Once again the Labour Party is flirting with the idea of nationalising the railways.

On the morning of September 3, 1939, Britain had the best railway system in the world.

It was privately run. However, with the onset of war, the railways were placed under the control of the ministry of war transport.

This was perfectly fair as we had to face a common enemy.

During the war, only essential maintenance was undertaken and austerity locomotives constructed.

Railways were prime targets for bombing. With the massive burden of movement the war effort created, the railways were in a very poor state in 1945.

The post-war austerity that followed meant little investment was forthcoming.

Nationalisation meant that future investment was limited. The Beeching cuts took place under nationalisation.

Being state-run the unions, most notably the Association of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (Aslef), embarked on nearly four decades of industrial chaos.

Many a commuter would have turned white at the name of Ray Buckton, who led Aslef in the 1970s.

The privatisation of the railways was badly handled.

I believe a return to the regional system operated by one company would have been better. Hopefully this could still go ahead. Governments tend to run things badly.

Whereas the priority should be to run a service, other factors come into being. Labour and its union masters treated British Rail as a job creation scheme being run for the benefit of its workers rather than the public.

Virtually every state-run organisation required state funding to run inefficient practices.

The British steel industry was a further example.

Private investment is vital. It also provides discipline within the services themselves.

Richard J Szypulski, Lavender Street, Brighton