Notes From the Rail Network

[Sysman]

When I used to fly back for Geneva you could guarantee that the Friday afternoon/evening QueasyJet flight would be delayed. Their stock reason was that it was delayed due to the late arrival of the inbound aircraft. Yeah, the one you were flying! That's like saying I was late for work due to the late departure from my bed!

My theory is that they are consistently late on purpose. Whether that's so you'll spend more with them or they get a discount for later slots I am not sure. Perhaps a combination of both.

[Sysman]

Well, I for one think it a very useful and worthwhile exercise. From my many cycling trips I have learnt that there's nothing quite as insane as the general public on their way to work, and many more now cycle because Arriva took over the buses.

Arriva Yorkshire accused of discrimination against passengers, allegedly.

[BoredBloke]

"South West Trains apologise for the late arrival of this train. This is due to chronic underinvestment in infrastructure"

When I used to fly back for Geneva you could guarantee that the Friday afternoon/evening QueasyJet flight would be delayed. Their stock reason was that it was delayed due to the late arrival of the inbound aircraft. Yeah, the one you were flying! That's like saying I was late for work due to the late departure from my bed!

[fullyautomatix]

There is a direct "Arriva" bus from my house to my office. Its very convenient for me to take the bus but it costs about 3 times more than the fuel for my car. I therefore drive to work.

The buses, however, are filled with only students and pensioners. Never seen any "paying" public take the bus.

[lilelvis2000]

http://blogspot.com - please. There are much better and more visible places to post this stuff.

Whilst I agree that Britain leads the world in being crap at almost everything (rail, road, education, wages, civil liberties) this ain't the place to rant....unless you're paranoid.

[doodab]

I think that years of neglect from Arriva have left consumers and staff in a perpetual state of frustration and exasperation and many responses I got to my questions included obscentities and insults directed at me.

Or it might just be that you are an annoying little tulip who keeps poking your nose where it doesn't belong.

[Moscow Mule]

"South West Trains apologise for the late arrival of this train. This is due to chronic underinvestment in infrastructure"

[threaded]

I sincerely hope we can all help you get used to this, by continuing to shower you with abuse at every opportunity.

Loser.

Well, I for one think it a very useful and worthwhile exercise. From my many cycling trips I have learnt that there's nothing quite as insane as the general public on their way to work, and many more now cycle because Arriva took over the buses.

[MaryPoppins]

many responses I got to my questions included obscentities and insults directed at me.

I sincerely hope we can all help you get used to this, by continuing to shower you with abuse at every opportunity.

Loser.

[gricerboy]

As I have a little more time on my hands at the moment I'm going to run a parallel thread to my morning train thread in which I'll be airing my views on the state of Britain's rail network and making suggestions as to how we can improve it.

In the first installment, we're going to look at a case study; that of the takeover of Arriva Trains by Deutcsh Bahn. Now, the reason I've been absent for the past few days is that I've been travelling extensively in the North West region of the network; the region that will be most directly affected by the takeover. This has involved getting out there and talking to people to gauge how things are before the takeover occurs from the perspective of perceptions of rail passengers and more tangible things like the state of the rolling stock. I shall then make another visit a couple of months after the takeover and compare and contrast the two scenarios. Should be a very interesting exercise. I should admit, however, that the initial part of the task has not been easy in the slightest. I think that years of neglect from Arriva have left consumers and staff in a perpetual state of frustration and exasperation and many responses I got to my questions included obscentities and insults directed at me. I do however concede that the rather brusque nature of the inhabitants of this part of the world may somewhat skew my perceptions. I'll be releasing a more detailed report shortly.