"Roland Perry" wrote in message

In message
,
at 00:46:33 on Fri, 19 Aug 2011, 1506 remarked:
Second, privatisation has not been a total failure. The railways
are now doing more business than previously including freight. I
doubt if that increase would have occured under public ownership.

The low price was probably to ensure that the sale succeeded.

As is always the case with such privatisations. My recollection is
that there was considerable doubt that anyone would want to buy what
was a run-down network with falling passenger numbers.

Indeed, and if such a sale had succeeded, there would now be much
wailing and gnashing of teeth at the low price that was paid for
something now deemed to be much more valuable.