Another deprivatisation

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/st ... 85,00.html

TRANSPORT giant Toll Holdings has pressured the Bracks Government into buying back the state's loss-making rail network after warning it may close rural tracks in the middle of the election campaign.

Premier Steve Bracks yesterday revealed a deal thrashed out on Tuesday night with Toll subsidiary Pacific National to purchase the lease over the track for $134 million despite claims it had been losing $55 million a year.

Is the fashion for privatising public services reaching an end?

Longterm , it looks like Toll made the right decision . Global warming is having a huge impact on Australian Farming .alot of farmland is marginal anyway , and it only takes a couple of years of drought to close them down . i think theyre in thier 4th year of drought conditions now .

David Benton wrote:Longterm , it looks like Toll made the right decision . Global warming is having a huge impact on Australian Farming .alot of farmland is marginal anyway , and it only takes a couple of years of drought to close them down . i think theyre in thier 4th year of drought conditions now .

BBC says fifth year.

But it seems to me that the ideologues thought that as the Americans had private railways we should have them too. But the US rail industry is not a shining example of success. It's in a terrible mess that could only be resolved by at least a partial nationalisation.

george matthews wrote: But it seems to me that the ideologues thought that as the Americans had private railways we should have them too. But the US rail industry is not a shining example of success. It's in a terrible mess that could only be resolved by at least a partial nationalisation.

Can you clarify exactly what "terrible mess" US railways are in? Are you referring to Amtrak (ie. intercity passenger service) or the freight rail industry? I would concur that quasi-government Amtrak is a mess, but I don't see how the US private freight rail industry of 2006 could be considered a "terrible mess". Suffering under the increases in business? Yes. Trying to make up for disinvestment in the past? Yes. But "terrible mess?" I don't agree.

That being said, I do NOT think that a US private rail model would work in many other places around the globe.

And at least some of the "privatisation" schemes that haven't worked didn't follow an American model anyway, they instead used "Open Access" which generally does not exist in the US.

gravelyfan wrote:

george matthews wrote: But it seems to me that the ideologues thought that as the Americans had private railways we should have them too. But the US rail industry is not a shining example of success. It's in a terrible mess that could only be resolved by at least a partial nationalisation.

Can you clarify exactly what "terrible mess" US railways are in? Are you referring to Amtrak (ie. intercity passenger service) or the freight rail industry? I would concur that quasi-government Amtrak is a mess, but I don't see how the US private freight rail industry of 2006 could be considered a "terrible mess". Suffering under the increases in business? Yes. Trying to make up for disinvestment in the past? Yes. But "terrible mess?" I don't agree.

That being said, I do NOT think that a US private rail model would work in many other places around the globe.

And at least some of the "privatisation" schemes that haven't worked didn't follow an American model anyway, they instead used "Open Access" which generally does not exist in the US.

My observation is that the only systems that seem to be working well are the state owned networks like NJT and MetroNorth.
Technically the whole of the rest of the system is far behind world standards. It's a demonstration of why private ownership doesn't work.

I wouldnt say theyre a mess , but definetly need alot of capital invested to improve operations .
Wether private or public ownership is better than the other is also debateable .
what i do think the USA needs is open access .the Australian model is probably a good example , although that started form a baseof everything been government owned .

Doesnt look like thre drought will be breaking anytime soon .
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story ... D=10409680

David Benton wrote:Doesnt look like thre drought will be breaking anytime soon .
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story ... D=10409680

There is a mini- El Nino event going on. That leads to drought in eastern Australia, and floods in California.

george matthews wrote:My observation is that the only systems that seem to be working well are the state owned networks like NJT and MetroNorth.
Technically the whole of the rest of the system is far behind world standards. It's a demonstration of why private ownership doesn't work.

Why not the LIRR? Why is BNSF "far behind world standards" - for freight? Private ownership "doesn't work" if you can't make money.

What about railroads in Japan? Granted, the main lines got off the hook for a lot of debt, and many lines run huge station$ with huge shopping mall$, but they do consider themselves profitable. And modern, too.