Balancing act

The government has to tread a difficult line in how this re-nationalised east coast line is to be run.

If it's too good, there will be strong calls for the rest of the rail network to be operated by the state.

If it's too poor, the government and the Department for Transport in particular will be heavily criticised for incompetence, though it's playing down any talk of further nationalisation.

One can only imagine the instructions issued to the Directly Operated Railways (DOR) management....

"In view of the excessively high customer ratings, staff are instructed not to clean the toilets North of Doncaster...."

"Any economic unit can emit money. The serious problem is to get it accepted" Hyman Minsky