When railroads were privatized 25 years ago, Prime Minister John Major said it was to stimulate competition on the tracks.
Now that the model they used to divide the railroads is collapsing, the only competition is to be the worst train operator
} At the moment Avanti has overtaken old favorites such as Southeastern and Thameslink. Avanti means "let's go" in Italian. And the company will do anything.
At the beginning of the summer, Avanti's service began to deteriorate, resulting in many cancellations and several strikes. But now it's getting worse.
With draconian cuts and the prospect of further strikes, management seems to have given up on ghosts.
Reservations not possible
Service is a shadow of what it was before From Monday, three trains an hour will go from London to Manchester, with London Routes to Birmingham have been reduced from four to two per hour.
Liverpool Urban area mayor Steve Rotherham has long complained that hourly services between the capital and Liverpool are "totally inadequate". I was.
To make matters worse, at least he will not be able to book Avanti train journeys until September 11th, although that date could be extended if this confusion is not resolved. There is a nature.
Travelers are therefore at risk of standing in transit between London and the North West and Scotland
. service.
And it's not just his two strike days this Thursday and Saturday. Football supporters who take the route to many of the big clubs in London, Liverpool and Manchester have been told to stay away this weekend. By not resolving long-term problems, you are making things worse for your company and your passengers. Under British Rail there was a policy of relying on "holiday work" to staff trains on weekends. This was voluntary as there were 100 volunteers.
Many of the privatized railroads bought the system and increased the wages of their drivers, but made weekends part of their regular schedule.
Avanti, like some other companies, did not. The current crisis has therefore been created by the fact that 400 trains are operated per week by drivers who usually work on their days off, but given the hostile atmosphere on the railways the government has decided that wage increases should be reasonable. Drivers are voting on their feet because they have not been able to come up with what they consider to be. is to The average driver pays £60,000 a year, so you don't need extra cash.
So you can blame them for not playing the game, but it was Avanti who needed to fix this issue.
This problem arises because the company employs 500 drivers and he needs 100 more drivers to run his full service without working holidays. The service disruption will continue through the winter until the issue is resolved. That's even before a completely separate dispute with RMT
. To make matters worse, this rail crisis will cost you and me even more. Taxpayers pay for all investments in railroads, but also receive income from fares. If income decreases, the taxpayer's investment contribution must increase.
To make matters worse, this railroad crisis will cost you and me even more
all of this. Overseen by Grant Shaps, Secretary of Transportation. However, like vacationer Prime Minister Johnson, he's going through his AWOL.
He had little interest in railroads, preferring to travel by private plane. A colleague was once told by his public relations office that "Grant does not deal with railroads."
Although the train driver was under his control, he repeatedly said, "It has nothing to do with me," and refused to meet with the union.
Therefore, of his three parties involved - unions, business operators and ministers - it is the latter who must bear most of the responsibility.
It's not surprising that there have been calls for the Avanti franchise to be discontinued, and thankfully his end date from 2030 to 2026 has been shortened, given its performance. , which may not last very long.
Ignorant politicians
Other franchises were in-house by the government and prospered.
LNER, the east coast franchise that runs King's Cross in London, which has been run by the government since it collapsed in May 2018, is an embarrassment for a government obsessed with privatization. is worth noting. Every cut of service.
Indeed, LNER tops the league table for how well the franchise has recovered from the pandemic, with passenger numbers nearly reaching pre-Covid numbers, while Avanti is around 60.
So when the Tories' endless leadership battle is resolved and Shaps is replaced by a new Secretary of Transportation, there is a potential for relief around the corner.
His predecessor, Chris Grayling, has asked former BA bosses to consider how the railroad operates, given what the franchise system seems to be not coping with. A review led by Keith Williams — the usual tactic of ignorant politicians — was launched. A number that keeps growing.
A report released last year suggested a rebuilding of the British Rail, known as the Great British Railways. The railroads will remain divided, but at least the new agency should have the power to organize industrial relations.