Recent content by mike57

To be honest the railcard doesn't matter, there is an amount for a journey at which I will say no, then one of 3 things happen, travel standard class, use a different mode of transport, or dont make the journey. If the amount I pay is profitable to the operator, which in the case of Hull Trains...

Maybe not be simple given where we are, but some of them are about how things are organised and wouldn't cost a lot to put right. I deliberately tried to exclude major infrastructure projects as in the current climate they are not going to happen. Take rolling stock for example, if procurement...

Yes but we continued to build 4/6 wheelers for a considerable time after that date as far as I can tell.

I have a view that the railways are not good at identifying the simple(relatively) to fix problems and sorting them out, on the basis that less problems overall means a better perception, and the hard to crack problems dont seem as bad. A few examples: Information: Being interested in railways...

It is but a quick look at Streetview shows it to be patchy. To use the old school report phrase 'Could do better'. The silly thing is it wouldn't take much to sort it.

Without having any hard evidence it appears to me that USA railways had 'bogie' coaches almost from the start, whereas in the UK 4 and 6 wheel rigid coaches persisted for many years. So why was the bogie coach slow to be adopted in the UK. Was it 'we have always done it this way' or were there...

Which of course brings us full circle as at the start of railways there three classes in the UK. I think a range of offerings with different fares, comfort levels and possibly inclusive food and drink is the right approach. I dont like the one size fits all approach, everybody should be given a...

I will happily pay a premium for first class. Nowadays most of my rail travel is for leisure, I like the extra space, food and drink. I have a bad knee and my wife has a bad back, and first class is more comfortable. On a typical journey to say London, 3+ hours from home this makes a big...

If you are paying in cash the TVM at our local station doesn't take cash. Certainly in our area thats the norm. (Northern, Hull - Scarborough route). In our area apart from Arram all stations have a TVM

Whatever your stance on this I cant see this strike acheiving more than the last few have. The government are not bothered, they know they are replaced this year, and probably wisely Labour are keeping out of it, theres no gain for them in it currently. Personally I think the drivers have a...

Yes just walked it through on Streetview, signage is patchy, really they could do a lot better at very little cost, When (If??) HS2 makes it to Euston this is going to be even more important, and it wouldn't take much to sort it. A good start would be coloured markers on every lamp post and road...

I assume the same applies to the Class 395s that are used on domestic services, the only difference being top speed. My understanding was there would have been a 'fork' with some services continuing to use Waterloo. The route finally chosen looks to be the best one, as I was told that tunneling...

This feels like we are saying "Lets persecute the people who make a genuine mistakes, because there's not much we can do about the serial fare evader" If you then say "The ticket office was closed and/or the machine that issues promise to pays if you pay in cash was not working" to me that...

Have to say I struggle with this. You know you need a ticket to travel. If due to technical problems you cant buy a ticket at your joining station AND you dont have have a smart phone so that you can buy online then you speak to a member of staff at the first opportunity, not wait to be...

I used Eurostar once prior to HS1 opening, in 1999 to view the total eclipse in Northern France. The route into Waterloo was totally unsuitable, slow and busy. Once HS1 opened in full journey times were slashed. Terminating at St Pancras is much more useful than Waterloo, taking Euston as well...