UK rail network in disarray
The UK government will this evening take control of the East Coast mainline after former franchise holder National Express failed to balance the books. This is the second such franchise which National Express has been forced to hand back to the government and puts the UK rail network back in the spotlight.
Many people believed that the initial carve-up of the national rail network and the creation of franchises across the UK was a bad move and would inevitably lead to a more costly service for UK taxpayers. While initially there were signs of investment in the rail franchises, many people were unaware that the UK government was paying annual subsidies from the taxpayer's pot. The ongoing recession has forced many franchise holders to realign their budgets and reconsider their future with National Express the first of possibly many franchise holders to fall by the wayside.
Slowly but surely the UK government is being forced to take back large sections of the UK rail network just as passenger numbers were starting to improve, prior to the recession. Whether the government can find the necessary investment to continue progress in this particular area is debatable but the future of the UK rail network is very much shrouded in mystery.
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