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View offers Hi {{fullName}} * My Independent Premium * Account details * Help centre * Logout (BUTTON) News > UK > Home News Britain's railways doing well despite privatisation As calls grow for renationalisation, 20 years on, our Travel Correspondent Simon Calder argues that the network is a victim of its own success * Simon Calder Travel Correspondent @SimonCalder * Sunday 31 January 2016 00:54 {{^moreThanTen}} * {{total}} comments {{/moreThanTen}} * British Rail chairman Sir Peter Parker launches a high-speed train in 1977 ( Rex ) Britain’s first privatised train service, which ran 20 years ago this week, was a bus. In the early hours of 4 February 1996, a handful of passengers travelling from Fishguard to Cardiff in South Wales found themselves on the A40 trunk road. Engineering work meant the brave new world of privatisation began with a rail-replacement service from Fishguard to Cardiff. As the train drivers’ union, Aslef, says with a touch of irony, “The honour of working the first privatised train fell to the crew of the 05.10 Twickenham to Waterloo.” Two decades on, the unions are still vehemently opposed to privatisation, widely characterised as “the great train robbery”. Read more * Read more The railways weren’t really privatised, so why not renationalise? Download the new Indpendent Premium app Sharing the full story, not just the headlines (BUTTON) Download now The TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, says: “Years of failed privatisation have left us with exorbitant ticket prices, overcrowded trains and ageing infrastructure. It would be nice if ministers woke up to this reality instead of allowing train companies to milk the system at taxpayers’ and commuters’ expense.” Certainly, many commuter trains are painfully overcrowded. Some intercity tickets are racing towards £1 a mile, with prices that resemble on-the-spot fines rather than fares. Add a reputation for implausible delays that has introduced “the wrong kind of snow” and even “the wrong kind of sun” into the national lexicon, and it is easy to see why Jeremy Corbyn’s pledge to renationalise the railways has wide support, including from some Conservative voters. Chiltern Railways, which was judged best rail operator in the recent Independent Travel Awards (Alamy) Yet there is an intellectual disconnect between delays, overcrowding and fares. If enough passengers regarded tickets as punitively expensive and insufficiently reliable, they would switch to other modes of transport or simply stay at home. In fact, the main problem facing train operators is one that other industries would love to have: too many customers. Since privatisation began, passenger numbers have doubled to an average of 4.5 million per day – and the destination of that maiden privatised departure, Waterloo station in London, has just become the first transport terminal in Europe to handle 200 million passengers in a year. The lines linking Waterloo with south-west London, Surrey and Hampshire are experiencing an unparalleled intensity of use. During a morning rush hour that now extends from 6am to 10am, fast trains are running at a “headway” of two minutes. South West Trains is seeking to keep pace with passenger demand by lengthening trains, though increasing capacity by 25 per cent demands some heavy-duty reworking of Victorian infrastructure. So what went right and what went wrong along the permanent way? The 1992 Conservative manifesto claimed: “The best way to produce profound and lasting improvements on the railways is to end BR’s state monopoly.” Yet many – including within the Tory party – believed that privatisation was merely a mechanism to manage the industry’s gradual decline without too heavy a burden on the taxpayer. Many commuter trains are painfully overcrowded (Tom Pilston) British Rail was a beleaguered dinosaur that employed some bright men and women with visions for a better-connected nation, with benefits for communities, business and the environment. But the organisation had endured decades as a political punchbag – and was an easy target for government cuts. Mark Smith was station manager for the key London commuter stations of Charing Cross, London Bridge and Cannon Street in the early 1990s. “BR would make cutbacks to meet budgetary targets even if this reduced revenue and lost money overall,” he recalls. Independent news email Only the best news in your inbox ____________________ Enter your email address (BUTTON) Continue (BUTTON) Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid Email already exists. Log in to update your newsletter preferences Register with your social account or click here to log in receiveIndyHeadlines [ ] I would like to receive morning headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts