Re: QR going national?

["Michael Walker" <walker@hotkey.net.au>]

>Lets say a certain Class One Railroad in the States holds the distinction
of
>"Worlds Best Practise". What obligations does that company have to the
>community and it's employees? I know it's a broad question but have a very
>close look at US rail companies and their work practises, the safe working
>systems employed, the infrastructure required to support a safe and
>efficient operation, the training and accreditation of their work force,
>etc. It would be safe to say the general consensus is that North American
>companies are very efficient when measured by the bottom line. But they do
>so at a price. Those large spectacular derailments you see on television
are
>the result of loopholes in their safety systems. I'm not saying similar
>accidents cannot happen in this country but the fact is the possibility of
>them occurring is reduced. To put it simply Australian rail companies
cannot
>afford the implications of a major accident.

The only reason that is the way at the moment is because most of the
railways are government owned. Once they are privatised, the political
furore over a major railway accident will be significantly reduced. Indeed a
cynic would say a government would do well if a private company had a major
accident and the government was able to say it stepped in quickly, gave the
company a good telling off and major fine, and told them to do what needed
to be done to fix it up. The government looks good because it is telling a
bad company to be good and gains popularity for showing strong leadership.
At present the government looks bad if there is a major accident because it
is their railway and they are in the position of bad company.