The SRA says it will refranchise SE Trains , the former Connex operation, at the earliest opportunity. But, argues Christian Wolmar, would it not be best to follow the Network Rail model and keep one or two franchises ‘in house’ to serve as cost benchmark?
Now that the Strategic Rail Authority has taken over the running [...]
Archive of November, 2003
Nov
25
Striking is not the answer
As a Labour voter who thinks that the PPP was a crazy way to try to improve the condition of the Underground, it would be nice to give Bob Crow a pat on the back for his efforts to improve safety on the system.
But sorry, Bob, I just can’t do that. Industrial action, whether strikes [...]
Nov
24
Are we on the right lines?
There is a paradox about the railways. On the one hand, they are in crisis. Every week, there are stories in the press about something going wrong on the railways. While admittedly some is media exaggeration because the railways are a favourite Aunt Sally for journalists, there is indeed a fundamental crisis in the industry [...]
Holes in the road. Don’t we all just hate them. And they seem to be ever more and more of them. It’s not just the traditional electricity, gas and water companies that are messing up our roads, but all the telecommunication and cable firms which are now adding to the chaos.
The perennial cry from motorists [...]
The decision to strip companies of all maintenance on the railways is good for the industry, the passengers, the taxpayer - and public perception. But why, asks Christian Wolmar, won’t the spin merchants just be honest about why it was done?
Just occasionally, maybe once a year, I allow myself a gloat. So, sorry, dear reader, [...]
As Saddam Hussein might say, the Public Private Partnership for the London Underground is the mother of all Private Finance Initiative deals. At one point, its estimated £17bn value over the first 15 years, eclipsed all other PFI deals put together and even now this one scheme represents at least a sixth of the total [...]