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I think it is part of it. Costs, congestion etc. started to make travelling by car less attractive. Add in people travelling further to work. The decline around 1950 I would say is far more likely to be down to increased car ownership that nationalisation of the railways. It was the main reason for the Beaching cuts.
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Seems exceptionally coincidental to me.
The things people moan about with the current system e.g. trains at 6am on Sat are dirt cheap whereas Friday afternoon costs a fortune, are all the things that increased passenger numbers.
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Do you think British Rail looked at ways to increase passenger numbers? Do you think they cared?
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I've been trying to find passenger number graphs for SNCF, as it's still in effect a nationalised railway (51% owned by the state, I think). They certainly seem to make an effort to sell tickets, going by the number of promotional emails I get.
FWIW, I'm not arguing that the old BR wasn't a bit shit. It was, by the time it was privatised. But I suspect that had more to do with the power of the unions in preserving historic working practices and stifling innovation than an unwillingness on the part of management to do things differently. An example of success within BR was the development of the Intercity 125s, which were designed and rolled out on a shoestring, and lasted decades. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InterCity_125 Pacer trains, maybe not so much, though they were a super-small budget answer to the lack of rolling stock in the 80s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacer_(British_Rail)
Disclaimer: I'm definitely not railway nerd or train spotter.
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I think they have kidded themselves with that very chart that they are doing a good job.
By this logic the most effective way for them to behave would be to blow up all motorways.
Trust me, I only use the train because the housing system is so f!cked commuting makes the only financial sense. I actively avoid it the rest of the time not because I hate train travel - it should be fast and comfortable, affordable and reliable- but it is really very very rare that it is, especially when not travelling solo.
People like me make up a material part of their passenger numbers, if not close to a majority, and we are all fed up with how unreliable and disruptive the services have become.
Even the Americans have noticed and they think trains belong in the 19th century: https://www.cnn.com/travel/britain-railways-hs2-nervous-brea
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Using the US as an example in how to develop transport systems is maybe not the best idea.
The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.0 -
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No, but I still discount American thoughts on transport.
The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.0 -
I would guess that (the right) train nerds will defend the pacers as well.
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Read it. Fair enough, I can't argue that a lack of investment is killing Britain. Your post didn't need the "Even the Americans have noticed..." part. The Americans should look in the mirror.
The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.0 -
They’ve done a great job of messing up in the Rochdale by election
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Bit of a shambles and they're not even in power. Imagine if they won...
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
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They are still some way from having a lettuce as a leader, but you are correct, it's a bit shit.
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Depressing thought. Flip flops, u-turns, ditching core policies. Its like they getting warmed up ready to **** things up from day 1.
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
Simply a continuation of the past 14 years then. Yeah, quite depressing.
The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.0 -
Pity. I was hoping for a change..
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At least it will feel familiar then.
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Keep it on topic - this is the leftie bashing thread, according to the OP 😉 There's another thread for this sort of thing.
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
Is the only response to a criticism of Labour going to be 'yeah but, nasty Tories...'? Won't be much of a debate...
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
HAH
- Genesis Croix de Fer
- Dolan Tuono0 -
Plenty in the other thread.
1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
Vetting obviously a bit sketchy. Would have thought by now that a trawl through social media history would be standard for all parties and all candidates.
Suspect if Ali wins he'll only be MP for a few months.
1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
Pinnacle Monzonite
Part of the anti-growth coalition0 -
Exactly, let's keep it there and stay on topic here...
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0 -
To turn that around, why are you happy with the Tories doing all those things but fearing more of the same if Labour get in? Can you argue that the leadership of the country over the past 6 or 7 years hasn't been appalling? I don't see how a Tory loyalist can be happy with the way the Party has been so badly damaged by a bunch of incompetents looking out for themselves rather than trying to deliver sensible Conservative policies.
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I really thought Starmer had got a gip of this anti-Semitic streak in Labour.
WTF is going on with the vetting.
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That's for the other thread. Do you have any thoughts on Labour's U turn in the Rochdale by-election, or are you just trying to deflect here?
"I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]0
