Blog « Nordic Enterprise Trust
Oh Mr Porter!One of my favourite lines in film is the response to Will Hay in the film "Oh, Mr Porter" when he arrives as the new station master at Buggleskelly station and enquires at the ticket office window... "The next train's gone!" ...shouts his new (in) subordinate as he slams shut the window. The Department for Transport must be feeling as bemused as Will Hay's character by yet another example of the "privatise profits, socialise losses" syndrome which occurred today when National Express decided to walk away from their franchise to the East Coast London to Edinburgh line. The reason is, apparently, that the economic downturn has blown a hole in their projected income as business travel in particular has collapsed. So what happens now?
Oh Mr Porter!
One of my favourite lines in film is the response to Will Hay in the film "Oh, Mr Porter" when he arrives as the new station master at Buggleskelly station and enquires at the ticket office window...
"The next train's gone!"
...shouts his new (in) subordinate as he slams shut the window.
The Department for Transport must be feeling as bemused as Will Hay's character by yet another example of the "privatise profits, socialise losses" syndrome which occurred today when National Express decided to walk away from their franchise to the East Coast London to Edinburgh line. The reason is, apparently, that the economic downturn has blown a hole in their projected income as business travel in particular has collapsed.
So what happens now?
Question to Dodo. I remember seeing a couple of Eurostars in service between London and York in GNER colours. Is there any reason why they should not run to Edinburgh and Glasgow? "Any economic unit can emit money. The serious problem is to get it accepted" Hyman Minsky
But, the problem here doesn't seem to be the choice of train, but the business model. *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
The leased Eurostars' Northern excursions were a relatively short episode, lasting from 2000 to 2005. Check some photos on RailFanEurope -- here is one, with a train in GNER colours:
*Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
