@Captain_Deltic I get the impression that these spads are young inexperienced and woefully ignorant of the world as it actually works and come from a rather narrow section of our society, but I may be wrong.
@Captain_Deltic In reality I don’t think they care. They have carried out a manifesto promise. That’s enough of a positive gloss for now, especially after all those U turns. Blame for failures to deliver can always be attached to ‘unforeseen’ issues linked to privatisation when necessary, later.
@thesoubr@SlipdeGarcon@ClarkeMicah I don’t hate cars but I increasingly dislike driving due to congestion & state of our roads. Using motorways is a time lottery these days. Parking’s often an expensive nightmare & the standard of driving leaves a lot to be desired. It’s not a safe way to travel as statistics show
@JeffFeathersto8@railnigel Fixed formation seems fairly standard throughout Europe, it’s the length that varies and the number of them. You often see French TGV’s in pairs. A double TGV is over 1200 feet long and a double deck set can carry 1200 passengers. And often they are fully booked too.
@liam43102@GazTheJourno We were never very good at air con, but then till the early 2000’s it wasn’t such an issue as there were few days when it was actually needed.
@iam_me31244 @Ogilvie_CJ It depends why the train has broken down. An overhead line power failure may disable several trains. There are recovery locos but you have to get them there which takes time. Most people can use the short ladder with assistance and there are other ways of helping those who can’t
@PATSTONE55@MarkJLittlewood I don’t think I would attempt to travel very far by car either on a bank holiday weekend. The chances of delays are if anything worse than on the railway plus last time I went anywhere I had to keep avoiding large potholes, even on A roads. It was grim.
@iam_me31244 @Ogilvie_CJ We do allow it. There is a recognised procedure for evacuating a train. It is harder than in France as the drop from train door to track level requires a ladder and thus has to be managed effectively and safely.
@davidyelland Britain is broken for most of us when you can’t drive down a road without encountering a pot hole, when your local water course is polluted with sewage, when you can’t get your bin emptied, when trains are late & buses don’t run. These are the things that matter.
@liam43102 Try getting a reservation on a busy TGV route during the holiday period in France. On the day it’s almost impossible. Even a week or two in advance it’s difficult for civilised travel times. No reservation means no travel as I have found to my cost.