Delays and train cancellations British government wants to nationalize the railroads
There is a lot of criticism of the British private railroads. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
Transport Minister Haigh has announced partial nationalization. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
There is a lot of criticism of the British private railroads. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
Transport Minister Haigh has announced partial nationalization. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
Delays, train cancellations, poor staff morale: the situation on the British railroads is reminiscent of Germany. The new government in London has a plan to change this.
03.09.2024, 23:14
dpa
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- The new British government wants to partially nationalize the railroads again.
- There has long been criticism of train cancellations and delays as well as high ticket prices.
- This is not the first time that the British rail system has been nationalized.
- The bill goes to the House of Lords.
The new British government wants to partially nationalize the railroads again. A corresponding bill by Transport Minister Louise Haigh has taken a further step in Parliament and is now going to the House of Lords. The bill provides for operations by private providers to end when existing contracts expire or a contractually agreed termination clause can be exercised.
There are currently a total of 28 different rail companies in the UK, which generally primarily serve a specific region. There has long been criticism of train cancellations and delays as well as high ticket prices. Strikes have repeatedly paralyzed services. Trade unions accuse the companies of exploiting their employees. Profits only benefit managers and shareholders.
Thatcher sold off the rail system
In a second step, Minister Haigh from the Social Democratic Labor Party wants to set up the state-owned company Great British Railways. It is also to take over the tasks of the not-for-profit company Network Rail, which is responsible for infrastructure such as the rail network.
This is not the first time that the British rail system has been nationalized. After the Second World War, the four major providers were merged to form the state-owned company British Railways. When the Conservative government under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sold off the state-owned companies, British Rail, as the group was then called, was broken up.
Calls to break up the railroads in Germany
In Germany, the situation in rail transport is almost the opposite. Market leader Deutsche Bahn is a federally owned group. It is organized as a public limited company, but is wholly owned by the Federal Republic of Germany. Deutsche Bahn not only runs trains across the country, but also operates most of the ailing rail network in Germany.
Due to increasing train cancellations and long delays, there are repeated calls to break up the group and separate the network and operations.