Originally posted by gricerboy
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Reply to: A Disturbing New Trend
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Previously on "A Disturbing New Trend"
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Originally posted by xoggoth View PostI 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.
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Originally posted by Mich the Tester View PostI 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.
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Originally posted by xoggoth View PostI 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.
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.Last edited by Mich the Tester; 25 August 2010, 09:32.
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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?
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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.
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Originally posted by gricerboy View PostFollowing on from leaves on the line, the wrong kind of snow and nausea inducing Pendolino trains there appears to be a new menace stalking the British rail network....
Though menace is probably overstating.
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Originally posted by gricerboy View PostFirstly, I would say that it was wrong because we were detrained under false pretences.
Originally posted by gricerboy View PostSecondly, I would say it was wrong because there were elderly and disabled people on board who were subjected to the distress of having to descend and ascend 2 long flights of stairs and of a condsiderable perambulation through the underground thoroughfare connecting the 2 platforms.
Originally posted by gricerboy View PostThirdly, I would say it was wrong because I had to negotiate my recumbent bicycle along the aforementioned route and then had great difficulty in manouevring my cycle into a position deemed acceptable by the guard on board the 1 car unit.
Originally posted by gricerboy View PostFourthly, I would say it was wrong because we pulled into Warminster, Wiltshire 6 minutes late and I missed the warm up for the concert in which I was performing.
Efficiency of rolling stock caused you in this instance to move trains and arrive 6 mins late, now can you tell me how the "broken train" stck was used? if they were used to allow a bursting full train of commuters to not have to sniff each others armpits and possibly get a seat then it was a good decision by the rail company IMO.. you only see/moan about it from one perspective, we would need the greater picture to judge fairly..
this could easily have been a tale of "we were stuck on a full train but how delightful 3 new carraiges arrived and although we were delayed 20 mins it made the whole journey far more pleasant.."
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Originally posted by gricerboy View PostFirstly, I would say that it was wrong because we were detrained under false pretences.
Secondly, I would say it was wrong because there were elderly and disabled people on board who were subjected to the
distress of having to descend and ascend 2 long flights of stairs and of a condsiderable perambulation through the underground thoroughfare connecting the 2 platforms.
Thirdly, I would say it was wrong because I had to negotiate my recumbent bicycle along the aforementioned route and then had great difficulty in manouevring my cycle into a position deemed acceptabl;e by the guard on board the 1 car unit.
Fourthly, I would say it was wrong because we pulled into Warminster, Wiltshire 6 minutes late and I missed the warm up for the concert in which I was performing.
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Originally posted by shaunbhoy View Post4 car train running at 25% capacity. Passengers rehoused on a 1 car train and spare carriages used to make up shortfall elsewhere. Can't see a problem myself. Just get on with it you tedious dimwit.
Secondly, I would say it was wrong because there were elderly and disabled people on board who were subjected to the
distress of having to descend and ascend 2 long flights of stairs and of a condsiderable perambulation through the underground thoroughfare connecting the 2 platforms.
Thirdly, I would say it was wrong because I had to negotiate my recumbent bicycle along the aforementioned route and then had great difficulty in manouevring my cycle into a position deemed acceptabl;e by the guard on board the 1 car unit.
Fourthly, I would say it was wrong because we pulled into Warminster, Wiltshire 6 minutes late and I missed the warm up for the concert in which I was performing.
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I can never understand why train carriages/buses/coaches are always the same stupid great heavy things. Why not have small ones on lesser used routes? On the roads round here you frequently have to crawl along in the hedge when you meet a dirty great bus blocking most of the road. There are usually a couple of old ladies in it.
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Originally posted by shaunbhoy View Post4 car train running at 25% capacity. Passengers rehoused on a 1 car train and spare carriages used to make up shortfall elsewhere. Can't see a problem myself. Just get on with it you tedious dimwit.
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4 car train running at 25% capacity. Passengers rehoused on a 1 car train and spare carriages used to make up shortfall elsewhere. Can't see a problem myself. Just get on with it you tedious dimwit.
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A Disturbing New Trend
Following on from leaves on the line, the wrong kind of snow and nausea inducing Pendolino trains there appears to be a new menace stalking the British rail network.
This is something of which I have direct experience and while I don't wish to bore you all with the minutiae of these occurrences, I will outline my most recent experience as an illustration.
Last week, I caught the 8:14 pm service from Cardiff Central to Warminster, Wiltshire. The rolling stock consisted of a 4 car unit and I would say the train was running at about 25% of full capacity. Now, I know there were no problems with this train as I was listening intently throughout the course of the journey as I was noting the frequency of clicketty clacks for my survey on the discontinuities in continuous rail on the rail network (i think i may have mentioned this before). So you can imagine my surprise when, upon pulling alongside Platform 3 at Bristol Temple Meads Station, we were informed that, owing to a technical fault, we would have to disembark and board another train on Platform 5. On reaching platform 5 and seeing the single car set awaiting us for the remainder of our journey, it suddenly dawned on me what was going on here. Ostensibly, we were detrained due to a technical fault but the reality of the situation was that, since we were running at low capacity, our rolling stock was sequestrated to furnish the needs of another service.
As I said, this was not an isolated incedent and I am in the process of chronicling my experiences for submission in a report to the Association Of Train Operating Companies so I would like to solicit your views on the subject and would be very interested in particular to hear from anyone who has themselves been subjected to an involuntary detraining of such a nature.Tags: None
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