THAT rail services in Britain have fallen substantially behind in standards of service, rolling stock, and infrastructure compared with other European countries is due to a complex interplay of factors applying over many years; for example, under-investment, half-hearted and intermittent Government intervention, failure to anticipate market changes, management and workforce conservatism with regard to technological innovation and work practices, of which the first three are by far the most important.
Now the opportunity exists for the main players in the industry operating in a lightly regulated, open market to start restoring Britain's railways to their proper position among world leaders.
In this scenario which, whether one likes it or not, is the real world in which the rail industry operates, the job of Government is to ensure through regulation rather than direct control that the interests of users and taxpayers are fully taken into account by the industry.
The forthcoming White Papers on transport for Scotland and England, about which there was widespread consultation with users and user representatives, will give Government the opportunity to put in place structures and procedures to ensure this is done effectively.
The abandonment of plans for the Eurostar sleeper service from Scotland to Paris were greeted by me not with enthusiasm but relief. If the service had started I believe it would have become quickly apparent that the traffic forecasts on which the project was based were wildly optimistic. Substantial losses would have been incurred leading to the withdrawal of the service within 12 months of starting - a much more damaging prospect than not starting the service at all.
These comments are based on MBA project work in Eurostar's predecessor and at Eurotunnel in 1994/95 when it was apparent even then that regional Eurostar services, particularly night services, were a doubtful proposition for the first 10 years of tunnel operation.
Who are the Rail Users Consultative Committee for Scotland? It is the statutory body set up, under the Railways Act, 1993, to look after the interests of passengers in the privatised railway world. It is also the successor to the Transport Users Consultative Committee for Scotland which existed since railway nationalisation in 1948.
Mr Bill Williams (May 21) may recall meeting representatives of the committee, including myself, at the STUC's Glasgow office during the campaign to save the Fort William sleeper. At our statutory meetings members are required to give details of rail journeys made with comments on quality and standards of service during the three months between meetings.
I'll leave it to West Lothian Council to proclaim the merits of doubled travel opportunities to and from Bathgate but I'm sure the folk in Bathgate - the users - like it.
Bill Ure,
Secretary, Rail Users Consultative
Committee for Scotland,
249 West George Street,
Glasgow.
May 22.
To start restoring railways
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article