Could anyone who knows anything about our rail system please tell me...

[Seagull Stew]

Is anything ever done about preparing our railway system to run trains during bad weather conditions, or is it just accepted year in year out that that the system will just be screwed up for a few days?

I know the old reply to the question of "How do they run trains in Russia?" is that they have snow all year round so can work around it but surely we know that for a few days/weeks in winter we will get these conditions, so why does nothing ever seem to be done about it?

At a time when we are all advised not to travel by road, what is done to improve the only alternative to the travelling by car?

Sorry for being naive but if someone on this site can explain exactly why this always happens and nothing ever seems to be done about it for the following winter, then I'd love to know. Or are we just supposed to accept it without asking these questions?

 

[Stinky Kat]

Stew I think its just lack of funding, nobody wants to pay more tax so the public sector cuts corners. I work for department for transport and they cut corners all the time to make " efficiency savings" and then say the railways are privately owned do cannot be forced to improve

 

[pasty]

the railways are privately owned do cannot be forced to improve

Which is a massive problem. A couple of weeks ago I had to go from London to Warrington for work at the last minute. I rang to ask about tickets, and found out a day return from Euston to Warrington was going to cost me £275!!!!!!!! Apparently this is because I could not forsee having to go there 3 months in advance, and I had the audacity to want to travel before 9 o'clock in the morning. I was so stunned I actually asked the bloke on the phone if he was having a laugh. FFS, three of us are flying to Ireland in a couple of weeks for a grand total of £60. If people are to be encouraged to use public transport, then the government needs to step in and do something about the railways.

 

[Seagull Stew]

I wonder if more people travelling by train this time of year are returning from somewhere therefore using their return tickets rather than purchasing a new one?

If this is the case, I wonder how this affects the companies efforts to get trains running?

 

[Ccider]

Which is a massive problem. A couple of weeks ago I had to go from London to Warrington for work at the last minute. I rang to ask about tickets, and found out a day return from Euston to Warrington was going to cost me £275!!!!!!!! Apparently this is because I could not forsee having to go there 3 months in advance, and I had the audacity to want to travel before 9 o'clock in the morning. I was so stunned I actually asked the bloke on the phone if he was having a laugh. FFS, three of us are flying to Ireland in a couple of weeks for a grand total of £60. If people are to be encouraged to use public transport, then the government needs to step in and do something about the railways.

If you'd booked your rail ticket in advance like you've done to fly to Dublin it would have been as cheap. I regularly book tickets to Lancaster Uni from Brighton - bought one last week for Jan 13 for £13.80 - I reckon that's a bargain.

 

[Ccider]

I wonder if more people travelling by train this time of year are returning from somewhere therefore using their return tickets rather than purchasing a new one?

If this is the case, I wonder how this affects the companies efforts to get trains running?

Don't they fined if they don't meet schedule adherence targets? And our stupid 3rd rail power system in this area doesn't help with leaves and ice. Bloody Victorians.

 

[ATFC Seagull]

Seemed to us yesterday that it was a problem with those sparkly new trains that Southern now have running.

Went to Watford to watch Saracens - London Irish, had to plan the whole journey around Thameslinks and the tube because none of the new trains were running, there were 2 just grounded at Haywards Heath. Thameslinks and older trains seemed to run fine, which is lucky given the line Luton is on for tonight.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Stew I think its just lack of funding, nobody wants to pay more tax so the public sector cuts corners. I work for department for transport and they cut corners all the time to make " efficiency savings" and then say the railways are privately owned do cannot be forced to improve

The Government needs to acknowledge that they CAN force the railways to improve.

Train operators have FRANCHISES.

Franchises come with CONDITIONS.

Conditions are ENFORCEABLE.

The problem is investment. Train companies have short-term franchises. They are encouraged to run as many trains as possible. This causes congestion and unreliability. Any minor delay causes a knock-on effect that delays other trains, particularly in the southeast, where most lines are now having to cope with more trains than ever before.

Any investment in extra track capacity to improve reliability (or allow more trains to run efficiently) costs billions - way beyond the budget of any Train Operator's short-term franchise income.

PUBLIC investment is the only answer - and no government has the bottle to see big investment projects through to the end - look at Thameslink 2000, Crossrail, the West Coast Main Line project - all great ideas, but none of them making adequate progress, despite 15 - 20 years work already having gone into them.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Don't they fined if they don't meet schedule adherence targets? And our stupid 3rd rail power system in this area doesn't help with leaves and ice. Bloody Victorians.

Don't blame the Victorians for 3rd rail electrification.

Blame the Southern Railway management of the 1930s.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

One problem with the government is that complacency sets in.

Rail passenger kilometres increased by 27 per cent in the ten years after 1992/93. They seem to think that this is good enough and, since more people are using trains, the system (fares, infrastructure, reliability etc) must be OK.

 

[dougdeep]

Who started him on railways?

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Who started him on railways?

Seagull Stew.

Sorry.

I'll stop now.

 

[bigc]

what exactly happened to Thameslink 2000?

 

[London Irish]

Went to Watford to watch Saracens - London Irish,

3rd in the league

 

[Lord Bracknell]

what exactly happened to Thameslink 2000?

A 22 day Public Inquiry, spread over three months, has just finished.

We're waiting for the Inspector's Report.

http://www.tl2000inquiry.org.uk/index.aspx



If anyone was looking for a planning process that is taking longer than Falmer, this is it.

 

[HAMPSHIRE DAVE]

It's bloody clear why people who run this country are not that interested in putting the investment into the Railway's,
THEY MAKE NO MONEY FROM IT!!
Think about it.
The more people drive cars the more money Government makes from petrol tax.
HAMPSHIRE DAVE

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

The best part is the weather is not that bad and yet it still brakes down.

 

[Ccider]

Don't blame the Victorians for 3rd rail electrification.

Blame the Southern Railway management of the 1930s.

You're right - bloody Georgians!

 

[Beach Hut]

I can recommend Rail Privatisation - guarenteed we got paid twice our salary by moving into the private sector

 

[Ernest]

I can recommend Rail Privatisation - guarenteed we got paid twice our salary by moving into the private sector

Yes dear boy my salary has more than doubled and so it should has my services are always in DEMAND