Train services should be axed to bring down cost of railways, says government adviser But he denied this meant a repetition of the sweeping Beeching cuts of the 1960s. While frequent peak services at times of highest demand were necessary, this was not the case at other times. There is a need to look at what we do the rest of the day. Sir Roy has called for a 30 per cent reduction in the cost of running the industry, to bring its costs in line with those on the continent. The taxpayer's subsidy to the industry has risen from £800 million a year before privatisation to £3.8 million a year now. "I agree something doesn't add up," Sir Roy added. You have a railway which has seen a growth in traffic of 57 per cent and you would expect unit costs to come down. But Tim O'Toole, chairman of the Rail Delivery Group, the industry organisation implementing efficiency improvements,cast doubt on the prospect of major cuts to the regional network. "It would not be politically acceptable in this country," he told MPs. Mr O'Toole also questioned the McNulty conclusions on rail efficiency. Costs, which had been falling, were driven up by the massive investment needed to improve safety following the Hatfield disaster. In recent years, with the work having been done, costs had been dropping again. The McNulty report, which was published last year, said overcrowding could be tackled by overhauling fares, pushing up the cost of travelling at the height of the peak even further. Sir David Higgins, Network Rail's chief executive, voiced doubts in his evidence to MPs. You can't just magic things so that the whole world changes its working hours. Bob Crow, the general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union, told MPs that continental railways were cheaper because they were still in public hands with a " a single captain of the ship." He added: "What we should be doing is looking a delivering a railway to the travelling public." Rounding on the private operators, Mr Crow said, "Their idea of investment is laying down asphalt, putting up a gate and charging people exorbitant fees to park their cars." He joined other union leaders in telling the MPs that the high cost of the industry was due to money leaving the industry and going to shareholders and a large number of highly-paid managers created by the breakup of the industry following privatisation. What people want is to turn up to a railway station, find it safe and friendly. They want to get from A to B without having to go through a dictionary of railway companies.