In the UK, the renationalization of the railways is being discussed. Although this does not necessarily seem to be a positive argument due to the huge costs associated with renationalization, there is a growing movement led by the Labor Party to strongly emphasize the necessity of renationalization.
Britain’s railways were fully privatized in 1997, and since then they have used the ingenuity of a private company to improve convenience and increase the number of users.
However, the coronavirus pandemic has changed that trend. The drastic decrease in the number of users has made it difficult to maintain the system, leading to a decline in service levels.
I spent Golden Week in London, but the trains didn’t run as planned and I was stuck several times. It’s not just that the departure or arrival is delayed, but rather that the train itself stops running without warning.
A friend in London warned me, “Trains are really unreliable, so before using them, make sure to check with the station beforehand.”
I had some business to go to Gatwick Airport on the outskirts of London, so I checked in advance with the station staff at the departure and arrival station to see if the train would be running, and I was relieved that it would be running, but when it was suddenly cancelled, I was left in a cold sweat. This is how I ended up.
British railways have a system in which many private companies participate in train operation, and the structure is extremely complex. Once a person loses his grip, it seems difficult to break out of the negative spiral.
User dissatisfaction with the unreliable trains was growing day by day, which probably led to discussions about renationalization.
It appears that the public is beginning to believe that railways operated by state-run companies, which have a lower level of service but are reliable, are better than railways operated by private companies that have failed.
The idea of neoliberalism is to develop through business-based competition. What does the movement to renationalize railways underway in Britain, the standard-bearer of neoliberalism, mean? (Kei Kitajima)