European Train Booking Is Going Backwards
I am only a simple man, but I do know what computer software can do. And often it’s very complicated and works well!
In this post, I describe how I meandered all the way from East London to Yeovil using several trains. What complicated things was that I wanted to go via Littlehampton to see a Thomas Heatherwick-designed cafe. But I ended up with a complicated route from National Rail’s web site and I bought the tickets without difficulty.
So you’d think that if we navigate round our maze of lines in the South of England, then buying a ticket to most major cities in Europe should be a single transaction.
With Paris and Brussels it’s easy, if you go to the Eurostar web site and you just pick your train, pay your fee and then print the ticket.
I have a friend, who I see regularly, who lives near Lausanne. It’s a seven hour journey with a seventy minute change in Paris, so it’s not a short journey, but buying a ticket on Eurostar is as easy as buying one for Paris. Eurostar’s web site, also tells you how to get across Paris.
It’s pretty easy too, to buy a walk-up ticket for Paris in say Geneva and I’ve done it a couple of times.
As it’s a long journey back to Blighty, I usually give myself a couple of hours in Paris to have a good lunch or dinner before taking the Eurostar home. No-one in London, makes crepes like Cafe Breizh
But basically, getting to and from Switzerland by train, is as easy as going say from London to Inverness.
Let’s suppose that you want to go somewhere closer than Switzerland, like The Hague. Obviously, as Switzerland isn’t in the EU and The Hague is, you’d think that the Dutch capital would be the easier journey to book.
But whereas you can book to most large Swiss cities,you can’t book to The Hague.
A few years back, I booked a Eurostar ticket to Any Dutch Station. But this was discontinued!
Now you have to buy a ticket to Rotterdam and then fight your way through the Dutch ticketing system to get to The Hague. Five years ago it was much better.
Buying tickets to places like Berlin and Munich, is not much better either.
If the French, Belgians and the Swiss can get it right and probably up to the same standard as our system, why can’t Dutch and the Germans? The Dutch were even more integrated five years ago!
I’m sure if the best of the British, French and the Swiss had been put in charge of developing a full system for Europe, you’d be able to login to Eurostar, type in any station in Europe and get given a choice of routes, for you to select one.
No wonder the management of the EU is in such a mess!
Is Virgin Atlantic Closing Little Red?
The Sunday Times is leading the Business section, with an article that is saying that Virgin Atlantic is closing Little Red.
I always thought it was an ambitious plan, especially as the airline doesn’t go to Glasgow. This might seem a mistake, but remember Virgin Trains go to Scotland’s biggest city, where probably most London-bound travellers live.
Incidentally, I have only heard of one person, who has used the airline to get to Scotland and they live near Heathrow.
But after my experience with flying easyJet to Edinburgh, where it took as long as the train, due to security delays, I just wonder if flying to Scotland now, is a second class option to many travellers. As an example, one of my Edinburgh friends, who frequently travels down to London, always seems to use the train.
So you have to have a good reason to fly, such as your company is paying and you get the reward points.
Security delays are obviously a problem at some airports and these could get worse, unless terrorism worries actually reduce our desire for air travel substantially.
But two other factors probably have more effect; Manchester Airport and the trains.
Traffic at Manchester Airport has risen by nearly twenty percent in the last few years and this has been substantially helped by better rail connectivity across the North and to Glasgow.
So why would a Glaswegian spend more money to fly to Heathrow, when he or she can do the total journey quicker, by taking a convenient brand-new First TransPennine train to Manchester Airport and getting his flight from there?
But the trains are so much better at journeys a couple of stops short of a full London to Scotland journey. And how many Scots who live in the Central belt want to go to places other than London like Birmingham, Peterborough or Milton Keynes?
The trains are getting better each year and there seems to be no sign of the pace of the improvement slowing. Station upgrades at Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Peterborough and Birmingham will be completed and extra paths for more trains will be available, as alternative routes for freight trains become available. The real game-changer will happen at the end of this decade, when in-cab signalling becomes available, allowing the trains to increase maximum speeds from 125 mph to 140 mph.
