Just when you thought it was safe to get back on the buses, one of the undead emerges to cause a train wreck. File this one under ‘you couldn’t make it up’ . . . . . By John J Kelly As we know from our unhealthy obsession with The Godfather, when Roman generals failed their [...]
Category Archives: transport
British Rail Fares 50% higher than Europe – why oh why etc.
February 19, 2009 – 7:04 pm
There should be a sign upon disembarking at London St Pancras International train terminal: “Welcome to Britain, where everything’s a lot dearer and a little bit rubbish.” By John J Kelly A report by Passenger Focus has told us something we already know: British rail passengers, especially commuters, pay 50% more for our generally uncomfortable [...]
A raga of Tata, Land Rover and Jaguar, as British as Tetley's Tea
December 18, 2008 – 1:55 pm
Margaret Thatcher privatised Jaguar in 1984 to howls of protest from people who liked big rusty cars that broke down a lot. Ford bought the brand for $2.5 billion in 1990, to more howls from Bufton Tufton (67) stalwart of the Enoch Powell Golf Club, Jaguar’s only customer. Sales fell to around 15,000 units [...]
Climate change is too important to be left to politicians
November 26, 2008 – 6:24 pm
Every now and again (actually most times) The Economist says something I wanted to say, better than I could. This week, the free market bible points out that posturing aside, the current UK government’s record on implementing effective climate change legislation leaves much to be desired. A new initiative, spearheaded by climate change Czar Adair [...]
The Great Train Robbers
November 24, 2008 – 11:18 am
The iniquity of the UK train operators’ stranglehold on a captive traveller since the botched 1993 privatisation, when a patchwork of mini-monopolies replaced the monolithic British Rail is well-documented. The network itself – tracks, stations, signals, overhead electric cables and all the costly stuff needed to run a railway – collapsed accordingly and was taken [...]
Lateral thinking about city job losses and traffic calming
November 14, 2008 – 9:40 pm
The financial meltdown has resulted in obvious job losses in the oxymoronic investment banking community, with the result that a lot of loutish oafs can no longer afford to go to strip clubs after work. This has caused collateral damage to the pole dancing community, many of whom have been laid-off by employers such as [...]