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Heidi Alexander, UK Minister of Transport, made a mysterious vision this week as she revealed the proposals of the Labor Party to unify the loud railway services in the country under public ownership. The government will now “sweep decades of failure, creating the great British railway passengers that passengers can rely on.”

Can travelers for a long time be relied on Alexander and GBR, a new public rail monopoly, to maintain a preparation from the private sector competition? Although the announced Labor Party supported the open access to the network for operators who add services to the model rails of Whitehall, the sad answer is no.

Watch what politicians and civilian staff do, not what they say. The Ministry’s dead hand is already continuing to inhibit the challenges of organizing projects in GBR. This is despite the success of open access operators like Lumo and Hull Trains, which clearly raised standards on the eastern coast line from London to Edinburgh.

Although the Labor Party statement promised a continuous role for private sector operators who provide new services, the government this month Opposition Eight of nine requests by companies including Virgin Trends and Firstgroup, the owner of Lumo. Alexander declares that it believes in the benefits of competition, but its route is usually considering this in practice.

This is not new. The transport department has not liked to access open during 25 years since Hull Trains started managing independent services from East Yorkshire to King’s Cross. The employees of civil employees or the government -owned railways have opposed almost all arrival requests over the past decade on the basis that they will believe in the exacerbation of congestion and take the money out of the franchise and taxpayers.

The government stuck to this position despite the promises of the Labor Party and clear evidence as a mistake. The East Coast Line, where Grand Central, Hull Trains and Lumo with state -owned Northeastern Railway, have many benefits. Lumo runs, for example, a quick service from London to Edinburgh competing with airlines.

It is unlikely to have services like Lumo if left to the section or the current train operators. Instead, the decisions were made by the independent railway and road office, which approved half of the requests. ORR was right: I found a study cost last year that Lumo has greatly exceeded its standard for services expanding services, not just LNER competition.

Competition bonuses work on a wider scale than the calculus calculation of narrow integration to influence the rail network. The operators such as Hull Trains have shown that direct trains to London from disadvantaged cities and towns enhance economic renewal and investment. This is why work representatives have supported them, despite the union’s opposition, while the government has gone along the speech.

But the expectations are dark. The government is now planning to make decisions about open access away from ORR and give them the “Tawjihi Mind” of GBR. The latter will run the rail network, run most trains and decide whether anyone else should be allowed to compete with. Request suggestions may pass, but access will be crushed.

The ambitious operators can appeal to ORR once their plans are rejected, according to the advice that was launched this week, but it will take a long time to reach that stage. After he asked other organizers to enhance growth and risk risks, it is harmful that the Labor Party will undermine the railway organizer that stands to innovate the private sector.

Alexander is not just a protection. General subsidies for training operators have grown since the epidemic, reaching 4 billion pounds last year: the government does not want to lose it to those who call it anymore. There are also fears that open access services do not pay the full cost of using the network, although it can be fixed.

Also, every attempt to get the rail network is justified. The open access point is to fill the service gaps in innovative ways, such as London planned for the Stirling service that ORR approved last year. On the contrary, Virgin Trains apps to operate trains from London to large cities such as Manchester and Glassco look like a cordial effort to imitate the 2019 railway concession.

However, open access showed its value and the long campaign of the consecutive governments and transport officials. While paying the lip service to compete, Alexander now wants to get out of the road that allowed him to prosper. You should think again.

john.gapper@ft.com