:00:09. > :00:14.Welcome to Inside Out. This week we are in Liverpool where we will be
:00:14. > :00:19.finding out about the future of train travel in away region. On the
:00:20. > :00:28.programme tonight - trouble on the West Coast main line. Is it time to
:00:28. > :00:37.renationalise the railways. British Rail was not as bad as people said
:00:37. > :00:45.they were. We report on the growing popularity of cycling. It is
:00:45. > :00:49.becoming the new Golf. People are doing deals on their bikes.
:00:49. > :00:54.Merseyside's contribution to conservation. Time to wrap up and
:00:54. > :01:04.keep warm. It does get cold in Africa, but not in the same way as
:01:04. > :01:12.
:01:12. > :01:18.The West Coast main line is the busiest InterCity railway in
:01:18. > :01:24.Britain and the main routes to the capital from the north-west. Since
:01:24. > :01:32.1997, it has been run by Sir Richard Branson's privately owned
:01:32. > :01:37.Virgin Trains. But following the franchise fiasco, people are asking
:01:37. > :01:45.whether it is time to consider the nationalising the route?
:01:45. > :01:48.Every year, more and more people are using our trains. Yet, at the
:01:48. > :01:51.same time, many are unhappy at the way they are run. Could there be a
:01:51. > :01:54.revolution on the railways? Complaining about trains has always
:01:54. > :02:04.been a popular British past-time, Things have improved hugely on the
:02:04. > :02:09.West Coast in the past two decades. The customer service is not good.
:02:09. > :02:16.There are always delays. You have difficulties getting eight seats.
:02:16. > :02:19.With the amount of money we pay, you could get across the Atlantic.
:02:19. > :02:22.The Government spent �9 billion upgrading the line. And new tilting
:02:22. > :02:25.Pendalinos further improved the situation. But, despite the better
:02:25. > :02:35.service, there are people calling for our railways to return to
:02:35. > :02:39.public ownership. As a taxpayer, I think you ought to support the
:02:39. > :02:43.publicly run model because there is no money that is leaching out of
:02:43. > :02:48.the rail system into the profits of private shareholders when in fact
:02:48. > :02:53.they don't invest much and they don't take much risk. I am not sure
:02:53. > :02:56.what the system is for. Last autumn, the future of the West Coast
:02:56. > :02:59.franchise fell into chaos. Four bids were entered in the contest to
:02:59. > :03:02.run the service for the next 14 years. The former Transport
:03:02. > :03:05.Secretary announced that First Group had won the contract. But it
:03:05. > :03:10.was quickly clear that civil servants had got their numbers very
:03:11. > :03:17.badly wrong. The entire bidding contest would have to be re-run,
:03:17. > :03:23.and the new Secretary of State had to make an embarrassing apology.
:03:23. > :03:29.What has happened is unacceptable. It is deeply regrettable and I
:03:29. > :03:34.apologise. We have made a big mistake and the companies that have
:03:35. > :03:37.put it in have done nothing wrong. Virgin will now continue to operate
:03:38. > :03:40.the West Coast line while the contest is re-run. The cost to
:03:40. > :03:43.taxpayers of the franchise mess is �40 million, according to the
:03:43. > :03:46.Government. The biggest railway trade union, the RMT, thinks the
:03:46. > :03:49.real cost will be closer to �100 million. Its General Secretary, Bob
:03:49. > :03:59.Crow, believes the West Coast contest, confirms their view that
:03:59. > :03:59.
:03:59. > :04:04.railways are best run as a public service. It has been an unmitigated
:04:04. > :04:08.disaster, the privatisation of the railway network. I will carry on
:04:08. > :04:18.campaigning to the day I die that railways are brought back into
:04:18. > :04:22.public ownership. It is a public service. Before 1997, our railways
:04:22. > :04:27.were run by the state owned British Rail. And BR was often the butt of
:04:27. > :04:37.affectionate jokes. When they asked me to say some kind words about
:04:37. > :04:37.
:04:37. > :04:44.British Rail, I told BR to be off. British Rail was not as bad as
:04:44. > :04:50.people said they were. Even their sandwiches weren't bad. They were
:04:50. > :04:56.effective and efficient and cost less in subsidy. British Rail
:04:56. > :04:59.intend to maintain their standards. Now for the good news...
