Phoebus Apostolides, London + ShareThe private companies sell us a crap service year after year, but what are we going to do about it?
Your Views
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Caroline Dumonteil, LondonEvidence shows that the privatised rail system here is not serving the public interest. It costs far more, is inefficient and deeply disliked by most people in the UK.
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Susan Farquharson, BexhillGovernment should be putting money into the rail infrastructure. It should not be run as a business as the fares are ridiculously high.
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Kevin O’Hanrahan, LondonNationalise the means of production, distribution and exchange.
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Peter Chester, Saltburn-by-the-SeaRail privatisation had everything to do with deluded ideology and nothing to do with efficiency or public service. That wrong needs to be righted as soon as possible.
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Graham Finch, RyeThe Tories thought nationalised rail didn’t work. The French thought it did and bought into our railways. Re-nationalise British Rail so we all can profit.
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π€ We pay some of the highest fares in Europe for unreliable service from private operators? Time for public ownership. ... See MoreSee Less
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What ever your politics, it seems to me common sense that the people should have total control of the essential services of their country & the last 13 years in the U K with private interferers milking those services has proved that hands down. I suspect the cream of that milking is well gone into 'offshore accounts' to keep the greedy in a manner to which they believe is their due.
Wasn't an experiment, it was 'organised crime'.
On reason that we pay high fares, of course, is that some of the rail companies are owned/part-ownd by e.g. SNCF and Belgian railways. The profits they make here enable them to keep prices down in France and Belgium (as well as other countries and their operators.)
its ok get rid of franchises yet the past few yrs have been shocking delayed or cancelled train long journeys with 2 dmus i the north i bet lodon has at least 8 or ten units
Will not happen until we the people force it. The starting point has to be an ultimatum to the current shower o shit Govt, do it or else.. but sadly we have to rely on the flakiness of voters and their self serving short mindedness in a general election to oust them, as they will not, ever, reverse their flagship policies no matter how bad they get, because it would be regarded as an admission that it had failed. Ostriches head and leopards spots etc. Most of all any potential incoming govt must similarly be warned that this is non negotiable, but even so, it will have to be done piecemeal not wholesale. Starting with the on - off NR / GBR fiasco.
Quite a collection of companies there from all over Britain. Maybe they could be given a name to refer to them quickly all at once like - um - British Railways?
Avanti needs to be added. Still can't book tickets 3 months in advance.
Problem is there all still awful after bringing in house notably SER and northern
So of those listed now in public ownership which have improved?
Buses too. Public transport should be owned and funded by us.
91/440 was the REAL failure
Sucking huge sums of money away from services.into peoples pockets who really dont need it.......
Bring back British Rail, this along with other privatisation schemes has been a failure from start to finish for customers!
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π£ Letβs help the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to become the second in the UK to re-regulate its bus network! π Join the Campaign Launch: Better Buses for Merseyside this Friday 26 May, 1pm in Queen Square, Liverpool π Please share! ... See MoreSee Less
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people or changed who can see it, or it's been deleted.Comment on Facebook
better bus services in mersayside compared to other citys problem is short of drivers so every 30 minutwts on some routes is poor ..
I might back such campaigns but I don't expect them to improve overnight.
I got that wrong Merseyside is shocking for buses after todays farce awful bus drivers and an abusive person swore at me wtfno reason
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Are you happy TransPennine Express Trains has been brought back into public ownership? π₯³πThen please take 2 mins to email Transport Secretary Mark Harper and ask him to re-nationalise Avanti West Coast and other failing rail operators too. You can use We Own It's online tool here π It's time to #KickFirstOut! ... See MoreSee Less
Take our railway into public ownership
weownit.org.uk
TransPennine is coming into public ownership. Now let's go further. Our railway should work for people, not profit.Comment on Facebook
Don't stop at taking rail back into public ownership. Do the same for Energy and Power.
Done, Bring Back British Rail. The ONLY WAY The Railway Can Work. Privatisation only Works for Share Holders and Bosses.
Public ownership of railways works in other European countries so why not here?
Thinking back, what a campaign of misinformation and downright propaganda there was against British Rail. Used to commute to a job in London, breakfast on the train actually served in dining car, pot of coffee not a paper cup! Real food not processed sandwich or burger in a box. And the sleeper service, the Night Capitals from London to north of Scotland, a pleasure. Not the chaos rail is now. It has been decimated, trains cancelled because no staff, not because of the strikes, because the service has been run down for max profit. Privatised has failed, take it back to British Rail!
