Railtalk
For the last two decades railway ridership has soared on the back of economic growth. Politicians of all persuasions have seen railways as a good thing. The Treasury has continued to pour in unprecedented subsidy, although that pejorative ‘S’ word has been replaced by ‘support’ in political circles.
The euphoria has been pervasive. Never mind that British Rail cost a fraction of today’s support, politicians have argued. Are we not in the middle of the greatest investment in railways since Victorian times? Are we not the fastest growing railway in Europe? Not to mention the safest railway in Europe? Is not this investment delivering more seats by the tens of thousands?
This thermal of euphoria has lifted the railway over the many setbacks since 1996. The operational nervous breakdown after the Hatfield derailment followed by the collapse of Railtrack; the multiple failures to deliver even small projects on time and budget; the Inter-city West Coast franchise scandal; the perennial failure to improve the Public Performance Measure; the de-scoping following the Hendy Review of enhancements; the deferral of a quarter of the renewals budget in the current Control Period 5 (2014-19); and serial fai…
