Re:UK Rail services to come under unified state control
by Skinney on Thursday May 20, 2021 @05:10AM
(#27219016)
Considering most train routes operate at a net loss, «we used to pay x but now we pay y» is really the only interesting metric, no?
Profits from subsidies aren’t really profit when you’re the one paying the subsidy.
Keep in mind, that before any profit, the government still makes money taxation (sales tax, employee income tax etc.) and several companies are going to operate at a loss for a few years until trafic picks up. I think government saving money on this isn’t unlikely.
That’s not the same as customers saving money, though.
I agree that time will tell. Until Norway has more double-tracks and can have proper competition, this could go either way.
And before when it was the government paying the government owned NSB, it was basically the government giving themselves money. Now whatever profit the new companies make are instead going out of the country. Government takes the cost, others take the profit.
So unless this happens to result in a much better experience for the customers I think it will be a net loss for society. But time will tell, hard to say too much based on the last year.