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Drone_Fragger posted:Don't worry, the fact that one day a week all the signals fail round new street and trains are unable to enter the station is NOTHING to worry about. They're in the middle of sticking a John Lewis on top of it. Every time I've driven around by there, they've changed the directions of the roads and which entrances you need to use. Not actually been in there for years, I always catch the train at Birmingham International when I need to.
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# ? Apr 12, 2014 02:07 |
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# ? May 20, 2024 16:07 |
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The John Lewis at B'ham won't be done until next May or something outlandishly long, so don't expect the roadworks to disappear anytime soon. I hate going to Birmingham, why can't it be open and spacious like Lime Street or Manchester Piccadilly?
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# ? Apr 13, 2014 00:06 |
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Cerv posted:The barriers at tube and overground stations aren't always closed. You've just not been to the right stations at the right times. They had them closed at Southgate station at the top of the Piccadilly Line at ~12am on a Sunday night years back (circa 2001). I fell asleep after doing a 10hr stocktake and a few pints, missing my stop at Wood Green. No more trains heading southbound, the ticket machines were turned off, station was deserted and most of the shutters were across the entrance except a single file opening. I was quite willing to pay the extra money to get out of a Zone 4 station if there was any opportunity to do so, but I was left with no choice but to jump the barrier, at which point a station attendant appeared out of nowhere. Seriously, I have no idea where the gently caress this guy came from, I could see all of the station and all of a sudden he was just there, as he proceeded to start screaming at me, how 'people like me think they don't have to pay' and 'why do I think I'm better than him' etc etc. Dude had mad squabbles til I pointed out there was no way to pay, which calmed him down and he let me through. Bumped into him at the Bus Stop 5 minutes later, where he apologised and explained 'loving suits giving him poo poo over tickets' were the bane of his life most mornings. Fair enough I suppose. The few other times I've done this I just explained I fell asleep and they shrugged and opened the barrier.
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# ? Apr 13, 2014 12:32 |
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ellspurs posted:They're in the middle of sticking a John Lewis on top of it. Every time I've driven around by there, they've changed the directions of the roads and which entrances you need to use. Not actually been in there for years, I always catch the train at Birmingham International when I need to. Yep, they've been doing so for like the last 5 years and it is taking them forever because they have to clear out ungodly amounts of asbestos and unneeded concrete from the building. They recently changed the side of the station they're working on over and the "updated" and "new" side of the building still just looks like a brutalist nightmare straight from the 70s even after they tried to nicen it up.
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# ? Apr 13, 2014 22:37 |
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I've been to the new Birmingham New Street once and it looks like THX-1138; where the hell did all the shops go?
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# ? Apr 14, 2014 23:33 |
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It's not finished.
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# ? Apr 14, 2014 23:50 |
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Even for an unfinished station its bloody awful. A tactical nuclear strike would be a quicker and more effective refurbishment option, and would also significantly enhance Birmingham's reputation.
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# ? Apr 15, 2014 15:02 |
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Good news, horrible unreliable bloated public sector waste of taxpayers money Network Rail are on schedule to finish the electrification of the Manchester - Liverpool route by December. Meanwhile the lean forward facing private sector efficiency of Northern Rail will have two (2) whole new* trains ready to run on the newly electrified line. Obviously the thusting young capitalists and railway experts at Northern can't be expected to have trains ready for when electrification "goes live" (ho ho ho) as it's only been planned for five (5) years. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/manchester-liverpool-train-line-electrification-track-6987740 *26 year old Class 319s
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# ? Apr 15, 2014 15:33 |
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All the other ones are going to be old trains, as well. Also, they were all built by British Rail. Another win for the private sector!
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# ? Apr 15, 2014 16:17 |
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Where are they getting them from the new Thameslink trains aren't coming for two years.
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# ? Apr 15, 2014 16:35 |
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Metrication posted:Where are they getting them from the new Thameslink trains aren't coming for two years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s88r_q7oufE I'm guessing when they stop sending Thameslink Brighton services through London Bridge for the redevelopment there (December 2014-2018) there'll be some spare trains as you can't fit everything through Herne Hill all the time.
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# ? Apr 15, 2014 17:27 |
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Metrication posted:Where are they getting them from the new Thameslink trains aren't coming for two years. 319s are my Dad's favorite train, he says they're lovely to drive. They're old school though, no computers, all electro-mechanical.
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# ? Apr 15, 2014 21:08 |
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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s88r_q7oufE Most of the brighton services are 377's now borrowed from southern so there's some spare stock I think. London bridge services are going to elephant and castle at the moment though how temporary that is I don't know. 319's on everything else though, ugh. Zephirus fucked around with this message at 22:05 on Apr 15, 2014 |
# ? Apr 15, 2014 22:02 |
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quote:Passengers covered almost 60 per cent of the UK rail network’s costs between 2012-13.
