Or whatever the fuck it's called now - Network Rail. It receives a record fine for - well being crap really (which we will all pay for with fair increases, so the government is fining us) and what happens to the boss. He gets a fuckin knighthood.
And what do we do about it - fuck all !! We are all mad to keep letting these arseholes get away with robbing us. In fact we are the arseholes contiuously !
British Rail
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Dave Wells
- Posts: 2717
- Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 2:40 am
British Rail
Dave Wells
http://www.dave-wells.co.uk
http://www.dave-wells.co.uk
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Sam Slater
- Posts: 11624
- Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 2:40 am
Re: British Rail
What do you suggest?
[i]I used to spend a lot of time criticizing Islam on here in the noughties - but things are much better now.[/i]
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Mysteryman
- Posts: 878
- Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 2:40 am
Re: British Rail
What a load a load of rubbish the following is:
"The government keeps giving the franchises to these same companies tiem and again despite safety issues and any promises they make- beardy Branson keeps getting contracts despite never living up to his promises."
- Alice, go back to the Wonderland you came from or take a reality check.
There are only so many companies with the finance and infrastructure to operate a rail system. As for attacking Branson, his company has put more into new rolling stock than any other yet had the cross country service taken from him and has to live with all the nonsense Network Fail throws at him on the WCML.
Almost all the safety issues - GWR apart - have been down to Network Fail as they have involved track and signalling.
The real culprits are the governments from the early 1970s onwards who failed to invest real money in a national rail network, especially that woman with the handbag who, having failed to denationalise the railways herself - one of the few things she was stopped from doing - managed to guide her glove puppet - John Minor - into seeing it through to the detriment of the country as a whole.
Anyone who knows anything about major transport systems, or knows anything about building, maintaining and running a service for the public involving major capital and income reliant expenditure knows that a system where companies have to pay for the right to run a railway, pay for new stock, train and keep experienced staff and keep fares at a level where profit can be made and passenger levels maintained AND be beholden to a company that owns the basic infrastructure - and then be told it has only a 7, 10 or 15 years - franchise is going to walk a tightrope.
In my view, and that of many transport professionals, the system is totally flawed and it is amazing that anyone wants to get involved.
"The government keeps giving the franchises to these same companies tiem and again despite safety issues and any promises they make- beardy Branson keeps getting contracts despite never living up to his promises."
- Alice, go back to the Wonderland you came from or take a reality check.
There are only so many companies with the finance and infrastructure to operate a rail system. As for attacking Branson, his company has put more into new rolling stock than any other yet had the cross country service taken from him and has to live with all the nonsense Network Fail throws at him on the WCML.
Almost all the safety issues - GWR apart - have been down to Network Fail as they have involved track and signalling.
The real culprits are the governments from the early 1970s onwards who failed to invest real money in a national rail network, especially that woman with the handbag who, having failed to denationalise the railways herself - one of the few things she was stopped from doing - managed to guide her glove puppet - John Minor - into seeing it through to the detriment of the country as a whole.
Anyone who knows anything about major transport systems, or knows anything about building, maintaining and running a service for the public involving major capital and income reliant expenditure knows that a system where companies have to pay for the right to run a railway, pay for new stock, train and keep experienced staff and keep fares at a level where profit can be made and passenger levels maintained AND be beholden to a company that owns the basic infrastructure - and then be told it has only a 7, 10 or 15 years - franchise is going to walk a tightrope.
In my view, and that of many transport professionals, the system is totally flawed and it is amazing that anyone wants to get involved.
Re: British Rail
From Brighton to.....Edinburgh? Aberdeen? !wink!
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Mysteryman
- Posts: 878
- Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 2:40 am
Re: British Rail
Alice, you certainly are living in Wonderland if you believe:
"Amazing that everything used to run well in the old days before all these megalomaniacs got involved,"
I don't know how old you are but I've been using the railways since the mid 1950s. As recently as in the days of BR's Network South East I lived in Sussex where the system was known as Notwork South East. Ancient slam door stock, frequent breakdowns and dirty, shabby trains.
As for not blaming Network Rail and freezing pay rises to pay for track maintenance, you have a strange grasp of the cost of things.
I've no problem with freezing the pay of those that don't earn their corn but the amounts they are paid pale into insignificance compared to the cost of track maintenance and replacement.
What is needed is to root out the incompetent managers, especially at Network Rail - start by sacking those in charge of the WCML debacle at Rugby, then replace them with genuine railwaymen who know what railways are about.
When the infrastructure is in place then we can judge which of the franchisees can genuinely be blamed for poor performance.
"Amazing that everything used to run well in the old days before all these megalomaniacs got involved,"
I don't know how old you are but I've been using the railways since the mid 1950s. As recently as in the days of BR's Network South East I lived in Sussex where the system was known as Notwork South East. Ancient slam door stock, frequent breakdowns and dirty, shabby trains.
As for not blaming Network Rail and freezing pay rises to pay for track maintenance, you have a strange grasp of the cost of things.
I've no problem with freezing the pay of those that don't earn their corn but the amounts they are paid pale into insignificance compared to the cost of track maintenance and replacement.
What is needed is to root out the incompetent managers, especially at Network Rail - start by sacking those in charge of the WCML debacle at Rugby, then replace them with genuine railwaymen who know what railways are about.
When the infrastructure is in place then we can judge which of the franchisees can genuinely be blamed for poor performance.
Re: British Rail
I bought a railcard BUT the fare has to be a tenner or over and you have to wait till after 10.00am to use it to get a third off