Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

British Rail

2009-05-29T21:44:43Z

DanielJ: expanded

'''British Rail''' (in full, the British Railways Board) was the nationalised railway of [[Great Britain]] from 1948 until the system was privatised piecemeal in the 1990s. It included almost all the standard gauge railways in Great Britain, with the exception of the [[London Underground]], the [[Tyne and Wear Metro]], Merseyrail, tram lines, and some industrial and colliery lines; railways in [[Northern Ireland]] were run by a separate authority. Subsequent to privatisation, Britain's network of tracks and stations has been owned and maintained by Railtrack, and subsequently Network Rail, while train services have been managed by numerous regional Train Operating Companies (TOCs), who lease rolling stock from a number of leasing companies such as HSBC Rail.

Although privatisation has brought a huge amount of investment, large efficiency savings and improved infrastructure and services, the government has continued to strangle innovation by heavily regulating companies behaviour, dictating timetables and service patterns as well as fares, though despite this, since privatisation passenger usage and quality of service has soared well above socialised rail systems such as those in France, Spain and the Netherlands.

Efforts by certain rail operators to obtain greater freedom to operate services have met with stiff opposition, with some liberals calling for the entire rail system to be re-nationalised. This agenda came one step nearer to realisation in 2002, when the liberal government of Tony Blair forced Railtrack into bankruptcy, and split it's responsibilities between the Strategic Rail Authority and the government controlled company Network Rail.

[[Category:Rail transport]]

Amtrak

2009-05-09T21:33:08Z

DanielJ: expanded

[[Image:Amtrak.jpg|right|thumb]]
'''Amtrak''' is "the blending of the words '[[United States of America|American]]' and '[[Railway track|track]]'". Amtrak is "also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corporation". "Amtrak was created by Congress in 1970 to take over the passenger rail services previously required to be operated by private freight railroad companies in the United States. "<ref>[http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/Title_Image_Copy_Page&c=am2Copy&cid=1081442674300&ssid=542 Amtrak National Facts]</ref>

Amtrak was originally intended to be a financially self supporting organisation, but has never been profitable in it's 39 year history, and instead has consumed billions of dollars of American taxpayers money supporting intercity [[rail]] services that are little used and unreliable.

During his years in office, [[George W Bush]] attempted to force Amtrak to reform by threatening to end the flow of taxpayer money to Amtrak, but his efforts were thwarted by congress following lobbying by liberal pressure groups, such as the [[National Association of Railroad Passengers]], who falsely claimed that doing so would cut off rural communities. However, almost all rural settlements in the US are, in fact, connected by all-weather roads easily traversable by private vehicles.

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External Links==
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/HomePage Official website

[[category:rail transport]]

Singapore

2009-05-09T21:08:39Z

DanielJ: Adding a few minor details.

[[Image:Singaporeflag.gif|thumb|100px|Singapore flag]]'''Singapore''' (Malay: ''Singa'' (lion) + ''pura'' (city)) is a city-state and republic, situated on a group of islands at the southern tip of the Malay peninsula. Its population of about 4 million people is 76% ethnic Chinese, 14% Malay, 7% Indian and 3% others.
{{Clear}}
==History==
[[Image:Guan Yin Temple, Singapore.jpg|thumb|Guan Yin Temple.]]

Singapore was an ignored, swampy island with only a few fishing villages until 1819 when [[Sir Stamford Raffles]] of the British [[East India Company]] was given permission to establish a trading station by the Sultan of Johor. Raffles had spotted its strategic location as a crossroads on the shipping routes to the East and set about turning the island into a free trading station.<ref>[http://www.visitsingapore.com/publish/stbportal/en/home/about_singapore/brief_history.html] Uniquely Singapore - Brief History</ref> Alongside the British colonial presence it attracted many entrepreneurs from China, India and the Middle East and within 5 years the population rose from 150 to 10,000. In 1824 the British bought the island outright from the Sultan. Following the Anglo-Dutch treaty of 1824, the [[Dutch]], who had largely been the dominant colonial power in south-east Asia, withdrew any objections to the British occupation.

The British tended to congregate round the river waterfront and many grand buildings in the Palladian style were built largely with the help of Irish architect George Coleman.<ref>Visitors' Guide to Singapore, 13th Edition, 2006/7, pp.20-21</ref> With the opening of the [[Suez Canal]] in 1869, the invention of steamships and the laying of long-distance telegraph cables Singapore became increasingly important as a port and trading centre.

At the outbreak of [[World War II]], Singapore was regarded as a well-defended base for the Allies in the Far-East. However, on February 15, 1942 Singapore fell to the [[Japanese]] after six-days of fighting. The occupation of the next three and a half years was brutal with many atrocities and war-crimes being committed. The island was renamed Syonan (Light of the South) until the defeat of Japan. The occupying forces formally surrendered to the British at the Changi prison-camp in September 1945.

In 1946, Singapore became a British Crown Colony. However, the communist insurgency in Malaya of 1948 put Singapore in a state of emergency for 12 years. There was a rise of nationalism during the 1950s as the merchant classes wanted to have a say in government and in 1959 Singapore was granted self-government under the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew. In 1963 Singapore merged with [[Federation of Malaya|Federated Malaya]] and the Borneo states of Sarawak and North Borneo (Sabah) to create Malaysia. The third Borneo state of Brunei opted for independence. This merger was actively opposed by the neighbouring states of Indonesia and the Philippines. The union did not last long, owing to ideological differences between Lee Kuan Yee's PAP (People's Action Party) and the federal government in Kuala Lumpur. Singapore was obliged to withdraw and became a sovereign, independent nation on August 9, 1965.

With only a small land mass and limited natural resources Singapore was forced to industrialize and develop its technical prowess alongside its trading and transportation hub role. Government policies emphasized the role of education, especially in computer science, and, increasingly, bio-sciences.

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Asian Countries]]
[[Category:Islands]]