Network Rail privatisation 'on the table'

[RHB]

I'd say it was your default style,old chap.

It was probably unfair of me to offer a view on your style, but Barna's right,

 

[davewebbsbrain]

Indeed, a lot of the lines he gave the chop to are being rebuilt - borders in Scotland, East-West near me. Short sighted ********.

I saw a documentary on it all and they did feasibility studies as to how many passengers used certain stations but you can be damn sure the study took place out of peak hours. Some of the stations they took away, especially in Cornwall aren't easy to get to any other way, the train was the way families got to these places for holidays

 

[Rob Noxious]

I saw a documentary on it all and they did feasibility studies as to how many passengers used certain stations but you can be damn sure the study took place out of peak hours. Some of the stations they took away, especially in Cornwall aren't easy to get to any other way, the train was the way families got to these places for holidays

Have you noticed how the train journeys really slow up generally beyond Plymouth? Most of the trains stop at many stations en route to the end of the line here in Penzance. I bet the north coastal journey pre-Beeching was fantastic though. Still a fantastic journey from St Erth - last stop before PZ - to St Ives, mind. And for £8-30 with a Devon & Cornwall railcard, you can get unlimited use of trains and buses all around Cornwall for a day. Great for Rail Ale/Beer & Bus tours!

 

[C'mon you Shrimpers]

tell me about it. Hopefully the SNP win independence and invade the north and take us with them. The weather would be **** but at least we'd have the chance of some government investment infrastructure north of birmingham.

Ho ho. Ever driven on the A9.

 

[Pubey]

Ho ho. Ever driven on the A9.

haha fair point - yeah I have.

Bottom line, the trains I have to get to go to Manchester/Leeds/Manchester airport etc are absolutely criminal. Plus they're unreliable, slow, old and expensive. Northern Powerhouse my rectum.

 

[Uncle Leo]

Beeching has a lot to answer for

You say that, but one of the lines he cut is pretty close to my house. I enjoy running along there and it would be very tricky if there were still trains running. Also, the old line used to lead directly to my mother-in-law's town and I'd rather it wasn't easy for her to pop round.

 

[C'mon you Shrimpers]

haha fair point - yeah I have.

Bottom line, the trains I have to get to go to Manchester/Leeds/Manchester airport etc are absolutely criminal. Plus they're unreliable, slow, old and expensive. Northern Powerhouse my rectum.

I think it's opened up a good debate. We love Italy and have been on their trains quite a bit. Very cheap, well used but not terribly clean. Must cost the state a fortune. It would be interesting for some real comparison figures between countries. My recollection of the C2C in the old days (and I'm very old) was the carriages really smelt, the seats were usually ripped and the whole thing was pretty dirty. However expectations were low and prices probably (I can't really remember now) were cheap. When I had to go to Brunel Uni between 1979 and 1981 I had to go from Chalkwell to Fenchurch street (train left about 6 something) then the tube from Aldgate to Uxbridge. I was always there bang on time (less can be said about my fellow students who mainly lived in London - boy that caused friction). Not only that but at that time the station master at Uxbridge a fine looking African Caribean man in full uniform and clearly immensely proud of his station and the Metropolitan Line service was there to say "good morning", to every single passenger. Really set up the day well. Never forgotten him.

 

[Pubey]

I remember reading somewhere that the french train system is hugely expensive for the government. It might of been when I got off an empty TGV in some random station in the middle of nowhere when I was heading to Aix. Amazing trains and service, but felt like a white elephant the few times I've used it.

 

[Uncle Leo]

When I had to go to Brunel Uni between 1979 and 1981 I had to go from Chalkwell to Fenchurch street (train left about 6 something) then the tube from Aldgate to Uxbridge. I was always there bang on time (less can be said about my fellow students who mainly lived in London - boy that caused friction). Not only that but at that time the station master at Uxbridge a fine looking African Caribean man in full uniform and clearly immensely proud of his station and the Metropolitan Line service was there to say "good morning", to every single passenger. Really set up the day well. Never forgotten him.

That's some commute. For six months, I did Benfleet to Rayners Lane (plus the bus from Canvey to Benfleet) every day for work and I was knackered by the end of it!

Lived in Uxbridge until a few years ago and although I don't remember a friendly station guard, the Italian café that looks like it has been there since the 1930s is still going strong.

 

[MK Shrimper]

I remember reading somewhere that the french train system is hugely expensive for the government. It might of been when I got off an empty TGV in some random station in the middle of nowhere when I was heading to Aix. Amazing trains and service, but felt like a white elephant the few times I've used it.

I was at a conference a earlier in the year, and a rep from SNCF was discussing OLE renewals. A lot of their equipment, away from the main TGV routes is nearly 100 years old :stunned:

As for the privitisation, if it does happen I can see the IIP (Infrastructure Investment Procurement) department being flogged off. The big dream for them is to look at work overseas and outside of he railways.