Presently the fastest London Glasgow trains take four and a half hours, but the improvements could deliver a time around four hours.
As Virgin obviously have all the figures for both train and plane to Scotland, if they are closing Little Red, I suspect it was somewhat of a no-brainer.
Crossrail Could Have Wi-Fi
This article from the Standard, discusses wi-fi on Crossrail. Here’s the first paragraph.
Commuters will soon be able to use their mobile phones on trains and in tunnels on the new Crossrail rail link under plans being drawn up by TfL.
It won’t be many years before all trains, buses and trams in the UK, have full mobile access. Chiltern have already gone that way, and Virgin Trains are planning a roll-out.
A Tribute To Joan Rivers From The London Overground
This article in the Independent, flags up a tribute to Joan Rivers written on a customer information board at Hackney Wick Overground station.
She had a good innings and I for one, will miss her outstanding brand of humour. The only certain thing, is that someone in the future will come along with something more outrageous.
Is There Space On The Overground For Large Art?
In November 2013, I had a letter published in The Times entitled Underground Art.
As I had a bit of time to waste, I checked out some of the stations near where I live, as to their suitability of placing a large sculpture on the platforms.
Dalston Junction, Highbury and Islington and Caledonian Road and Barnsbury stations have space for the right piece of large art, but the space at Canonbury is such, that you could position a small tank engine there, if the platform was strong enough.
Other stations might not be suitable, as most do not have the large island platforms of these four stations.
I have no idea how much suitable sculpture would be available. I have read or viewed reports that a lot of art is now in store, because of the danger of theft. So why shouldn’t it be safely on display on stations?
Obviously, it would need to be installed using a maintenance train. But that in itself is a big deterrence against scrap metal thieves, as they’d probably have to get the art out that way.
An Unpleasant Experience
I took this picture at Highbury and Islington station from the second footbridge, that links the platforms to the Emergency Exit.
An Approaching Class 66
I have talked about the noise of Class 66 locomotives before in this post, where I said this.
It is important that rail locomotives are improved, as the current mainstay, the Class 66 is not liked by those who live on busy freight routes, due to its noise. I’ve also talked to drivers, who feel they have other problems too.
I could have been more critical. The Class 66 to the left of the picture was pulling a heavy freight train and passed under me, whilst working hard.
The noise was bad, but not as bad as the stink of the exhaust of the massive diesel engine.
I remarked on this to a member of the station staff, who was tidying up underneath the bridge and he said he hated them.
As there are now alternatives, surely pure diesel engines like the Class 66, that don’t meet the latest environmental regulations, should at lest be banned from operating in heavily-populated built-up areas.
In fact, as this line is electrified, what is a Class 66 doing on this line anyway?
A Quick Shop Using A Route 114 Hackney Tram
As I was going out, I made a quick dash up to the Angel to get some food shopping.
I boarded a crowded third segment of a 114 (i.e. 3 x 38) tram and we all went in convoy up to Islington.
But the great thing, is that standing is so easy on these vehicles that run pancake flat!
After my shopping, I got another vehicle home and fifty minutes after leaving originally home, everything had been put away and I was ready to go out.
When I lived in Newmarket and could still drive, I couldn’t get anywhere near that time.
Steel Flying Arches At Shadwell Station
These pictures show the steel flying arches at Shadwell station on the East London Line. They appear to be similar in form to the brick arches at Chorley.
The purpose of these structures is to stop the walls of the cutting collapsing inwards.
They’re not pretty or elegant, but they seem to work!
Is Work Starting On The Hackney Downs/Central Link?
I took this picture today.
Is Work Starting On The Hackney Downs/Central Link?
It looks like something is finally happening to build the pedestrian link between the two stations.
It should all become clear in the coming weeks.
Another Bit Of London Bridge Station Opens
In March I posted pictures of the opening of platform 14 and 15 at London Bridge station. Yesterday, the next two platforms 12 and 13 opened.
10 and 11 are now closed for rebuilding and should reopen in January 2015, according to this web page.
The list of key dates and service changes is given here, with finish set out in 2018.
Let’s hope it’s all worth it!
The Anonymous Widower 