by email Update newsletter preferences Today, Mr Smith runs the seat61.com international rail website, and observes Britain performing significantly ahead of the European pack: “We have the safest and fastest-growing railway in Europe. We’re re-opening stations and branch lines whilst France and others contemplate closures and cuts. We are revitalising our Caledonian and Cornish sleeper services whilst the Germans prepare to surrender all of theirs at the end of this year. “Even our on-time performance stacks up surprisingly well against the French, Germans or Italians these days, with my own local operator Chiltern Railways even giving the Swiss a run for their money.” Created with Sketch. UK news in pictures Show all 50 Created with Sketch. Created with Sketch. (BUTTON) Created with Sketch. UK news in pictures 1/50 6 January 2020 Protesters in London take part in a demonstration in support of a British woman found guilty of lying about being gang raped in Cyprus AP 2/50 5 January 2020 Protesters demonstrate outside the US Embassy in London, after America killed Iran's general Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad's international airport PA 3/50 4 January 2020 Metropolitan police cordon off Charteris Road close to the junction with Lennox Road in Finsbury Park in north London, after a man was stabbed to death on Friday evening, the first murder in London in 2020 PA 4/50 3 January 2020 Protesters, holding a photograph of the leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran Massoud Rajavi, outside Downing Street in London after the US killed General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad's international airport. Soleimani was head of Tehran's elite Quds Force and Iran's top general PA 5/50 2 January 2020 A keeper counts squirrel-monkeys at London Zoo during the annual stocktake. Caring for more than 500 different species, ZSL London Zoo's keepers face the challenging task of tallying up every mammal, bird, reptile, fish and invertebrate at the Zoo AP 6/50 1 January 2020 Peter Wright celebrates winning with the Sid Waddell trophy at the Darts World Championships in London. He stunned Michael van Gerwen to clinch his first title 7-3 PA 7/50 31 December 2019 Surfers at Tynemouth on the north east coast PA 8/50 30 December 2019 Deer graze in the morning mist as cyclists ride by in Richmond Park, London Reuters 9/50 29 December 2019 Night sky after the sunset at Whitley Bay in Northumberland PA 10/50 28 December 2019 The Harlequins players arrive at the stadium prior to the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Big Game 12 match between Harlequins and Leicester Tigers at Twickenahm Stadium Getty Images for Harlequins 11/50 27 December 2019 A car drives through floodwater near Harbridge, north of Ringwood in Hampshire, after the river Avon burst its banks PA 12/50 26 December 2019 Participants in the Old Surrey and West Kent Boxing Day Hunt in Chiddingstone. Hunting with horses and hounds is a Boxing Day tradition. Since the fox hunting ban in 2004, modified hunts take place using scented trails for the animals to follow EPA 13/50 25 December 2019 Swimmers of the Serpentine Swimming Club take part in the Peter Pan Cup race, which is held every Christmas Day at the Serpentine, in central London PA 14/50 24 December 2019 Shoppers bid for cuts of meat during a Christmas Eve auction in Smithfield market in London EPA 15/50 23 December 2019 Reggie the dog is rescued with a boat from flooding at the Little Venice Country Park and Marina in Maidstone AFP via Getty 16/50 22 December 2019 People gather at Stonehenge in Wiltshire to mark the winter solstice, and to witness the sunrise after the longest night of the year PA 17/50 21 December 2019 Southampton's Jack Stephens scores their second goal against Aston Villa Reuters 18/50 20 December 2019 The coffin arrives for the funeral of London Bridge terror attack victim Jack Merritt at Great St Mary's Church in Cambridge PA 19/50 19 December 2019 Queen Elizabeth II and her son Prince Charles walk behind the Imperial State Crown as they proccess through the Royal Gallery, before the Queen's Speech, during the State Opening of Parliament AFP via Getty 20/50 18 December 2019 Luke Jerram's art installation 'Gaia', a replica of planet earth created using detailed Nasa imagery of the Earth's surface, hangs on display at the Eden Project in St Austell, Cornwall PA 21/50 17 December 2019 A surfer gets into the festive spirit at the inland surfing lagoon at The Wave, near Bristol PA 22/50 16 December 2019 Snowy conditions near Deepdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park as snow hits parts of the UK PA 23/50 15 December 2019 Oisin Carson, 5, picks a Christmas tree at Wicklow Way Christmas tree farm in Roundwood