:04:59. > :05:01.railways were privatised in 1990s by the John Major Government. It
:05:01. > :05:04.was hoped that private companies competing with each other would
:05:04. > :05:06.mean lower fairs and better service for rail passengers. But one former
:05:06. > :05:15.Conservative MP acknowledges the current system lacks genuine
:05:15. > :05:20.competition. I think there is no doubt that the system we created in
:05:20. > :05:28.the 1990s was too complicated and that actually, Bill competition is
:05:28. > :05:37.provided by a different lines going from point a across to point beef.
:05:37. > :05:39.It is an increase in capacity that is needed. But it will be decades
:05:39. > :05:43.before any direct rail competition is possible. The Government will
:05:43. > :05:46.need to spend more than �30 billion on a high speed line to the North
:05:46. > :05:50.West. For now, the main element of competition on the railways comes
:05:50. > :05:55.when companies bid for rail franchises. The franchise system
:05:55. > :06:00.brings in a degree of competition. It forces companies to come forward
:06:00. > :06:05.with their ideas - how they are going to perform, how are they
:06:05. > :06:11.going to improve the service? Hopefully you will then have more
:06:11. > :06:14.people coming onto the Net work and that increases revenue. If you
:06:14. > :06:17.travel on the West Coast mainline, you might imagine that Virgin
:06:17. > :06:20.Trains owns all the entire railway. In fact, it is much more
:06:20. > :06:23.complicated than that. The train tracks and signals are in fact the
:06:23. > :06:27.property of Network Rail. Virgin buys time slots so it can run its
:06:27. > :06:30.trains. As for the trains themselves? Well, Virgin doesn't
:06:30. > :06:33.own them either. They are rented from a private train rolling stock
:06:33. > :06:36.company. So, if train operating companies like Virgin are really
:06:36. > :06:46.just service companies, do passengers care if the railway is
:06:46. > :06:52.
:06:52. > :06:57.in private or public hands? I have no preference. Whatever system
:06:57. > :07:07.works. In would be better if it is owned publicly, but I just wanted
:07:07. > :07:09.to work! I don't think it makes any difference. On many measures, the
:07:09. > :07:12.Virgin's West Coast service has been a huge success since
:07:12. > :07:15.privatisation. Under Virgin, over double the number of passengers are
:07:15. > :07:18.carried on the route compared to 1997. And the new Pendalino trains
:07:18. > :07:20.mean the service is faster and more frequent. An unprecedented 150,000
:07:20. > :07:30.people signed an e-petition to protest against the Department for
:07:30. > :07:32.
:07:32. > :07:37.Transport's decision to replace Virgin with First Group. I think
:07:37. > :07:41.Virgin has done a pretty reasonable job. The trains are more frequent
:07:41. > :07:44.and the standard of service is better. But however good Virgin's
:07:44. > :07:48.performance is, for some it is the system that is at fault. Graham
:07:48. > :07:53.Stringer is a member of the common's Transport Select Committee.
:07:53. > :07:58.The serious question that has to be asked is why should you hand over a
:07:58. > :08:03.service with uncontrolled first to a private operator that can just
:08:03. > :08:08.pushed them up? It is a monopoly situation to the benefit of the
:08:08. > :08:12.shareholders. Why should we do that? If you want to see how
:08:12. > :08:15.railways would look in the public sector, all you have to do is cross
:08:15. > :08:17.the Pennines and travel on the East Coast line. Three years ago, the
:08:17. > :08:21.private company running East Coast ran into serious financial problems
:08:21. > :08:25.and the Department for Transport had to step in. And results have
:08:25. > :08:29.been impressive. The publicly run company has improved punctuality
:08:29. > :08:39.and passenger satisfaction. And it has also paid the government more
:08:39. > :08:40.
