Do you think that major closures of the UK rail network are justifiable over Christmas?

Question

Personally I think is a disgrace that Network Rail can even imagine the Christmas period is a suitable time to undertake major engineering works. In my opinion the closure of Liverpool Street and the Wet Cost line at Rugby in this period is simply unethical behaviour. The rail system is to serve the public, the public need railways at Christmas. They may not have the commuter numbers, but have lots of people are needing to move around the country to be with family or friends and this needs to be factored into the thinking process of whoever makes these decisions. To even contemplate large scale closures at any time should be a last resort, since the work should be carried out without the closure, if possible, even if it means more expense (which it always used to be in the days of British Rail). However if absolutely necessary then Christmas is the least appropriate time of year to choose for major closure.

Register disgust at :

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/2709.aspx

Answer 1

they feel that everyone is on holiday, so they feel its the best time to fix it. although I feel they should do it at night when they shut they system down anyway. maybe they need to work on it and cant have trains running at all the next day

Answer 2

What do expect?

National Rail is owned by the Government and since when has the plight of the rail passengers been of any concern to Government Ministers who are "reduced" to travelling everyehere in their plush stare-provided Ministerial cars?

Of course it not acceptable, but do not expect Brown and his cronies to do anything about it. Do not tell me that when Brown returned to Dunfermline from Downing Street before Christmas that he travelled by public transport.

Answer 3

Hmm... I don't really care but THE ANSWER  YOU GAVE ME WAS NOT IN THE QUESTION!

but yet it was picked...

O.o

I never asked for a person who was dead.

Answer 4

yes if work has to be done

Answer 5

NO

Answer 6

Large scale closures HAVE to happen when important work has to be done. It has happened at all times - before British Railways, during British Railways and now. Yes, of course, it is better done over holiday periods - Christmas is naturally the best time as many people take a long break from Christmas Eve until January 2nd so it enables maximum work to be done. People are happier to spend more time travelling if it is purely for leisure purposes than when they are on deadlines to get to work or work related appointments. This was made clear this morning on BBC News 24 when the reporter at Birmingham International said how different the mood of people was today compared with Monday.  Your suggestion that it should be done at other times of the year is, with respect, total poppycock, and your use of  the word 'unethical' is sheer nonsense and shows no conception of how a railway operates. Remember that the line through Rugby was closed last Christmas as well as in 2007.

What is unacceptable is the fact that the work has overrun. It is interesting that you have not chosen to post this question until after the holiday period has finished. If you felt so strongly, why didn't you post, inviting signatures to 'register disgust' two weeks ago? You seem simply to be jumping on a bandwagon caused by the publicity of the trouble caused to services today (2nd Jan)

The Government at whose door blame should be laid for this current debacle is not the present one, but John Major's Conservative Government who choose such a barmy way to privatise the railway system. Railways have been 'vertically intergrated' (to use an economists term) since they first started.. In other words, the infrastructure - signalling, the actual lines, the stations - and the rolling stock are owned by the compnay which runs the trains. To separate these functions has caused many of the current problems and causes vast amounts of 'funny money' to pass from the TOCs to the leasing companies to Network Rail, all of which, at the end of the day, are paid for by the passenger and taxpayer.

Indeed, you can take blame even further back, to the days of the Conservative Government in the early 1960s which, egged on by a Transport Minister whose family had financial interests in road making companies,  under Doctor Beeching allowed large swathes of line to be closed down, doing away with many secondary lines which could be used as diversionary routes.

Answer 7

Network rail do this because they don't care about passengers, just cost. If they block close the railway they can do it for less cost than regular night work. The message needs to get through to them that block closure is not a matter of course but a last resort.

The current propaganda for justification doesn't buy me,  it really says they just are not prepared to recognise they're service to the public is more important than cost.

The British public must not just lie down and let them walk all over us with this treatment

Answer 8

that is quite c**p man! jesus was born a long time ago Im sure he wouldnt mind a bit if the rails were on schedule

Answer 9

Network Rail really don't respect peoples Christmas do they, but what a complete mess that they could even estimate the work correctly? Is the company run by buffoon's or clowns?

ps. Too many mild and meek people in Rail to get any action drummed up here though I suspect - should have asked in current events to get the angry mob

Answer 10

If it is for safety reasons, I would have to say, YES.  Would you rather be inconvenienced or risk a large scale tragedy due to unsafe rail conditions?

Answer 11

The work simply has to be done and between Christmas and New Year most people are travelling for leisure purposes rather than work or business; This question contains another nostalgic hark back to the days of British Rail. In fact they also shut down parts of the network for engineering upgrades

at this time of year.