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‘A highly successful model’? The rail franchising business in Britain

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  • Robert Jupe
  • Warwick Funnell

Abstract

A crucial feature of rail privatisation in Britain was franchising. Passenger services were franchised in competitive bidding processes to train operators which were meant to function with declining subsidy. The article adopts the framework of social cost-benefit analysis to examine rail privatisation’s impact on three key groups; consumers, producers and the government. It establishes that privatisation did not achieve all the supposed benefits. Further, franchising only appears to be profitable through the use of calculative accounting practices, whereby franchised train operators are portrayed as discrete business entities, whereas they are supported by very substantial, ongoing direct and indirect government subsidies.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Jupe & Warwick Funnell, 2017. "‘A highly successful model’? The rail franchising business in Britain," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(6), pages 844-876, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:bushst:v:59:y:2017:i:6:p:844-876
    DOI: 10.1080/00076791.2016.1270268
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Leroy P. Jones & Pankaj Tandon & Ingo Vogelsang, 1990. "Selling Public Enterprises: A Cost/Benefit Methodology," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262600625, December.
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