A Disturbing New Trend

[northernladuk]

Is it similar to that disturbing trend of tulip sockies going quiet lulling us in to a false sense of security and then popping up again to disappoint us when we least expect it?

[Mich the Tester]

I bet third world trains are a darn sight cheaper. If it only cost me 50p from London to Birmingham I would be quite happy to cling to the roof. Even happier if there was goat next to me.

I travelled around India by train in the early 90’s, just as the last steam locomotives were still being used. Rail travel is indeed very cheap there, and reliable within certain parameters. An express train may have a stated departure time of something laughably precise like 0913h, but basically on long routes there’ll be a morning train leaving anytime between 8 o’clock and 11 o’clock, a midday train sometime after lunch and then a night train leaving sometime in the evening. The journeys are so long that they can make up a lot of lost time on the way by speeding up a bit.

There are several classes ranging from the unofficial sit-on-the-roof class, official 3rd class through to 1st class Airconditioned which is still very cheap compared to European transport. I went in 1st class non-airco, which was OK on night trains as the temperature was a bit lower; not luxurious, but certainly safe to know that the people in your compartment don't really need to nick your bags to pay for their next meal. 3rd class is not for the faint hearted, but worth a short look and a chat with people if you know you can return to 1st. You may indeed find yourself sharing space with some small farm animals.

Still, I prefer 1st class in the pendolino if I'm going from London to Birmingham.

[shaunbhoy]

I travelled around India by train in the early 90’s, just as the last steam locomotives were still being used. Rail travel is indeed very cheap there, and reliable within certain parameters. An express train may have a stated departure time of something laughably precise like 0913h, but basically on long routes there’ll be a morning train leaving anytime between 8 o’clock and 11 o’clock, a midday train sometime after lunch and then a night train leaving sometime in the evening.

The train companies also have the benefit that a large percentage of those passengers likely to complain about lax timekeeping, look and sound a lot less intimidating when they require both hands to hold onto the outside of the carriages!

[SupremeSpod]

I bet third world trains are a darn sight cheaper. If it only cost me 50p from London to Birmingham I would be quite happy to cling to the roof. Even happier if there was goat next to me.

And I bet Third World Trains are mostly under water...

[Robster]

I don't wish to bore you all

I think its a bit late for that, don't you?