From the article linked below comparing the 1960s nationalised rail service to todays privatised service: "When Dr Beeching wrote his 1963 report, half the UK

From the article linked below comparing the 1960s nationalised rail service to todays privatised service: "When Dr Beeching wrote his 1963 report, half the UK rail network carried only 4% of the passenger traffic, a third of the passenger fleet was used less than 20 times a year, and the railway employed 475,000 staff. British Railways annual deficit was then £87 million, or £2.3 billion in today’s money. Today’s rail network is more intensively utilised and employs about a quarter the number of people. Yet in 2018/19, operational funding (i.e., less HS2 and enhancements) cost the taxpayer £4.7 billion or twice that of Beeching’s highly inefficient railway" https://www.railengineer.co.uk/is-rail-affordable/ https://www.railengineer.co.uk/is-rail-affordable/ Also on the busiest West Coast mainline route London-Glasgow most trains still take around 5 hours the same as in the 1970s but with less legroom, more uncomfortable seats and highly extortionate ticket prices.