RAILWAY USERS' HELL.

It's reported today that a government-commissioned study into the railways is to recommend all manner of changes to the rail system, including a complete revamp of current ticketing and fares.

Years ago, we had British Rail which owned and managed everything as a publicly owned body. Then we decided this wasn't efficient - it certainly wasn't - and sold off all the pieces to a variety of dfferent organisations. We had Railtrack, which had responsibility for the infrastructure of lines, signalling, and stations, and a host of train operating and freight operating companies. Inevitably, this fragmentation led to all sorts of problems and some of the parties involved have failed to survive, most notably Railtrack, which was wound up in 2002, its assets being transferred to a new, pseudo state-owned company, Network Rail.

Over recent years, passenger fares have skyrocketted while the facilities offered have declined; many stations have little in the way of staff, ticket offices are rarely open, and they've become scruffy and unattractive. Some towns and villages may well have sufferred as a result of the unappealing state of their stations, not to mention the infrequent and unreliable nature of the services available.

Now, Sir Roy McNulty, the man appointed by the government to conduct the study, has apparently made recommendations that include a complete review of fares, reducing staff, still further, and a variety of organisational changes which seem likely to take us back towards more of the former British Rail model by re-integrating elements of the services.

Will government never learn ? They tinker, screw things up and then tinker some more; there's always another expert lurking round the corner to offer advice on how to make things better, and they always make things worse. This country is crumbling under the burden of state intervention in every area of life; our main roads are clogged, our railways grotesquely inefficient, overcrowded and overpriced. While we are constantly cajoled for using our cars and fuel prices rise to stratospheric levels, in many parts of the country there is no alternative as the railways no longer exist, courtesy of another government review, in 1963, by the infamous Dr Beeching.

Rail users can expect no solace from this latest review. Fares will rise for many users and services will be reduced; there'll be even fewer stations with manned ticket offices and rural stations will become less and less looked after. Until the next review, in 2016, of course, when it'll all be put right, again.