PA 24/50 14 December 2019 First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, takes a selfie as she joins the SNPs newly elected MPs for a group photo outside the V&A Museum in Dundee, Scotland Getty Images 25/50 13 December 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds arrive back at Downing Street after the results for the general election were announced. The Conservative Party won with an overall majority EPA 26/50 12 December 2019 A dog outside a polling station during the general election in Northumberland Reuters 27/50 11 December 2019 Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson stands between a Stop Brexit sign as she attends a general election campaign event at Esher Rugby Club, south west London. Britain will go to the polls tomorrow to vote AFP via Getty 28/50 10 December 2019 A surfer off the North East coast at Tynemouth PA 29/50 9 December 2019 Leah Rossiter (left) and Ceara Carney, dressed as mermaids, join members of the Irish Wildlife Trust and Extinction Rebellion Ireland protesting outside Leinster House in Dublin, against overfishing in Irish Waters PA 30/50 8 December 2019 Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn poses for selfies with supporters at a general election rally in Colwyn Bay, north Wales AFP via Getty 31/50 7 December 2019 Speedo Mick outside the stadium before the Premier League match between Everton and Chelsea at Goodison Park Action Images via Reuters 32/50 6 December 2019 A climate activist wearing a mask and holding a placard reading 'Fossil fuel era is over' outside Millbank Studios in London AP 33/50 5 December 2019 SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon with the SNP campaign bus in front of the Queensferry Crossing, while on the General Election campaign trail in Scotland PA 34/50 4 December 2019 The Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square, which is given every year by the city of Oslo as a token of Norwegian gratitude to the people of London for their assistance during the Second World War PA 35/50 3 December 2019 Protesters against the visit of US President Trump during a demonstration near Buckingham Palace on the first day of the Nato Summit in London EPA 36/50 2 December 2019 England captain Joe Root celebrates reaching his double century during day 4 of the second Test match against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton, New Zealand Getty 37/50 1 December 2019 A hard frost is seen on the first day of the meteorological winter in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters 38/50 30 November 2019 A police officer looks at flowers left at London Bridge in central London, after a terrorist wearing a fake suicide vest who went on a knife rampage killing two people, and was shot dead by police PA 39/50 29 November 2019 School children and students take part in the Youth Strike for Climate in London as part of the Fridays for Future Global Climate Strike Angela Christofilou/The Independent 40/50 28 November 2019 Cyclists make their way up a tree lined hill near to Moor Crichel in Dorset. November's dismal weather will finally change, with drier and colder conditions coming for the start of December, forecasters have said PA 41/50 27 November 2019 The moment a swan flew over a flock of 60,000 starlings as dusk fell on Whixall Moss Nature Reserve in Shropshire Andrew Fusek Peters / SWNS 42/50 26 November 2019 SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon plays with local children during a visit to the Jelly Tots & Cookies Play Cafe in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire PA 43/50 25 November 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson poses with sheep as he visits the Royal Welsh Showground, in Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, whilst on the General Election campaign trail PA 44/50 24 November 2019 Cush Jumbo attends the 65th Evening Standard Theatre Awards at London Coliseum Getty Images 45/50 23 November 2019 Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn meets a supporter on a train on his return from a visit to Sheffield PA 46/50 22 November 2019 Gallery assistants adjust 'The Ancient Town of Uglich' by Konstantin Yuon, 1913, estimated at £600,000 to £800,000, during a press preview of the sale of works by some of the most pre-eminent creators of Russian art at Sotheby's in London PA 47/50 21 November 2019 A mother seal appears to hug her pup as grey seals return to Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late autumn and winter to give birth PA 48/50 20 November 2019 After Mauricio Pochettino's sacking the eveninfg before newly appointed Tottenham head coach, Jose Mourinho, takes his first training session in charge Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty 49/50 19 November 