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I did not know that they have such a high frequency. Thats amazing. I think I heard somewhere that the rail operator(s?) in Japan (like Hong Kong) own a lot of

I did not know that they have such a high frequency. Thats amazing. I think I heard somewhere that the rail operator(s?) in Japan (like Hong Kong) own a lot of real-estate close to the stations. Therefore they have a high incentive to provide an effective service, because it props up property prices. In the same time the property prices can be used to fund public infrastructure. This is something else that the UK could learn from other countries. Because by just operating trains it is hard to make back the money needed to build and maintain the infrastructure. Its almost like the inverse of the tragedy of the commons, where instead of externalising costs, the UK is externalising the profits of these works.

masklinn 2y ago
> I think I heard somewhere that the rail operator(s?) in Japan (like Hong Kong) own a lot of real-estate close to the stations. NJB mentioned it during their recent japan video (https://youtu.be/6dKiEY0UOtA?t=964 https://youtu.be/6dKiEY0UOtA?t=964) but I'm sure they're far from the only one. > This is something else that the UK could learn from other countries. Because by just operating trains it is hard to make back the money needed to build and maintain the infrastructure. Its almost like the inverse of the tragedy of the commons, where instead of externalising costs, the UK is externalising the profits of these works. Yeah, the other way is the "classic" european way of the train being a state monopoly operated as a benefit to society, in which case it doesn't really need to "make back the money", because the economic value it builds for the country is the "profit margin". Sadly the deregulation sprees of the late 90s have mostly consisted of selling off the crown jewels or setting up weirdo groups engaging in growth for the sake of growth with no regard to socioeconomic benefits for the people.
m4rtink 2y ago
100% this - there are massive developments around major stations & you can see it even in rural areas. A local operator just so appears to have a hotel next to their railway station or run the gift shop in the museum where their buses go. Or they might run a famous all-female theater troupe & generate extra demand on their line: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takarazuka_Revue https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takarazuka_Revue "The Takarazuka Revue Company is a division of the Hankyu Railway company; all members of the troupe are employed by Hankyu." I like this essentially symbiotic relationship as it seems to motivate the companies to do things right.
pydry 2y ago
I'm pretty sure the UK government knew all of this. Rail privatization wasn't done with honest intentions. I'm sure the investors who got a stellar deal on the land around the stations when they cut up British rail and sold the pieces off were very well connected. It wasn't a mistake, it was corruption.

masklinn 2y ago

> I think I heard somewhere that the rail operator(s?) in Japan (like Hong Kong) own a lot of real-estate close to the stations. NJB mentioned it during their recent japan video (https://youtu.be/6dKiEY0UOtA?t=964 https://youtu.be/6dKiEY0UOtA?t=964) but I'm sure they're far from the only one. > This is something else that the UK could learn from other countries. Because by just operating trains it is hard to make back the money needed to build and maintain the infrastructure. Its almost like the inverse of the tragedy of the commons, where instead of externalising costs, the UK is externalising the profits of these works. Yeah, the other way is the "classic" european way of the train being a state monopoly operated as a benefit to society, in which case it doesn't really need to "make back the money", because the economic value it builds for the country is the "profit margin". Sadly the deregulation sprees of the late 90s have mostly consisted of selling off the crown jewels or setting up weirdo groups engaging in growth for the sake of growth with no regard to socioeconomic benefits for the people.

m4rtink 2y ago

100% this - there are massive developments around major stations & you can see it even in rural areas. A local operator just so appears to have a hotel next to their railway station or run the gift shop in the museum where their buses go. Or they might run a famous all-female theater troupe & generate extra demand on their line: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takarazuka_Revue https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takarazuka_Revue "The Takarazuka Revue Company is a division of the Hankyu Railway company; all members of the troupe are employed by Hankyu." I like this essentially symbiotic relationship as it seems to motivate the companies to do things right.

pydry 2y ago

I'm pretty sure the UK government knew all of this. Rail privatization wasn't done with honest intentions. I'm sure the investors who got a stellar deal on the land around the stations when they cut up British rail and sold the pieces off were very well connected. It wasn't a mistake, it was corruption.