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Post by gainsparkshrew on May 25, 2022 15:44:16 GMT 1
I'm normally the first to plan ahead and see what bargains I can snag but the real world doesn't really work like that. Obviously it's not just TFW who are guilty of extortionate fares but to think that a return to public ownership would make it more affordable and improve reliability is 'pie in the sky' thinking. i dont look at a return to public ownership through rose tintted glasses and unfortently i suspect fairer rail tickets at reasonable price would not happen but equally you would not get the scenario of franchises runing down services when they lose hte franchise or see the money from fares going to foreign owned companys who's priority is to move the money abroad rather than improve services. Got it in one. I know that all of our privatised water companies are foreign owned,as are most of the rail franchises. Therefore I expect that the majority of our gas and electricity to be similarly owned. This has got to be redressed, we are not in control of our country's destiny if this is allowed to continue, we the public are being ripped off for the benefit of foreign investors. I would be amazed if there are British investment companies controlling public utilities and transport infrastructures across Europe. We are out of Europe now so it's an ideal opportunity to take back what is ours.This may sound contentious but it could well be an election winner if a party had it within its manifesto
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Post by armchairfan on May 25, 2022 15:50:30 GMT 1
Whilst not related to Scotland specifically, the news today of the overwhelming support for industrial action by NUR members, whatever the reason may be, fulls me with horror; have not these people learned of the damage caused by, for example, the national stoppages of earlier years, especially the ASLEF one in, I think, 1955? The resultant permanent loss of income to the railways was in no small part a contributory factor in the (mis)managed decline of the railway system in the following decades. when the railways were privatized many companies were concerned about the cost of industrial action, so if you have a franchise that is not sensible or just wonts to play hard ball htey still get paid and dont lose out. www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/may/08/from-blacklist-to-boardroom-mick-lynch-the-rail-leader-gearing-up-for-a-new-battleYou'll have to explain that one to me; when the trains aren't running and carrying neither passengers nor freight, who gets paid, and by whom?
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Post by gainsparkshrew on May 25, 2022 16:13:36 GMT 1
That story from The Guardian is over a year old😉
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Post by zenfootball2 on May 25, 2022 16:30:54 GMT 1
You'll have to explain that one to me; when the trains aren't running and carrying neither passengers nor freight, who gets paid, and by whom? i dont know about freight but this applys to pasengers and it is the goverment who covers the cost ( you and me )
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Post by armchairfan on May 25, 2022 16:44:49 GMT 1
You'll have to explain that one to me; when the trains aren't running and carrying neither passengers nor freight, who gets paid, and by whom? i dont know about freight but this applys to pasengers and it is the goverment who covers the cost ( you and me ) Aah - I see what you're driving at; I don't fully understand how the costs of running a franchise are matched against fare-income or government (taxpayer) subsidy, (a job for lawyers and accountants) but I imagine that the method varies, depending upon whether the franchise is on the normal basis or simply(?) on a management fee basis. In any event, whether the railways are operating or not, the taxpayers have to fund the difference between income and expenditure.....there is, and always will be, an expenditure column in the accounts.
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Post by zenfootball2 on May 26, 2022 11:42:56 GMT 1
whilst off topic sa far as uk rail goes i found this intresting;whilst ancient history as it place in 2003. im just suprised this was not viewd as state aid by the EU;but it is just as well as they will now be supplying hydrogen trains with Eversholt Rail for scot rail so back on topic. www.irishtimes.com/news/french-government-bails-out-alstom-1.491868Debt-ridden engineering company Alstom has clinched a €3.4 billion bailout that gives the French government a 31.5 per cent stake in the firm.The package includes a €900 million mandatorily convertible five-year bond plus crucial state and bank backing for contract bonds and guarantees worth €3.5 billion, giving Alstom the means to win new business. www.alstom.com/press-releases-news/2021/11/alstom-and-eversholt-rail-sign-agreement-uks-first-ever-brand-new"Alstom and Eversholt Rail sign an agreement for the UK’s first ever brand-new hydrogen train fleetEversholt Rail and Alstom are committed to taking a leading role in supporting the UK and Scotland Government ambitions to decarbonise its rail sector by 2040, and the Scottish Government’s objective of doing so by 2035. Alstom is a world leader in the provision of rolling stock solutions and was the first company in the world to produce a hydrogen powered train – the Coradia iLint – which is in operational service in Germany."
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