Train Behaviours!

[Sniper68]

please answer the questions then - I said nothing about your party affiliation, if any.
Happy that you are not one to to take offence.
As no reason for at all.
I'd take the train.

Your original text,now edited by a moderator,inferred that I would agree with a Tory nut job.I took that to mean that you thought I too was a ‘nut job’ and possibly a Tory to boot. I have no idea why your text was edited as I had made it clear in my response that I do not take offence at such things. In fact I don’t take offence at anything.
Unfortunately I do take the train a couple of times a year from my local station(Chapeltown) to the Peak District via Sheffield for our shift walks/drinks and I always find them slow,expensive and an all round unpleasant experience.

 

[Blue Hills]

Your original text,now edited by a moderator,inferred that I would agree with a Tory nut job.I took that to mean that you thought I too was a ‘nut job’ and possibly a Tory to boot. I have no idea why your text was edited as I had made it clear in my response that I do not take offence at such things. In fact I don’t take offence at anything.
Unfortunately I do take the train a couple of times a year from my local station(Chapeltown) to the Peak District via Sheffield for our shift walks/drinks and I always find them slow,expensive and an all round unpleasant experience.

Curious indeed that you are so confident that my entirely reasonable post was edited by a moderator .
To clarify if needed - i considered that particular person on the radio a nut job - it was my view then and is my view now - it was a time of some taking a perverse delight in "thinking the unthinkable". I am also sure that a fair few in his own party at the time would have considered him a nut job on this issue. Can't remember who he was - a minor nut job I think probably playing to the gallery.
To repeat - I know nothing about your party affiliation, if any, wouldn't presume to.
I said nothing about it.

I also consider the view that trains are history plain mad and misguided. An entirely reasonable view.

Many don't think they are history - here and abroad. See above.

The age of the car on the other hand is very definitely passing. Though that will be a serious challenge in many ways.

Yep, some trains are way too expensive in this country - that doesn't make trains history at all.

That is an issue that has nothing to do with train tech at all.

Britain is not the centre of the world. Many other countries run their trains and transport differently.

You can still answer the questions if you like - your call.

 

[Blue Hills]

My bold - I don't know about these new post-covid mid-pandemic times but my daily commutes rarely involved being able to sit down so I'm guesing that on average the trains were probably more than half full.

I don't think the poster has been anywhere near a Northern train.
I still shudder at the train I had to cram me and my bike into at Manchester Picadilly for a change at Salford Crescent.
And I'd deliberately chosen a train at a "quiet time" - weekday mid afternoon.

 

[Time Waster]

Was northern but he did have a debit card. He's there waving it at the ticket but whenever I see him in the train without a ticket. He's his own worse enemy. He's always late so only just catches the train. I used to get on at that station in the past and I know the fare dodgers who never get tickets but never get the penalty.

I often travel for free on the train ... and nearly always get asked if i’d like to travel in first class ..... nothing to do with the Northern, GWR, SWR and Scotrail id cards on lanyards i have for work ...

My grandad, both of them, were BR men. My gran used to always get told to put her money away on the trains when she moved up here from Liverpool. It just took a flash of her PT. Rail staff look after their own despite it not being technically right. Aiui not traveling for work you're supposed to pay, albeit with a ridiculous discount via PT (privileged ticket as used back when I was a kid and I up to about 5 or so years ago I think possibly still).

 

[Time Waster]

Northern do tend to be full except the early trains on branch lines. They take until at least 8am before they get busy.

Trains don't have to be full to be efficient, can't remember the percentage full figure but it's like buses, not as full as you might think. Plus it's likely to be electric these days not ICE diesels, not guaranteed unfortunately. Electrification has long been promised by governments of all colours but never delivered.

Let's just have done with it, hand our railway over to the French or Germans. Afterall they're probably the ones building our trains and you know they'd get the network right. Might need to change infrastructure planning laws to the French ones so they can simply force the line through.

 

[Blue Hills]

.

Trains don't have to be full to be efficient, can't remember the percentage full figure but it's like buses, not as full as you might think.

exactly. thanks.

 

[ianrauk]

hand our railway over to the French

They tried that. Connex. It was a disaster

 

[Blue Hills]

They tried that. Connex. It was a disaster

I seem to recall a story of a connex driver announcing to a train of South London passengers "I'm sorry for this latest delay but we're run by a bunch of fat french peasants".
Mind you I think the french are behind Transdev, which runs some decent bus services up north, despite the mess, outside London, of "liberalised" bus services.