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# ? Apr 17, 2014 14:49 |
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Seaside Loafer posted:I give up, you guys sound like the jobsworth nazis who while having their union rights caned for a business that shouldnt be in private ownership in the first place are still happy to loving enforce the letter of the law as opposed to the spirit of the law. Hahah what even
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# ? Apr 18, 2014 20:23 |
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History's greatest monster!Russell Brand Admits Dodging London To Chelmsford Train Fare posted:Comedian Russell Brand has admitted that he recently dodged a train fare because he "couldn't be bothered with the rigmarole of getting one", it has been reported.
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# ? Apr 20, 2014 07:53 |
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I'm not going to claim that fare evasion is the preserve of those who can afford the penalty fare - just watch the people who quickly jump back on a train when they see Revenue Protection Officers at their station - but it does continue to lend credence to Pratchett's joke about 'the rich being rich because they can afford to not spend any money'.
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# ? Apr 21, 2014 12:04 |
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kingturnip posted:I'm not going to claim that fare evasion is the preserve of those who can afford the penalty fare - just watch the people who quickly jump back on a train when they see Revenue Protection Officers at their station - but it does continue to lend credence to Pratchett's joke about 'the rich being rich because they can afford to not spend any money'. If the RPO's in the UK are anything like the ones down here in Australia, then they might jumping back on the train to avoid getting their teeth kicked in for looking at them the wrong way.
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# ? Apr 21, 2014 17:31 |
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HS2 bill second reading is today and tomorrow.
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# ? Apr 28, 2014 21:48 |
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Good news, everyone! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...er-project.htmlTelegraph posted:HS2 vote: Government survives Commons rebellion as minister threatens to resign over project The article comments are so deliciously butthurt.
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# ? Apr 29, 2014 12:02 |
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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad posted:Good news, horrible unreliable bloated public sector waste of taxpayers money Network Rail are on schedule to finish the electrification of the Manchester - Liverpool route by December. Meanwhile the lean forward facing private sector efficiency of Northern Rail will have two (2) whole new* trains ready to run on the newly electrified line. Obviously the thusting young capitalists and railway experts at Northern can't be expected to have trains ready for when electrification "goes live" (ho ho ho) as it's only been planned for five (5) years. Given that when the new timetable changes come in on May 18th my depot will be running a 142 permanently, you get no sympathy from me.
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# ? Apr 29, 2014 13:02 |
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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad posted:Good news, everyone! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...er-project.html I still don't think that HS2 is a good idea, but that has more to do with the fact that I won't see any benefit from it because I don't live in either Birmingham or London. Obviously I understand that it can't connect to every town and city in England because then you lose the benefits of zooming around at 180mph or whatever but still, doesn't stop me from moaning in a very British way (I won't benefit from it therefore no one should).
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# ? May 3, 2014 16:44 |
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MyFaceBeHi posted:I still don't think that HS2 is a good idea, but that has more to do with the fact that I won't see any benefit from it because I don't live in either Birmingham or London. Obviously I understand that it can't connect to every town and city in England because then you lose the benefits of zooming around at 180mph or whatever but still, doesn't stop me from moaning in a very British way (I won't benefit from it therefore no one should). I saw some news stories a while back about political pressure to bring forward HS2 Phase 2, which would link Manchester/Leeds/Sheffield to Birmingham, but I don't know if it actually went anywhere. Wikipedia says construction is currently planned to start in 2022 for completion in 2032.
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# ? May 3, 2014 16:59 |
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Is it true that they want HS2 to go into Euston despite it being a logistical nightmare? It would make more sense to go to St Pancras, surely? Also heard they want it to go direct to Manchester Airport as opposed to Picadilly.
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# ? May 3, 2014 17:01 |
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Yeah, it's going to get its own platforms and everything at Euston, even though they will have to demolish half of Camden to do that! There was original plans to link it with HS1 so you can go directly from Birmingham/Manchester/Leeds to Paris without changing in London but they seem to have shelved that idea, which is stupid because getting off at Euston then walking a few hundred yards to St Pancras is dumb and they should feel dumb for not providing a good enough link that doesn't involve the Victoria line! Not sure about Manchester Picadilly though, but I think it will do what they are planning for Birmingham Airport and just have it run past there with some sort of metrolink link to it. Personally I think, with the amount of country folk around the Chilterns and Warwickshire moaning about this, we may end up with another Twyford Down situation, only less hippie students and more angry land owners and NIMBYs!
