Part of the reason the railways are in the state they're is because the whole network was left to rot under government control, and any upgrades in the last 20 years have involved already out of date technology. The reason Continental railway fares are cheaper than ours is that they're even more heavily subsidised than the UK's. Look at the fiasco that HS2 is; do we really want the whole network to be run like that?

https://www.rugbyadvertiser.co.uk/news/comment-nationalising-our-railways-is-the-only-way-to-fix-chronic-problems-1-8334827

I've long believed that services we all need should be run under our government on a non profit basis. In theory, that ought give us good service, but at lower cost because there are no dividends etc. to pay.

One of my popular training pieces was a rather embarrassing presentation on BR. If we do go for re-nationalising we must ensure (and I'm not sure how we would) that we don't go back to the bad old days which I remember all too well. The problem with nationalising is that if something more 'important' comes along, the nationalised product is starved of funds in favour of the new 'important' issue. Perhaps (and I know the treasury is totally against it) ring fencing certain categories of taxation would work? eg, tax raised via the railways can only be spent on the railways.

A solution could be keeping the railways at 'arm's length', although I can't see that happening - politicians only have their eye on the next vote, and most of them can barely run a bath. They won't take a long-term view, and won't be able to stop meddling for short-term personal gain.