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"The Great British Railway Disaster" - Christian Wolmar (1996 book)

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Mcr Warrior

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Recently acquired a second hand copy of the above book from February 1996. Essentially, it's a collection of sixty or so articles that first appeared in the "Independent on Sunday" newspaper, which focus on the absurdities and various inconsistencies of the about-to-be-privatised rail industry in the mid 1990s.

The book is quite interesting in places, albeit the content is now a little dated.

My question: Is there anything out there in a similar vein, but of a more recent vintage?
 
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hexagon789

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Recently acquired a second hand copy of the above book from February 1996. Essentially, it's a collection of sixty or so articles that first appeared in the "Independent on Sunday" newspaper, which focus on the absurdities and various inconsistencies of the about-to-be-privatised rail industry in the mid 1990s.

The book is quite interesting in places, albeit the content is now a little dated.

My question: Is there anything out there in a similar vein, but of a more recent vintage?

I'm fairly sure Mr Wolmar himself has written further on the subject of railway privitisation and I think there's been a book
 

Mcr Warrior

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I'm fairly sure Mr Wolmar himself has written further on the subject of railway privitisation and I think there's been a book
Indeed, Wolmar has been quite a prolific author over the years. Anyhoo, the original question still stands: Is there anything out there in a similar vein to Wolmar's 1996 book "The Great British Railway Disaster", but of a more recent vintage?
 

hexagon789

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Indeed, Wolmar has been quite a prolific author over the years. Anyhoo, the original question still stands: Is there anything out there in a similar vein to Wolmar's 1996 book "The Great British Railway Disaster", but of a more recent vintage?

What about On the Wrong Line - more "political" but I think of a similar nature?
 

Dr Hoo

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Mr Wolmar's long-running fortnightly column in RAIL magazine frequently gives the impression that his views on the post-BR era have moved on very little since 1996 if people want 'more of the same'.
 

Mcr Warrior

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Mr Wolmar's long-running fortnightly column in RAIL magazine frequently gives the impression that his views on the post-BR era have moved on very little since 1996 if people want 'more of the same'.
Thanks for that. Was hoping for another compilation as the previously referenced 1996 Wolmar book is now a little dated.
 

Dr Hoo

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Thanks for that. Was hoping for another compilation as the previously referenced 1996 Wolmar book is now a little dated.
Many of the 'absurdities', etc. mentioned in the 1996 collection - such as how stopping trains overtaken by fast trains are shown on information systems, 'broken' connections, lack of investment in toilets at stations and so forth - both predated privatisation and are still with us today as evidenced by threads too numerous to mention on this Forum. Look no further!
 

Mcr Warrior

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Many of the 'absurdities', etc. mentioned in the 1996 collection - such as how stopping trains overtaken by fast trains are shown on information systems, 'broken' connections, lack of investment in toilets at stations and so forth - both predated privatisation and are still with us today as evidenced by threads too numerous to mention on this Forum.
Sadly, that's very much still the case almost 25 years on. The dated sections probably include the various references to TOCs which have long since departed (unlike the trains they operated which often didn't!), Red Star parcels, buying copies of the National Timetable (and obtaining updates thereof), and the virtually empty Eurostar connecting trains carting fresh air to/from Waterloo.
 

Journeyman

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Mr Wolmar's long-running fortnightly column in RAIL magazine frequently gives the impression that his views on the post-BR era have moved on very little since 1996 if people want 'more of the same'.

He often gets presented as an "expert", but I've long considered his writing to be poor. He's unrelentingly negative about privatisation, and views BR through very rose-tinted glasses.

The truth is much more nuanced than that.
 

yorksrob

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Mr Wolmar's long-running fortnightly column in RAIL magazine frequently gives the impression that his views on the post-BR era have moved on very little since 1996 if people want 'more of the same'.

Thank goodness for Mr Wolmar, one of few rail commentators speaking sense during this current crisis.
 

yorksrob

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He often gets presented as an "expert", but I've long considered his writing to be poor. He's unrelentingly negative about privatisation, and views BR through very rose-tinted glasses.

The truth is much more nuanced than that.

But he does write in a publication that tends to cheer lead for privatisation.
 
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