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a visit to Jimmy Egan's Boxing Academy at Wythenshawe, while on the campaign trail ahead of the General Election PA 50/50 18 November 2019 Mist over Buttermere lake in the Lake District PA 1/50 6 January 2020 Protesters in London take part in a demonstration in support of a British woman found guilty of lying about being gang raped in Cyprus AP 2/50 5 January 2020 Protesters demonstrate outside the US Embassy in London, after America killed Iran's general Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad's international airport PA 3/50 4 January 2020 Metropolitan police cordon off Charteris Road close to the junction with Lennox Road in Finsbury Park in north London, after a man was stabbed to death on Friday evening, the first murder in London in 2020 PA 4/50 3 January 2020 Protesters, holding a photograph of the leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran Massoud Rajavi, outside Downing Street in London after the US killed General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad's international airport. Soleimani was head of Tehran's elite Quds Force and Iran's top general PA 5/50 2 January 2020 A keeper counts squirrel-monkeys at London Zoo during the annual stocktake. Caring for more than 500 different species, ZSL London Zoo's keepers face the challenging task of tallying up every mammal, bird, reptile, fish and invertebrate at the Zoo AP 6/50 1 January 2020 Peter Wright celebrates winning with the Sid Waddell trophy at the Darts World Championships in London. He stunned Michael van Gerwen to clinch his first title 7-3 PA 7/50 31 December 2019 Surfers at Tynemouth on the north east coast PA 8/50 30 December 2019 Deer graze in the morning mist as cyclists ride by in Richmond Park, London Reuters 9/50 29 December 2019 Night sky after the sunset at Whitley Bay in Northumberland PA 10/50 28 December 2019 The Harlequins players arrive at the stadium prior to the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Big Game 12 match between Harlequins and Leicester Tigers at Twickenahm Stadium Getty Images for Harlequins 11/50 27 December 2019 A car drives through floodwater near Harbridge, north of Ringwood in Hampshire, after the river Avon burst its banks PA 12/50 26 December 2019 Participants in the Old Surrey and West Kent Boxing Day Hunt in Chiddingstone. Hunting with horses and hounds is a Boxing Day tradition. Since the fox hunting ban in 2004, modified hunts take place using scented trails for the animals to follow EPA 13/50 25 December 2019 Swimmers of the Serpentine Swimming Club take part in the Peter Pan Cup race, which is held every Christmas Day at the Serpentine, in central London PA 14/50 24 December 2019 Shoppers bid for cuts of meat during a Christmas Eve auction in Smithfield market in London EPA 15/50 23 December 2019 Reggie the dog is rescued with a boat from flooding at the Little Venice Country Park and Marina in Maidstone AFP via Getty 16/50 22 December 2019 People gather at Stonehenge in Wiltshire to mark the winter solstice, and to witness the sunrise after the longest night of the year PA 17/50 21 December 2019 Southampton's Jack Stephens scores their second goal against Aston Villa Reuters 18/50 20 December 2019 The coffin arrives for the funeral of London Bridge terror attack victim Jack Merritt at Great St Mary's Church in Cambridge PA 19/50 19 December 2019 Queen Elizabeth II and her son Prince Charles walk behind the Imperial State Crown as they proccess through the Royal Gallery, before the Queen's Speech, during the State Opening of Parliament AFP via Getty 20/50 18 December 2019 Luke Jerram's art installation 'Gaia', a replica of planet earth created using detailed Nasa imagery of the Earth's surface, hangs on display at the Eden Project in St Austell, Cornwall PA 21/50 17 December 2019 A surfer gets into the festive spirit at the inland surfing lagoon at The Wave, near Bristol PA 22/50 16 December 2019 Snowy conditions near Deepdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park as snow hits parts of the UK PA 23/50 15 December 2019 Oisin Carson, 5, picks a Christmas tree at Wicklow Way Christmas tree farm in Roundwood PA 24/50 14 December 2019 First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, takes a selfie as she joins the SNPs newly elected MPs for a group photo outside the V&A Museum in Dundee, Scotland Getty Images 25/50 13 December 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds arrive back at Downing Street after the results for the general election were announced. The Conservative Party won with an overall majority EPA 26/50 12 December 2019 A dog outside a polling station during the general election in Northumberland Reuters 27/50 11 December 2019 Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson