From Canal Lock to Gridlock

A Briton travelling to France on Eurostar finds that, on emerging from the Channel Tunnel, the train moves half as fast again on the rails owned by SNCF, the publicly owned national railway of France, as it does from Waterloo to Folkestone on a line maintained by Railtrack, a privately owned company. If, on arrival at Paris, he or she decides to travel on to, say, Rouen or Toulouse, there will be more surprises. The train services will be cheaper, more reliable and faster than on many British lines.

 

How did it happen at the beginning of the twenty-first century that British rail transport, which had led the world in the mid-nineteenth century, was outperformed by the services provided in France and other European countries?

 

In France there has been a strong tradition of the state ensuring the citizen's right to travel in reasonable conditions of comfort and speed. There is also a long-standing consensus between the main political parties that SNCF, a state monopoly, should be adequately supported from public funds.