British Rail Documentary - First Sight Part 2 of 3.

[0822340]

The railways change a lot in 20 years. We in the netherlands have still trains from the 70 and 80th's. Rail 21 didn't come in the netherlands and on the main line is NS the only player. The coverment looks to England how the main line can Privatist

[SteamboatWilley]

@0822340 My advice to the netherlands would be to keep the passenger railways in public ownership. Privatisation has brought a lot of investment in the British railways, but the fragmented system created by privatisation has resulted in hugely increased costs and a lack of accountability. Because the track and trains are run by separate organisations, there is a lot of passing the blame around when things go wrong, and there is no central decision making when it comes to planning for the future.

[briantheslug]

british railways are total utter shit, the whole of europe seem to be able to run a railway, with out being screwed for every penny, but not britian

[hghchris4]

1) Mid 90's for Crossrail - hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha­hahahahaha

2) Can we reinstate the healthy and saftey for slamdoor stock, unlock the doors as the train pulls in !!

[mrsoouter]

if BR was to employ dutch employes which know how 2 run a railway successfully mabie then we wouldnt have such a crappy railway,.....

[Currie01]

Is it me? Am I going crazy or are those people getting off a still moving train?!?!

[CJ19Productions]

@Currie01 This used to happen as the doors weren't locked and it saves that little bit of time.

[mlansle1]

The Norfolk line is still a disgrace under National Express

[untensil]

This is why privatisation was a good idea! Its abit better now...

[soundseeker63]

@untensil No it's not. Punctuality is still the worst in Europe, and fares rise even higher and faster then they did before. The only thing thats better is there are newer trains on some lines, but many of these actually offer a lower seating capacity than the units they replace.

All at a cost that is nearly 4 times what it took to subsidise BR. If they had been given the kind of money the system currently receives it would have been 10 times better!

[dm18876]

@untensil Privatisation has worked that well, that even the Daily Mail support renationalisation. Proof that the critique of a privatised railway network, transcends the left-right divide.

[doodlecheesebug2]

Mid-Late 1990s for Crossrail? How overly-ambitious that prediction turned out to be.

[coveneyr]

@doodlecheesebug2 Yeah same old same old...how the heck can we compete with other countries? Well we know the answer to that!

[Trek001]

@doodlecheesebug2 perhaps he meant Mid 2090's

[Trainbuff2008]

well why don't i use them then because the fares have doubled since privatisation theres no special days where you could go anywhere for a tenner like what you got with NSE and the on train staff are usaully very rude to you if you have the wrong ticket or if you have a bike on there at the wrong time. under britishrail everything was in its place including the maintenance teams there were more staff employed and it was more clearer as to what trains went where.

[Dendiol]

Privatisation was the best thing to happen....

[32678knowle]

@Dendiol it really wasn't. Subsidy to the railways have increased by almost four times as much compared to what BR was subsidised.

BR wasn't perfect but considering the resources they had compared to today's TOCs and Network Rail I'd say they did a better job.

Also BR didn't have any shareholders so all the money they made went straight back into the railway system rather than into shareholders pockets and company profits.

[Dendiol]

@32678knowle It really was.

[32678knowle]

@Dendiol you haven't explained why.

[lborogay]

@32678knowle Well remember, though, that Network Rail doesn't have shareholders either - its profits are all retuned into the railway network as investment.

BR was certainly efficient by many metrics - but it suffered terribly from delays, poor quality rolling stock, horrendous customer service and worsening safety records. All of these things have been improved upon since privatisation. It's not perfect, but I much prefer travelling now compared to 20 years ago! BR never had PPM at 91.5%...

[32678knowle]

@lborogay I agree with some of your comments. Yes rolling stock is newer, better, more punctual service. However this is as a result of Government investment in the railways not private companies.

BR had a bad time round Clapham but again this was due to cost cutting (government forced). However, does Hatfield, Potters Bar or Grayrigg ring a bell?

Given the same level of support as today's railway BR would have done a much better job.

[Femmenition]

@Dendiol

You are a smart person. One of the few on YouTube.

[Dendiol]

@Femmenition Why thank you. In response to those above, I believe that privatisation was good for the railway network as the service for customers has improved greatly, when I compare this video to my daily experience of EMT. Admittedly, the privatised network has flaws and is probably more expensive but overall, passengers get a better service now than under BR. Obviously privatisation is a polarising issue but I feel it was a good thing.

[Femmenition]

@Dendiol

The best thing BR did was get privatized.

[newblenderbeer]

@Femmenition Fares have skyrocketed and trains are rarely ever on time. Nothing is done about overcrowding, responsibility is shifted and public subsidies have tripled. Not to mention, there are now no british rolling stock manufacturers left. The railways have been completely wrecked by the same crooks who previously raped the bus network. All to line the pockets of the shareholders.

[CJamesPalmer]

"It will be at least mid to late 90s until Crossrail becomes a reality" !!! - Only 20 years late then :-)

[LynxZF7]

I was on a First transpennine express service it arrive 10 minutes late and had the aircon on in the middle of winter. The First transpennine express to hull is regularly late by 5 - 10. Just one example of the "progress" since privatisation. I was on a overcrowded NXEA service to norwich, the train was dirty and i had to stand in the corridor of the buffet car for the full journey to ipswich.

[mappman1000]

Again, 5 stars and fav, a great programme worth watching!