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Post by Vinny on Apr 25, 2024 8:12:43 GMT
The railways were privatised in 1997. The record is actually better than that shown in the graphic as in the decades prior to privatisation usage of the railways had been falling - since privatisation usage soared. So your individual chance of being hurt is now massively smaller than it was.  LOL got to go back to 1940s and the Railways was privatised I'n 1994 Rail privatisation was in the 1992 manifesto. John Major won that year with an enormous vote. Privatisation continued through the Blair era despite the assurances from John Prescott that it would be reversed. As a result of mixed messages the train builder ABB went bust through uncertainty in the rail sector and through the mid to late 90's there was a lack of investment in new rolling stock. |
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Post by Dan Dare on Apr 25, 2024 8:19:57 GMT
Privatisation in France is limited to a few mostly narrow-gauge rural lines and quasi-private companies. Most are actually still publicly owned like the Chemin de fer de Provence (CFP) which is owned by four regional governments and operated by Veolia. The main-line network is still owned and operated by SNCF.
Similarly in Germany and Switzerland.
The EU has turned a blind eye to this quasi-privatision as it would also have done in the UK but for the fact that the Conservative government wanted to go for the 'real thing' for ideological reasons.
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Post by Vinny on Apr 25, 2024 8:40:53 GMT
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Post by Vinny on Apr 25, 2024 8:53:19 GMT
And? - the railways are massively safer since privatisation.. Really is this the worst rail accident in Britain . Accident at Ladbroke Grove on 5th October 1999 Train Operator(s) - First Great Western, Thames Trains Primary Cause(s) - Driver error Secondary Cause(s) - Signal layout defect, inadequate training Result - Signal passed at danger, head on collision, derailment, fire No. Fatalities - 30 No. Injured - 400 1952 Harrow and Wealdstone rail disaster, 340 injured, 112 killed. three trains involved. Operator? British Railways. In fog driver missed signal and collided with rear of another train, then another train hit his.
Hither Green rail disaster 1967. Injured 78, killed 49. Cause of derailment, a broken rail. Operator? British Railways Southern Region. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hither_Green_rail_crash1988 Clapham Junction disaster. Injured 484. Killed 35. Cause unprotected wrong side failure. Operator? British Railways Network SouthEast. 4 trains involved. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clapham_Junction_rail_crash |
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Post by Dan Dare on Apr 25, 2024 8:58:59 GMT
They will all still be publicly owned. It's just window-dressing to keep the EU mandarins happy.
At least both countries still produce their own locomotives, something the UK has not done for over thirty years. Since privatisation in fact. The last locomotives built in Britain are the Class 92s that haul the Channel shuttle.
Britain's privatised railway and its inability to produce the necessary infrastructure are a national disgrace and have not gone unnoticed on the Continent. Politicians there will not make the same mistakes.
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Post by Dan Dare on Apr 25, 2024 9:00:48 GMT
The reason why train travel has got safer has nothing to do with privatisation. It's because of technological advances in signalling and train control such as the ECTS.
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Post by Vinny on Apr 25, 2024 9:02:30 GMT
Siemens opened a train factory in the UK in 2020.
Trains have been built in Derby since 1876.
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Post by jonksy on Apr 25, 2024 9:06:28 GMT
Siemens opened a train factory in the UK in 2020. Trains have been built in Derby since 1876. Exacly Vinny and many more UK trains are built by bombardier who are better know for the crap aircraft they produce..
Bombardier employs 4,000 people in the UK, with around 2,000 in Derby including over 400 specialised engineers, who develop and build trains for rail franchises across Britain.
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Post by Dan Dare on Apr 25, 2024 9:07:01 GMT
Siemens opened a train factory in the UK in 2020. Trains have been built in Derby since 1876. I wrote locomotives on purpose.
Actually the French owners of the Derby Works have announced the plant will be 'mothballed' with the loss of 1,300 jobs.
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Post by Vinny on Apr 25, 2024 9:09:16 GMT
Bombardier's train building business got taken over by Alstom in 2020.
Alstom are the French multi-national which designed and built the Eurostar trains.
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Post by Vinny on Apr 25, 2024 9:10:13 GMT
Siemens opened a train factory in the UK in 2020. Trains have been built in Derby since 1876. I wrote locomotives on purpose.
Actually the French owners of the Derby Works have announced the plant will be 'mothballed' with the loss of 1,300 jobs.
Most likely because Siemens have a newer and more efficient factory in competition with theirs. That's the thing about capitalism. Businesses compete. |
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Post by Dan Dare on Apr 25, 2024 9:10:52 GMT
And they still do. SNCF has placed orders for several hundred new-generation TGV trains.
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Post by Vinny on Apr 25, 2024 9:13:02 GMT
Without customers in the UK, and with duplicate production sites elsewhere what's the point of Alstom having a business here?
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Post by jonksy on Apr 25, 2024 9:16:37 GMT
Bombardier's train building business got taken over by Alstom in 2020. Alstom are the French multi-national which designed and built the Eurostar trains. Yep and look at the crap they are.....They are one of the most expensive train services in the world
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Post by Dan Dare on Apr 25, 2024 9:18:53 GMT
Most likely because Siemens have a newer and more efficient factory in competition with theirs. That's the thing about capitalism. Businesses compete. Nothing to do with Siemens. Alstom-Derby is in trouble because it bet the farm on producing rolling stock for HS2 and the government has since pulled the rug.
Unlike in their home country where the LGV network is growing like Topsy and they are building hundreds of new TGV sets.
Wouldn't be surprising to see them pulling out of the UK completely. The government is entirely clueless when it comes to planning and operating a railway network.
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