Mark Arnold, London + ShareI suffer using the Thameslink driver-only service, with no on-board announcements, and I consider this dangerous. Trains consistently delayed/cancelled due to broken trains.
Mark Arnold, London + ShareI suffer using the Thameslink driver-only service, with no on-board announcements, and I consider this dangerous. Trains consistently delayed/cancelled due to broken trains.
Bring Back British Rail
2 days ago
Good riddance to Britain's franchised railway system, but what comes next? ...
Good riddance to Britain's franchised railway system | Jonn Elledge
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The pandemic has finished off an unsustainable system and replaced it with de facto nationalisation. What comes next, asks Jonn Elledge, former assistant editor of the New StatesmanShare on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email
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I always found the cheery talking toilets on those Virgin Trains slightly insulting too. Like "we've taken all your money for our shitty sewer smelling trains, now your not even allowed to have a crap in peace"
The only real nationalised service would be with a Democratic Socialist Labour Party
What comes next? Under this government they will wait until its profitable again and franchise it back to their mates, obviously.
Yes give it to your mates who ruin private service companies....you know it makes sense..... Full your boots in dividends. NOT!
Since the government likes to make a song and dance of its patriotic credentials, how about a new system with a suitably patriotic name, like say "British Railways"?
Probably be given to Serco in one piece so they can overcharge and mishandle it like everything else!
Should never had been franchised in the first place
The guardian can run it. We can have segregated carriages by race and sexual orientation and screaming if they're running late.
But we were told it would be a big success. I wonder who told us that?
It'll just get even more monopolised privitised. British rail provided by g4s. Atleast there is currently a veneer of competition.
An unfranchised system, obviously...
I heard that it's been offered to Dido Harding and a fellow Matt Hancock know from down his local pub, apparently they're gonna job share.
Greed leads to a desert.
Passenger numbers didn’t start increasing at privatisation: they were already on the up following the reorganisation of BR into sectors (Inter-city, Network Southeast, Cross Country, etc). Moreover BR required far less subsidy than the private operators.
and the left should now campaign for their permanent renationalisation.
Trains where you can get a decent breakfast again?
Public money to save it, then flog it off again.
Dread to think unaffordable with hs2 copsts though and still running lines around the north at 33MPH
fir now but soon as this charade is over it'll go back into the hands of pirates and crooks and back to running 1 train an hour with one carriage on the liverpool warrington manchester line
I’m sorry but it’s still going to amount to exactly the same thing but with a different tag on it
Now we need to fire the grossly overpaid union-busting scum CEOs and board members of the privatised train companies, useless good-for-nothing human rubbish. It'll be good to see them scrambling for private school fees for their upwardly-mobile (in the past) sprogs.
The Tories always bail out private companies when they fail overall due to societil reasons, they pump vast amounts of public money in for a few years and make them plump and fat, and sell them back cheap to the market.
Bloody Thatcher, ---- Should have left well alone .
It's been nationalised cos at the moment is not profitable but wait a few months
In 1992, John Major and John MacGregor promised us that rail privatisation will bring vast majority of improvements and lower train fares. Well, anything?
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Bring Back British Rail
3 weeks ago
Merch store now re-open! 📢 We had to close in March during the first lockdown, but are pleased to announce we're now finally up-and-running again! Support the original passenger-led campaign for a publicly-owned railway 🚉 All proceeds fund Bring Back British Rail materials and activities 👉 bringbackbritishrail.org/support ...
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I'd buy a face mask with the logo on....
Um isn't the logo back to front? Asking for a friend...
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Bring Back British Rail
1 month ago
Private train companies have received £billions in bailouts 💷💸💰 Public body Transport for London needs fair funding too! We're supporting National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) demands for fair funding for London's public transport network 🚍🚇🚆Coalition of Londoners calls for an end to ‘appalling attack’ on the Capital’s transport
A coalition of organisations have today joined together in a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, calling on him to end his government’s attack on the capital’s transport system, 48 hours before negotiations between the government and TfL over a new funding deal are due to end.