The whole system is crazy - as I type, some colleagues are in court. NR (one part of the government) is being sued by the ORR (another part of the government) for some electrical malarky tick sheet that hasn't been met.

It's like UL's son suing UL's daughter for not tidying their bedroom.

 

[Uncle Leo]

It's like UL's son suing UL's daughter for not tidying their bedroom.

Please don't give them ideas.

 

[united we stand]

cry me a river you sap.

Why burden others? There are many ways to top yourself and throwing yourself onto a train line is about as selfish as you can get as you've inconvenienced so many.... How many people miss airplanes, job interviews etc?

You really are a derranged tosser

I hope you are not including the two people in the last 18 months have had heart attacks at stations on the Network Anglia line and have fallen in front of a train. I'm pretty sure those people would rather not have inconvenienced you if they had been given a choice

 

[Pubey]

I thought this article was interesting regarding how the govt have been financing major infrastructure projects.

[barna]http://gu.com/p/4ckcy[/barna]

 

[Ricky Otto]

cry me a river you sap.

Why burden others? There are many ways to top yourself and throwing yourself onto a train line is about as selfish as you can get as you've inconvenienced so many.... How many people miss airplanes, job interviews etc?

You really are a derranged tosser

I'm sure if you are in the mental state where you want to take your own life there is more serious stuff on your mind than other peoples journeys, not sure it can be called selfish as I doubt they think "let's **** off as many commuters as I can whilst killing myself". Have a bit of compassion, it is a pain when it happens (always at Romford for some reason?) but it's a mild inconvenience compared to the suffering someone must be experiencing to take their own life!

 

[Pubey]

I'm sure if you are in the mental state where you want to take your own life there is more serious stuff on your mind than other peoples journeys, not sure it can be called selfish as I doubt they think "let's **** off as many commuters as I can whilst killing myself". Have a bit of compassion, it is a pain when it happens (always at Romford for some reason?) but it's a mild inconvenience compared to the suffering someone must be experiencing to take their own life!

Indeed.

By definition, someone with a mental health condition is unlikely to be able to think and process complex thoughts and emotions rationally. Therefore they aren't thinking this is a selfish act, they're thinking it's a selfless act to remove themselves as a burden from friends/family/society.

It's a dreadful situation for all concerned. Suicide continues to be such a taboo topic in this country - it's the most common cause of death in men under 35.

 

[MK Shrimper]

It's a dreadful situation for all concerned. Suicide continues to be such a taboo topic in this country - it's the most common cause of death in men under 35.

Big drive on mental health here at NR, trying to break the crap that people like SB24 spout as it makes things 10 times worse. I heard yesterday, off hand, that deaths on the railways (though not just suicides) are 5 per day - and there are very, very few railway workers (NR or contract) in that figure. Shocking, it's becomming on a par with road deaths.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

I remember reading somewhere that the french train system is hugely expensive for the government. It might of been when I got off an empty TGV in some random station in the middle of nowhere when I was heading to Aix. Amazing trains and service, but felt like a white elephant the few times I've used it.

I can assure you that the SNCF is not "a white elephant" and provides an excellent service to the public.

 

[Pubey]

I can assure you that the SNCF is not "a white elephant" and provides an excellent service to the public.

I was talking more specifically about the TGV.

Is it an efficient use of public finance if it's under-utilised? I see they've set up a new 'rock-bottom' service for budget travel. That's a good thing for consumers, but concerning that they have the capacity to do that.

I'm not saying it's a bad service, but when I've used it it's been astonishingly quiet and quite a few of the stations are outside of the city centre which reduces its conveninence.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

I was talking more specifically about the TGV.

Is it an efficient use of public finance if it's under-utilised? I see they've set up a new 'rock-bottom' service for budget travel. That's a good thing for consumers, but concerning that they have the capacity to do that.

I'm not saying it's a bad service, but when I've used it it's been astonishingly quiet and quite a few of the stations are outside of the city centre which reduces its conveninence.

What a lot of people do (including my bother-in-law, a businessman based in Paris, who lives in Avingon) is buy up cheap tickets in advance and sell on the ones he doesn't use on the net.There is a huge market for this.

Why pay expensive full-price fares when you don't need to?

I understand regular commuters on the Barcelona/Madrid high speed train service do the same thing.

A lot of the stations built for the TGV in France (and later in Spain) are brand new and built outside city centres.There's one in Figueres for example.

 

[Pubey]

What a lot of people do (including my bother-in-law, a businessman based in Paris, who lives in Avingon) is buy up cheap tickets in advance and sell on the ones he doesn't use on the net.There is a huge market for this.

Why pay expensive full-price fares when you don't need to?

I understand regular commuters on the Barcelona/Madrid high speed train service do the same thing.

A lot of the stations built for the TGV in France (and later in Spain) are brand new and built outside city centres.There's one in Figueres for example.

that's exactly what i've just said:dim:

They've built this vast huge expensive train network which isn't particularly convenient and unsurprisingly is under-used and extremely expensive to develop and maintain.