Meacher on 'How not to run a railway'

Labour's Michael Meacher MP has been reflecting on the role of 'an activist state' in relation to the railways on the Left Future blog.

He writes...

As the wealthy businessman Lord McNulty admits, privatisation has brought fragmentation when an efficient rail system requires a single linked entity. So what does the report recommend, and what are the Tories about to implement? Even more fragmentation. The maintenance of the track and signalling is now to be fragmented and put into the market, and indeed fragmented further into small companies like mini-Railtracks.

The Fact Compiler has tried to steer the MP for Oldham West and Royton onto the right path in the comments section.

Others may wish to make their own contributions?

Election fever getting to Wolmar?

This from a Dr Frank N Furter...

According to the self styled 'leading transport commentator' in his blogpost dated 1st November:

'There are, apparently, three people on the short list to replace Iain Coucher as chief executive of Network Rail'.

But Network Rail announced that David Higgins had been appointed as Mr Coucher's replacement on the 28th September.

Perhaps all that historical research is confusing the railway's very own Grand Old Man of Letters?

Or is the excitement of the Democrats imminent election meltdown getting to Comrade Wolmar, who at this very moment is in the good old US of A researching his latest opus.

Surely he meant to write 'there were'?

Let's do the time warp again.

UPDATE: This from The Major...

Never mind the mitherings over the timings of Christian's on-line version of his RAIL Magazine column.

What on earth is he doing in the First Class lounge at Newark Airport stuffing himself with free Virgin food and wine? Is he planning to defect to the Tories?

Will he be trading his bicycle for a Bentley?

Wolmar makes my heart proud! says Gecko

This just in from Gordon Gecko...

According to Wolmar's blog the arch capitalist will only give talks if he can sell his books to an adoring public afterwards.

When the bleeding heart lefties of the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation thought this was a bit, er, commercial, for a learned society they pulled the plug on booksales, talk and all.

A furious Wolmar has given the CIHT both barrels on-line, suggesting "highway engineers frequently create street environments that are cluttered, ugly and not fit for purpose".

That's real capitalism for you - red in tooth and claw!

Lookalike - the Dark Chapters

***A depressing entry on Losing Track.***

Harris - Normal service to resume shortly

RAIL head honcho Nigel Harris assures Eye that normal blogging will resume shortly.

Recent disruption, we are told, has been due to annual leave, National Rail Awards, staff holidays and sorting out The Scottish Question!

Eye can't wait for the latest issue of the magazine!

Postman Patel RIP

The Fact Compiler missed this and now it is too late.

Postman Patel

With a bowler tip to dyspozytor

Meanwhile, down in the blogsphere

Weird, but strangely believable...

ObnoxiotheClown unmasked!

Spooky, eh?

1984: Revised and updated

Telegrammed by our Independent Expert
Blogs take over from dead trees

Not strictly George Stephenson world, but the success of political blogger Guido Fawkes in bringing down Gordon Brown's "McPoison" this weekend is seen by media academics as a sign of the growing maturity of the blogosphere, which can score direct explosive hits where the ailing and cash-strapped dead tree media are increasingly impotent (or in the case of the BBC being pressured by the Government).

More power to the gimlet Railway Eye.

So beware.

They may be watching us, but we are watching them...

Role of the state

***The Devil's Kitchen has an interesting piece on Government and the railways***