Britain’s Love Hate Relationship With The Railways

[John Ashworth]

Britain’s Love Hate Relationship With The Railways by Christian Wolmar

There is a paradox in the British attitude towards the railways. On the one hand, trains are the great Aunt Sally, a repository of complaints ranging from ageing carriages to overcrowding...

On the other, people just keep flocking on to the lines... the numbers travelling by train have almost doubled in that time and the increase shows no sign of abating...

This sustained growth is, in fact, bucking a long-term trend that goes back to the early days of rail travel. Railway usage used to only grow in the good times, falling back during recessions. Now, it seems, nothing can stop the onward rush...