a change from road rage, rail rage....

[gavintc]

I must admit that i find Scotrail pretty good. I take my bike every day on the commuter from Edinburgh to Glasgow and even in the height of rush hour can always get a space for my bike. Sometimes there are 3-4 bikes on the little rack, but people are in the main, quite obliging. Every so often you get a prat and someone even stole my little spare inner tube pack from under the seat once. I caught the virgin train to Central last week and enquired about taking a bike. The ticket checker on the train was not at all helpful and although there are places for bikes, he said that unless you had a ticket for a bike, it would not travel. So, Scotrail gets my support.

 

[Crackle]

I've just come back from Germany where I travelled by train and bus: It was an eye opener in the ways of popular integrated transport. Trains that run on time and connect in a proper joined up way. Every one has a large luggage compartment with space for bikes, ski's and baggage. Buses that have ski racks on and space to take your suitcases and run on time at proper intervals of 10 or 15 minutes and in rush hour every bus is doubled. We didn't even think of hiring a car, it was so easy to use public transport.

 

[Terminator]

Interesting.Sorry about yet another of my rants earlier but some of us really do give 110% at our jobs and it's not nice when you run up a platform with a train and you are either spat at or the tapping of the watches or the clapping when you are running late.I don't run late on purpose although I may run slower for safety purposes/weather conditions.They don't really seem to care about bikes on trains though do they?

Sounds like it's better thought out there Crackle.Then again the Germans built the 450's+444's.They seem okay to me and work well even though they are the cheapest version allegedly.

I don't ever put my bike on a train between 1600-2100 as I hate travelling with a bike when the said coaches are jam packed.Only when im coming home will I possibly use the train if I am too knackered.Cut's the journey by half and I can read a paper.

 

[Nigeyy]

Got to be honest, I don't think the railway is that bad in the UK. Certainly not as good as some other railways systems, but still not that bad.

One of the worst offenders for bicycles and trains I've found is Amtrak in the States -I wanted to use Amtrak to transport myself and the bike to the start of a tour (hey, keep off the roads, be green, let the train take the strain, etc., etc.) for a short tour -found out that they were totally cycle unfriendly. You can only board your bike at certain stations (guaranteed to not be the ones you'll want by the way) and get them off at certain stations (again, guaranteed not to be the ones you want). Mind you, even if you did want those stations (by small chance) there was then some arcane rules of not allowing bicycles without their packaging or being boxed up.......I gave up -it was almost like they didn't want you as a customer. To be honest, I never even lookup Amtrak for travel options now -I just assume they'll not be able to provide what I need.

 

[Jacomus-rides-Gen]

There was a brilliant story in The Economist when the first Desiros' were coming to the UK, where someone had got hold of an e-mail from Siemens to SWT refusing to downgrade their test track to the worst places of the line in the UK they would run on, becuase it would put their test drivers at unnaceptable risk!

I am also not entirely comfortable with SWT equipping their fleet of Desiros with second hand brake pads!

But hell, what can you do? you've got to use trains. The rail safety record is pretty good here, and if its my time to go I hope that my loved ones sue the buggery out of the TOC / track company who caused the fcuk up. Maybe the crash wouldn't be as bad as it could be anyway, since our track is too poor for them to run at full speed anyway

 

[domd1979]

I am also not entirely comfortable with SWT equipping their fleet of Desiros with second hand brake pads!

Not heard that one... Provided they're safe it doesn't matter and I don't see what the problem is. Electric trains use two braking systems incidentally - regenerative and friction. As far as I understand (although stand to be corrected), friction only comes into play at lower speeds / emergency braking.

Class 442 Wessex Electrics (late 1980s) used second hand traction equipment (from early 60s), but that doesn't make them unsafe.

 

[Tynan]

'who caused the fcuk up'

no-one's ever to blame are they, that's that much buck passing, sub contracting and outright lying that no-one's ever made responsible

 

[alecstilleyedye]

I don't know how the rest of you feel about this, but we have those tip-up seats on the Thameslink trains too, and I'm rather loath to confront a passenger directly. If they aren't obliging, I'll just put my bike diagonally in the vestibule, keeping an eye open as we approach a station in case the platform's on that side. Indeed that's what most other cyclists do, anyway.

