A lot of the UK's railways were built on the back of a private investment bubble in the 19th century. Many of the schemes were caught up in corruption and many

A lot of the UK's railways were built on the back of a private investment bubble in the 19th century. Many of the schemes were caught up in corruption and many of the investors lost money. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_Mania https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_Mania Looking back though, those investments were absolutely without doubt a net positive for the country. It's hard to even quantify the benefit having 10,000 miles of railways cut through the country has brought us over the 150 years since. Building even a few hundred miles of railway now is extraordinarily expensive and mired in all sorts of legal issues. I'm sure not all of these big infrastructure projects will succeed, but I bet they will be a net positive over the long term.