Ah, It's obvious. It's the boundless superiority complex and sense of entitlement of some people who live in the south of England, and their apparent belief that those of us who arw dull enough to remain up north should simply accept how things are without question. Those are the vital factors I've missed justifying why expenditure on rail down there per head is many times what it is in the north.
I feel a proper banana now.
I live in London and I assure you most people here do not have a sense of entitlement. They do however have common sense.
The first thing many people in other parts of the country need to understand is that much of the investment in London's railways comes from local taxes and grants and only part comes from Central Government. The mooted Crossrail 2 is a good example. Northern whingers complain about Government support for this project although the Government has not committed itself to supporting it. Most of the financing will come from London.
A second point is that most people in London do not have the over developed tribal instinct - the us against them mentality - that is so prevalent elsewhere. Londoners do not think, as you so wrongly assume, that people in the North should shut up and accept low standards. We do note however that Northern politicians accepted HS2 and did not argue that the astronomical sums involved should instead be used to procure huge improvements across the whole of Northern England.
Another point which people in the north should consider is that in the Home Counties, we do not run silly two coach trains when five coaches are necessary. Down here we lengthen platforms and trains as much as possible, and still the trains are full to bursting at peak times. I suggest you compare peak hour arrivals at Waterloo with those at any Northern station.
If people in the North want heavy investment in railway infrastructure they need to do two things. First, they need to come up with schemes that will be cost-effective, practicable and of benefit to very large numbers of people. Second, they need to find a way for a major part of the financing to come from local taxes and businesses.