Posted: Posted May 20, 2021 / 5:19 am CDT / Has been updated: May 20, 2021 / 5:19 am CDT

London (AP) — The UK puts the country’s rail network under government control by reversing one of the most controversial elements of a privatized drive carried out by conservative governments in the 1980s and 90s. I am planning to do that.

Under plans announced Thursday, the government is called the Great British Railways, which owns all rail infrastructure, sets most fares and schedules, collects ticket revenues, and operates a single ticketing website. Create a new entity. Private companies will continue to operate trains under contracts with the state.

The government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the move ended “quarter century fragmentation”, disrupting private rail franchises and creating expensive patchwork. This system was created after the railroad was privatized under former Prime Minister John Major in the 1990s. John Major, like Johnson, led the Conservative government.

“I have a lot of faith in railroads, but for too long passengers haven’t received the level of service they deserve,” Johnson said in a statement.

The privatization of British railroads followed the sale of other state-owned assets that began under the prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, the predecessor of the major.

The government continued to own infrastructure such as railroad tracks and stations, but rail services were operated by private companies under a series of regional franchises. As a result, high prices, inefficiencies, and a series of embarrassing episodes have occurred in recent years, and new schedules have caused commuters to get stuck and frustrated by the lack of trains.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the problem due to a sharp drop in passenger numbers, forcing the government to revisit its franchise model.