[Brighton] Dr Beeching 50 years on.

[Eeyore]

This.

The Horsham line from Shoreham was another to go.

we're pretty good at self harm as a country.

I'm not sure that it would have been a profitable line today. It was a ghost line then. Although the folk of Steyning would love to have had a station now. But then the by-pass wouldn't be there. It would still be quicker to come to Brighton via Three Bridges.

I do wonder if the spooky run the bless-ed number 17 bus makes through Partridge Green had something to do with an agreement. Perhaps @Cowfold Seagull knows.

 

[A1X]

People often cite the Beeching Axe, and we did lose a lot of lines that today would be extremely useful. But TBH many of the railways that were closed thoroughly deserved to be.

Of more interest is the move he pushed toward containerised freight, which was ahead of its time but now dominates the world and the focus on growing the things which the railways did well, intercity passenger and commuter trains. There was more to Beeching than just the axe.

 

[Weststander]

Out of interest, did you travel on any local (i.e. non-TGV) trains in France?
My experience of them suggests about 50% chance of severe delay or cancellation.

And painfully slow, also old carriages. We’ve been on some dross including recently, away from the TGV routes.