 

[simongt]

The present issues we have with the railway system in this country are long and complex historical ones that depend on many interlinking factors which actually go back as far as the 19th. Century. Until you study railway history in even a little depth, it's very easy just to blame 'modern' factors as the present problem.

 

[mjr]

They tried that. Connex. It was a disaster

From memory, GTR (Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern) is part French, Arriva part German, Abellio Dutch, Matsui (Greater Anglia, West Midlands) and JR East Japanese, c2c Italian, MTR Chinese and Avanti part Italian.

You're most likely to be on a train run by a British company if the previous operator failed (LNER, Northern, Southeastern).

 

[BrumJim]

Unfortunately I do take the train a couple of times a year from my local station(Chapeltown) to the Peak District via Sheffield for our shift walks/drinks and I always find them slow,expensive and an all round unpleasant experience.

You sir, have no soul. That line from Sheffied, out past Dore to the Peak District is one of the loveliest I have ever been on. OK, it's not fast, and the trains on that line are getting to the end of their life, but the scenery as it winds its way around the hillsides is stunning. From where the train leaves the tunnel at Grindleford (OK, no Grindlewald, but that is setting the bar extremely high) to Edale, any time spent looking elsewhere other than out of the window is wasted.

 

[mjr]

You sir, have no soul. That line from Sheffied, out past Dore to the Peak District is one of the loveliest I have ever been on. OK, it's not fast, and the trains on that line are getting to the end of their life, [...]

It might have changed recently, but many trains appear to be Northern Class 195 "Civity" introduced 2019, TransPennine Express Class 185 "Desiro" introduced 2006, or East Midlands Railway Class 170 introduced 2001... but OK there are a few Class 150 Sprinter and Class 158 Express Sprinter which are 1980s soon for the chop.

 

[Sniper68]

You sir, have no soul. That line from Sheffied, out past Dore to the Peak District is one of the loveliest I have ever been on. OK, it's not fast, and the trains on that line are getting to the end of their life, but the scenery as it winds its way around the hillsides is stunning. From where the train leaves the tunnel at Grindleford (OK, no Grindlewald, but that is setting the bar extremely high) to Edale, any time spent looking elsewhere other than out of the window is wasted.

I know exactly how good the views are I've been riding/driving there all my adult life.The views,however,are not enhanced in anyway shape or form by viewing them through a dirty train window
I can ride to Edale from my house in a little over an hour and drive there in around 20 mins and I would rather do either of the two than catch a train there

 

[Blue Hills]

You sir, have no soul. That line from Sheffied, out past Dore to the Peak District is one of the loveliest I have ever been on. OK, it's not fast, and the trains on that line are getting to the end of their life, but the scenery as it winds its way around the hillsides is stunning. From where the train leaves the tunnel at Grindleford (OK, no Grindlewald, but that is setting the bar extremely high) to Edale, any time spent looking elsewhere other than out of the window is wasted.

is that the line that runs between sheffield and manchester?

 

[icowden]

Nope! They simply don't challenge people taking full rigid bikes on. Yet as I'm wheeling my Brompton to the front carriage before folding they try to stop me. First time I was halfway through folding, with only the seat to lower and bars to fold left. I then got on next to a rigid bike. They're weird at Lancaster!

It's not just Lancaster. I got a folder to commute to that thar London from Surrey (pictured in my profile). It's a big f*** off folder. But it DOES fold.
Most of the time I had no problem with it. I used to get on the train early rather than trying to cram on last minute and there was a nice place where it fitted very well.

I only had a problem once. SWT were delayed (as usual) and the train was rammed. I was nicely tucked in as usual. The guard, obviously having a really crap day went down the train throwing off anyone who had a bike (folded or otherwise). Having dragged me out of the carriage with the bike, much to the annoyance of everyone else who had to shuffle round to let me get the bike out. I then asked *why*?

"No bikes allowed on peak trains".
"It's a folding bike"
"No bikes allowed..."
"Look up there at the display. It says no bikes *except* folding bikes. This is a folding bike."
"oh. Yes".

He *then* proceeded to try to throw me back ON to the train which was now full of commuters, VERY unhappy at being mashed into the carriage by an enormous, not particularly clean folding bike, which was then massively in the way for every stop the train made. What a journey that was. Evils from everyone.

Thanks Mr Conductor.