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I don't think this has been covered yet but does anyone know why the fare structure on the rail network is an absolute clusterfuck? Is there any reason why two tickets on the same train cost less than one? (EG going Westbury to Newbury and then Newbury to London is cheaper than Westbury to London even though its the same train.) Why could we not adopt a Japanese fare system where you pay a flat rate to ride the train and then pay for the distance travelled? That said there are some train companies that run a fantastic service. I'm lucky enough to be able to take the C2C line into work and I really can't fault it for reliability. I understand its basically one simple line and therefore probably really easy to run but I'm always impressed that you can pretty much set your watch by it. Its certainly an improvement after First Great Western who have improved greatly but still have their moments!
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May 9, 2012 09:41
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As an interesting aside. I got leafleted by the RMT as part of an TUC/Rail Union day of action. May just have to go to the meeting on Thursday! http://www.rmt.org.uk/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=159286&int1stParentNodeID=89731&int2ndParentNodeID=89763
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May 28, 2012 09:52
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ookiimarukochan posted:Also, this goes all the way back to the first page, but people who talk up the "amazing" train service in Japan have never used it during rush hour / used one of the "private" lines (because JR was privatised a while back now, and the Tokyo Metro more recently.) - on the Odakyu line, the "wrong" sort of rain, delaying trains by easily 10 or 15 minutes in any sort of rain, and on the Tokaido line, the main fast link from the south, through Yokohama, into Tokyo, I regularly saw trains an hour or two late. When JR trains are late they stop displaying the time they should have been in, which I suppose makes them seem less bad. When I lived over in Japan I had no problems whatsoever with the privately owned Tobu line granted this was a few years ago but the private lines still seem subject to some severe requirements. But like many things, "your mileage may vary"
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May 28, 2012 13:31
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Thundercloud posted:What city are you in? Charming and wonderful Southend-On-Sea! (No sniggering at the back! The combined cost of rent and travel is cheaper than living in East London. My flat is larger than its London equivalent and I get to live ten minutes from the sea. Plus the c2c is one of the best run lines in the UK at the moment.)
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May 28, 2012 16:25
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Whitefish posted:It appeared to me that the station was understaffed, but it may have been that this was just a one-off and generally staffing levels are okay. I would imagine that this is more of a franchise based problem rather than a blanket across the network problem. That said I do wonder quite how a small operation like C2C can afford to keep someone in the ticket office till 20:00 on a weekday and someone like Greater Anglia can't.
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Sep 6, 2012 17:02
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Bozza posted:There high speed network is the only line on standard gauge, the rest uses metre. This was done on purpose because it stops freight and local traffic from interfering with the bullet train. This isn't strictly true..... There are quite a few Japanese private lines that use standard gauge. Off the top of my head I know that the Tokyo Metro Ginza line runs on standard gauge (Mainly because the guy who founded it saw the London Underground a few years earlier and decided that Tokyo must have exactly the same thing. As well as the Keisei Electric Railway which converted to Standard Gauge around the 50's. That said, the train companies in Japan have all sorts of fingers in a number of pies. Tobu railway (the rail company I used to ride when I lived there) not only has a chain of supermarkets, a theme park, health spas, department stores and housing but they also funded the Tokyo Skytree (With the help of some other companies like NHK.) This is a similar story for most of the Private Japanese railway firms too. They're usually part of a greater conglomerate with the railway as the businesses backbone. Its a bit like Tesco running the East Coast Mainline. Or First Group deciding to open a chain of supermarkets, and then building a massive tower in the centre of London. -EDIT- That said, regarding the Japanese fares. If there was one thing I would love to have brought over its the Japanese Fare Structure. Paying for the distance you travel rather than what someone says you should pay makes far more sense. Venmoch fucked around with this message at 01:30 on Jul 16, 2013 |
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Jul 16, 2013 01:27
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Tosspot on BBC News posted:The solution to our current problems is not more state bungling, it is a return to diversity, competition and open markets. I'm not entirely sure "Open Markets" and Railways are really compatible with each other. If I decide to visit my parents I can either travel First Great Western or First Great Western. Open Market!  As a side note. When you work for a Privatisation and Tax reform think tank, I'm going to treat everything you say with a large degree of skepticism.
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Aug 16, 2013 10:57
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Manny posted:Brilliant, thank you Also, if you take the train to any major terminal at all get a bite card. https://www.bitecard.co.uk/ 20% off a bunch of food and drink at train stations for free is difficult to argue with. (Also I think its valid some of the pubs too so that's a plus!) EDIT - Brovine: You can also get a Network Railcard independant of a season ticket for about £26 (I think) which with the UK's current rail pricing will pay for itself with one journey! Venmoch fucked around with this message at 23:37 on Dec 15, 2013 |
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Dec 15, 2013 23:35
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In Franchising news. National Express have been chosen to continue running Essex Thameside services under the C2C brand. There's a list of the promised changes they'll be implementing here. http://www.c2c-online.co.uk/Breaking-News Interesting points to note include: + Full station staffing from First train to Last train (at all stations) + Automatic refunds if your train is more than 2 minutes late. + A smart card system that'll also work in local buses as well as the London area. + Passengers given the right to the cheapest ticket available and compensation given if they aren't as well as a bunch more tickets. (Hopefully this will include regular returns as currently you can only get day returns!) + The normal "more trains and seats at peak times bollocks" Its certainly a big set of proposals although I'd argue that some of them should be put into force across the rail network as a whole (particularly the right to the lowest fare as there's quite a bit of fare bullshittery going on) I take the C2C to work every day and its certainly one of the better train services I've been on (and granted one of the smallest) but they're certainly taking a very customer focused view to their services.
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Jun 27, 2014 08:48
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Well it can't get any worse than that? Right? Oh.. (To be fair to Tokyo Metro this is a slightly out of date map. Lets take a look at a newer one!)  That's better, but not by much. And I don't know who's responsible for this next one but its a sin against transport maps everywhere. 
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May 25, 2015 21:52
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I'm not sure its been posted but the BBC had a fascinating documentary about a severe rail crash in Japan and (more importantly) the circumstances that led up and contributed to it. (Also its sadly no suprise that privatisation plays a significant part.) It's a really good documentary so if you've got a spare hour give it a watch! http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03yfwk3/storyville-20132014-23-brakeless-why-trains-crash
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Jul 31, 2015 07:36
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| # ¿ May 11, 2024 06:31 |
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In Rail related "2016 can suck a bag of dicks" news Phil Sayer died. Who you may not know by name, but you will know his voice.
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Apr 15, 2016 16:05
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