Research and Reports

Without Delay: Getting Britain’s railways moving (IEA Discussion Paper No. 69, Richard Wellings)

Consider a future in which the railways were “moved fully into the private sector, weaned off subsidies, and the owners should be free both to control the infrastructure and operate the trains.” That is the recommendation of this paper from the think-tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, which argues that the railways are “neither fully public nor properly private”. Core to the report’s argument is that while passenger traffic has doubled, fares and service quality have stayed similar to those of British Rail, and “the additional financial burden on taxpayers and the wider economy has been substantial.” Suggestions include allowing railway companies to “close loss-making lines,” deregulating pricing, and carrying out mode-neutral investment. Full privatisation could potentially either take the form of allowing train operators to take over infrastructure, or letting franchises lapse and Network Rail taking over operations before privatising what the paper describes as “a kind British Rail plc”.