nigel.harris@bauermedia.co.uk
@RAIL
BACK in 1995, when I slipped into RAIL’s driving seat for the first time, that good old British staple - fish and chips - cost just £1.68. Today, even in Lincolnshire, it’s £13.85. Prices are such a powerful reflection of elapsed time.
Also in 1995, a pint of bitter cost £1.48, a litre of four-star petrol was just 51p (even after price increases of 26% in five years!), while the median London pay was… wait for it!… £19,000 a year.
Changes on the railway have been equally marked. Wikipedia tells us there have been 75 train operators since the first franchised service - operated by South West Trains (owned by Stagecoach) ran on February 4 1996.
Back then, franchises were determined by the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising…
