British trains vs 3rd world trains
- Thread starter mustang1
- Start date
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I'm sure there probably are faults, but when compared to the U.K. they are negligible if even visible.
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mustang1
Legendary Member
- Location
- London, UK
Yeah I know. But my point is the Indian trains are just as crowded on the inside.
markharry66
Über Member
British public transport. Buses over priced, never run on time, over crowded. The fact they no longer take cash annoys. The fact that their awful oyster card system makes the system in accessible once the shops shut dont even get started on trains.
spen666
Legendary Member
So Britain doesn't extend beyond London?
You don't need Oyster anymore. The system now takes contact-less payments, debit card/credit card etc
I think our trains are brilliant. Perhaps the fact that I can travel free within the M25 and I don't have to travel on peak might make a difference. £4 to Birmingham on Chiltern is bike friendly. Done it for a fiver on Virgin but that is not bike friendly.
That's why I have a Brompton. If you don't cycle then rush hour trains are possibly less worse than the alternative
Of course if the government hadn't given up the fuel duty escalator and penalised the rail passenger instead then fares might be more reasonable for those that have to pay. There's not a lot you can do about commuter overcrowding if the government insists on diverting resources into vanity projects like HS2.
That's why I have a Brompton. If you don't cycle then rush hour trains are possibly less worse than the alternative
Of course if the government hadn't given up the fuel duty escalator and penalised the rail passenger instead then fares might be more reasonable for those that have to pay. There's not a lot you can do about commuter overcrowding if the government insists on diverting resources into vanity projects like HS2.
markharry66
Über Member
contact less payments no thanks not handing over my card details to anyone no thanks.
subaqua
What’s the point
- Location
- Leytonstone
Glow worm
Legendary Member
- Location
- Near Newmarket
Don't forget how crappy/ complicated it is taking your bike on a train or bus in the uk.
Trains are always a farking nightmare and I was told I couldn't bring my fold-up bike onto a bus the other day without a bag to put it in ffs! I love Britain.
Trains are always a farking nightmare and I was told I couldn't bring my fold-up bike onto a bus the other day without a bag to put it in ffs! I love Britain.
andyfraser
Über Member
- Location
- Bristol
My OH loves it. Transactions have to under £20 and you can only do 5 in a day before you have to enter a PIN so if your card is lost or stolen the most they can get is £100 per day. I wouldn't use it, you can still lose too much money, but plenty do.
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mustang1
Legendary Member
- Location
- London, UK
On this morning's commute on London underground, there was a girl, probably age 7, who was crying due to an overcrowded carriage. Must be very claustrophic being short and in a crowded situation, with the carriage lurching one way or the other as it sped along, and no where for her to hold on to. Her mother couldn't be next to her due to the overcrowding.
Then we came to a stop, the doors opened, and as people.were still getting out, the driver announced the doors are about to close. The people on the platform hadnt even begun to board yet
Then we came to a stop, the doors opened, and as people.were still getting out, the driver announced the doors are about to close. The people on the platform hadnt even begun to board yet
Hi mustang1,
The Indian train network is pretty good but the system of getting a ticket is a very strange process and takes a bit of getting used to.
When I went there I was under the impression that I could just turn up a get on a train but, especially in the tourist season, that's not the case. It takes some getting used to and you need a ticket to travel on the train before gettin on one but if you just turn up at a station hoping to get on a train you'll most probably be out of luck with all of the tickets for that train having already been sold in advance. There's a system of tickets that are allocated for each train and only a certain number get released for tourists to buy.
However there are lots of different classes on the trains, often at least 4, and the cheapest class which is probably what you envisage is crowded. However it's not actually that easy as a tourist to get tickets for the cheapest class. The carriages are tickets only so as you move up the classes, which are still very cheap compared to our train tickets whichever ones you buy, there are only as many tickets sold as there are seats on the train so to be honest I found that the trains I was traveling on in India were less crowded than the trains back home at coummuter time. I never traveled in the most expensive class (though that was still cheap compared to standard class here) so I was mainly in the middle classes and I had a lot more space than I've ever had on a UK train and if the train journey was a long one then I had a bed so it was the lap of luxury compared to our overcrowded and cramped trains.
The Indian train network is pretty good but the system of getting a ticket is a very strange process and takes a bit of getting used to.
When I went there I was under the impression that I could just turn up a get on a train but, especially in the tourist season, that's not the case. It takes some getting used to and you need a ticket to travel on the train before gettin on one but if you just turn up at a station hoping to get on a train you'll most probably be out of luck with all of the tickets for that train having already been sold in advance. There's a system of tickets that are allocated for each train and only a certain number get released for tourists to buy.
However there are lots of different classes on the trains, often at least 4, and the cheapest class which is probably what you envisage is crowded. However it's not actually that easy as a tourist to get tickets for the cheapest class. The carriages are tickets only so as you move up the classes, which are still very cheap compared to our train tickets whichever ones you buy, there are only as many tickets sold as there are seats on the train so to be honest I found that the trains I was traveling on in India were less crowded than the trains back home at coummuter time. I never traveled in the most expensive class (though that was still cheap compared to standard class here) so I was mainly in the middle classes and I had a lot more space than I've ever had on a UK train and if the train journey was a long one then I had a bed so it was the lap of luxury compared to our overcrowded and cramped trains.
Gravity Aided
Legendary Member
- Location
- Land of Lincoln
Our buses , at least in our town, have those racks one can fold down on the front. Bicycle rides for free. Seems like a cheap and efficient way to expand our local transit system. Works pretty smoothly, in our case, and that's pretty exceptional for public transit in America. Trains are also starting to carry bicycles regularly.