Nationalising the Railways (Again)

So, the Labour government took a while to get back into the swing of "state ownership" being the answer to just about every problem that trundles along. However, the news about the East Coast Service falling back under state control shows that the basic socialist instinct shines through even now. 

Not that I can be that sorry for National Express. Their time in charge of this particular franchise has been a shining example of failure in a field where failure is the norm rather than the exception. Whenever I have had the gross misfortune to use their service up to Durham or Newcastle, the tickets have been so expensive as to make me want to weep with anguish and the service has been pretty abysmal. Not least because the train always seems to break down just outside Peterborough. 

This news will be taken by some as evidence that rail privatisation has failed in this country. Now, I wouldn't use such absolute terms, but I will admit that the rail system in this country is over-priced (despite large government subsidies) and deeply flawed. Yet the process of actually privatising the rail network in this country is a crucial part of the problem. Yes, the ownership of the rail network passed from the public into the private sector, but many of the other benefits of the private sector did not come into play, especially for the consumers. There is competition for the government, but only when they come to choose between those vying for rail franchises. For the consumer, there is no choice. If you want to get from London to Durham on the train relatively quickly, then realistically there is one choice. And it is shit.

Rail privatisation failed to deal with the fundamental monoply that is inherent within the rail network. As a result, the system is still a mess, and still fails the consumer. But before anyone gets too excited about it returning to the public sector, let's remember that it will be falling under government control. The same government who are staring bankruptcy in the face. That same government who seem, time and time again, to achieve reverse alchemy and turn gold into base metals. They won't be able to run the East Coast Line, just as they haven't been able to run pretty much anything for years. 

Besides, we shouldn't forget why the railways were privatised in the first place. The state run British Rail was shit. So whilst I'm not sure how to deal with the problems of the railways in this country, I am sure that the government's course of action is going to hinder rather than help.