Is it time to bring the rip off railways back into public ownership?

[Dandyman]

I agree the current setup is a shambles, but making it public again just gives a new set of problems. The money that currently lines the shareholders pockets would just get wasted on lazy staff that you can't get rid of because of the unions. They'd be on strike every other week.

They need to let an independant body set price rises and force the operators to reinvest a certain % of their profit into modernisation.

I am in favour of good pay for rail staff but at the moment fragmentation allows the RMT to play off different companies against each other. A single employer would make that much more difficult.

 

[Ernest]

The Labour party had 13 years to put the railways back into public ownership but didn't so why should you expect the party who privatised them to do it ?

 

[Mileoakman]

While I accept that a re-nationalised railway would not be perfect, I would feel so much better knowing that profits were not being syphoned off into shareholders pockets, billions of which ends up overseas.

Same with our utilities, most of which are now owned by overseas companies creaming off our money. Disgraceful.

 

[Dandyman]

So why were they such a massive drain on the public purse before privatisation?

Define massive drain.

Good quality services need to be made for. Privatisation simply means you pay tax (in form of bills) to private, often foreign owned, companies rather than to a common fund.

 

[Ernest]

I am in favour of good pay for rail staff but at the moment fragmentation allows the RMT to play off different companies against each other. A single employer would make that much more difficult.

To be pedantic it is ASLEF who have played the system and one company against the other to secure top pay rates for drivers, unfortunately the rest of are expendable and are treated as such

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

It was time ages ago. Show me a single person who can find anything positive with the embarrassing shambles the UK calls the railway and I'll show you an idiot, or Ernest.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

While I accept that a re-nationalised railway would not be perfect, I would feel so much better knowing that profits were not being syphoned off into shareholders pockets, billions of which ends up overseas.

Same with our utilities, most of which are now owned by overseas companies creaming off our money. Disgraceful.

This. The French and the Germans would not let this happen. I find it strange that as a nation we want to be as distant from Europe as possible but we don't bat an eye lid when we flog every off to foreign owners who cream off the profits. Very strange.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

What would you cut to pay for all these government run companies?

Nothing. I'd raise taxes from elsewhere.

 

[abc]

This isn't meant to be political or provocative but a genuine question. Whilst commuters are the most affected by the price of rail travel is it something we should be concerned about? Isn't the 'commuter equation' this: work where the highest wage is (eg London), live where I want to (eg Brighton). The compromise is time spent commuting and the cost. It is the commuters choice and the cost is the cost. If they don't like it either change jobs or change where you live.
Massive generalisation I know but most people have to live as near as possible to their jobs because they can't afford to commute even if trains were half the price.

 

[Dandyman]

To be pedantic it is ASLEF who have played the system and one company against the other to secure top pay rates for drivers, unfortunately the rest of are expendable and are treated as such

I stand corrected, however the point remains.

 

[Ernest]

I stand corrected, however the point remains.

Of course it does, you are 100% correct. A driver is on now £40/50k a year before overtime etc

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

Surprised about how many have voted "YES" so far, i mean if its privatized - who will be paying for them ?

Oh its the passengers again - expect more fare increases if it happened and i wouldnt be surprised if it went the same way as the old BR. Fares need to be set by an independent group though and passengers should always be given the lowest amount where possible, whether that is through splitting a journey or using alternative services.

 

[beorhthelm]

what a great idea. shame you didnt suggest it say 3 or 10 years ago.

They should charge people to use the motorways and subsidise trains.

they do, drivers pay far, far more in tax and duties than are spent on the roads.

 

[Dandyman]

what a great idea. shame you didnt suggest it say 3 or 10 years ago.

I've been saying it since it was sold off. I'm surprised that you would mistake me for a Blairite.

 

[vegster]

Does no one remember British Railways?

Woeful.

The Subsidies paid to British Rail are now paid to the various foreign shareholders who own " our " current train operators. Now we have different operators on the same line charging different amounts and tickets that are often not transferrable. At least British Rail was ONE company, they employed staff who might not have jobs otherwise but, they were sweeping platforms and they ALL knew the train schedules.

Now we have frightening, unmanned stations watched by the unseeing eye of CCTV and rip off prices and overcrowded trains. Re-nationalise and invest in staff and rolling stock. Employ people and build our own rolling stock and get the country moving and proud of British Rail.

 

[Dandyman]

The Subsidies paid to British Rail are now paid to the various foreign shareholders who own " our " current train operators. Now we have different operators on the same line charging different amounts and tickets that are often not transferrable. At least British Rail was ONE company, they employed staff who might not have jobs otherwise but, they were sweeping platforms and they ALL knew the train schedules.

Now we have frightening, unmanned stations watched by the unseeing eye of CCTV and rip off prices and overcrowded trains. Re-nationalise and invest in staff and rolling stock. Employ people and build our own rolling stock and get the country moving and proud of British Rail.

Sounds spot on to me.

 

[RexCathedra]

It would run contrary to the Gospel of St. Margaret:

All that is, can be bought and sold.
That which cannot be bought or sold, is not.
All that can be bought or sold, must be bought, and sold.
Anything private is better than anything public is or ever can be, because the former is private, and the latter is public.
So long as one of us, somewhere, is still covered by a collective-bargaining agreement, none of us, anywhere, is truly free.

Here endeth the lesson.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Surprised about how many have voted "YES" so far, i mean if its privatized - who will be paying for them?

Tax payers, who currently pay £5 billion a year anyway. And some of this flies straight out of the nation and into the coffers of foreign businesses. Nationalise it and do it now.

Other nations seem quite happy to pay for a decent railway network and service, why wouldn't we?

 

[Dandyman]

Tax payers, who currently pay £5 billion a year anyway. Other nations seem quite happy to pay for a decent railway network and service, why wouldn't we?

I wonder how many people realise how much we already pay ?

 

[Biscuit]

Nationalise it. Along with the utilities.