Display:
talk about penny foolish...
by paving on Mon Dec 29th, 2008 at 05:54:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]
given the amount of subsidy south West trains get from the government, it's obvious that it would be most profitable to not run any trains. So deterring passengers is a good way to go.

Unless you imagine that hte purpose of railway companies is to provide a public service. To which I would have to remind you that if we wanted a railway which serves the public we wouldn't have privatised it.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Dec 29th, 2008 at 06:05:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Did the public hold a referendum on that privatisation?
by paving on Tue Dec 30th, 2008 at 01:35:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]
No, the UK doesn't do referenda for political decisions like this. The Thatcher govt had been selling off bits and bobs of infrastructure for so long that when Major proposed one more bit most people didn't care. After all, BR was perceived as so bad that anything else should have been seen as an improvement.

Little did they know. A solid majority would now probably vote for public ownership, and quite a few would agree to rule changes that bankrupted those who currently own them (or is that just me ?)

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Dec 30th, 2008 at 02:17:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Display:
Login
. Make a new account
. Reset password
Occasional Series