Doing something right

I wonder if your Soundbites October correspondents actually remember British Rail?

I wonder if your Soundbites October correspondents actually remember BR?

I remember a railway which knew the cost of everything, but the value of nothing, trapped in a downward spiral of cost cutting, declining service provision, and falling traffic. 

I remember grass growing on station platforms; locomotives nicknamed "Scuds" because they exploded in random locations; and 8-coach trains replaced with 2-coach trains because they were cheaper. The fact that passengers had to be turned away wasn't a problem - it just seemed to be a new way to manage decline.

The semi-private railway is far from perfect, and is still evolving; but with 40% more freight and 100% more passengers over the last 18 years, it must be doing something right.

Ken Strachan, Nuneaton

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