:08:40. > :08:48.than �500 million in franchise payments. You cannot really notice
:08:48. > :08:52.the difference that the East Coast is publicly run. They still try to
:08:52. > :08:58.maximise the revenue from fares and hand a lot of money back to the
:08:58. > :09:01.government. But doesn't really seem to be any different. So, in fact,
:09:01. > :09:04.does it matter if your railway company is privately or publicly
:09:04. > :09:08.owned? John Leech is a Lib Dem member of the Transport Select
:09:08. > :09:17.Committee. We have an given it long enough to decide whether it will be
:09:17. > :09:23.the best module for the future. Under British Rail, the quality of
:09:23. > :09:30.the service was not good. I don't accept eight nationalised rail
:09:30. > :09:40.system is the way forward. We can prove what we have by bringing in
:09:40. > :09:43.
:09:43. > :09:53.competition and outside investment. That is the way forward. Do you
:09:53. > :10:01.think that the Labour Party Wall ahead towards the rare worst --
:10:01. > :10:07.will head towards the railways been nationalised? I am hopeful that in
:10:07. > :10:12.their next manifesto and they say we will have a lot more publicly
:10:12. > :10:17.owned and operated railways. think the Labour Party are looking
:10:17. > :10:26.at ending the franchise system. The West Coast fiasco has raised
:10:26. > :10:28.questions about how effective it is. There is an alternative. Graham
:10:28. > :10:31.Stringer won't be in charge of the Labour Party's transport policy,
:10:31. > :10:41.but it is clear that rail nationalisation, for a long time a
:10:41. > :10:53.
:10:53. > :11:03.taboo subject for New Labour, is Still to come up on Inside Out: he
:11:03. > :11:03.
:11:03. > :11:10.is looking after our animals during the cold winter months?
:11:10. > :11:18.We have seen how trains can link north and south, but there is an
:11:18. > :11:28.alternative if you fancy travelling west to east. A new cycling trail
:11:28. > :11:30.
:11:30. > :11:35.has become very popular. We sent Paul Rose after Lancashire to
:11:35. > :11:39.sample the trail. There is nothing I like more than a
:11:39. > :11:42.challenge. From braving the wilds of Antarctica, to plumbing the
:11:42. > :11:45.depths of the sea. In my role as vice president of the Royal
:11:45. > :11:48.Geographical Society, I have been to some of the world's most
:11:48. > :11:53.spectacular sites. And got into more than a few scrapes on the way.
:11:53. > :11:55.Ah. But there are few things that can compare to the bracing thrill
:11:55. > :11:59.of the sea air in Britain. Especially when an exciting
:11:59. > :12:02.challenge looms much closer to home. Over the next few days, I am going
:12:02. > :12:04.to be taking on the Way of the Roses. Plugging into cycle-mania on
:12:04. > :12:07.a popular route which cuts through Lancashire and Yorkshire,
:12:07. > :12:10.showcasing some of the best landscape both counties have to
:12:10. > :12:17.offer. It is a 170 mile trip which goes from the west coast here in
:12:17. > :12:21.Morecambe to Bridlington on the east. So I have come ready prepared.
:12:22. > :12:24.So, all togged up it is time to get this show on the road. Wish me luck.
:12:25. > :12:34.So, with a kindly wave from one of Morecambe's favourite sons, I'm
:12:35. > :12:50.
:12:50. > :12:55.The route is part of an attempt to increase the cycling routes. It
:12:55. > :13:05.feels good to have put a few miles behind me and with the Pennines
:13:05. > :13:07.
:13:07. > :13:17.approaching, I grab a fellow cyclist. Unthinking about the hill
:13:17. > :13:22.
:13:22. > :13:32.ahead. His it is very tough. thought it would be a piece of cake.
:13:32. > :13:35.
:13:35. > :13:44.By the time you get there you will be in Lancashire. There is plenty
:13:44. > :13:49.of opportunity to stock up on suppliers. There is an enormous
:13:49. > :13:56.hill up there and I am going to give it a go. It seems all right so
:13:56. > :14:02.far. A piece of cake. This is reckoned to be the toughest section
:14:02. > :14:12.of the breed. I have changed my mind! It is starting to bite. I
:14:12. > :14:16.will get their bow. I am glad that is over. It blows the cobwebs out,
:14:16. > :14:20.but a smooth road ahead and I am ready. That is enough excitement
:14:20. > :14:24.for one day and now is the chance to get my breath back. Once I have
:14:24. > :14:34.a few more miles under my belt I will be looking for somewhere to
:14:34. > :14:54.
