tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post522603799495310516..comments2024-03-07T18:57:39.865+00:00Comments on Syniadau :: The Blog: Improving Our Rail ServicesSyniadauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13876017048168055247noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-2717454501418940992011-02-14T18:54:02.133+00:002011-02-14T18:54:02.133+00:00As good as the idea of a not-for-profit company is...As good as the idea of a not-for-profit company is, the £10m plus of profit swallowed up by Arriva Trains Wales is small fry compared to the £29,430,000 swallowed up by the rolling stock leasing companies (that's only the Wales franchise stock). This is why nationalisation is needed.Rhydgalednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-19877864757647434932010-11-17T18:09:33.059+00:002010-11-17T18:09:33.059+00:00The railways should be nationalised. It makes abs...The railways should be nationalised. It makes absolutely no economic sense to privatise them, and it never did. The railways are a monopoly, and are vital for the rest of the economy, so should be run publicly for the benefit of a truly free market economy.<br /><br />Any necessary capital expenditure (and a lot is necessary) can be funded from retaining the public value created by that expenditure, ie by taxing the increased land value that line extensions/new stations etc creates, rather than leaving it to be privatised for the banks through interest payments.Georgistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-54454377486259175492010-11-15T15:54:55.339+00:002010-11-15T15:54:55.339+00:00This Plaid proposal is exactly the sort of idea we...This Plaid proposal is exactly the sort of idea we need from the Assembly.<br /><br />"Privatised railways" my arse. Privatise the gain, nationalise the pain as always. £150m subsidy and I presume that doesn't include Network Rail infrastructure investment (no matter how small that figure might be in Wales) either.Owennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-26902405100949395472010-11-15T11:57:15.163+00:002010-11-15T11:57:15.163+00:00As ever you flesh out the technical detail that my...As ever you flesh out the technical detail that my polemical writing tends to gloss over. Thanks for the compliment and it's good to get some meat on the bones of the case that we are making. CrossCountry aside, the projected growth in passenger demand (and therefore revenues) on most of the routes within Wales looks extremely strong. Those revenues need to be reinvested to keep meeting the demand and delivering the modern services that people expect.<br /><br />It is a huge indictment of the Labour-Tory privatisation consensus that Welsh railfares are eventually filling out the accounts of the German state rail company.Welsh Ramblingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17585109264200933570noreply@blogger.com