Who runs the railways? Who specifies the services and how do they decide?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

But these are time when both SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) and GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are not / cannot always consult with us when they are ordered to make changes by the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about).  More on that topic to follow.

Welcome back to a nationalised railway, where the Treasury decides what trains will run and when; not the contracting TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company), and definitely not the travelling public. Who cares about them in 11 Downing Street...

Well some people have wanted a nationalised railway for years, who the heck did they think would run it?

"We are in Emergency Measure until May and then on an operating contract [6 years] with a budget to be agree each year. Very new for us. This [the budget?] is under negotiation for the next year and we will tell you what is in there when agreed / as we are able. What will be running ... frustrating for us not to be able to share too ..."

On consultation - not consultation with GWR but "These are the things that Government tell us you want [and we do]". So the question that leads me to ask is "who tells the government what we want?"

** Local Transport Authorities?
** subNational Transport Boards?
** The Department for Tranport's own quangos such as
* Transport Focus
* GBRTT
* Network Rail
* The Community Rail Network
** Other Government departments (such as the Treasury)
** Members of Parliament and Parliamentary Committees
** One hopes - those with train operation experience such as the TOCs
** Public surveys and consultations from the DfT

or am I being too hopeful, and there's too much use made of educated guesswork, policy, and political expediency?

There has been no public consultation on the ending of GWR services to Brighton, nor on the major changes at Kintbury / Hungerford / Bedwyn.  What consultation ha there / will there be on other changes that perhaps will come along from December? I am heartened to have had explanations of the changes from GWR yestreday, and to have heard some of the mitigations put in place there, which I suspect come from GWR's knowledge of the line and flows.  And on that basis it DOES look as if one element of the "solution" has been positively influenced by our TOC.

[Electric train]

or am I being too hopeful, and there's too much use made of educated guesswork, policy, and political expediency?

That's the one, but change political expedience to "political dogma / expedience"