:14:54. > :14:57.And today, my journey will take great deep into Yorkshire. The
:14:57. > :15:03.route has attracted at least 14,000 coast to coasters in its first two
:15:03. > :15:08.years, among them one of the enthusiasts who helped create it.
:15:08. > :15:13.It is good to see cycling on the front pages and on the back pages.
:15:14. > :15:21.It is becoming the new Golf. It is amazing how much you have in common
:15:21. > :15:30.with other cyclists. What is you're feeling on maintaining this level
:15:30. > :15:36.of interest? We have to look at training schemes for safety. We
:15:36. > :15:39.have to ensure this carries in. With the mist closing in and Martin
:15:39. > :15:44.due back home for a well-earned Sunday roast, it is time for both
:15:44. > :15:53.of us to call it a day. Have a safe journey. I can't wait for what
:15:53. > :15:59.tomorrow might bring. Day three and I am not early.
:15:59. > :16:09.Change in the weather. I have stopped here to meet a couple for
:16:09. > :16:11.
:16:11. > :16:14.whom cycling is a way of life. Nice to meet you. Keith and Anne Benton
:16:14. > :16:24.have nearly 150 years of cycling experience between them and even as
:16:24. > :16:32.veterans their annual mileage is awesome. I keep a record. We have
:16:32. > :16:36.done just over 7,000 miles this year. Who caught the bug first?
:16:36. > :16:43.think I did. My father promised me a bicycle if I passed my 11 plus.
:16:43. > :16:52.From then, I wanted a bike for a school and all my friends had bikes,
:16:52. > :16:58.so we started going out on them. Ever since then, I keep going from
:16:58. > :17:08.one bite to the next. When we were first courting, she borrowed her
:17:08. > :17:18.brother's bike and we did a seven mile cycle there and back. Can you
:17:18. > :17:19.
:17:19. > :17:25.join me today? We will come to the next stop, yes. What is it that
:17:25. > :17:31.cycling gives you? A I was 12 when I got my first bike. I was able to
:17:31. > :17:40.get out and enjoy the countryside. Normally, that was not accessible.
:17:40. > :17:45.I had the wind on my back and the sun on my face. It was sheer bliss.
:17:45. > :17:50.Can you sum up the benefits of cycling? Over the years, we have
:17:51. > :18:00.seen people come men who were over weight and you see them just shed
:18:01. > :18:05.
:18:05. > :18:08.the pounds. Recycle to eat, so to speak. -- we cycle. So, with
:18:08. > :18:12.another enjoyable pit stop over, it is time for us to go our separate
:18:12. > :18:14.ways. I can start reeling in the rest of the miles on my own.
:18:14. > :18:20.Pocklington, Tibthorpe, Burton Agnes and Hutton Cranswick, it is
:18:20. > :18:27.like poetry reeling off these wonderful East Yorkshire names. I
:18:27. > :18:30.have five miles to go. But I don't fancy the weather. Time to get
:18:30. > :18:34.these aching bones back in the saddle. And so to my ultimate
:18:34. > :18:39.destination. 165 miles behind me and just five more to go. I am
:18:39. > :18:43.getting excited. I can almost smell the sea air. It has given me a real
:18:43. > :18:48.boost. And here I am at journey's end. With a final flourish along
:18:48. > :18:54.the shores of a deserted North Sea, I have to admit I am kind of sad I
:18:54. > :19:02.have simply run out of cycle path to use up. I am here. After an
:19:02. > :19:05.absolutely brilliant three days. It really lovely. It is unbelievable
:19:05. > :19:11.how accessible it is. It is a lovely and the easy route going
:19:11. > :19:16.through a lot of countryside. It is well marked. Anybody can do it or
:19:16. > :19:24.on any bike at any level of fitness. And if you come at this time of
:19:24. > :19:31.year, you get the beach to yourself at the end!
:19:31. > :19:34.St Georges Hall is one of Liverpool's best known landmarks.
:19:34. > :19:37.For over 40 years, Knowsley Safari Park has allowed the public to get
:19:37. > :19:40.up close and personal with many exotic animals at their park. So,
:19:40. > :19:44.when they recently had two baby white rhinos born in the park, we
:19:44. > :19:54.sent our reporter to meet them and to see how the rest of the animals
:19:54. > :20:09.
