mushroom - //we've been there before. the modernization of the west coast mainline began at the very end of BR in the 1990s, and still isn't finished more than 20 years later.//
No-one with even a passing acquaintance with the railway system in the country would dispute that the reason why it is in such a state is chronic underinvestment, and that is down fairly and squarely to the way private companies run - I know, I work for one.
If you run for profit, and have a management structure who have salaries, bonuses, promotions etc. tied into shareholder profits, then that concentrates their minds seriously narrowly, in fact, to one aim - profit.
The way to maximise profit is to minimise outlay - so you have top-end managers who will do anything to save money and secure dividends, including their own, plus bonuses etc.
Saving money does not equate with service, safety, and those other annoying expensive things that make a national rail network operate safely and efficiently.
The answer is to re-nationalise the entire network on a not-for-profit basis, slash the defence budget and pump the money into the rail network, and problems will be solved.
Not overnight, but still a sight quicker than trying to wring money out of corporate fat cats with eyes fixed firmly on year-end targets - and bonuses to come.