What would a fully privatised railway look like?

[Greenback]

More likely there would be no timetabling or fare integration at all; train operators would run their own ticket offices which would only issue tickets for their own lines, except where they have decided to co-operate. You would have to book at several different places for a through journey. At major termini and interchanges, you would have to know which company's ticket office to go to in order to buy a ticket for your destination.

This is what was originally proposed for privatisation. It was envisaged that there would be several companies running trains between, say, Reading and London, all of whom would be in competition with each other for custom.

If it had been introduced like this, it would have culminated in mergers and buy outs, with the final effect of being a few dominant operators across the UK forming a cartel!

 

[sarahj]

On the BML where there is outright compition between FCC and Southern a lot of passengers just dont get it, as far as they are concerned they hold a ticket from A to B and the train they are on goes from A to B.

On Southern pure private running for profit would take out, IMHO, late night arun valley services, the line from Chi to Havant, esp the little stations like fishbourne, off peaks to seaford, hastings to eastbourne, and hastings to ashford. Even some london services such as Epsom to Vic would loose out as outside the peaks they die off. And since its bad shareholder value to keep stock to be used just twice a day more trains would be short formed.

We we follow the ryanair practice, perhaps the timetable might be formed more of friday and holiday only trains. Paying to use the lavs, plastic seats for easy cleaning, staff selling lottery tickets......

 

[yorksrob]

Beeching's analysis may well have been flawed. Suppose the main line from Cardiff or Swansea to London were to remain. How much traffic along that route would be lost through people from West and Central Wales, the Valleys, Hereford, Gloucester, Cheltenham etc not being able to connect into it?

Is there really sufficient custom to keep such lines going without the feeder routes? My feeling is that it would be difficult for the main lines to be profitable if they were just relying on point to point journeys along the route.

Maybe some sort of skeleton service ? I think you're right though. Without the network even the InterCity routes would wither.

 

[Greenback]

Maybe some sort of skeleton service ? I think you're right though. Without the network even the InterCity routes would wither.

I think a skeleton type service wouldn't be sufficient to attract many passengers. Part of the attraction for rail on routes like Cardiff and Bristol to London is the frequency of service.

Once you lose that, rail becomes unattractive for many travellers, and the end result is that those who have any sort of a choice will take the coach, or use a car, maybe even hiring one!

 

[AnonymousUser1]

This is what was originally proposed for privatisation. It was envisaged that there would be several companies running trains between, say, Reading and London, all of whom would be in competition with each other for custom.

If it had been introduced like this, it would have culminated in mergers and buy outs, with the final effect of being a few dominant operators across the UK forming a cartel!

like bus operations then ...