UK government to sell Eurostar stake before general election

[Prawnboy]

98elise said:

The government should not be running railways. Just looking at the Eurostar example, they built a temporary terminal at Waterloo with a planned lifespan of just 10 years. Rather than build something to suit a temporary station they built a very nice top spec terminal....which is now just rotting away. Very easy to do when you're spending someone else's money.

No business would have done that.

come on, i think anybody would have.
It's the entry point to your new venture which has to be appealing to travel on to get repeat custom, and a decade is a fair length of time to recoup the cost.
Every business would have built a top spec terminal, otherwise you are set up for criticism,failure and loss of business to nice shiny airports.

[Mr Whippy]

Jeez, given the total costs of running Eurostar, a building is probably small fry.

As a MOP paying for these things, I worry more about the inept chumps they choose to pay silly salaries and benefits to over the years.

As a MOP using something I've paid for, a nice foyer is good value for money, vs a tin shed that leaks with no heating or shops or whatever else.


If Eurostar is doomed to be stripped back to the bare minimum I'll just fly to Europe from my local airport instead. If travelling in relative luxury with a few niceties isn't on the cards for Eurostar, then the flying cattle cart is much better VFM then a shoddy train!

[legzr1]

98elise said:

The government should not be running railways. Just looking at the Eurostar example, they built a temporary terminal at Waterloo with a planned lifespan of just 10 years. Rather than build something to suit a temporary station they built a very nice top spec terminal....which is now just rotting away. Very easy to do when you're spending someone else's money.

No business would have done that.

Yes, because the segmented, half-arsed attemp-at-privatisation, franchised system currently in use is the envy of world (French and German state owned railways included)...

Compare and contrast EC railways now under DOR (the government) with the previous franchise holder.

Why do you think UK rail infrastructure was taken back in house, under government department control under the NR umbrella?

Because the private companies making an absolute fortune from it were doing such a great job and increasing safety?

Still, there's always Open Access - a real private railway operation.
Oh, wait.
Any of them that looked successful now belong to European state owned operators.
Those showing a loss were closed and asset stripped.
Again, by foreign state owned operators.



Kinda makes you proud doesn't it?

[Hackney]

Megaflow said:

Eurotunnel (the car transporter), cross channel ferries, budget airlines, etc.

So there is competition already, so it's not a state monopoly? That's good 'cos I thought it was the same as when British Rail was privatised because it had a monopoly.

So glad it's different this time.

[KarlMac]

One thing I would say is you can't rule out privatisation as a concept based on bad experiences.

However I do understand peoples opposition to it given previous examples of it going horribly wrong.

That said, looking at how councils operate things like bin collections/road maintenance, i'm not convinced the rail network would be in a better position if it was nationalised. The 40% stake seems right, enough to have a say without actually being responsible for running it.

[legzr1]

The rail network is 'nationalised' and being run by government (shame it took a few nasty incidents and the loss of life to force their hand).

Train operations are part-privatised - neither one nor the other which leads to debacles like the west coast mainline franchise

Part private/public ownership and running sounds a fair idea on paper...

[greygoose]

KarlMac said:

One thing I would say is you can't rule out privatisation as a concept based on bad experiences.

However I do understand peoples opposition to it given previous examples of it going horribly wrong.

That said, looking at how councils operate things like bin collections/road maintenance, i'm not convinced the rail network would be in a better position if it was nationalised. The 40% stake seems right, enough to have a say without actually being responsible for running it.

The other sixty percent won't be owned by the government but by the French and Belgian railways.

[nikaiyo2]

Hackney said:

So there is competition already, so it's not a state monopoly? That's good 'cos I thought it was the same as when British Rail was privatised because it had a monopoly.

So glad it's different this time.

Was BR not privatized because it was a total and utter absolute shambolic disgrace of an organization? I know its not-fashionable to say but would anyone who remembers BR trains actually want a return? I used to get the train to college, in the early 90's slam door carriages that were 40 years old, and stunk of piss as they were never cleaned properly.

Staff who basically told you to fk off for asking a question, I mean it is unreasonable to ask the bloke in a BR uniform where the 13:30 train is, as it is now 14:25 and no show.

Lateness worse after privatization don't make me laugh, every week a train would be at least one hour late, at least now they try and tell you why or give some information back then, it was the passengers fault.

I commuted a lot via rail 2 or 3 years back, yeah its expensive, but it is a million times nicer to use than back then, mainly due to the fact that passengers are not the inconvenience they used to be.

[legzr1]

For around a decade leading up to privatisation BR was starved of funds and decent managers and staff morale was deliberately attacked.

Public subsidies now (for an apparent privatised railway) dwarf any amount ever 'invested' in BR days.

[BlackLabel]

"Osborne hails "fantastic" deal as Eurostar sell-off nets £757m for the Treasury"

https://www.politicshome.com/transport/articles/st...

Is Osborne correct, is this a fantastic deal?

Edited by BlackLabel on Wednesday 4th March 12:36

[soad]

Short term financial "gain".

Osborne: Eurostar sale a great deal
http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/national/1183...

[hornetrider]

BlackLabel said:

"Osborne hails "fantastic" deal as Eurostar sell-off nets £757m for the Treasury"

https://www.politicshome.com/transport/articles/st...

Is Osborne correct, is this a fantastic deal?

Edited by BlackLabel on Wednesday 4th March 12:36

Given that the original figure mooted was 300m I think the actual amount of 750m+ achieved represents something of a result.

[longshot]

hornetrider said:

Given that the original figure mooted was 300m I think the actual amount of 750m+ achieved represents something of a result.

I wonder what they'll 'give' us as an election sweetener with that?

[Welshbeef]

longshot said:

hornetrider said:

Given that the original figure mooted was 300m I think the actual amount of 750m+ achieved represents something of a result.

I wonder what they'll 'give' us as an election sweetener with that?

Easy min wage £7/hr. Up from £6.50/hr
A win win move - labour if they won would never reverse it and possibly it might push some labour voters to abstain or vote Tory over labour.

It could also be to up tax free income to £12k - this would scupper Labours plans for the 10% rate as again if they reversed a policy set they would be taxing the lowest paid.... A win win move by the Torys.


You might see the reversal of the child benefit removal for >£60k earners instead make it x2 kids max regardless of low middle or high earners.

Inheritance set to £1million push it through UKIP would vote for that pre the election too


Drop the max benefit per household to £20k to pay for it.

Oh give the silver voter a sweeter pension uplift.

[longshot]

Welshbeef said:

longshot said:

hornetrider said:

Given that the original figure mooted was 300m I think the actual amount of 750m+ achieved represents something of a result.

I wonder what they'll 'give' us as an election sweetener with that?

Easy min wage £7/hr. Up from £6.50/hr
A win win move - labour if they won would never reverse it and possibly it might push some labour voters to abstain or vote Tory over labour.

It could also be to up tax free income to £12k - this would scupper Labours plans for the 10% rate as again if they reversed a policy set they would be taxing the lowest paid.... A win win move by the Torys.


You might see the reversal of the child benefit removal for >£60k earners instead make it x2 kids max regardless of low middle or high earners.

Inheritance set to £1million push it through UKIP would vote for that pre the election too


Drop the max benefit per household to £20k to pay for it.

Oh give the silver voter a sweeter pension uplift.

For how many weeks?

[Welshbeef]

longshot said:

For how many weeks?

Its sounding like from news leaks this am it might be the raising of NI threshold paid for by the reduction of the higher rate pension tax rebate.

How many weeks - its this month so we will know before April.
Min wage would go live in a oct 2015 onwards.