But what is notable is the complete lack of fatal crashes due to avoidable material failures during their tenure.Banquo wrote:Network Rail? The cause of a great deal of angst from passengers, even if they blame the operators. Basket case.Puja wrote:While I'm not sure I endorse this broadband plan, there is quite a bit of evidence that government run things can work better when it comes to national infrastructure where the primary emphasis isn't profit. RAILTRACK springs immediately to mind.Banquo wrote: Anyone with a pension fund planning on retiring any time soon....eg me....should be turning it into cash about now, assuming Labour get any sniff of power.
Personally, I'm not convinced government run anything will be better than what exists today, there's not a great deal of proof in the UK that this will be the case, unless I've missed something.
Broadband could be another example. There is no profit-based motivation for Openreach to roll out full fibre. It costs them a lot of money and the benefits that it brings won't be in a form that earns them profit. Even when government-incentivised to do so, they will do so in cities because that with get them the most return for their outlay, not rural areas where it's more needed and where the economy gets a bigger return for the outlay.
Like I said, I'm not sure if it's something I'd be leading with or doing in this fashion, but if we want widespread full fibre broadband and the (putative) economic benefits that that brings, it does feel like a national project rather than one to leave to the private sector.
Puja
Puja