[nomadking]

Originally Posted by Stuart

You might want to look up Connex (particularly South Eastern). Believe me (I am a long term commuter) when I say that reliability on the South Eastern franchise improved almost exponentially within a few weeks after Connex was fired and the franchise re-nationalised.

As far as I can tell, they didn't even do anything particularly revolutionary. They re-organised their administration so that the platform information systems were operated from the same building as the Signals (Connex moved the staff managing there platform information systems to a building apparently at the other end of Kent because it was cheaper, then asked the staff to stay in touch via email and phone). They also re-jigged the timetables a little to free up vehicles and space for busier lines.

The problem with the system as it is is simple. Blame. I know several people who work in various positions in the the Railways, and they find that because everything has been divided up, when something goes wrong, the contractors spend a lot of time (and money) trying to apportion blame to someone else rather than fix the problem.

Another example of where effectively nationalising a railway line has worked. London Overground and TFL Rail. Both consist of failing and very unreliable line. Both now run by TFL and effectively part of the underground system, and are running a *lot* more reliably than they ever did, simply because TFL invested in them, rather than shareholders.

Personally, I am under no illusions as to the reliability of the system under British Rail (it went through phases where it was brilliant, and phases where it was terrible), and I don't really care whether the railways are run by a public company/authority or a private company. What I do care about is that the service is relatively cheap (ours is not) and relatively reliable (and at the moment, ours is not).

The same people would have drawn up the timetable, before and after. Timetable changes do not happen overnight or in a few weeks, and may well have been planned beforehand.