The letter, signed by 13 organisations representing London’s transport workers, passenger groups, children, young people, students, pensioners, disabled people and anti-poverty campaigners, condemns the government for imposing what is in effect ‘a new round of austerity cuts that will throw more families into poverty and increase hardship for ordinary working people and small businesses across the capital.’
The signatories condemn the government’s ‘offer’ – reported to be £1 billion over 6 months, conditional on TfL imposing driverless trains, attacks on pensions in retirement, fare and tax rises and cuts to concessions for children, young people and pensioners - saying:
“This package of cuts is punitive, cruel and unnecessary. It’s an open attack on the livelihoods of 9 million Londoners who are being punished because, unlike other major cities our capital’s transport system has been forced to become overly dependent on fare revenue, leaving it exposed to the shocks of the pandemic”.
The letter says,
“We call on the Prime Minister to abandon this appalling attack on the livelihoods of London’s people and its transport workers and immediately agree a proper funding package that fully supports public transport in our capital during the current crisis and also reinstates government grant to a level that allows for the retention and expansion of safe, sustainable and affordable public transport for the future.”
The signatories to the letter are: ASLEF, RMT, TSSA, Unite the Union, National Union of Students, London, East and South East TUC, London Region National Pensioners Convention, Child Poverty Action Group, Age UK London, Disabled People Against the Cuts, We Own It, the Association of British Commuters and Bring Back British Rail.
The full letter, send to the Prime Minister today, can be read below:
29th October, 2020
Dear Prime Minister,
Listen to London: Stop the austerity attack and properly fund London Transport
As we move into a hard winter and a second wave of Covid-19 infections, Londoners who have done everything asked of them during this crisis, including transport keyworkers who have put their lives on the line to keep the capital moving, are facing a new round of austerity cuts that will throw more families into poverty and increase hardship for ordinary working people and small businesses across the capital.
The cuts being proposed will:
Increase child and pensioner poverty in London by cutting access to free travel concessions; Increase hardship for London’s working families and small businesses through fare rises and council tax supplements; Unfairly target the 55,000 keyworkers who have worked heroically throughout the crisis by attacking their jobs, wages, conditions of employment and their pension provision for old age; Damage passenger safety and confidence in public transport through the loss of jobs that are vital to clean, safe and orderly travel; Lead to a degradation of our transport system which will reduce accessibility for disabled people, prevent us from meeting our decarbonisation goals and improving air quality and public health in the capital drive London’s economy further into recession.
This package of cuts is punitive, cruel and unnecessary. It’s an open attack on the livelihoods of 9 million Londoners who are being punished because, unlike other major cities our capital’s transport system has been forced to become overly dependent on fare revenue, leaving it exposed to the shocks of the pandemic. This is a broken funding model, but instead of working to fix it, your government appears to be using it to inflict yet more austerity on people who have done what they have been asked to do and endured great hardship in the process.
We call on your government to abandon this appalling attack on the livelihoods of London’s people and its transport workers and immediately agree a proper funding package that fully supports public transport in our capital during the current crisis and also reinstates government grant to a level that allows for the retention and expansion of safe, sustainable and affordable public transport for the future.
Yours sincerely,
Mick Cash, General Secretary, RMT
Mick Whelan, General Secretary, ASLEF
Manuel Cortes, General Secretary, TSSA
Len McCluskey, General Secretary, Unite the Union
Larissa Kennedy, President, NUS
Sam Gurney, Regional Secretary, London, East and South East TUC
Cat Hobbs, Director, We Own It
Abigail Wood, Chief Executive, Age UK London
Alison Garnham, Chief Executive, Child Poverty Action Group
Barry Todman, London Region, National Pensioners Convention
Paula Peters, National Steering Group Member, Disabled People Against the Cuts
Emily Yates, Co-Founder, Association of British Commuters
Ellie Harrison, Founder, Bring Back British Rail ...
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But that would defeat the government's entire purpose of forcing the Mayor of London to renege on his election pledge of freezing fares, forcing him to introduce unpopular measures like removing free under-18s travels or extending the congestion charge and potentially forcing a confrontation with the unions, all in the run-up to the next Mayoral election.
