The end of the rail?
Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 12:01 pm
Sir Richard Branson condemns rail bid process as Virgin Rail loses West Coast Main Line franchise to FirstGroup - Home News - UK - The Independent
Sir Richard added that this was the fourth time Virgin had been outbid in a franchise tender process.
He went on: "On the past three occasions, the winning operator has come nowhere close to delivering their promised plans and revenue, and has let the public and country down dramatically.
"GNER and National Express over-promised in order to win the franchise and spectacularly ran into financial difficulties in trying to deliver their plans. The East Coast is still in Government ownership and its service is outdated and underinvested, costing passengers and the country dearly as a result.
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. When will the Department for Transport learn?"
He makes a rather valid point, also if they fail that will be the nd of the railways. Thanks to thatcher we now pay more in subsidies than we did when it was nationalised except now we are subsidising shareholders profits. .
Protests at large rail price hikes across the country | Ekklesia
Government railway subsidy is massive - much higher than in British Rail days - yet we have some of Europe's highest fares coupled with travelling conditions that almost force passengers away, Phillips added.
“The problem is the siphoning of taxpayer subsidy into shareholder profits instead of investment in the rolling stock and network. Instead of ever higher subsidies and poorer services, the Green Party's answer is re-nationalisation," he concluded.
Give it another ten years or so and maybe we will see energy renationaliised.
Who has been the worst prime minister iover the last thirty years, Thatcher, Blair or Brown? I can't decide.
Sir Richard added that this was the fourth time Virgin had been outbid in a franchise tender process.
He went on: "On the past three occasions, the winning operator has come nowhere close to delivering their promised plans and revenue, and has let the public and country down dramatically.
"GNER and National Express over-promised in order to win the franchise and spectacularly ran into financial difficulties in trying to deliver their plans. The East Coast is still in Government ownership and its service is outdated and underinvested, costing passengers and the country dearly as a result.
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. When will the Department for Transport learn?"
He makes a rather valid point, also if they fail that will be the nd of the railways. Thanks to thatcher we now pay more in subsidies than we did when it was nationalised except now we are subsidising shareholders profits. .
Protests at large rail price hikes across the country | Ekklesia
Government railway subsidy is massive - much higher than in British Rail days - yet we have some of Europe's highest fares coupled with travelling conditions that almost force passengers away, Phillips added.
“The problem is the siphoning of taxpayer subsidy into shareholder profits instead of investment in the rolling stock and network. Instead of ever higher subsidies and poorer services, the Green Party's answer is re-nationalisation," he concluded.
Give it another ten years or so and maybe we will see energy renationaliised.
Who has been the worst prime minister iover the last thirty years, Thatcher, Blair or Brown? I can't decide.
