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WHY BRITISH RAIL PRIVATISATION HAS FAILED
PATRICK CROZIER
British rail privatisation has failed. I think that’s pretty safe to
say. But I am a free-marketeer, a libertarian. I believe that the world would be a better place if we privatised schools, hospitals and even the police. I cannot at one and the same time claim that privatisation is a good thing and a bad thing. I have some explaining to do.
But before I do, I want to make some comments and disclaimers.
I am not a railway expert. I am not an authority on all the details of trains, timetabling, signalling or the finer points of the 1993 Railway Act. Railway enthusiasts are a passionate and informed bunch. The amount of information available is enormous. My previous specialisation was Northern
Ireland. By comparison Northern Ireland is a simple and
straightforward subject. I suppose what I am saying is that I could be wrong.
AN UNPLEASANT FEATURE OF MODERN LIFE
Rail is a fragile industry. It doesn’t take much to cause chaos.
A crash, a guards’ strike, some bad weather or a person under a train will grind operations to a halt instantly. It is also hugely capital intensive. Trains, signalling, stations all cost huge sums of money. You have got to be pretty sure of your return if you are going to invest. Although roads can be just as expensive they are not nearly as prone to disruption. Or at
least not until the Fuel Protests of August last year.
Travel is crap. Whoever said it is better to travel than to arrive needs a good kicking. It takes time, it is tiring, you are subjected to people you don’t know, you are often cramped, it is uncertain, it is dangerous. And that goes for all modern forms of transport be it rail, air or road. It is an essential, if unpleasant feature of modern life so people will always find reasons to complain.
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