The day we see the return of the guard's van, with plenty of cycle space, will be a red-letter day for us. But the combination of maximum profits for the rail company - i.e. pack in as many passengers as you can - with the disappearance of mail on the trains - has put paid to that.

And I also seethe at passengers who insist on standing in the vestibule when there are plenty of seats vacant. That's the occasion for an - at first polite, but progressively more emphatic - 'excuse me'...

indeed. i used to cycle/train it many years ago and not only did the bike go in the guard's van, he'd happily take it from me, ask which station i was getting off (before he no longer needed to) and then hand me the bike back at the other end. i can still remember the guard now, a very cheerful indian chap.

 

[Arch]

For some strange reason it took me far longer than it ever has before to get our stuff off the racks. Despite her continued prodding in my back.

Apart from that, did you have a good weekend?

I'd be a bit pissed off, returning to the OP, if I was asked to get off because she wouldn't move, like the guard said would happen. Any idea what one's rights would be? I mean, why should you get off because someone else is being antisocial?

If I was a big hefty bloke, I'd have been tempted to just hang my bike on the hook, whether it hit her in the face or not...

 

[Terminator]

indeed. i used to cycle/train it many years ago and not only did the bike go in the guard's van, he'd happily take it from me, ask which station i was getting off (before he no longer needed to) and then hand me the bike back at the other end. i can still remember the guard now, a very cheerful indian chap.

I remember what it was like when I joined in the early 80's but unfortunately it's a much different railway now.

 

[Jacomus-rides-Gen]

Not heard that one... Provided they're safe it doesn't matter and I don't see what the problem is. Electric trains use two braking systems incidentally - regenerative and friction. As far as I understand (although stand to be corrected), friction only comes into play at lower speeds / emergency braking.

Class 442 Wessex Electrics (late 1980s) used second hand traction equipment (from early 60s), but that doesn't make them unsafe.

Exactly!!

I wouldn't put second hand pads onto my car, motorbike or bicycle. Brakes are just too important IMO.

I would rather forefit the doubtlessly very expensive electronic annuoncements that never get the station right, and have to be corrected by the guard, than have second hand pads.

It seems to me like another example of shortsighted British "cost saving" measures.

Rant rant rant rant

 

[Terminator]

I drive the trains you are talking about and the only problems I ever had on them were when I first started driving them about 4 years ago as the Rheostatic brakes is operated with help from the onboard computer and I wasn't used to the slight delay.Apart from my early years of train handling on these trains I don't particulary have any trouble stopping these trains as they are quite consistent between the 160 units we have where I work.This cannot be said for all classes of trains as different classes of trains have different braking systems or at least they did.When the train isn't using the rhesostatic brake then it resorts to switching to using the brake pads.Haven't heard other drivers complaining about them either and suspect they have been better since the software has been updated either that or I have got used to how they behave over my 100000? miles of driving them.

 

[domd1979]

So when was the last rail accident due to excessively worn brake blocks then...? Brake wear is something that is checked on a very regular basis.

Generally the only stopping problem modern trains suffer from is leaf mulch during autumn reducing adhesion. As far as I know drivers do the rail equivalent of skid pan training so that they can deal with it.

The rail unions are pretty militant. If there was the slightest whiff of a safety issue with brakes, I reckon Bob Crow would have had his members out on strike...

Exactly!!

I wouldn't put second hand pads onto my car, motorbike or bicycle. Brakes are just too important IMO.

I would rather forefit the doubtlessly very expensive electronic annuoncements that never get the station right, and have to be corrected by the guard, than have second hand pads.

It seems to me like another example of shortsighted British "cost saving" measures.

Rant rant rant rant

 

[Jacomus-rides-Gen]

I used to want to be a train driver, still think it is something I could do, though its taken a back seat more recently.

 

[Terminator]

I used to want to be a pole dancer, still think it is something I could do, though its taken a back seat more recently.