Trains can only get better, says the government – let’s see

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “Starting with journeys on South Western Railway, we’re switching tracks by bringing services back under public control to create a reliable rail network that puts customers first,” said Ms Alexander. They are currently in the hands of an organisation catchily called “DfT Operator of Last Resort Holdings Ltd”. In the words of Mick Whelan, general secretary of the train drivers’ union, Aslef: “We are going to see the wheels and the steel put back together, an end to the failed fragmentation of our network.” The track is already government-owned and operated in the shape of Network Rail, another offshoot of the DfT. Bring the trains into public ownership, the theory goes, will mean “rebuilding a system that the British public can trust and be proud of again.” Soon “one directing mind” will take charge.