:20:09. > :20:17.will cope with the changeable Knowsley Safari Park opened to the
:20:17. > :20:21.public in 1971 and has seen many births in that time. But their
:20:21. > :20:25.latest arrivals have got everyone excited. So let's go and meet them.
:20:25. > :20:30.This is Njiri and Thabo. The calves were born to two mothers eight
:20:30. > :20:39.weeks ago, and arrived within a few days of each other. But they are
:20:39. > :20:49.not yet old enough to meet the public. Rhino keeper Leah Drury is
:20:49. > :20:53.
:20:53. > :21:03.passionate about the rhinos in her care. We have nine or rhinos at the
:21:03. > :21:06.
:21:06. > :21:12.moment. We have one bowl and for females. -- four females. We also
:21:13. > :21:16.have some young animals. It is really exciting. Because it is
:21:16. > :21:20.quite cold, they are not on display to the visitors, but hopefully in
:21:20. > :21:22.the spring we can let them out for everyone to see. They can act as
:21:22. > :21:26.ambassadors for their cousins in the wild and get people excited
:21:26. > :21:29.about rhinos. In the wild, rhinos are hunted for their horns, and the
:21:29. > :21:31.white rhino population has dwindled to only 20,000. The black rhino is
:21:31. > :21:40.in greater jeopardy with only 5,000 still in their natural habitat.
:21:40. > :21:43.Their existence really hangs in the balance. Should they be poached at
:21:43. > :21:46.the way they are, you are looking at not having rhinos in the wild in
:21:46. > :21:49.the next 10, 15, 20 years. With forecasters predicting temperatures
:21:49. > :21:53.to plummet this week, I wanted to know if Njiri and Thabo would be
:21:53. > :21:56.prepared for the British winter? It does get cold in Africa. It does go
:21:56. > :22:00.below zero, but it doesn't, not for a prolonged period as it does in
:22:00. > :22:03.Merseyside. And it is not as wet either. So, we do end up keeping
:22:03. > :22:06.them in the big house through the winter, especially the calves. We
:22:06. > :22:10.won't let them go outside because they are like little puppies. They
:22:10. > :22:17.will feed, then they will sleep for quite a long time and we don't want
:22:17. > :22:22.them sleeping on a cold floor for long periods and getting a chill.
:22:22. > :22:25.We have over 700 animals. Safari parks and zoos have had to
:22:25. > :22:27.modernise over the years and Bea Barclay says the focus has shifted
:22:27. > :22:30.from simple entertainment to conservation and education. I think
:22:30. > :22:33.zoos and safari parks in the past had an old fashioned way of looking
:22:33. > :22:36.at things. They were very much menageries for people to come and
:22:36. > :22:41.see unusual and exciting animals and just people coming and pointing
:22:41. > :22:44.at them. Never really taking anything away from that .we have
:22:45. > :22:48.very much moved on and we are very much shop windows for conservation
:22:48. > :22:51.species and working with endangered animals. A big part of our role now
:22:51. > :22:56.is to protect these species not just individually but also the
:22:56. > :23:01.habitats and the eco systems they live in. It is a place you can see
:23:01. > :23:05.animals you have never seen before. And it gets people inspired and
:23:05. > :23:09.gets them involved in wildlife. It is not the same as seeing them on
:23:09. > :23:12.TV or in a book. It is seeing these animals in the flesh that gets
:23:12. > :23:15.people passionate. And with those people visiting the park all year
:23:15. > :23:18.round, it means the keepers face many challenges in keeping these
:23:18. > :23:22.their animals warm and active during the winter months. They have
:23:22. > :23:29.come up with some unusual solutions. So this is how we keep the baboons
:23:29. > :23:39.warm during the winter. This looks like jacket potatoes to me. It is
:23:39. > :23:42.
:23:42. > :23:45.jacket potatoes. Nice and hot. We have had some harsh winters so we
:23:45. > :23:48.introduced the potatoes. It helps the baboons stay nice and active
:23:48. > :23:51.and it also gives them a hot meal during the winter. And obviously
:23:51. > :23:55.they are relatively good for them as well. Yeah, it is carbohydrates,
:23:55. > :23:58.so it fills them up nice. It keeps them running around as we throw
:23:58. > :24:01.them out across the section. It helps them stay warm as well.