stands between a Stop Brexit sign as she attends a general election campaign event at Esher Rugby Club, south west London. Britain will go to the polls tomorrow to vote AFP via Getty 28/50 10 December 2019 A surfer off the North East coast at Tynemouth PA 29/50 9 December 2019 Leah Rossiter (left) and Ceara Carney, dressed as mermaids, join members of the Irish Wildlife Trust and Extinction Rebellion Ireland protesting outside Leinster House in Dublin, against overfishing in Irish Waters PA 30/50 8 December 2019 Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn poses for selfies with supporters at a general election rally in Colwyn Bay, north Wales AFP via Getty 31/50 7 December 2019 Speedo Mick outside the stadium before the Premier League match between Everton and Chelsea at Goodison Park Action Images via Reuters 32/50 6 December 2019 A climate activist wearing a mask and holding a placard reading 'Fossil fuel era is over' outside Millbank Studios in London AP 33/50 5 December 2019 SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon with the SNP campaign bus in front of the Queensferry Crossing, while on the General Election campaign trail in Scotland PA 34/50 4 December 2019 The Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square, which is given every year by the city of Oslo as a token of Norwegian gratitude to the people of London for their assistance during the Second World War PA 35/50 3 December 2019 Protesters against the visit of US President Trump during a demonstration near Buckingham Palace on the first day of the Nato Summit in London EPA 36/50 2 December 2019 England captain Joe Root celebrates reaching his double century during day 4 of the second Test match against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton, New Zealand Getty 37/50 1 December 2019 A hard frost is seen on the first day of the meteorological winter in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters 38/50 30 November 2019 A police officer looks at flowers left at London Bridge in central London, after a terrorist wearing a fake suicide vest who went on a knife rampage killing two people, and was shot dead by police PA 39/50 29 November 2019 School children and students take part in the Youth Strike for Climate in London as part of the Fridays for Future Global Climate Strike Angela Christofilou/The Independent 40/50 28 November 2019 Cyclists make their way up a tree lined hill near to Moor Crichel in Dorset. November's dismal weather will finally change, with drier and colder conditions coming for the start of December, forecasters have said PA 41/50 27 November 2019 The moment a swan flew over a flock of 60,000 starlings as dusk fell on Whixall Moss Nature Reserve in Shropshire Andrew Fusek Peters / SWNS 42/50 26 November 2019 SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon plays with local children during a visit to the Jelly Tots & Cookies Play Cafe in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire PA 43/50 25 November 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson poses with sheep as he visits the Royal Welsh Showground, in Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, whilst on the General Election campaign trail PA 44/50 24 November 2019 Cush Jumbo attends the 65th Evening Standard Theatre Awards at London Coliseum Getty Images 45/50 23 November 2019 Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn meets a supporter on a train on his return from a visit to Sheffield PA 46/50 22 November 2019 Gallery assistants adjust 'The Ancient Town of Uglich' by Konstantin Yuon, 1913, estimated at £600,000 to £800,000, during a press preview of the sale of works by some of the most pre-eminent creators of Russian art at Sotheby's in London PA 47/50 21 November 2019 A mother seal appears to hug her pup as grey seals return to Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late autumn and winter to give birth PA 48/50 20 November 2019 After Mauricio Pochettino's sacking the eveninfg before newly appointed Tottenham head coach, Jose Mourinho, takes his first training session in charge Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty 49/50 19 November 2019 Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a visit to Jimmy Egan's Boxing Academy at Wythenshawe, while on the campaign trail ahead of the General Election PA 50/50 18 November 2019 Mist over Buttermere lake in the Lake District PA Chiltern Railways, judged best rail operator in the recent Independent Travel Awards, remains the leading example of the benefits of privatisation. Marylebone station in London has been transformed from a candidate for redevelopment as a coach station to the hub of a 100mph network. Commuters in Oxford will soon be able to choose between Chiltern and Great Western for their