Quote Originally Posted by JamesWales View Post
Yeah my understanding is that the Railways are already effectively nationalised. What isnt is the companies running the services.

I'm broadly supportive of nationalisation, as I am with water (as opposed to say telecommunications or bus travel where privatisation works) but I dont think it's a panacea at all and I dont think TfW is better for being government run really. I also think it's important than any new British Rail does not have a monopoly. If someone with private rai stock thinks they can run a Cardiff to Bristol service better then they should be allowed to compete.
I tend to think of transport as a tool to get people from places where they are economically inactive to places where they will produce things/spend money. Therefore I am not convinced the government should aim for a nationalised transport system to be profit generating or break even. Taxpayer funding transport makes sense to me, because it generates returns outside of that bubble, essentially you spend x here to get back a multiple of that elsewhere.

As with most things quick fixes/gestures won't create a better system. I don't think the Tory position or labour position on this issue shows much creativity or vision if I am honest. It feels like this labour commitment is more about tipping their hat to those people who favour nationalisation rather than part of a wider programme to repurpose/reform how we look at transport.