In message , Robin May
writes
Has privatisation turned any railway into a profit making business?

I thought at least one ToC was profitable (and had no subsidy). Anglia,
perhaps?
--
Roland Perry

Grant Crozier wrote:

You don't need public transport to live at all do you have two feet
or a bike etc and from the looks of all the buses traveling through
my part of the UK at all hours of the day full of emptiness its
only mine and others council tax that is keeping the bus drivers in
employment !!!!. It certanly isn't the amount of fares they are
collecting in a shift that is paying for fuel and wages . Grant .
You must live in the south east.
No the Northwest .

The Northwest? Then you'll be familiar with the situation of the lighthouse
at Cape Wrath. The staff and those that visit them would have trouble
relying on "two feet or a bike" to get them there

--
The presence of this sig indicates that I'm under the influence of
excess alcohol. Until I'm sober enough to remember to switch this sig
file off, please treat the above as merely drunken ranting.

I apologise in advance for any offence caused :-)

"JNugent" wrote the following
in:

Robin May wrote...

"JNugent" wrote:

How about answering in respect of British Gas, the electricity
generating industry and RJB Mining (neé The National Coal
Board)?

Why should I? I was talking about public transport.

I am not at all sure that you restricted your comments to public
transport.

In fact, I'm sure you didn't.

Your original proposition was that privatisation didn't stem
the losses.

No. My proposition was that in inherently loss making industries
like public transport, privatisation doesn't make sense.

But public transport is NOT an " inherently loss making" industry,
is it?

If you don't believe me, ask British Airways.

Ah yes, they're doing really well aren't they?

Or any of the many private companies that operate bus services.

Or any taxi operator.

For God's sake, how pedantic do I have to be. I really don't have the
time in usenet posts to spend 5 hours (is that figure specific enough
for you? Too inaccurate maybe? Should I have measured it with a timer?)
drafting a legal document to describe what I'm talking about.

I was referring to those parts of public transport which are inherently
loss making like railways (and not necessarily all railways, just some
of them).

I may not have been
explicit about the inherently loss making part or the public
transport part, but given the context (a thread about network
rail, posted to uk.transport and uk.transport.london) it's pretty
clearly implied.

This thread has veered in all directions. It is no longer safe to
assume it is dealing with railways.

I'm sorry you didn't make that assumption then. But now you know what
I'm talking about so it's stupid to keep bringing up other things...

I have given you three examples where that is clearly
untrue, haven't I?

No.

You dispute the fact that the gas, electricity and coal industries
were loss-makers when in government hands but profitable in
private hands?

....but of course, you're going to keep bring up other things anyway.

Anyway, if privatisation is so good, what good has it done for the
railways? Did they all offer higher quality service? Do they all now
make a profit?

--
message by Robin May, but you can call me Mr Smith.
Hello. I'm one of those "roaring fascists of the left wing".

Then and than are different words!

Stimpy wrote:

Grant Crozier wrote:

You don't need public transport to live at all do you have two feet
or a bike etc and from the looks of all the buses traveling through
my part of the UK at all hours of the day full of emptiness its
only mine and others council tax that is keeping the bus drivers in
employment !!!!. It certanly isn't the amount of fares they are
collecting in a shift that is paying for fuel and wages . Grant .
You must live in the south east.
No the Northwest .

The Northwest? Then you'll be familiar with the situation of the lighthouse
at Cape Wrath. The staff and those that visit them would have trouble
relying on "two feet or a bike" to get them there

Nah. it's a doddle.
From Blairwood head for Sandwood Bay before reaching the lighthouse - about
12-13 miles. You'll need a tent or bivvy bag as it will take most of the day.
http://www.rsf.org.uk/routes/capewrath.htm

And there is an easier way for wimps. Call the Ferry at Durness to reach the
rutted 11 mile road to the lighthouse. Allow a day for the return journey.

Lots of people do it both by bike and walking.

However, I think you are wrong about the staff as I believe it is no longer
manned and the only visits are those for occasional maintenance.

John B

JohnB wrote:

The Northwest? Then you'll be familiar with the situation of the
lighthouse at Cape Wrath. The staff and those that visit them would
have trouble relying on "two feet or a bike" to get them there

Nah. it's a doddle.
From Blairwood head for Sandwood Bay before reaching the lighthouse -
about 12-13 miles. You'll need a tent or bivvy bag as it will take
most of the day. http://www.rsf.org.uk/routes/capewrath.htm

And there is an easier way for wimps. Call the Ferry at Durness to
reach the rutted 11 mile road to the lighthouse. Allow a day for the
return journey.

That's the route I was thinking about



However, I think you are wrong about the staff as I believe it is no
longer manned and the only visits are those for occasional
maintenance.

Fair point... It's been around 15 years since I was last there