Northern Fail: Railways, nationalisation and the United Kingdom

Railway in the north is not in great shape

In late January it was announced that Northern Rail, the company which had control over the north of England's rail network, would be brought under government control. In other words, it will be nationalised. Once the envy of the rest of the world, Britain's regional railway system - and particularly that in the north - was decimated in the 1960s, and mismanagement, as well as a lack of meaningful investment or strategy, has left it incapable of catering for the people that use it. We spoke to northerners about Northern, the controversial HS2 railway line and what they want from a railway network in the north.