You probably need people running this with railway experience or the same problems could occur again
The easiest way is once the franchise is up for renewal, don't give them it.
If I recall on BBC Breakfast with Naga Munchetty grilling the Rail Minister, I didn't see much of it but I think the Government will try everything to reprivatise it.
I agree in Public ownership but I do think not having people, οΏΌrota on isn’t good for planning. Also could sort family life for drivers.
Hope sarnies not like BR's were π π π
Nationalised really under this government?
Yes but their problems will take more than a change of Mgt to resolve.
Shame that the DfT didn't step in earlier after it became apparent that there was an unlikely sign of improvement. This step will only make a negligible impact, the whole system needs to be scrapped and reimagined into a proper network that has the necessary investment.
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TransPennine Express Trains re-nationalised! ππ₯³ It's a big win for our campaign to #KickFirstOut of our railways β
Well done to Transport Secretary Mark Harper for making the right decision ππ That makes four of the fourteen Department for Transport-controlled contracts now back in public ownership. ... See MoreSee Less
TransPennine Express loses contract over poor service
www.bbc.co.uk
The government will now run the service after customers complained of cancelled trains.Comment on Facebook
Privatisation. Yet another Tory failure.
Another step forward would be to develop close cooperation with the already nationalised East Coast and Northern Regional operations
Poor service and an upcoming election!
We have seen some results in efficiency in other regions of the nationalised rail systems. Hopefully this might not be bad thing. If one suggested that the Big 4 was a success and added that Nationalised rail systems were a failure, he fails to realise that the people that were involved in the Big 4 were the same people whom were involved in the British Transport Commission under British Railways. I have read a highly comprehensive book titled The WR Diesel-Hydraulics by JK Lewis that tells us these facts. But the biggest failure was privatisation and nothing moved so well after that since Stagecoach's comical South West Trains fiasco. Train services were slower, expensive and overcrowding together with safety mainly thanks to the consequences of competition. Another problem is the way privatisation invests in new trains. Virgin Trains chosed its trains out of Richard Branson's space ship follies while the Government's Civil Servant Hitachi-built biomode revolution was a bit of a disaster as they have many issues. The whole system needs to be heavily subsidised and needed billions to bail it out if it's not financially effective. I know BR wasn't perfect but I think it invests better and keeps things moving better.
They're absolutely awful. I live in Saddleworth, a collection of villages just outside Oldham and our only mass transit option is this shower of shit. Buses take forever to get anywhere, taxis are outrageously expensive if you try and get out of Saddleworth so it's train or nothing. And in many cases it's nothing because the station at Greenfield has recently been reported to have an overall 40% cancellation rate. It's essentially a coin toss when you go for a train whether it will be there. I have stopped using it for business travel (regularly travel the west coast mainline for work) and instead pay the extortionate parking charges at Piccadilly because at least I know that I will be there in time for my train
This was what was needed...there was a shocking level of por service for years.
It's a big win for first group, no secret they didn't want the franchise, they couldn't walk away from it as it would have cost them big time so what's the best thing to do.....let it go to sh*t so its eventually taken off them. They want the WCML & HS2 . Guarantee you they won't lose them....unfortunately
It's one step in the right direction. But the DfT are way from perfect. Look how badly that lot in London have tried to manage the pay deal for rail staff across the country.
Finally, hope the penny drops with ppl now that we've been ripped off for years!
People keep voting for the party that STILL thinks the system works…
They've been useless for over 30 years and now trying to blame it on the strikes
Took the Tory Government long enough to bring it back into the public sector, what about Avanti West Coast!
Now lets get the rest back in house PROPERLY !
Excellent news....
yes but look at what the govenment want to do get rid of booking offices guards change the terms and conditions if cant use phones or technolgy you should have a choice how you pay not just 1 way apps contactless or phones thats why there striking but thank god tpe first have gone they ruined the train services with endless deplayed or cancelled trrins and zero delay replay either bye bye first ha ha
4 down, 10 to go! Keep getting the message out there Bring Back British Rail & We Own It πͺ
This is the start
About bloody time
it’s about time bring some else who can do a better job
π― yes
Not as sexy as the Kraftwerk version!
Alas same lunatics will be running the asylum.
