Leeds is almost in Scotland, isn't it?

[scooterscot]

PS You might move North? Have you seen the size of the English populations in some Highland towns? And just so, they shat in their own nest and then moved in to take over a new one.

My folks just sold a house in Argyll bought by a English couple from Portsmouth -

[AtW]

IMHO much better use could indeed be made of existing track, including reliable single-occupancy sleepers that don't cost as much as a taxi with civilised accommodation at either end.

I think trains in the UK should be double decked to increase capacity - this upgrade should be fairly cheap to do as tracks stay the same, train station's length also.

How about a midnight departure with advance checkin, lounge car already open, separate lounge in station (who needs Glasgow or Euston at 11:30pm?), cooked breakfast+newspaper on the train at a civilised hour of the morning; and plenty of time to leave the train? I might go for that.

Sounds fine by me. Very high speed train in this case is bad actually because you won't get time to sleep.

The Conservatives are 100% right with this plan - the cost is a fraction of what Nu Liebor wasted on PFI, bail outs of dodgy morgages etc - it's shocking really how much UK infrastructure can be improved for £150 bln so long as no EDS, ccenture types are involved.

Maybe the only strategic mistake of Britain was not to adopt French language and be part of greater French Republic.

[AtW]

How about a midnight departure with advance checkin, lounge car already open, separate lounge in station (who needs Glasgow or Euston at 11:30pm?), cooked breakfast+newspaper on the train at a civilised hour of the morning; and plenty of time to leave the train? I might go for that.

Come to think about it - if it's £50 night return sleeper ticket then it could replace expensive London hotels - travel to Scotland to see places and back while sleep and transport is paid for, that would actually be in demand IMO.

[Bagpuss]

Fair enough! Also, why provide transport to ginger, prismatically pale & translucent

It comes to something when 'British' people beome ashamed of the classic British appearance. Olive skin is not indigenous to these isles.

[expat]

I think trains in the UK should be double decked to increase capacity - this upgrade should be fairly cheap to do as tracks stay the same, train station's length also.



Sounds fine by me. Very high speed train in this case is bad actually because you won't get time to sleep.

The Conservatives are 100% right with this plan - the cost is a fraction of what Nu Liebor wasted on PFI, bail outs of dodgy morgages etc - it's shocking really how much UK infrastructure can be improved for £150 bln so long as no EDS, ccenture types are involved.

Maybe the only strategic mistake of Britain was not to adopt French language and be part of greater French Republic.

French are largely giving up on sleeper trains, replacing them with TGV. It's not quite the same. Four years ago I regularly went weekly between Paris and Zurich: the sleeper was perfect but even then it was just a single Wagons-Lits car (wagon 110) attached to a seating train.

While I'm at it, why no sleeper trains across channel? I'd love to take a midnight train from London to Frankfurt. The distance is right, and is wrong for day trains (especially with multiple changes).

[AtW]

While I'm at it, why no sleeper trains across channel?

Safety probably - in case of any issues evacuation will be difficult. Well, maybe this is not the main consideration - I think UK is just a bad country for any trains past midnight, this was really annoying me when I used to use trains every day.

I remember once having to go to Dundee for a job interview and had to go through Glasgow, by the time I reached the place the only thing I cared about was to finish interview as soon as possible to catch the last train (3pm!) back to the mainland. They should pay London salaries to live there, and Scotland salaries in London

[expat]

Come to think about it - if it's £50 night return sleeper ticket then it could replace expensive London hotels - travel to Scotland to see places and back while sleep and transport is paid for, that would actually be in demand IMO.

No, tovarich: it's £162 return in 2nd class (1 berth in a 2-berth cabin, normally share with a stranger), or £224 return in 1st, which is the only way not to share (actually, bribing the steward is cheaper).

BTW why no showers on the trains, they can do it on boats?

[scooterscot]

BTW why no showers on the trains, they can do it on boats?

Probably more weight on the rolling stock would result in burning more fuel, not much of an issue on a boaty. + where would the grey water go? I'd save it for Leeds... they'd never notice.

[expat]

Safety probably - in case of any issues evacuation will be difficult. Well, maybe this is not the main consideration - I think UK is just a bad country for any trains past midnight, this was really annoying me when I used to use trains every day.

I remember once having to go to Dundee for a job interview and had to go through Glasgow, by the time I reached the place the only thing I cared about was to finish interview as soon as possible to catch the last train (3pm!) back to the mainland. They should pay London salaries to live there, and Scotland salaries in London

Don't know, I think it's more that trains are sort of point-to-point. On the continent, you will often find trains in the middle of the night, because they start and end in other more distant locations in daytime hours. In fact when I lived in Hamburg all the long-distance trains seemed to go through at 3am, because they all originated in Paris or Copenhagen or wherever. By contrast, trains to and from Paris are all daytime/end of evening/start of morning, becaus none of them are through trains, Paris is the end of all the lines.

London salaries in Scotland? It'd be mobbed!

[AtW]

No, tovarich: it's £162 return in 2nd class (1 berth in a 2-berth cabin, normally share with a stranger), or £224 return in 1st, which is the only way not to share (actually, bribing the steward is cheaper).

That's rip off Britain in action.

Can someone who has been to Japan say how much tickets on high speed trains cost there?

Next year I plan to take train to Russia rather than airplane - estimated cost is 333 euros one way - one day stop in Berlin too.