“Britain’s railways are broken.” So says – or said – the transport secretary, Louise Haigh. Her social media assessment of the dire state of the rail industry, made six weeks ahead of the general election in July, remains true today.
“Cancellations have soared to record levels, fares have risen almost twice as fast as wages, and taxpayers are paying through the teeth to prop up a failing system.”
Ms Haigh spelled out what she intended to do about it: “Labour will deliver a publicly-owned railway that puts the passenger first.”
Rail nationalisation is an undoubted vote-winner. For anyone who can remember the 2019 election, it was one manifesto promise from Jeremy Corbyn that was popular with a majority of voters.
For all of us passengers who feel let down by the railways, bringing trains back under state control sounds tempting. Baroness Blake of Leeds, the Labour peer who is steering the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill through the House of Lords, says: “Public ownership will allow us to end the failed franchising system which has inflicted misery on passengers through delays, overcrowding and poor service.
“This bill will ensure that trains are run for the benefit of the British public, not for the profits of shareholders around the world.”
Her last point echoes the condemnation by the rail unions of the millions that are paid out in dividends to the private companies – some of them overseas train operators – who are currently under contract to the Department for Transport (DfT) to run most of the nation’s train services.
All other things being equal, saving several hundred million pounds that is currently paid to such firms will be a benefit. You could call it, to borrow a Brexiteer phrase, taking back control. But I am unconvinced that the nationalisation bill will do much to address the key issues for the railway: unreliable trains and a ridiculously complex and irrational system of fares.
I hope nationalisation will solve the railway’s deep-rooted problems. But the evidence is unconvincing.
On reliability: Exhibit A is Northern Rail. For the umpteenth Sunday in a row, last weekend the train operator issued an upper case message urging passengers in northwest England “NOT TO TRAVEL” on several key routes to and from Greater Manchester. The reason:…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Independent Travel…