What efficiencies could GBR bring?

[3RDGEN]

The scale didn't change between Railtrack and Network Rail, there was still only one national organisation in both cases, so I'm not sure why you would think economies of scale would be relevant to that?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Thursday at 11:00 ==



This isn't quite true. If you have private operation there's a profit layer. It isn't huge but it is there.

To use a non rail example, Decathlon is a profit making business but designs and manufactures/contracts the manufacture of all its products directly rather than buying from established vendors. This allows them to keep costs lower as there are fewer profit levels.

The work was contracted out to various companies like franchising the train operations and that came back in house so NR should of reduced it's overheads, duplicate staffing etc, just as expected of GBR.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

There are 14 DfT TOCs (ignoring concessions and TfL/Scotrail/TfL), and 5 Network Rail Regions (which include 14 Routes).
Apart from the alignment of c2c and Greater Anglia, DfT has yet to announce how it will merge the TOCs and NR into permanent businesses - the notion so far has been that the 5 NR Regions are to be the basis for this.
Then the English Mayors have to be given some powers over the railway in their their local areas.

GBR efficiencies won't be realised until the new structure is set up, and the Regional relationship with the GBR centre is defined (ie which functions are centralised and which devolved).
Then the money has to be carved up, with the NR control periods being the key driver (ie starting in 2029 when the current CP7 ends).
I don't much relish the move to re-establish the 1970s BR Regions, but that seems to be the way we are heading, rather than the business sectors as in the pre-privatisation period.

I passed through York by car this week, and was intrigued to see an "LNER" totem added to the bottom of the "Welcome to York" roadside signs on the outskirts.
Can we expect the sign to be changed to "GBR - East Coast", or just removed?
Why aren't the other TOCs serving York represented?
Are there any other places where a TOC is promoted on the town/city's road furniture?
Presumably Derby will be promoting the "home of GBR" vibe.