Recent content by Chester1

Just googled. Talgo is 39.83% owned by Trilantic Capital Partners which is an Anglo-American private equity company registered in New York and London. That still makes it the most British train manufacturer. Ownership nationality only makes a big difference when there is a close relationship...

I think that is spot on. The government sees it as saving the taxpayer money and if they prove the doubters wrong then good for them. The Virgin proposal looks too far the other way i.e. profitable but too abstractive.

Surprisingly Talgo is 35% British owned. They highlighted it when they were looking to build a factory in Scotland before the pandemic.

There are 1tph of empty off peak fast paths in the WCML timetable. There appears to be a scramble for all of them. I doubt less than 4tpd will be viable so only 2 or 3 of the 4 operators can actually launch services. The government helped the Wrexham and Shropshire proposal by allowing Avanti to...

I have used Revolut for about six or seven years and haven't had any problems with it. I know their customer service support is very limited therefore I have never put huge amounts in account at once. I send money from my current account in chunks during a holiday.

I agree that six cars are needed all day. If or when that isn't sufficient two semi fasts and two express is probably better than one stopper and three express. Those problems hadn't occured to me. I have only changed at Chinley once and it looked almost derelict!

No. There is a cultural problem in the UK with building stuff and the bigger it is the more opposition there is. There is also the bias of people who will believe that their local transport projects will be more likely to happen if they vote no.

Would it be practical to timetable and operate two semi fast services in the Hope Valley and remove all calls between Sheffield and Stockport from TPE and EMR services? - 1tph with the stopping pattern of the current diversionary service. - 1tph of normal stopper service but not calling between...

Unless your importing a collosal amount then the extra travel costs will wipe out saving on tax. If someone is doing that journey repeatedly they are likely to come onto law in enforcement radar one way or another. People have a very binary view of border controls. The Common Travel Area...

If the goal is to improve rail access to the Peak District, how about: 1) Build a station at the end of surviving section of the Ashbourne line. This would provide easy access to Tissington trail for rail passengers and a car park next to A515. A station could be built in the south of Buxton...

Sorry I only saw your second post. I certainly agree that Ireland cannot join Schengen before a united Ireland. The short stay visa waiver program only applies to a specific list of nationalities. My partner needs a visa to visit the Republic later this year. I can't find anything that says...

Have you ever seen a paper national ID? Pre brexit I saw a friend's Italian national ID issued by a consulate and was staggered he could use it to enter the UK and other countries. It must be an obvious target for forgery for anyone who can pass for Italian. If the EUs position was no, why would...

None of the expansion plans seem to be making meaningful progress. The lines with the best business cases have already been built. You are right that Metrolink need to focus on their day job. They are unlikely to run a full service across all lines for the majority of 2024.

Ireland is committed to ever closer union and they won’t want to be seen as the new "cherry pickers." The governing coalition seems to want to join the new migration pact in full, despite an opt out because of solidarity. It won't look good if Ireland avoids joining Schengen when it doesn't have...

If there was a binary choice after a united Ireland between continuation of the CTA in its current form or scrapping it entirely I would prefer the latter. People born in Northern Ireland would still have the option of having British citizenship to avoid needing a visa to live in the UK. I...