British rail was a joke before privatisation. Now the complaint is mainly around the cost of popular trains, and the performance of state run franchises like northern
Shortly after privatisation, the Conservatives who did it lost power; it was going "so well" that the Conservatives' own choice of advertising posters in 2001 included "You paid the tax so where are the trains?"*, an irony I remember well because I was into writing letters to the newspaper editor at the time and my letter about it was published.
The main joke (there have been many smaller ones) for the last ~ decade has been the Brighton-London route, and two decades ago my trains home from Aberystwyth were getting cancelled every time a few stops before the Birmingham, with people saying that was to avoid getting counted as late.