:24:01. > :24:06.we take them out while they're still nice and hot? Absolutely.
:24:06. > :24:09.Let's go and feed those baboons. In the wild, these olive baboons can
:24:09. > :24:16.be found in many different habitats and all of them are much warmer
:24:16. > :24:26.than Merseyside. So, if we are going to keep them warm, I will
:24:26. > :24:29.
:24:29. > :24:34.have to test out my throwing skills. I would just call for them. So, as
:24:34. > :24:38.well as the hot potatoes, how do you keep them warm? In the winter
:24:38. > :24:41.months when it is particularly cold, we tend to put a huge bale of straw
:24:41. > :24:44.inside the house which keeps them warm. We have got a heating system
:24:44. > :24:47.in there now as well which we implemented this year. In the
:24:47. > :24:56.summer months, they tend to replicate the wild and sleep in the
:24:56. > :25:00.trees to avoid predators. So they don't tend to use the house so much
:25:00. > :25:06.in the summer. But in the winter we make sure they have got a nice deep
:25:06. > :25:09.bed of straw that keeps them warm overnight. These olive baboons are
:25:09. > :25:12.omnivores and will eat virtually anything they can, and store it in
:25:12. > :25:16.a clever way. Baboons have got pouches, a bit like hamsters for
:25:16. > :25:20.storing food in. So what they do is they tend to put as much as they
:25:20. > :25:23.can in their mouth at one time. Leaving the baboons to argue over
:25:23. > :25:28.their potatoes, we travel across the park to find Kenya, the male
:25:28. > :25:35.African lion, with his family. We are organising some activities here
:25:35. > :25:38.for the lions. What are we doing? What we have got here is some
:25:38. > :25:41.enrichment, some cardboard boxes which we have filled with hoof
:25:41. > :25:47.stock, faeces, so we've got zebra, other types of antelope, So it is a
:25:47. > :25:53.stimulus. They will follow the scent trails in the wild. So they
:25:53. > :26:02.will have a play and rip open the boxes. They tend to roll in it, so
:26:02. > :26:06.they will get the scent on them. Shall we crack on and place these
:26:06. > :26:12.boxes around the park? Absolutely. We will place them on the platform
:26:12. > :26:14.that we have got out there. That is the best place as they have three
:26:14. > :26:18.different levels where they can all climb on and they'll investigate
:26:18. > :26:28.around the area. Just to double- check, the lions are going to stay
:26:28. > :26:30.
:26:30. > :26:35.in the enclosure while we do that They look excited. Yes, they know
:26:35. > :26:43.something is going on. They know shortly they will be let out.
:26:43. > :26:53.is the platform. This is where we will place our enrichment items.
:26:53. > :27:09.
:27:09. > :27:12.they will climb and have to use More accustomed to stalking their
:27:12. > :27:20.prey, this activity gives Kenya and his family the chance to stretch
:27:20. > :27:29.their legs and indulge in some serious box ripping. They are just
:27:29. > :27:32.rolling around and playing and pulling. It is great to watch them.
:27:32. > :27:36.Being closed for the winter, the cars provide a stimulus for them
:27:36. > :27:40.normally. But because we don't have that for the winter months, we love
:27:40. > :27:44.doing little bits like this to keep them occupied and busy. They will
:27:44. > :27:47.chase and run after the boxes so it gives them exercise as well. Caring
:27:47. > :27:50.for these magnificent animals and helping to draw our attention to
:27:50. > :27:56.their plight in the wild so that they can enjoyed by future
:27:56. > :28:00.generations is what drives these keepers on. We want people to have
:28:00. > :28:03.a fantastic day out and to really have a fun day with families but we
:28:03. > :28:06.also want them to have a take away message which is we have to
:28:06. > :28:09.conserve these animals. We need to look at ways humans can live
:28:09. > :28:19.alongside animals and reduce the conflict so that we can both live
:28:19. > :28:24.
:28:25. > :28:32.That is all from me here in Liverpool. If you have missed any
:28:32. > :28:37.of the programme, catch up on the BBC iPlayer. I am back next week at