Has the world gone completely and utterly mad?

[zoco]

the nanny state is good at nagging but useless at running anything

Well, exactly. They put out all these announcements and the refreshment trolley didn't even come round until I was about to get off.

I was gagging for a can of Stella...

[tractor]

..

Well, exactly. They put out all these announcements and the refreshment trolley didn't even come round until I was about to get off.

I was gagging for a can of Stella...

The last time I looked there were only automated announcements and the only live staff are the occasional ticket inspector.

[GreyWolf]

Just in case you missed it, Thatcher privatised the railways a while ago

No she didn't, John Major did and he followed the EU stipulation of separating train operation and track operataion which, arguably, lies at the heart of many of the current problems with the railways today.

The nannying announcement about carrying water may have come from either an employee of a privately owned train operating company or an employee of the publicly owned Network Rail. Either way, it's bollocks. It'a regularly over 30°C in summer here in Heidiland and air conditioning isn't all that common yet no-one feels the need to declare a national emergency.

[Mich the Tester]

No she didn't, John Major did and he followed the EU stipulation of separating train operation and track operataion which, arguably, lies at the heart of many of the current problems with the railways today.

The Dutch did that as well, and they blamed the EU too, until some senior policians and civil servants in NL were pushed on the issue and admitted it was bollocks; the EU never did force them to do this. It was part of a set of political ideas that were prevalent in the 80s and 90s.

[tractor]

...

The Dutch did that as well, and they blamed the EU too, until some senior policians and civil servants in NL were pushed on the issue and admitted it was bollocks; the EU never did force them to do this. It was part of a set of political ideas that were prevalent in the 80s and 90s.

The years sometimes play tricks on us ol timers, but it remains that the operating companies are in the private sector and there are not that many mainline stations that are still operated by NR, most are leased out just like the lines are to operating companies.

[tractor]

..

No she didn't, John Major did and he followed the EU stipulation of separating train operation and track operataion which, arguably, lies at the heart of many of the current problems with the railways today.

The nannying announcement about carrying water may have come from either an employee of a privately owned train operating company or an employee of the publicly owned Network Rail. Either way, it's bollocks. It'a regularly over 30°C in summer here in Heidiland and air conditioning isn't all that common yet no-one feels the need to declare a national emergency.

Yes, it was Major, getting old I am....

Anyone interested should look up the First Railway Package, which demanded that track and operations were sufficiently separated to provide cross border access and competition. No where does it say that either have to be private or public, just that they have to be sufficiently separate.