From the railways to the NHS – why can’t Britain think anything through? | Ian Jack
The saga of delayed and failed rail electrification suggests our politicians and officials are more comfortable with talking than with deliberation
• Ian Jack is a Guardian columnist
The line from Gospel Oak to Barking used to be one of London’s more obscure railways, looping 14 miles through the northern and eastern suburbs and never penetrating the capital’s centre. A railway enthusiast could have told you that the boat trains from Tilbury to St Pancras used to use it – for many visitors and migrants from the British empire, including MK Gandhi and some of the passengers from the Empire Windrush, the line offered a first view of England’s back gardens.
Related: Grayling sparks fury by scrapping rail electrification plans
Why have things gone wrong? The complexity introduced over 20 years ago by privatisation is probably one reason
Source: Guardian Transport
<a href="From the railways to the NHS – why can’t Britain think anything through? | Ian Jack” target=”_blank”>From the railways to the NHS – why can’t Britain think anything through? | Ian Jack