[OLD BOY]

I would never wish to go back to the days of the nationalised railways, and nor would most people who remember what it was like. Grimy old trains (if you ran your finger along the interior window frame, your finger went black), old pre-war carriages, turned up sandwiches, surly staff and late running trains.

I still remember my delight at seeing those bright new trains replacing the creaking old stock after privatisation, and being amazed at the improvement of the selection of food and drink on trains. Ok, they still don't always run on time, but there are many more trains, they are longer, and they do actually try to keep up with the timetable.

There may still be faults - there are too many people standing on trains, the ticketing needs sorting out and the infrastructure still keeps letting us down, but to those who want to see the train companies nationalised, I would say be careful what you wish for! No good will come of that.