daily trip to London, thanks to a resurrected stretch of track that is part of a broader East-West link to Cambridge, Ipswich and Norwich with Brunel’s Great Western line between London and Bristol. The Great Western line, though, tends to be where uncomfortable questions about the fitness of the present rail set-up start to be asked – not of the train operator, but of the infrastructure provider. The first entity to be created at privatisation was Railtrack, whose name summed up its role: providing safe and reliable infrastructure for competing train operators, as well as running key stations. The firm failed to meet the first, most crucial requirement. After a series of fatal accidents, Railtrack was replaced by Network Rail – under which safety has improved dramatically. But so dismal is Network Rail’s performance on the other key metrics of reliability, project delivery and financial management that it is now the target of no fewer than three official inquiries. Read more * Train travel has more than doubled since privatisation * Privatisation row as the Government tries to fix debt-ridden Network * Exclusive: Train stations could be hived off in plan to split up Passengers waiting on the platforms at Slough, Reading and all stations to Bristol Temple Meads want answers, too: for how much longer must they tolerate repeated signal failures that wreck their travel plans, and when will the much-delayed and over-budget electrification be completed? The debate over High Speed 2, intended to increase capacity and accelerate journeys between London and the North, highlights once again the tension between local communities and national interest over big infrastructure projects. Meanwhile, the Labour leader intends to renationalise the railway “line by line” as franchises come up for renewal. But Jamie Andrews, co-founder of the European rail agency, loco2.com, suggests a different model could bring more benefit: allowing the public sector to bid for franchises against private firms: “It’s certainly possible to learn from the experience of East Coast. After the failure of National Express in 2009, the East Coast line was put back into public hands, and reported very high levels of customer satisfaction, only to be handed back to the private sector in March 2015. It seems silly not to try a hybrid model here.” Mark Smith, though, argues we should be grateful for what we have: “Between private operators and what seems to be a renewed government belief in the railways, our national network is doing rather well. But shhh, it’s not fashionable to say so ….” The debate over HS2 highlights the tension between local communities and national interest over big infrastructure projects (EPA) Network numbers 200m: passengers using Waterloo Station in London each year 1.68bn: UK rail journeys made in the past 12 months 70.2%: London and the South-East’s share of total rail journeys £2.3bn: revenue from passenger services in 2015-16 second quarter 532.4m: kilometres travelled by passenger trains in 2014-15 1.1%: average ticket price increase imposed in January 10.7%: trains arriving at least five minutes late in the past 12 months £4,196: cost of a 12-month season ticket from Basingstoke to London £1.5bn: savings over five years, on union calculations, if expired franchises were returned to the public sector 62%: support for public ownership of train-operating companies £4.8bn: Annual government subsidy Source: Office of Rail and Road More about railways | trains | privatised trains | Business | Show{{#moreThan3_total}} {{value_total}} {{/moreThan3_total}} comments Comments Share your thoughts and debate the big issues Learn more (BUTTON) {{#singleComment_p}}{{value_p}} Independent Premium comment{{/singleComment_p}}{{^singleComment_p}}{{value_p}} Independent Premium comments{{/singleComment_p}} (BUTTON) {{#singleComment_open}}{{value}} open comment{{/singleComment_open}}{{^singleComment_open}}{{value}} open comments{{/singleComment_open}} Open Comments Join the discussion (BUTTON) Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines. * You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully * Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable * Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties * We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. 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Britain's railways doing well despite privatisation 1/4 British Rail chairman Sir Peter Parker launches a high-speed train in 1977 Rex 2/4 Chiltern Railways, which was judged best rail operator in the recent Independent Travel Awards Alamy 3/4 Many commuter trains are painfully overcrowded Tom Pilston 4/4 The debate over HS2 highlights the tension between local communities and national interest over big infrastructure projects EPA