We in the image / of who

We are created within the image of our maker. Or at least I think that is the tone of the massage in the bible. Unfortunately we have become more the creation of what the media wishes us to be and that is especially true in the world of politics.
We believe what we are told. That's not a bad assumption since, from our parents we learn all kinds of qualities which we carry through our lives which in large part make us the person we become.
If the message from our parents was based on propaganda then an Orwellian 1984 scenario would be in place. The concern and love which our parents usually hold for us and which mediates their advice is missing when the Fourth Estate has a story to tell and a people to convince for purely political means.
Jeremy Corbyn has had a fair share of media coverage since his overwhelming election to Leader of the Labour Party. His views hark back to a period pre Mrs Thatcher and her push to sell the advantages of the Market Economy and Global Capitalism.
One of the terrifying things about being fed a drip drip story is that it becomes entrenched in your  psyche  to such an extent that it precludes a reasoned evaluation. 
British Rail were the organisation which ran the railways from top to bottom, not just the trains but the track the signalling systems as well as the stations. In those far off, dark, dingy days of rationing and the economic limits placed on so many of the things, the country having just emerged from a ruinous war we forget today what a perilous state we were in. 
My memories of British Rail were of the majestic steam engines and their grimy faced crew. The singular carriages with their solid doors which closed with such a reassuring bang. It was said that the attitude of the employees left something to be desired, a take it or leave it attitude. 
Investment in rolling stock and the upkeep of the track was always a priority and with a cash strapped Exchequer there is no doubt that it lacked the money.
Private enterprise and fresh investors were one alternative but it came at a cost. Any investment demands a reasonable return on the investment before spending on the project in hand. The nature of tendering for a the contract means you have to compete with others wishing to secure the contract which compels you to keep your price down. Therefore, limiting your tender price and ensuring that your investors get a good return leaves less in the kitty for the actual spend on the trains and track.
The mantra that Private Enterprise is better value for money could only be true if the management and the workers of these Enterprise's was immeasurably better and here lies the nub of the issue.
If "Public Enterprise", a different animal to the post war shell shocked organisation, learns how to incentivise and value its workforce, (similar to the Japanese car plant in Northumberland)  then there is no reason why a Publicly Managed and funded rail system should not be run for the benefit of the public who use the trains.  Making rail travel affordable by keeping ticket prices in line with the cost of living, taking traffic off the roads with the considerable savings entailed in road repair and adaptation to the growing usage and being answerable to Government.