Will Rail Nationalisation Work?
Summary
TLDRThe UK's rail system faces high costs and poor service, prompting the Shapps Williams plan to nationalize railways under Great British Rail. Both Conservative and Labour governments support this initiative, aiming to improve the rail franchising system introduced in 1996. The Labour government plans to establish Great British Railways by the end of the Parliament, focusing on cutting waste, enhancing passenger standards, and introducing digital season tickets and an automatic delay repay system.
Takeaways
- 🚂 The UK's rail transport is known for being expensive and often more costly than plane tickets to other countries, with an inconsistent and poor-quality experience.
- 🎟️ The previous Conservative government, along with the Rail Review led by Keith Williams, proposed the 'Williams-Shapps Plan' to address rail issues, which included plans for nationalization under 'Great British Rail'.
- 🔄 There is a consensus between the previous and current UK governments on the establishment of Great British Railways, as confirmed in the recent King's speech.
- 📚 The script takes a historical perspective, explaining the shift from nationalized British Rail to the current franchising system in 1996.
- 💷 The franchising system has faced issues with private companies going bankrupt, leading to the government stepping in as the operator of last resort.
- 🛤️ The government became the largest rail operator in the UK due to taking over franchises that had become unsustainable, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 🔄 The Williams-Shapps review recommended the creation of Great British Railways, which would be government-operated and own the infrastructure but not the trains.
- 📉 The Labour government plans to continue with the establishment of Great British Railways, waiting for existing franchise contracts to expire before nationalizing them.
- 🚫 While pursuing nationalization, the Labour government will not nationalize rail freight companies or hinder Open Access operators like Hull Trains and Lumo.
- 💼 Labour has proposed further changes, such as cutting waste, creating a Passenger Standards Authority, introducing digital season tickets, and an automatic delay repay system.
- 📝 The new government has introduced the Railway Services Public Ownership Bill as a starting point for establishing Great British Railways, but it has not yet become law.
Q & A
What is the main issue with the UK's rail transport system as described in the script?
-The UK's rail transport system is criticized for being expensive, with fares sometimes higher than plane tickets to other countries, and the service is often overcrowded, late, or cancelled, providing poor value for money.
What was the 'Shapps Williams Plan' proposed by the Conservative government to address the rail transport issues?
-The 'Shapps Williams Plan' aimed to nationalize the railways under a new company called Great British Rail, which would own the infrastructure and be responsible for running and planning passenger rail services.
What is the current stance of the Labour government on the 'Shapps Williams Plan'?
-The Labour government agrees with the Conservatives on the plan and is committed to continuing the process of establishing Great British Railways, as mentioned in the recent King's speech.
What was the UK's passenger rail network like before 1996?
-Before 1996, the UK's passenger rail network was nationalized under British Rail, and it was in the process of transitioning to the current rail franchising system.
How does the rail franchising system work?
-The government offers contracts to private companies for groups of rail routes, including both profitable and less profitable ones. The successful franchises are required to operate all routes within their franchise to ensure connectivity for smaller towns.
What is the 'Operator of Last Resort' and why has it become relevant?
-The 'Operator of Last Resort' is a term used when the government steps in to operate a rail franchise because the franchisee has gone bust or is unable to meet the terms of their contract. It became relevant as many franchisees failed, forcing the state to intervene.
How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact the rail franchising model?
-The COVID-19 pandemic made the franchising model unsustainable, as franchisees had to run routes regardless of passenger numbers, which were significantly reduced due to lockdown restrictions.
What changes did the government implement in response to the pandemic's impact on the rail franchising model?
-The government ended the contract system, allowing operators to transfer all revenue and cost risks to the state while receiving a small management fee for continuing to run the services, essentially a form of temporary nationalization.
What responsibilities would Great British Railways take on according to the Williams Review?
-Great British Railways would own the infrastructure, receive fare revenue, run and plan timetables for passenger rail, and take back control of all railway tracks, simplifying the network of responsibilities related to rail infrastructure.
What are some of the Labour government's additional plans for the rail system beyond the creation of Great British Railways?
-The Labour government plans to cut waste, claw back shareholder dividends, create a new Passenger Standards Authority as a watchdog, introduce digital season tickets, and establish a new automatic delay repay system.
What has the Labour government done so far in terms of implementing the plans for the rail system?
-They have introduced the new Passenger Railway Services Public Ownership bill, which is a starting point for establishing Great British Railways, but it has not yet become law.
Outlines
🚂 UK Rail System Overhaul: The Shapps Williams Plan
This paragraph discusses the high costs and poor service quality of the UK's rail transport system, which often outprices air travel. It outlines the Shapps Williams plan, a nationalization initiative proposed by the Conservative government and supported by the Labour government, aiming to establish a new company called Great British Rail. The plan seeks to address the issues of an overcrowded, unreliable, and expensive rail system by centralizing control under the government. The paragraph also provides historical context, explaining the shift from nationalized British Rail to the current franchising system in 1996, which has led to numerous bankruptcies and government intervention as the operator of last resort.
🛤️ Labour's Commitment to Great British Railways and Future Rail Reforms
The second paragraph details the Labour government's agreement with the Conservatives on the establishment of Great British Railways, as mentioned in the King's Speech. The Labour government plans to wait for existing rail franchise contracts to expire before transitioning them under government control, forming part of the nationalized entity. While some operators like Open Access will continue to operate independently, the Labour government intends to go beyond mere nationalization by cutting waste, reclaiming shareholder dividends, establishing a Passenger Standards Authority, introducing digital season tickets, and setting up an automatic delay repay system. The paragraph also notes the limited progress made so far, with the introduction of the Railway Services Public Ownership bill and the Labour government's aim to have Great British Rail operational by the end of the current parliamentary term.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Nebula
💡Rail Transport
💡Nationalization
💡Shaps Williams Plan
💡Franchise System
💡Operator of Last Resort
💡COVID-19 Pandemic
💡Great British Railways
💡Network Rail
💡Open Access Operators
💡Passenger Standards Authority
Highlights
The UK's rail transport system is criticized for being expensive and often providing poor value, with trains being overcrowded, late, or cancelled.
The 'Williams-Shapps Plan' was devised by the Conservative government to address rail issues, proposing the nationalization of railways under 'Great British Rail'.
There is a rare point of agreement between the previous and current UK governments on the establishment of Great British Railways, as mentioned in the King's speech.
The UK's passenger rail network transitioned from nationalization under British Rail to a rail franchising system in 1996.
The rail franchising system involved contracts awarded to private companies for groups of rail routes, including both profitable and less profitable ones.
Many rail franchisees have gone bankrupt, forcing the government to step in and operate the services themselves, known as the 'Operator of Last Resort'.
The government described the franchising system as flawed due to companies overpromising and underdelivering, leading to state intervention.
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the sustainability issues of the franchising model, as operators had to run routes irrespective of passenger numbers.
The government temporarily nationalized the rail system by ending the contract system and transferring revenue and cost risk to itself.
The Williams-Shapps review recommended the creation of Great British Railways, an organization to be operated by the government and own the infrastructure.
Great British Railways would also take on the responsibility for railway tracks, simplifying the network of responsibilities related to rail infrastructure.
The Labour government plans to continue the creation of Great British Railways, allowing for natural expiration of franchise contracts before nationalization.
Open Access operators and rail freight companies will not be nationalized, indicating a partial rather than complete nationalization of the rail system.
The Labour government has proposed further changes, such as cutting waste, creating a Passenger Standards Authority, and establishing a new automatic delay repay system.
The new government has introduced the Railway Services Public Ownership bill, a starting point for establishing Great British Railways, though it has not yet become law.
Starmer aims to have Great British Rail operational by the end of the 5-year Parliament, indicating a timeline for the implementation of these changes.
Nebula is a streaming service co-owned with creators, offering original content and ad-free viewing of The Daily Report videos, with a discount for new members.
Transcripts
this video was brought to you by nebula
now anyone from the UK will know just
how strange and expensive our rail
transport is getting from one major city
to another can often cost more than a
plane ticket to another country and it's
not as though the experience is value
for money trains are often overcrowded
late or downright cancelled the previous
conservative government knew this and in
an attempt to address it the then
transport secretary Grant shaps came up
with a plan alongside the independent of
the rail review Keith Williams this plan
known uninventive as the shaps Williams
plan for rail was effectively to
nationalize the railways under a new
company called Great British Rail and
this appears to be one of the very few
points of agreement between the previous
and current government as labor have
committed themselves continue with the
process of establishing Great British
Railways with it even being mentioned in
the recent King's speech so in this
video we're going to have a look at how
the passenger rail system currently
operates in the UK the issues with this
and how labor plans to change it in the
[Music]
future before we start if you haven't
already please consider subscribing and
ringing the bell to stay in the loop and
be notified when we release new videos
now to understand all of this we need to
go way back to
1996 back then the UK's passenger rail
network was in the process of going from
being naal alized under British Rail to
the current rail franchising system now
basically the government offered
contracts to private companies for
groups of rail routs now some of these
roots were profitable EG popular
commuter routs others less so like roots
that connect smaller towns with few
passengers to larger cities the deal was
that the successful franchises would
have to operate all routs within their
franchise so as not to deprive smaller
towns of their vital rail connections
now this system has been in operation
ever since with each franchise being
auctioned off to the highest bidder now
the issue has been that many of these
franchisees have gone bust meaning that
the government has had to operate the
franchise themselves this is known as
them becoming the operator of Last
Resort in fact last year for the first
time since the rail franchise system was
introduced the biggest rail operator in
the UK was actually the government after
it became the operator of last sort for
Trans penine Express that meant that the
government was running six different
rail franchises across the UK London
Northeastern Railway Southeastern
Northern transport for Wales Scott Rail
and now trans penine Express to put it
bluntly it quickly became clear that the
franchise system wasn't working
franchisees were not meeting the terms
of their contracts and even the
government themselves described the
system as flawed essentially this was
because companies were forced to over
promise in order to get the franchise
but in the end they underd delivered and
the state was forced to step in and what
made things even worse was the covid
pandemic as the franchisees had to run
the routes irrespective of Passenger
numbers and with covid regulations
preventing people from being able to
leave their homes the franchising model
effectively became unsustainable as such
the government stepped in and simply
ended the contract system with them
giving all operators the chance to
transfer all re revenue and cost risk to
the government with the franchisees
being paid a small management fee in
return for continuing to run the
services in essence this was temporary
nationalization although even at the
time it was understood that it could be
the beginning of the end for the
franchise system as a whole with the
shfs Williams review on the horizon it
was understood that the franchise system
as we knew it was unlikely to continue
and as it turned out this was exactly
the case with the shs Williams review
suggesting the biggest shakeup in how
passenger rail operates in the UK since
1996 specifically they recommended the
creation of Great British Railways an
organization that would be operated by
the government the organization would
own the infrastructure though would not
own the actual trains themselves they'd
received the fair revenue and run and
plan the timetables for passenger rail
it's important to note too that great
prsh Railways would also take on the
responsibility for other elements of the
railways back in the the late 1990s the
responsibility for railway tracks was
given to a new private company known as
rail track a few years later this was
moved to another company known as
Network rail who are still responsible
for the railway tracks in the UK to this
day in order to simplify the chaotic
network of responsibilities related to
rail infrastructure in the UK Great
British Railways would take back control
of all of the railway tracks now this
was the plan under the last conservative
government but what does the current
government want to do with it well as we
mentioned in the introduction the labor
government are actually kind of in
agreement with the conservatives on this
they've committed to continuing the
creation of Great British Railways with
it even being mentioned in The King's
Speech in order to do this they plan to
wait until the contracts for the
franchises expire naturally at which
point they'll be taken under government
control and will eventually all be made
part of the nationalized Great British
Railways now it's worth noting that the
labor government will still allow Open
Access operators such as whole trains
and lumo continue operating these
operators work independently from the
franchises and run trains on only
selected routes nor will labor
nationalize rail freight companies so
while labor would pursue nationalization
it would not be an absolute complete
nationalization of all things trains
aside from this though there are some
signs that labor are planning on going
further in some aspects they've
suggested that they'll try and cut waste
and will claw back shareholder dividends
some something that could save around
2.2 billion additionally they'll create
a new passenger standards Authority
which will act as a watchdog for the new
Great British Rail as well as creating
digital season tickets across the
network and establishing a new automatic
delay repay system these change likely
won't be implemented until later but do
at least show signs that labor has plans
to further change the system Beyond just
simply the creation of the new Great
British Railway anyway this is what the
government has planned to do but what
have they actually done so far well
they've only been in office for around 2
months so to be frank not all that much
they have introduced the new passenger
Railway Services Public ownership bill
which is a starting point for
establishing Great British Railways but
it's not yet become law now to be fair
starma has simply stated that his aim is
to have Great British Rail operational
by the end of the 5-year Parliament so
he does still have a fair while to go
yet now you can keep diving deeper into
this and other news stories over on
nebula where the TDR team creates the
most important news videos from around
the world saving you from a deluge of
bad news and helping you pay attention
to what really matters this means no
more feeling out of touch on nebula news
the dldr team act as your guide through
the media landscape sharing the news
that we're paying attention to and
helping you to find the stories that
matter and avoid burnout now if you
don't know already nebula is a streaming
service that we co-own with a bunch of
your favorite creators there you can
watch original content like real life
laws incredible series War Room which
every month runs you through a whole
load of ongoing conflicts keeping you in
the loop you can also watch every TDR
video on nebula ad free and in many
instances before they land on YouTube if
you're not a member already then you can
click the link in the description to
sign up now and if you do you'll get 40%
of an annual plan by using our link plus
nebula will know that you came from us
which really helps us out we've got some
great feedback from existing members on
the nebula news features so I hope you
enjoy the effort that we're putting into
nebula news
関連動画をさらに表示
Exclusive Insights by Mr. Rajeev Jyoti, Advisor to CMD, Railway Business, Larsen & Toubro Ltd.
रेलवे देगी हर यात्री को कंफर्म टिकट✍️ Railway Sabko Degi Confirm Ticket🔥
The Rail Revolution That Never Was
Can Labour Fix the Housing Crisis?
México anuncia Nuevo Tren de pasajeros unirá estás ciudades: QRO, CDMX, GDL, SLP, GTO Y AGS
Bullet Train Ticket Price, Classes, Project Delay & More: Railway Minister Answers All In Parliament
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)