I deal with DB Schenker Rail on a daily basis ... not a clue how they run a railway and nor it would appear have they.

Call me old fashioned but it's a shame to see EWS trains rebranded as BD Schenker Rail, it's like something else has died

Public transport should never have been privatised. It should be run by the state on a not for profit basis in order to provide the infrastucture for business (private and public sector) to operate smoothly for the benefit of the country as a whole. How on earth can you expect the government to provide an integrated green transport and energy policy if the transport system is run to provide dividends for the shares holder rather than to meet the country's needs. As stated previously, how can a company that needs to pay a dividend to shareholders run a comparable service that is cheaper to operate than a business that runs on a not for profit basis where all excess funds are reinvested in the system ?

Because the state has a bloody terrible history of running services, the railways will never make a profit in government hands, all we can expect is a better service without paying more to subsidise it.

AFAIK, the bids for this particular franchise involve the winner paying the gov for the opportunity to run it. Virgin's bid was £13b.

The whole point is that a nationalised rail network doesn't need to make profits as such. All it has to do is generate a sufficient amount of income to maintain and upgrade the network as necessary.

Erm, that would be a profit then?

Just interest on the bonds they would have to issue!! Interest unlike dividends cannot be avoided if performance doesn't meet expectations. So could actually end up being more expensive.

By running it more efficiently?

I think they should do away with trains and install those tubes that they have in Futurama.

Fat people might have to walk though.

Quote jonny the leyther="jonny the leyther"Virgin Trains rival Japan and Germany on punctuation'" Because they factor delays into the timetable to allow for this. They once had the last train for Wigan to Preston scheduled to take 45 minutes. It takes 10. Strangely enough their performance results showed them arriving early 90% of the time. I wonder why? Quote jonny the leyther="jonny the leyther"run at a profit'" Yes. You've seen ticket prices, haven't you? Quote jonny the leyther="jonny the leyther"and have 98% customer satisfaction.'" No one's ever asked me to fill in a customer satisfaction survey. I like the Co-operative Party's idea, as a start at least. peoplesrail.org.uk/

Quote jonny the leyther="jonny the leyther"Virgin Trains rival Japan and Germany on punctuation'" Because they factor delays into the timetable to allow for this. They once had the last train for Wigan to Preston scheduled to take 45 minutes. It takes 10. Strangely enough their performance results showed them arriving early 90% of the time. I wonder why? Quote jonny the leyther="jonny the leyther"run at a profit'" Yes. You've seen ticket prices, haven't you? Quote jonny the leyther="jonny the leyther"and have 98% customer satisfaction.'" No one's ever asked me to fill in a customer satisfaction survey. I like the Co-operative Party's idea, as a start at least. peoplesrail.org.uk/

Quote GT="GT"Because they factor delays into the timetable to allow for this. '" Isn't "on-time" considered to be anything 9 minutes late or less? You can't measure improvement by constantly changing the definition of what you are measuring. We have a similar scenario about overcrowding on trains: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... ition.html They had overcrowded trains and so, to combat that, they changed the definition of overcrowding. Hey presto - fewer overcrowded trains!

Quote GT="GT"Because they factor delays into the timetable to allow for this. '" Isn't "on-time" considered to be anything 9 minutes late or less? You can't measure improvement by constantly changing the definition of what you are measuring. We have a similar scenario about overcrowding on trains: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... ition.html They had overcrowded trains and so, to combat that, they changed the definition of overcrowding. Hey presto - fewer overcrowded trains!