Useful Books
What’s your nomination for the three most useful basic textbooks?
Useful Links
www.orr.gov.uk/
https://www.dft.gov.uk/
https://www.eurostat/statistics/transport.gov.eu/
Conferences
Discussion Threads
The rise of trains since 1995
Some people say that privatising the railways has made them more popular. The chart above shows that the nadir of rail demand was in 1982, and started to rise on a consistent trend around 1994. This was before many parts of British Rail had been privatised, and before any train services or rolling stock had been improved. Since then the latest figures show the number of people using trains has more than doubled. Isn’t most of this driven by a modal switch from road to rail – i.e. ultimately, by road congestion?
Abandoning concessions?
When a Train Operating Company (TOC) mis-prices its bid, why are they allowed to walk away from their concession after a few years with no significant penalty payments? This is particularly obnoxious when the years they abandon are those when they should be paying large fees to the government. If I rent out a flat I charge a substantial deposit which is forfeit if the tenants stop paying the rent in advance (particularly near the end of the tenancy), or trash the place. Especially as concessions get longer, why aren’t all TOCs obliged to make a substantial deposit payment (say, the highest two years’ fees) to an escrowed account which they will forfeit if they abandon the concession? It’s not an entry barrier but a gateway, keeping out the riffraff and admitting good transport concessionaires who will recognize this deposit as part of their costs of doing business – an essential part of their capital employed. Indeed, shouldn’t this be standard across the EU?
Gambling has been legal in New Zealand since 1967. The industry has since then grown to Kiwis spending an estimated $NZ2.1 billion on gambling each year. If you are interested in playing casino games, whether online https://nz-casinoonline.com/ or at a physical location, there are a few things you should know about the gambling industry in New Zealand.
New Zealand has 20 casinos operating around the country, with the majority of them being located in Auckland. Christchurch used to have two casinos but they were both destroyed in the 2011 earthquake and have not been rebuilt. Dunedin Casino is the only Southern city that has a casino. You must be 20 years or older to enter any of the casinos in New Zealand.