Nationalisation last time round (1948) and what happened over the following 20 years

YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQKsMT16PFA

From that video - what was envisaged and promised.

What will happen this time round in the next 20 years?

 
.......so we've heard it all before then?

(perhaps not the war damage this time though!)

 


20,000 miles of track and 7,000 stations -> 10,000 miles of track and 2,600 stations in 20 years last time. Same thing in proportion this time would reduce us to 5,000 miles of track and 1,000 stations, which I feel is unduly alarmist and might look like one of the Serpell report options - https://www.passenger.chat/mirror/DoT_Serpell001.pdf - but I note that promises are of service reliabiility, and reduced financial "losses" and not of maintaining service speed, frequency or size of network.

Where services have survived the 1948 era, they are typically more frequent and cleaner (and much better patronised). Undoubteldy (or rather in my undoubted opinion) some that were lost were reasonable losses at the time.  I am loathe to venture too many examples, but look at Halwill to Torrington, Bridgwater to Edginton Junction and Tiverton Junction to Culmstock and from afar I can understand the decision.  I am relieved that community kickback meant that lines such as Inverness to Wick, Thurso and Kyle of Lochalsh, Liskeard to Looe, St Erth to St Ives and Exeter to Exmouth.

Views / metrics HAVE changed and I agree there is no wartime backlog, nor would I anticipate another jolt of the proportion of the coming private car.  But it's not impossible to foresee a political party in power or in coalition with what I would consider extreme views, and without any experience of running anything and looking to cut "social costs" and public transport is very much a social expense on the bottom line.  You may save millions closing sixth forms in rural parts of your county, but if you do, you should really put part of the saving into getting the bright kids to the bigger hubs.