About time. Can we now have a Northern English company running this? Or is that deemed racist and we will have to put up with an oversees company that thinks their share holders from abroad are more important than the lowethsome British peasents that have to use what has been a dreadfully bad service by the current operators of TPE.
Franchises fail, are renationalised, make money then are sold to another franchisee when they're profitable again. Forgive me, but why don't we just cut out the middle man and have a nationalised railway again, which makes money for OUR country? After all, in real terms, not one single privatised company has provided a benefit to the consumer. None.
about bloody time - an awful service
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With just over a month until its contract expires on 28 May, TransPennine Express Trains is still Britain's worst performing train operator ππ Mark Harper would have to be insane to consider renewing it. No more new contracts. It's time to #NationaliseTPE! ... See MoreSee Less
TransPennine Express worst for train cancellations
www.bbc.co.uk
The troubled rail operator cancelled around one in six of its trains last month, the regulator says.Comment on Facebook
British taxpayers are (still) indirectly subsidising state-owned railways of other European countries.
For the better part of last year : i'd get the TransPennine from Oxenholme to Manchester first thing in the morning Every time I did there were hapless tourists headed to Manchester airport (end of the line) with their luggage and tags. The thing is that train never came. It was a ghost train, existing on the timetable, always available for a ticket, permanently cancelled. I knew I could make transfers at Preston and get into the office late as expected. But the poor tourists - would be missing planes and so afraid and confused. All I could do is let them know they were gonna be an hour late, had to make various changes and explain: "Welcome to Britain. We cannot do infrastructure" - I felt so sorry for them, every creed and language represented realising this is a failed country, I'd be embarrassed but I became so use to it. That's the British state of mind - we expect so little and are still disappointed, but embarrassed infront of the world
The poor performance of this operator is directly affected by industrial action, coming under government control will sort absolutely nothing.
It should be taken back into public ownership.
I wish there was an alternative to TPEx as I have had it up to here with them. I received email confirming refund of ticket xxxxxxx value of £32.20 following cancellation due to industrial action 18th March. I then receive another email stating how much refund, £15 and £10 admin, it states quite clearly on your web site that a refund in full is made. I then look at the ticket reference and realise you have cancelled a ticket xxxxxx that was to be used 4th April . My wife then bought another ticket xxxxxx value £25.70 off peak return to replace the wrongly cancelled ticket, which when she tried to reclaim via machine at Manchester airport it wouldn’t allow her to retrieve. A member of staff also tried and couldn’t. As she booked on mobile she had to confirm bank which there was a problem and for some reason when she did manage to confirm it was another ticket ref xxxxxx value £25.70. She could not retrieve this ticket either so both were not used. She then had to purchase another ticket as instructed by staff at Manchester Airport. Value £24.90 but only single therefore open off peak return lost. I would appreciate that refunds are generated from this email as the refund claim on website clearly does not work. Gxxxxx = 32.20 Industrial action 7xxxxxxx = 25.00 Wrongly cancelled 8xxxxxxx = 25.70 Not used due to machine at airport No confirm= 25.70 Money taken from account but no confirmation sent 24.90 delays incurred 4th April more than 15 mins from Manchester airport to Doncaster total of £133.50 Regarding your web site I find it difficult to use, I had tried to make a refund for ticket Gxxxxx online using my account, I signed in as normal and then went through site looking for refund option I found this and clicked on the link and was asked to sign in even though I was already signed in. I followed procedure to sign in using same details as previous sign in only to be told this was not a valid account or the sign in was wrong I tried several times and checked thoroughly for mistakes. I then claimed as not registered.
Aren't First Group big Tory donors?
Cross Country should be added to the list for disenfranchising. Over the last 5yrs every single long distance train of theirs I have booked was either VERY.late or cancelled. Securing a refund is a nightmare, they ask for photos of tickets then weeks later when they think you have disposed of them they ask for the actual tickets. I am owed £260 for trains which never even ran. Advice - do NOT buy tickets online, find a ticket office and buy there, that way you will receive an immediate refund. You cannot do that with any ticket purchased online.
This government will Still allow 1st group to run The service
Is this levelling up the North !
Not news, not news
Sounds like they have a big enough slush fund to keep the franchise!
I simply do not understand what difference you think nationalisation will make?
Take the franchise off the money grabbing bastards,
sack the strikers armoles
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