[karajorma]

Railtrack investors lose their case. Can't say I feel any sympathy for them at all.

The company was responsible for three fatal train accidents due to their mismanagement and the entire basis of their claim was that the government had acted unfairly by not giving the company more taypayer's money in order to bail them out yet again.

Quite frankly I don't see any good reason why the government should have bailed them out. They were quite happy to stick money in their pockets from dividends even though the network was crumbling. Why should the nation have been obliged to give money to a private company just because they wanted it to?

Even if we accept as true their claim that the government wanted Railtrack to go under so that it could be re-nationalised who gives a damn? The government could only get away with such a nefarious plan if Railtrack was being hugely mismanaged in the first place. Everyone knew that railtrack was running a shoddy operation. If you don't like it sell your stock and get out.

[Wild Fragaria]

When were the three fatal accidents happened?

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by Wild Fragaria
When were the three fatal accidents happened?

Potters bar; http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2002/potters_bar_crash/default.stm

Hatfield;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/980976.stm

Paddington;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/466633.stm

(also Southall & Selby; http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2004/safety_on_the_railways/)

[Fineus]

It should be a well known fact by now that our train service is dire. It's in honest need of improvement and unfortunately those in charge are more interested in filling their own pockets than in getting the service up to standard.

As an aside... had I missed a particular train home from school once, I would have been on board the next train which piled into a jeep that was crossing the tracks at an unmarked farm crossing. There was at least one fatility if memory serves me right.

[karajorma]

Originally posted by aldo_14
(also Southall & Selby; http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2004/safety_on_the_railways/)

I didn't mention Selby cause that one was due to some idiot falling asleep at the wheel of his car and driving off the motorway onto the track. Not really RailTrack's fault.

The other 3 were fairly major disasters though and included cases that were directly attributable to neglect.

That's the main reason I feel no sympathy for these people. The company was making a profit while money should have been spent improving the service it was supposed to provide.

I'm glad that Network Rail is a non-profit organisation. Now that the impetus isn't on the company to make a profit they can hopefully spend more on infrastructure.

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by karajorma


I didn't mention Selby cause that one was due to some idiot falling asleep at the wheel of his car and driving off the motorway onto the track. Not really RailTrack's fault.

The other 3 were fairly major disasters though and included cases that were directly attributable to neglect.

That's the main reason I feel no sympathy for these people. The company was making a profit while money should have been spent improving the service it was supposed to provide.

I'm glad that Network Rail is a non-profit organisation. Now that the impetus isn't on the company to make a profit they can hopefully spend more on infrastructure.

Albeit wasn't there a minor scandal over the lack of any safety barrier between the road and track at Selby?

[Fineus]

Is that the rail companies problem, or the road services?

[StratComm]

You Brits, you don't know what it means to have a joke of a railway system.  Come to the states.  Look at our system.  It's hopelessly less developed than anything yours could ever decay into.

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by Kalfireth
Is that the rail companies problem, or the road services?

I think the rail companies, I'm not sure.

[WMCoolmon]

I'm just so sick of seeing large businesses (RIAA to name the ones that come to mind immediately) slap around individual people that I'm happy to see one get owned for once. Makes me feel a little better about the western world.

I'll read the articles when  have more time.