123 School Work

PRIVATISATION OF BRITISH RAIL

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  INTRODUCTION
  
  Privatisation is the transference of ownership of an industry or firm from the state to private interest (Pass et al 1995). British Rail is one of the company's that went through this change as Railtrack acquired it and this allowed it to compete against competitive forces in the domestic market as well as having the independence to grow as a private firm. In this report I will first highlight the advantages and disadvantages of the privatisation of British Rail, after which an evaluation of the outcomes of their privatisation will be carried out.
  
  OVERVIEW
  
  Privatisation of public sector services was initiated by the Conservative government in the 1980's during Margaret Thatcher's time in office. However, it was not until the government of John Major that the idea of privatising the railways came in to mind.
  
  One of the most contentious reforms would have to be the privatisation of British Rail. Most privatised businesses and organisations depend totally and solely on private funds. The railways although, is unlike the standard privatised businesses, therefore it also relies on public funding to keep it afloat. Re-nationalism is considered to be the only solution, to problems such as the abysmal punctuality rates and rising complaint levels following privatisation. However, despite these problems, privatisation has not been a total disaster, reorganization of the current system would probably be the best solution due to the problems associated with re-nationalisation...