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# ? May 3, 2014 17:14 |
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MyFaceBeHi posted:I still don't think that HS2 is a good idea, but that has more to do with the fact that I won't see any benefit from it because I don't live in either Birmingham or London. Obviously I understand that it can't connect to every town and city in England because then you lose the benefits of zooming around at 180mph or whatever but still, doesn't stop me from moaning in a very British way (I won't benefit from it therefore no one should). Where do you live? The capacity released from classic lines will enhance local services in the vicinity of the line, and it'll also cut journey times to London from anywhere further north up the West Coast. Anti-HS2 types desperately try to frame the benefits as limited to the area of the station and that's just not the case.
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# ? May 3, 2014 18:09 |
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Indeed, look at the business case, where released capacity could lead to the return of the Blackpool and Shrewsbury London services, better connectivity for East Anglia to the ECML and the South West to the North East (for example, cutting an hour off Leeds–Wales).
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# ? May 3, 2014 19:09 |
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I live in Wolverhampton so whilst I do accept that it will likely open up capacity for the WCML at the same time if I want to use it there will still be the small hurdle of how will I get to it from Birmingham New Street. Also I'll only use HS2 if Virgin aren't running it.
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# ? May 3, 2014 19:54 |
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MyFaceBeHi posted:I live in Wolverhampton so whilst I do accept that it will likely open up capacity for the WCML at the same time if I want to use it there will still be the small hurdle of how will I get to it from Birmingham New Street. You get the wonderful Midland Metro which they're extending through Birmingham City Centre to New Street station...
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# ? May 3, 2014 19:59 |
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MyFaceBeHi posted:Yeah, it's going to get its own platforms and everything at Euston, even though they will have to demolish half of Camden to do that! There was original plans to link it with HS1 so you can go directly from Birmingham/Manchester/Leeds to Paris without changing in London but they seem to have shelved that idea, which is stupid because getting off at Euston then walking a few hundred yards to St Pancras is dumb and they should feel dumb for not providing a good enough link that doesn't involve the Victoria line! This is the dumbest thing I've read today (so far), is there a good reason for that or are the various committees involved not talking to each other?
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# ? May 3, 2014 20:09 |
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TfL want a fat bunch of zone one - zone one fares from lazy fucks and people too stupid to realise the stations are 100 metres apart?
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# ? May 3, 2014 22:31 |
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Jonnty posted:Where do you live? The capacity released from classic lines will enhance local services in the vicinity of the line, and it'll also cut journey times to London from anywhere further north up the West Coast. Anti-HS2 types desperately try to frame the benefits as limited to the area of the station and that's just not the case. The capacity thing is good, but what are the exact figures regarding journey times? Manchester Pic to Euston can be done in 2h21 at this point in time. I'm not sure the difference will be that significant in that respect.
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# ? May 3, 2014 23:03 |
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Manchester to Euston would go down to around 1 hour 45 minutes.
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# ? May 3, 2014 23:06 |
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Oh hello! http://gu.com/p/3pv9yThe Observer posted:Ed Miliband has come under pressure to bring the rail network back into national ownership if Labour wins the next election, as more than 30 of his party's parliamentary candidates call for a bold new policy to improve services and control train fares.
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# ? May 3, 2014 23:42 |
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nozz posted:Manchester to Euston would go down to around 1 hour 45 minutes. 1:48 after Phase 1, 1:08 after Phase 2.
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# ? May 3, 2014 23:54 |
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"shadow chancellor Ed Balls"
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# ? May 3, 2014 23:56 |
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Ok 1:08 is extremely significant, thanks for the swift replies. Wouldn't putting all us pesky Rail staff into a nationalised railway increase the union power significantly though? *cue sinister music*
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# ? May 4, 2014 00:14 |
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The benefits of nationalisation can only be fully felt if the railways are vertically integrated !
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# ? May 4, 2014 00:48 |
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Lofty132 posted:Ok 1:08 is extremely significant, thanks for the swift replies. Not if you structured it (well) as a workers' cooperative! e:but yeah this story comes up every few months and nothing ever actually happens policy-wise. i think it's just to keep the transport unions and commuters vaguely on-side or something Jonnty fucked around with this message at 01:00 on May 4, 2014 |
# ? May 4, 2014 00:57 |
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# ? May 20, 2024 16:07 |
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Lofty132 posted:Also heard they want it to go direct to Manchester Airport as opposed to Picadilly. For God's sake why? Capacity/enlargement issues at Piccadilly (couldn't they rebuild the closed station across from Piccadilly or something)? Airport accessibility? Sheer perversity? Vincent Van Goatse fucked around with this message at 02:52 on May 4, 2014 |
# ? May 4, 2014 02:48 |