@JugglingWithEggs @ReCyclist
Having travelled a fair bit on European #railways (& a bit on N American rail), and followed @jon for a very long time - I'm not convinced there is a good, or better, model - all systems are imperfect.
Don't fall into the trap of thinking that European rail systems must be better than the British!
For example - I've only been on one (of many) German rail journey that's been on time/ terminated where it should! I think the last stat was 48% of long distance DB services were punctual.
French railways are a shambles of disconnected services, weird rules & protectionism.
Belgian railways are (mostly) filthy, etc etc.
I *think* Scandinavian countries are close to being excellent, but on simpler networks.
The worst part of the British passenger system is the leasing of stock from the ROSCOs which drains cash from the Operating Companies - and this isn't being addressed currently.
Freight in the UK is improving year on year and is a success story.
