment.