Good news for fans of black armbands and dirges!
ATOC is hosting a tres elegant soiree in July to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Railways Act, the piece of legislation that paved the way for, in Chris Grayling's words, "a flawed privitisation".
Quite so.
The timing could not be better with the next party of government nudging ever closer to renationalising the railways, according to an article today by Mark Ferguson on Labour List.
No matter!
No doubt those attending the ATOC bun fight, including the Secretary of State for Transport, will appreciate the deep irony of holding it in the former home of the Greater London Council (now the Marriott County Hall).
Of course that was another piece of Tory abolition legislation that has subsequently been reversed.
More amusing still is the fact that the successors to the GLC, the Mayor and GLA, are absolutely adamant that Concessions, rather than Franchises, are the way forward for rail services; unless of course you include London Underground which remains resolutely state-owned.
Perhaps ATOC realises the game is up?
