Comment on South Western first rail firm renationalised by Labour
unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 1 week ago
Renationalaizing and extending rail would solve so much in basically every country in Europe. There is soo much demand for it and rail companies everywhere are just cranking up prices without expanding at all.
HumanPenguin@feddit.uk 1 week ago
Well renationalisation is happening. Or pretty darn close to it.
We will see news like this again and again. As all the rail contracts come up for renewal. Labour plans to either nationalised or accept community coop like bids.
Expectation is all will be moved by 2027.
ohulancutash@feddit.uk 1 week ago
This is the first “franchise” to be cancelled, the others were franchises that are extant but run by the operator of last resort.
It’s not making a bigger splash because the Tories nationalised the entire network in 2020 by abolishing all the franchises and replacing them with management contracts, whereby the operators are paid a flat fee by DfT to run the service.
The pace of absorption by GBR is dictated by the franchise terms, and operators seem to be being allowed to reach the end of their contract terms if that is in the next couple of years, or else having their break clauses invoked when they come into eligibility.
Tweak@feddit.uk 6 days ago
Rail contracts and train companies aren’t the problem. The problem is rail stock leasing, which has obsene prices and pushings the public-facing train companies to both be expensive but also run a paper thin margin. Nationalising the train companies won’t do anything about rail stock leasing, the government needs to focus on the root problem, not buy out the under-performing public facing business at a high price.
HumanPenguin@feddit.uk 6 days ago
First off the are not buying out any companies. These companies own nothing but a short term contract to provide service. The gov is just not renewing those contracts as the expire.
As for overpriced train leases. Yeah that is an issue. But only because the companies have temp contracts. So leasing is the only practice option. Long term GBR will have other options.
wewbull@feddit.uk 1 week ago
They’re nationalise the train operating companies, right? Not the company that owns the lines, which seems the wrong way round to me. The tracks and stations are the vital resources.
Patch@feddit.uk 1 week ago
The company that owns the lines (Network Rail) is already nationalised. Its privatised predecessor (Railtrack) collapsed spectacularly all the way back in 2002.
All stations are owned and managed by either Network Rail or a train operating company, so this will bring all stations into nationalised ownership.
The only thing that isn’t being nationalised as part of this plan is the existing rolling stock, which are owned by yet another set of companies. But there’s no reason why new rolling stock won’t be under direct ownership, so that should sort itself out eventually.
ohulancutash@feddit.uk 1 week ago
All? Not all. One
village of indomitable Gaulsstation remains in private ownership, and that’s St Pancras.HumanPenguin@feddit.uk 6 days ago
The lines were never privatised. Network rail is planned to be merged into GBR. But as it is already under dft control. The plans are a little in the air ATM.
unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 1 week ago
Starmer is buddies with big tech bosses and other monopolists so nobody really believes he is gonna do any good. The rest of his government might, but he is rotten to the core.