It seems Network Rail are in a bit of a mess

[seagullsovergrimsby]

I get the impression the Conservatives already knew the was going to hit the fan after the general election and they would be able to absolve themselves by either being in opposition or in coalition. Now they cannot shift the blame onto anyone else.

 

[Ernest]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33283080

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I get the impression the Conservatives already knew the was going to hit the fan after the general election and they would be able to absolve themselves by either being in opposition or in coalition. Now they cannot shift the blame onto anyone else.

Wasn't Norman Baker in the Transport office for three years in the Coalition?

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Wasn't Norman Baker in the Transport office for three years in the Coalition?

Yes , the same coalition which had to bring back Network Rail into public ownership , which at the stroke of a pen last year wiped out its £33BN debt (only transferred into the national debt) and enabled any deficit in the company pension fund to be covered by the Government administered PPF.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

The 5.40 to Littlehampton is showing CANCELLED again by the way people.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Got the first train to EC and picked up a delayed train from Victoria.

That's always BY FAR the wisest tactic when things snarl up at Victoria and/or London Bridge. Grab the first train to East Croydon (or to West Croydon if desperate, even if it means then walking from WC to EC). The sheer volume of delayed trains randomly arriving at East Croydon means you'll get home far quicker than if you trust them to sort things out at Victoria/London Bridge. And the volume of would-be travellers will be much thinned out at Croydon.

 

[MattBackHome]

The chap opposite me didn't take it well, absolutely clattering the table before dashing off.

There's something wonderfully amusing, even in a situation where you yourself are put to significant annoyance, when someone near to you who is also affected just totally spazzes out. I find it has a calming effect on everything.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I think part of the problem is that all the while people are prepared to pay them eye-watering amounts each year to commute nothing will happen. The network is a total mess, everyone knows it but there's no need to do anything if the money keeps rolling in.

 

[DataPoint]

I think part of the problem is that all the while people are prepared to pay them eye-watering amounts each year to commute nothing will happen. The network is a total mess, everyone knows it but there's no need to do anything if the money keeps rolling in.

But the money does NOT keep rolling in! Never has - never will.

 

[Hampster Gull]

The answer seems simple to me: re-nationalise the railways, get in the feller that runs Swiss Railways and put him in charge

Network Rail is nationalised. In this country this is probably part of the problem

 

[vegster]

Network Rail is nationalised. In this country this is probably part of the problem

Maybe not, this little explanation on Wikipedia of how Railtrack became " Nationalised " again explains quite elegantly ....

The Hatfield train crash on 17 October 2000 was a defining moment in the collapse of Railtrack.[7] The immediate major repairs undertaken across the whole British rail network were estimated to have cost in the order of £580 million and Railtrack had no idea how many more 'Hatfields' were waiting to happen because it had lost considerable in-house engineering skill following the sale or closure of many of the engineering and maintenance functions of British Rail to external companies

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Network Rail is nationalised. In this country this is probably part of the problem

The reason they took it back into public ownership was the continuous debt being built up by Network Rail which was getting out of control , £33BN in 2014 and projected to reach £50BN by 2020 , thats why the private sector was keen to get shot of it. The coalition wrote off the £33BN Network Rail debt last September when it took it under government control and added the £33BN on to the national debt.

 

[Hampster Gull]

The reason they took it back into public ownership was the continuous debt being built up by Network Rail which was getting out of control , £33BN in 2014 and projected to reach £50BN by 2020 , thats why the private sector was keen to get shot of it. The coalition wrote off the £33BN Network Rail debt last September when it took it under government control and added the £33BN on to the national debt.

Fair point. Maybe too big to be managed effectively

 

[KneeOn]

Fair point. Maybe too big to be managed effectively

Funnily enough Richard Branson said this earlier.

I'm lucky I don't work on the Brighton Mainline anymore!