Johnson is a criminal who uses public money for fun. The cost of retiring bendy buses for NBfL was so high. Then his bike scheme was a sham compared to Paris. Then his cable cars. Then his Garden Bridge debacle. Remember as mayor he also pumped up bus fares to £1.50 from £1 straight away. But people are so blindsided.
Bring back Corbyn first...
The rail industry just got nationalised and direct control of the dft. Same for tfl?!
Has privatised rail systems worked? Never since Stagecoach was awarded the franchise followed by it's 70 train driver redundancy packages.
Why? We chose not to live there.
London moaning again....spend a bit more north of the Watford gap.
Look after your members first
Then again train drivers on £80000 a year hasn’t helped
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Bring Back British Rail
1 month ago
No more bailouts to failing private transport companies 💰💸 The Welsh Government are set to re-nationalise their railways 🚉 The Scottish Government must stop bailing out Dutch company Abellio and #MakeScotrailPublic now. Take action 👉 you.38degrees.org.uk/p/publicrailwayscotland ...
Transport for Wales rail services to be nationalised
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Ministers step in to "stabilise the network and keep it running" as income plummets due to Covid.Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email
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DfT is already making it clear that as it gets control it's coming after staff wages and Ts & Cs... Then it wants to increase (yes INCREASE) fares to lower the cost of rail to taxpayers. It has said that the current measures already end the ability of train companies to run special offers with reduced fares etc. This is what is coming - congratulations BBBR - it's what you've been calling for.
My office is next to the main GWR line to London, almost every train that comes past is virtually empty, it is unfair to expect the tax payer many of whom never use a train to fund this. There will be huge cuts and huge fare rises.
I experienced it and your memory is playing you tricks if you think that what we have now is better, it wasn't perfect but at least the carriages were clean and the toilets functioned!
This reminds me of a comment made by an old British Rail employee who I asked if they still did specials to Blackpool for the lights. His reply was; no, they were too popular, so they stopped them!
I remember British Rail with the dirty carriages and disgusting toilets!
Yeah, because BR under public ownership was so great, what could go wrong? #RoseTintedSpectacles
'Ticket sales have plummeted.' but strangely 'Up to 8% of trains [are] overcrowded'.-
Remember the soggy BR sandwiches? Terry Wogan had a pet hate about them! ☺️
Run it properly without restrictive working practices like most other infrastructure services and this doesn't happen, Who pays for it going forward as it continues to lose money ?
BBBR how about doing some research before such a sweeping statement. and of course this isnt the BR you wished for is it , this will come with massive cuts that can now be made without having to compensate the franchise hlders and the customers will be the ones to suffer thats the few that remain after 6 months of a DON NOT TRAVEL message from the Welsh assembley
www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/news/unholy-spat-between-treasury-and-dft-over-soaring-cost-of-rail-as-p...
Next in line like Northern Ireland Railways or East Coast Main line may we hope....?
Please no not British Rail please - be careful what you wish for - those of us who experienced British Rail never want it back again
I was going to say I'd be happy with the RENFE or SNCF model here but I see they've just flogged off SNCF and in Spain Sanchez of all people is going ahead with the PP scheme to do the same in spite of warnings citing Major. It seems they don't learn .
Everything should be re nationalised with no payouts to shareholders !
Wales leading the way. 👍
That what we want 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧💙💙
Bring back british rail and run the railways for the people not share holders
This is great news 👏
They brought back LNER back into national ownership it ran at profit for years. It was so successful the tories fell over themselves to privatise it again.....and it failed again.
Great news for Welsh passengers and another sign of a progressive government in Wales.
One day this scabrous bunch shits will realise that railways cannot be run at a profit and without considerable investment. What it does is vastly improve air quality, save a fortune on roads and greatly reduce the carbon footprint. The cost to the NHS, Police and Emergency services will be hugely reduced. Funny how to them money spent on roads is called investment and on a nationalised rail system it's called subsidy.
Good for our Welsh Assembly
Make sure cant be sold off again
Paying shareholders profits for passengers but owning the tracks and infrastructure is one of the biggest con jobs in modern history. Foriegn national rail operations owning the franchises and using the income to subsidise their own passengers is the second. If the British Media wasn't owned by Conservative Party donors, perhaps this would be newsworthy?
