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Well, this is a little embarrassing.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67997916
One slide with the heading "Roll up, roll up, get your free money here!" describes how the government asks the rail firm to provide high-quality customer services, and then supports them in delivering new projects and initiatives.
Novara Media reports that the slide then reads: "Then they pay for it! …nearly all of it!
And here's the fantastic thing! - if we achieve those figures, they pay us some more money - which is ours to keep - in the form of a performance-based fee!! Sounds too good to be true?! Well, on this occasion - it isn't - it's the absolute truth!" the slide goes on to say.
"
Thank God they aren't state owned, that would be a nightmare...
fun fact my train today failed to stop at the station and went straight on to Euston
meant 20 mins in the cold waiting for another train
but for the people who normally get off at my station probably an extra 1hr30 round trip to get to work this morning!
Avanti are beyond a joke
@ kimbers
Bloody hell. I bet there was some swearing on that train...
I think the Operator of Last Resort needs to be referred never mind the operators themselves. Avanti are dog shit. Another Tory government that doesn't really give a shit about our railways. Rolling stock, infrastructure, timetables and of course the people who need to move the eff around for their families and the collective economy
Being at this very moment on the fifth train of my three train journey, this annoys me greatly...
Avanti which is owned by... another government. Yay for us.
This is actually good news in disguise. People need to realise how corrupt the franchising model has become. Guaranteed profit for no risk.
This is the moment when the Government get the DfT Staff in, give them a good talking to, and instruct them to get the Contracts changed.
But, of course, they wont, it’ll just carry on as it was. TBF, the government, who have overall control, just sub out the running of the railways to the DfT, and let them get on with it, so they are just not bothered, they pass it on to the relevant civil servant. That the DfT are as useless as the government makes it worse. The same idiots in the DfT will still be there when Labour get in, but with a new Boss, the new Boss will see the Railways Portfolio as a minor role, and leave the Civil Servants to carry on doing as they are doing now, and it’ll carry on. Prescott had, what, 8 years? to sort it out, he did nothing, and he had pledged to sort it out, I dont see anything from Labour yet even saying what they’ll do with the Railways, so the omens arent good..
The whole enterprise is a licence to print money for govt cronies. There was a documentary a while back where the passengers on South West Trains got together to try and win the franchise but they were blocked by impossible legislation at every turn. Each time they got closer to winning it some other ludicrous hurdle was put in their way. Utter corruption.
This is the moment when the Government get the DfT Staff in, give them a good talking to, and instruct them to get the Contracts changed.
You're implying that this isn't how it is supposed to be! Private companies supplying government are supposed to be lavished with money and very little risk. State bodies, eg NHS, are to be starved of money and run into the ground. Remember: State = bad, private = good.
Private companies supplying government are supposed to be lavished with money and very little risk. State bodies, eg NHS, are to be starved of money and run into the ground. Remember: State = bad, private = good.
Which works fine up until the private company in question goes bankrupt or puts on such a shit service that Government has to step in and run it under Operator of Last Resort legislation.
See Northern, TransPennine Express, LNER and SouthEastern....
Avanti which is owned by… another government. Yay for us.
30%
The rest is owned by First which tells you all you need to know.
Which works fine up until the private company in question goes bankrupt
Nah still works fine since plenty of money would have been extracted by then and you can hand back the mess to the state whilst enjoying the private yacht. Best of all you can wait for the state to fix it and then take it back over since private is always better and hence it should be handed back to them for round 2 or 3 or 4.
Tory style capitalism is fine until they run out of the taxpayers assets.
Avanti West Coast today from Edinburgh to Crewe, before changing for Cardiff. The Avanti train was, literally, stinking and filthy. Even though it had started it's run in Edinburgh.
They're sorry because they were found out!
Someone failed their Write Right training.