It’s been more than 30 years since British Rail hit the buffers and was broken up.
While many of us remember the slam door trains and the blue, white and red livery of Network South East with a hint of nostalgia, it’s probably fair to say things have improved with regards to rolling stock and safety.
But there’s always been gripes about rail privatisation, namely about ever-rising price of tickets, reliability and the eternal threat of leaves on the line.
Like NSE, British Rail and South West Trains, South Western Railway will soon be consigned to the history book as it’s becoming the first rail operator to return to public ownership.
The operator which runs commuter services throughout Surrey and East Hampshire will be the first to be nationalised once the contract with FirstGroup and MTR expires in May 2025.
The news has been tentatively welcomed but there was plenty of scepticism from commuters at stations in Farnham, Haslemere and Petersfield.
“In theory it should be a good thing as less money will end up going to shareholders and back into the infrastructure but I don’t have my hopes up,” said one user at Farnham.
“I don’t think it changes much,” said another, adding: “It was privatised 30 years ago for a reason and is being nationalised again – I also think this is political point-scoring by the government.”
Paul Burke from Clanfield has regularly commutes by train from Petersfield to London and remembers the days of British Rail. He has always thought they should be a national asset – and hopes nationalisation will make ticket buying less of a nightmare.
He said: “It should be nationalised and what I find really frustrating is that it's so difficult to travel on different company trains and you have to use multiple tickets.
“I think hopefully nationalising it or having one unified system will make things easier for everybody.
“I hope that they continue to invest in the infrastructure and upgrade the line as it's not great,” added Paul in commenting on the state of the Portsmouth Harbour to London Waterloo line.
“For a season ticket holder, clearly it's expensive, but the price per journey is not bad.
“I feel sorry for people who have to pay tickets for single journeys because that's really expensive. I think it's the complexity of it and different ticket options.”
“Thanks heavens!” said an excited Lorraine on Haslemere station last Friday.
She added: “I would like to see the whole lot renationalised – it has been absolute madness with ticket prices.”
Cllr Alastair Bayliss told the Herald he felt “hopeful but a little unsure” about the move while waiting for his train.
He said: “We don’t want a big bureaucratic rail system, but a not-for-profit approach could be better.
We know privatisation hasn’t worked – it hasn’t led to the investment that was promised.”
A man who called himself “Mark from Midhurst” said a change couldn’t be any worse.
He added: “If the money stays with the taxpayer then I imagine it must get better.”