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Bring Back British Rail
2 months ago
"Ministers today ended rail franchising after 24 years as the first step in bringing Britain’s fragmented network back together" says the Department for Transport 🚉 A big step for Bring Back British Rail, but we won't rest until we've ended rail privatisation altogether ✊ ...
Rail franchising reaches the terminus as a new railway takes shape
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I wonder if new train investments under privatisation have now proved to be a costly disaster with fall in passenger numbers in the wake of COVID 19 . If this is it, it might be a similar case with the Modernisation Plan, Beechingisation and National Traction Plan. A recent case could mean large number of under-utilised IEPs being stored after only around three years service.
i wonder just how much this totally unsuccessful privatisation has cost taxpayers over the years........
the infrastructure company is already dividing itself under the guise of putting passengers first splitting itself into what resembles the original BR regions - of course the chairman of said infrastructure company comes from a non railway background and will be doing the bidding of his masters at westminster - nobody from a truly railway background doesnt put passengers first no matter what company they work for.
What I am hoping for, at the very least, is something akin to ITA powers. That are right across, the nation. Here in Essex, all the towns. That are at end of branch lines, have more or less doubled in size. Therefore, the services need to be doubled in frequency.
Bailing out their chums with public money. Again.
Let’s have a truly joined up system with all parts of the system under one organisation unless it’s Serco
Let's have that lovely blue back. Seriously though, the privatised rail network and that dreadful Railtrack were an absolute failure.
The redundancies have already started . Anybody who thinks this is good news or some kind of victory is sadly deluded . The decsion take today is not a reaction to a failed venture it's purely down to the pandemic. As predicated they tried to bury It into todays news but unfortunately it will be all to obvious in a few weeks when the hatchet falls on many many jobs around the country there will little the unions can do to stop it as there will be a severe lack of public support and of course ot as much disruption can be caused with the new way of working and travel not recommended. So you got what you wanted but the outcome wont be what we needed . RIP the railway of 2020.
A single unified system even if there was private sector delivery is a compromise I would settle for if we have to keep privatisation.
It's been an unnecessarily complex mess from the start.
Why should public money fund their failure any more than it has!
And now get rid off South Western Failure and Abellio.
I cautiously welcome this news, let's see what they come up with. Bring Back BR!
Hopefully no compensation for shareholders
I'll be buying 'Private Eye' to find out the whole story. I don't trust the media to give us what is really happening, and in fact I don't really think we get the whole story for the railway press.
Keep fighting Ellie, because we're not really there yet.
Unfortunately, I don’t quite believe it. I’m pretty sure they will carry on giving huge sums of taxpayers money to private firms. Which I wouldn’t mind, except they never get a value for money, and they just license the firms to rip off me, the passenger . However I’m now getting my revenge as I work from home. And I have no intention of paying those people any of my hard earned money directly ever again.
Money spaffed on the line.
Good! XX
Bringing back a monolith like BR is not realistic. But placing infrastructure; operations and rolling stock under one roof is vital. Incentives to renew and replace rolling stock in a 15 year rolling time frame, starting with the not-fit-for-purpose stock -Pacers etc. - keep open access services, to provide some competition and give the Train Companies incentives to reopen closed branches where possible.
Can't help but feel this is an exercise in bullshit. The tories and the Blairites are both obsessed with privatisations and will just change the name not the policy.
Without taking action against the spiv hedge fund and bank owned ROSCOS it will have little meaning.
Soon as they’ve used public money to patch it up they’ll be flogging it off to their city mates - who will then have free rein to run it into the ground while lining their pockets for another 10-20 yrs before it needs “rescuing” by taxpayers again. We ARE the magic money tree for the 1%
The word is concession contracts in which HMG take all the risk or profit and the operator runs the service. It jerks the cost of capital (rolling stock) off the government’s books as that remains the property of the train leasing companies. This is as near a nationalisation as you’re going to get as Network Rail remains state owned.
Not a chance I'm afraid just imagine the big boys missing out of their big fat bonuses and the dividends
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