Great Western Coffee Shop

http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/politics/Rural-rail-links-axed-warn-campaigners/article-3505613-detail/article.html

A Con/Lib government would be brave to cut rail links in a Con/Lib region.

Indeed, and given the fact that MANY local branch lines have recently seen a boom in passenger numbers, cutting rail services on these lines would be foolish, I for one cannot afford to buy and maintain a car, for me using the railways is the easiest and somewhat cheapest way to travel.

We can never be complacent but - as has already been commented under the linked article - it seems to be scaremongering.

The report in question is investigating why it costs network Rail so much to maintain, and improve, the rail network in comparison to our European neighbours, rather than how much it costs to run services.

It could be that cost savings are revealed that work in favour of rural lines: Beeching used worn-out infrastructure as a reason to close many a line, citing the cost of repairing viaducts etc against potential income.

I read the title of this thread half expecting to read something about the increased possibility off terrorist attacks at railway stations and other transport hubs in light of the death of Osama Bin Laden. In a way I was glad I was wrong, although to paraphrase Umberleigh up there: "We can never be complacent".

While the railways face a difficult financial situation any comparisons with the Beeching axe of the 1960s are simply not valid as the world has completely changed since then.Back then the railways were seen by many people as a run down Victorian irrelevance in then brave new 1960s world of roads and airports.Today of course the railways are more popular than they have ever been despite their shortcomings which given time and investment can be overcome.Congestion and rising oil prices mean that roads and indeed airports are not the savior that they were once seen as at the time of Beeching for our domestic transport needs even in rural areas.
   When deciding how to tackle rails current funding shortfall the government not only has to keep one eye on the present but also the other eye on the future which for political reasons I am sure they will.
  Despite its problems such as the present lack of capacity and adequate rolling stock I think rail still has a very bright future.

There is one black cloud which since the First World War creeps over the horizon the cloud is call political dogma, some Governments make the railways suffer at the hands of dogma more than others, the dogma of this particular Government is to reduce costs through de-centralisation that way market forces will drive the demand.  The problem with politicians is they will mess things up blame it on the will of the people write their memoirs making a personal fortune in the process and then say the decision was right at the time but the economy is different now.

Do not trust the politicians or "consultants" employed by them to make the right decision because they are slaves to dogma

So true, my parents had a late 60's copy of the Readers Digest Atlas of the British Isles (post Beeching). The authors confidently predicted that air travel and motorway coaches would make long-distance rail travel redundant in the UK within a decade...!

The moral: Never believe anything you read in The Reader's Digest.  ::) :o ;D

This report http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13329027 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13329027) is just a further indication that rail travel is becoming increasingly popular.

High petrol prices are not going to go away so start your Yield Management studies now!