government drew up its franchise agreement so ineptly that when the chips are down, it is far cheaper for an operator to fold than continue operating a service. Step forward, the taxpayer. Frankly, it's no way to run a railroad.

The thing is that the "privatisation" of the railways is, in effect, simply one of the private finance initiative (PFI) and public-private partnerships (PPP) idea that both the Tory and Labour governments latched onto in the nineties.

The idea, very broadly, was that the private sector—in return for the potential to make large profits from monopolies—would pile huge amounts of capital into these public services. The quid pro quo was that they would run them in a way that the state dictated.

The private companies make massive, easy profits off awould be the transfer of the assets to the private sector, whilst maintaining government control.

The second part would be the transfer of the administration to private entities, whilst maintaining some control through full or partial government funding.

The third part would be the handing over of complete control of the service to the private entity and, crucially, the privatisation of the funding.

The first part has, in many cases, come to pass; many of the schools and hospitals built under PFI remain within the control of the private company even at the end of the contract. The company often runs some of the repair and maintenance services, or other facilities, throughout the life of the contract too.

The second part is also coming to pass. Think about the Tories' plans to