European governments have “systematically” shrunk their railways and starved them of funding while pouring money into expanding their road network, a report has found.
The length of motorways in Europe grew 60% between 1995 and 2020 while railways shrank 6.5%, according to research from German thinktanks Wuppertal Institute and T3 Transportation. For every €1 governments spent building railways, they spent €1.6 building roads.
Welcome to another #RailwaysExplained thread... a while back I asked for ideas and @DiegoBeghin suggested something on AC versus DC electrification. So here goes!
Is Avanti West Coast the next failing (under-performing) rail franchise to be taken into state hands to resolve the wide-spread problems with its service?
Certainly across the North there are wide spread calls for state action, not least as it appears Avanti lied about improving services ahead of its contract renewal.
Given rail is a key element in any green transition the continuing failure to deliver a reliable & affordable service is a major green issue!
Well, well, well... if you were wondering where the state-support for the #railways was going (as it certainly hasn't been driving down fairs), it would seem that the train-leasing sector is have a very good time.
Kevin Farnsworth has a term for this: 'corporate welfare' - the funnelling of taxpayers money into #corporate pockets with little regard for the impact on #voters interests....
Where there's a subsidy, there's a firm capturing it for their shareholders.
You can still get a flight from Eindhoven, the Netherlands, to Barcelona (1,200 km) for the same price as a domestic train ticket to Groningen (250 km).
Ridiculous. #aviation#ClimateChange#railways#emissions
There may be no national policy of renationalising the railways, but that's where we're headed; by this year around 40% of passenger rail-KMs were being managed by the state.
This would be so much better if it were a clear & well managed policy, not the political result of fire-fighting as subsidy-hungry operators still fail to provide an acceptable service.
Like other privatisations, its time to conclude there are some 'natural monopolies' that should be state-run!
Anyone interested in buying some old books, at least one of these are not available elsewhere due to never being sold to the public.
See alt text for titles and descriptions.
$100 for the lot, plus $20 postage within AU, probably $40-50 international post.
Having listened to friends' endless stories about delayed trains, truncated journeys, overcrowded carriages & a general dismal service on the West Coat Line... I now would never consider using the train for any journey (and as such have given up even thinking of going down to #London).
If I wasn't retired & having to travel for #work, then I would defiantly be favouring my car (again).
If we are ever going to achieve a #greentransition then the chaos on the #railways has to be resolved!
'[W]hat the railways need above all is a government focused on growth not decline, which recognises the strategic importance of public transport in Britain’s future'!
We need a government that set the #railways as a key element in our #greentransiton... not merely as a cost to be reduced.
Budapest to Lyon: Why I chose to take a night train with my 6 year-old son instead of a flight
It was my six-year-old son who figured out a way to make that happen. Engrossed in a picture book about trains, he came across one that depicted a family sleeping peacefully in a couchette.
'The way you make [disruption] less costly in the long run is by spending more money upfront to build a more robust & resilient system in the first instance.... But the do-nothing option costs a lot more money over a longer period'!
I just love train travel, but government consistently undervalues and undermines it. Still a great article and kudos to the NDP MP trying to save/promote it.
"Actually, the business case of the #Nighttrain doesn’t quite addup," explains #IDE alumnus Annabelle Out. That’s why Annabelle designed a carriage interior for both day and night trains as part of her graduation project for the #Engineering firm Royal HaskoningDHV.
Today's historic #photo of the day: 39 years ago today, Broad gauge B65 and a T class diesel, both in original Victorian #railways Blue & Gold liveries, with a DRC railcar in VLine orange livery and DERM 62RM at left at Spencer Street station, Melbourne, April 5 1985.
The B class locos, introduced in 1952, were Victorian Railways first mainline diesels. These 26 EMD-engined units were double-enders with a classic 1950s General Motors streamlined 'bulldog' nose at each end.
Why when the NHS is in crisis does the 'solution' seem to be increased private healthcare, but when the railways hit crisis point, it was finally the state that had to step in...
The solution to constrained funding is not to introduce more suppliers who by their very market character need to make a surplus out of any available funding....
And yes, in Wes' terms... if saying that makes me a middle-class Leftie - then so be it!
A knock on effect of the chaotic management of the railways in the last decade(s) has been its impact on the manufacture of rolling stock.
While always cyclical, in the current economic environment, firms are less willing to weather periods of low demand & as a result both major manufacturers (Alstom & Hitachi) are now about to lay off staff and are warning about a permanent loss of domestic rolling stock production capacity.
Another aspect of UK's enduring infrastructure 'problem'
The critics are right, rather than have seasonal chaos during to #engineerng works, the #railways & other #infrastructure could be repaired in the first week of January... the UK could have a state-defined #workingfromhome week, with those required to attend the workplace having subsidised travel laid on to avoid the disruption(s), and the whole thing co-ordinated by an active Govt. in the public interest...
Sorry, don't know what happened there, I think I'm hallucinating or something.... sorry