How could the UK rail industry be improved?

[Greenback]

Indeed some people have this mantra in their head that because something is run by the state it's automatically better. Hopefully the £1k goes to someone who actually talks some sense and comes up with a good idea.

The opposite is also true. For many years governments seem to have assumed that state run is automatically worse, despite the fact that some public services are entirely unsuited to privatisation.

 

[jon91]

Just look at the NHS if you want an example of how badly suited privatisation is for certain public services. They built a brand new pathology lab near Kings Lynn, full of the the latest automated equipment and it was barely up and running before management contracted the tests out to a private company and shut the lab.

 

[talldave]

Just look at the NHS if you want an example of how badly suited privatisation is for certain public services. They built a brand new pathology lab near Kings Lynn, full of the the latest automated equipment and it was barely up and running before management contracted the tests out to a private company and shut the lab.

But that's as a result of the service being managed by people who are incompetent, not privatisation per se. Rather like the rail industry really...

 

[davetheguard]

Reduce the micromanaging of rolling stock by the DFT.

Yes, yes, yes!

Stop civil servants -who don't know one end of a train from the other- constantly interfering. And since the same people also seem unable to take personal responsibility for their decisions, and thus have to continually call in outside consultants at vast expense, you could save all those fees too.

In short, just let railway managers manage!

 

[TDK]

Seems like we have a huge pool of experts here so when one of you win the £1000 please show us a photo of the cheque Railsigns in 2 words has so far out done you all. To add to the suggestion of getting rid of the franchises also getting rid of the delay costs fiasco would help to no end. Just think, call through to a station and ask "can you hold that VT pendo for 2 minutes for a connection" with say a Northern service! Fabulous scenario.
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'Nationalise'.
I don't need the other 999 words, now where's my £1000?

Pathetic idea, didn't work before and will never work again in this country

 

[Emyr]

Pathetic idea...

Subjective.

...didn't work before...

Debatable. Some would argue it failed because of the agendas of those in charge at the time.

...and will never work again in this country

[citation needed]

 

[OLJR]

Things I would like to see:

i) mandate Directly Operated Railways to bid for each available franchise as a public sector comparison - it is scandalous that East Coast, who I think are the best operator in the UK, did not bid to continue operating their franchise

ii) find a way of migrating to 100% electronic ticketing and give operators the chance to charge whatever they like for restricted, flexible and season tickets at whatever time they like free of all regulation

iii) publish the schedule and fix planned maintenance more than two to three months ahead of travel so that people can plan ahead

iv) introduce tax breaks for investment in railway revenue management so that operators can improve their practices and segment markets more effectively.

 

[yorksrob]

The problem is if you replace diesel units with more diesel units, then those routes will remain unprofitable for all time. If, however, those unprofitable routes were electrified then, after the initial big investment, the routes may well eventually become profitable after a period of time as the running costs of EMU's, track access charges, etc are much lower. The only problem is who cops for the initial investment, but as I said, just running a diesel fleet into the ground and then replacing it with more diesels is never going to reduce the long term costs.


As regards how to improve the service, Instead of just having Intercity and Regional franchise's, I would combine the Intercity franchises with the local franchise's along the route concerned. This would enable harmony with local areas to the long distance route without two seperate TOC's falling out over pathing, connections, revenue, etc, and also ensure a fairer distribution of profits and losses. Some of the profits of the Intercity routes would go to offset the losses of the connecting local routes.

I'll leave it to those more knowledgeable than me to debate what would be the best traction for these services (removing diesel might well be a bood idea in the longer term). The main jist of my idea is that to all intents and purposes, these services would look and feel just like any fully integrated part of the National network. The only difference would be the way the track and trains were financed.

The exact opposite of McNulty's half baked proposals.

 

[Richard1960]

The opposite is also true. For many years governments seem to have assumed that state run is automatically worse, despite the fact that some public services are entirely unsuited to privatisation.

And the fact that some of our Train services are provided by the state owned arms of other countries.Yet its too much to run our own state railways,or indeed much other infrastructure.

 

[Abpj17]

It has in no way increased competition as in many cases a journey has only one realistic option, but it has clearly has increased the cost of running the network with government, share holders in the multipleTrain operating companies, share holders in train leasing companies all taking a cut paid for by the customer

So either allow full competition. Ie allow virgin to run trains on the East coast route and vice versa for example or scrap the competion mantra and revert to one intercity company and four regional railways that liase and act as a network. If run by the state with a not for profit model all the money lost through franchising and privatising can be put back into running trains with suitable capacity, at times passengers want, to locations they need to travel to.

There is various academic literature that distinguishes between ongoing competition (such as 4 train operators all providing a service from London to Brighton) and a high level of competition at the point of tender only.

NSEFAN - no; there can be credible and effective competition for building work - you get a one -off delivery plus perhaps some residual support and maintenance - it's the running of the service on a day to day/ticket prices that benefit from not being delivered competitively.

 

[Holmbridge]

There is various academic literature.......

Good for the academics, earning their money no doubt for once

 

[yorksrob]

A good way to improve the railway industry would be to abolish the Department of Transport. It's been a waste of space for over sixty years now.

 

[Busaholic]

How dp you improve on perfection? Just off to Penzance beach to source some more sand to bury my head in.

 

[Chris Wallis]

I would force TOC's to ensure that Barriers on to platforms are working at all times. Not only would that reduce the number of fare dodgers, but it would also ensure a quicker repayment on the investment to install them in the first place!


Just to upset the ideologists, I'd also renationalise the Railways.

I don't mean a return to British Rail - although I think BR, like all former nationalised industries, gets a rougher deal than it deserves.

I know this is a bit of wild, out of the box thinking, but I'd like to see subsidiary TOC's created by the Govt, with joint State (50.5%) & Private (49.5) ownership.

That way we'd be able to use the strength's of both sectors to balance out the weaknesses of each to the benefits of all.

Bonkers I know.....

I am aware that renationalisation of any kind, like a true Free Market Railway, is never going to happen. The last thing the Plutocrats in Westminster and the TOC Management want is for the Tax Payer fueled 'Gravy Train' to come to a halt.

 

[noddingdonkey]

Make people realise that railways cost money and not free and that if you "jump the train" you are a low life and not someone who Revenue Protection Officers are victimising because you can't afford a ticket.

Make it so easy to buy tickets that there can be no ambiguity as to wheher somebody is fare dodging or hasn't had a reasonable opportunity to purchase a ticket:

• Simplify the ticket types, routing guide etc so that the average passenger has a fighting chance of buying the ticket they require
• If things are open to interpretation, the passenger gets the benefit of the doubt. No exceptions.
• Mobile ticketing. Every ticket type. Just get on with it.
• Make TVMs sell the full range of tickets. Having to queue at the ticket window behind people with complex queries because the TVM doesn't offer PTE Day Rovers is tedious. Make it possible to buy tickets from another origin to facilitate buying split tickets.
• Introduce a specific maximum waiting time at ticket offices after which it is considered that no ticket office is available and passengers can buy the full range of tickets on board.
• Rethink how PTE subsidy is used. Trains should be a premium service compared to the bus, and so shouldn't cost less than the competing (and more frequent) bus service. Charge the same as the buses and redistribute the subsidy to other routes (or the no man's land between PTE areas)

 

[NSEFAN]

It would be nice to go back to the olden days where there was no routing guide, only an "any reasonable route" policy. Sadly, the fragmented arrangement and operation of services necessitates extra bureaucracy like ORCATS and the routing guide.