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HAVE YOUR SAY

IS BRITAIN'S TRANSPORT A MESS?

Is Britain's transport system in a mess?

Monday June 23,2008

By Nicola McCafferty for express.co.uk

Comment Speech Bubble Have your say(21)

MPs have today launched a campaign to try to remedy the unnecessary rail chaos faced regularly by thousands of passengers.

The initiative, aimed at curing the "systematic weaknesses" of Network Rail, comes after rail passengers were plunged into further misery at the weekend.

Overrunning engineering works on the trains forced thousands of passengers onto the roads, resulting in tedious traffic jams and mass congestion holding up travellers across the country.

The People's Rail campaign, set-up by the 29 members of the Co-operative Party, aims to give the public control over the way the network is run.

The group of MPs - who are in alliance with the Labour Party - said the current governance structure of Network Rail was failing both the passengers and the rail industry.

A Co-operative Party spokesman said: “The People’s Rail Campaign has been launched to remedy this situation.

“We believe that long suffering passengers deserve better than a network run for the convenience of an unaccountable Board, and that the British public deserve real control over how the network is run.”

* Do YOU think Britain's transport system is in a mess?

* With the SOARING cost of FUEL and the UNNECESSARY rail chaos do we need to completely overhaul the entire British transport system?

*** HAVE YOUR SAY NOW! ***

WHAT TRANSPORT!!!!!

08.07.08, 11:56pm

The government stopped our buses years ago, its over a mile to the nearest bus stop...so if you havent got your own transport....its taxi's all the way.

And now they have taken our post office....I give up!

• Posted by: Tazzie • Report Comment

IS BRITAINS TRANSPORT A MESS. ?

30.06.08, 1:10pm

Yes it is. Expand the 'rail' network nationwide, build far more extensively than pre 'traitorous' closures by Dr R Beeching ! The rail gauge not necessarily constant nationwide, as for 'small lines'.
Restore and expand canal system, our 'national heritage' neglected and destroyed by sucessive governments.
Using modern technology / materials, build cargo / passenger sail ships. manyana, manyana ! no rush, less materializm, work 3 day week, or perhaps 6 month year !
Radical change of priorities. Less dependancy on oil, automobile/ truck, aircraft. Production to be replaced with alternatives, perhaps medical equipment, medicine, homes, power / insulation technology.
Technology not "Mega" ran by power conglomerates. Small / "Micro" The 'cash' would probably end up in the same pockets ! Never mind, that is not the objective.
Small communities, butcher, baker, candlestick maker, pubs, Dr's surgeries, along with larger clinics to replace unmanagable 'Mega' hospitals.
Banish Supermarkets, Farm or Home Grown the chice would be ones own !
Harness the " power " of prison inmates, ASBO holders, unemployed, the choice is yours, or should be, in a democracy !..........Enjoy.

• Posted by: juan01 • Report Comment

YES OUR TRANSPORT IS A MESS.

26.06.08, 5:57pm

Yes! All governments since Beeching have made a mess of Public Transport.

Governments aimed the tax and subsidy system in favour of the private car, and road transport, with the sole aim of boosting vehicle production, as that was a big export for us then. BUT they faild to increase the amount of miles of roads for all these cars etc to travel on. A few poorly constructed motorways were not enough.

This move to the private car was to the detriment of bus and train travel even within the big cities. Now 50yrs+ of shortsighted failed policies are coming home to roost.

Not enough room on the roads for all the cars and lorries, and not enough miles of railway tracks for the trains to run on. To make matters worse planners have encouraged the separation of home and work place, thus increasing the need for people to commute!

Travel chaos will just get worse. Especially as this government would rather invest in pointless wars than internally in our nations infrastructure.

• Posted by: RosieInLondon • Report Comment

HOW MANY STATION ROADS WITH NO STATIONS?

25.06.08, 9:43pm

With regards to this article...

• Posted by: zigmund • Report Comment

COMFORTABLE DELAYS...

25.06.08, 11:00am

With the price of fuel continually increasing it would be refreshing to hear the Government drawing up plans to improve the transport system across our nation. I regularly commute on the rail network and have become accustomed to hefty delays when I travel. It would be a welcome pleasure to commute on our public transport if schedules were adhered to. I’d like to extend my gratitude to the rail operators on the East coast line who have vastly improved the train carriages for commuter comfort. It would be far more comfortable knowing we were on course to reach our destinations on schedule however.

• Posted by: carlhutton • Report Comment

BEG TO DIFFER NALIN!

25.06.08, 7:34am

The Mafia have codes of conduct which preclude the admission to their ranks of the self-begotten Barstewards that pass for public representatives we call politicians.

• Posted by: kojak • Report Comment