| Re: Publicly owned rail is popular but does it make the trains run on time? Posted by Bob_Blakey at 09:30, 13th October 2026 |     |
The comment from Mr. Glaister probably comes under the heading of 'Stating The Bleeding Obvious', but...
The graphs in the BBC article indicate that overall SWR performance since nationalisation in May 2025 has been largely static (punctuality) or worsened (cancellations).
However I saw a recent interview with Lawrence Bowman, SWR MD, in which he stated that he was now able to work towards what he called 'Full Establishment'. This was explained as having sufficient staff to run the defined timetable without recourse to Overtime or Rest Day Working.
Perhaps the DfT / Treasury clowns have now had a 'public ownership' change of approach - it seems to be accepted that it was government stopping this application of common sense.
It will be interesting to see if this actually happens and, if so, whether it produces the expected improvements.
| Re: Publicly owned rail is popular but does it make the trains run on time? Posted by Red Squirrel at 07:33, 13th October 2026 | |
This quote, from the article, sums it up quite well doesn’t it?
"I think it's completely hopeless to try and do that assessment over such a short period," Stephen Glaister, a former chair of regulator the Office of Rail and Road who is now emeritus professor of transport and infrastructure at Imperial College London. He thinks a decade is needed to assess the impact of nationalisation.
| Publicly owned rail is popular but does it make the trains run on time? Posted by TaplowGreen at 06:56, 13th October 2026 | |
Interesting article
BBC News - Publicly owned rail is popular. But is it making the trains run on time? - BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ck5yn0n14r8do
