Recent content by BayPaul

I'm more considering the massive delays in the programmes to be honest, and the significant numbers of build faults that both designs still have (e.g. Cracks and the myriad of technical issues that are part of what is keeping the 701s out of service).

Ultimately the railway is there to safely, efficiently and comfortably move people (and goods) around the country, not to be a dumping ground for unwanted trains. It is sad that Derby is still at risk, especially for the employees, but ultimately they were the manufacturer of the disastrous...

Upthread the informed posts (Clarence Yard) said that Cornish mainline & Cardiff - Taunton stoppers, Barnstaple and Okehampton, releasing 80x for Intercity work, 158s for (most of the) Cardiff - Portsmouth and 150s for Mid Cornwall Metro.

I don't see the difference. The MCA and ORR both make rules, and the operators follow them, spending money without too much grumbling as rules change. The specifics of the rules aren't particularly relevant. And the MCA rules are very much all about passenger safety, including individual...

Thames Swift and Kestrel aren't purpose built for this route. They were built for White Horse Ferries for a long route up and down the Thames, similar to the current Thames Clippers main routes. They were technically an utter disaster, very poorly designed. They really aren't very suitable for...

Fast ferries don't normally have crew cabins, so the crew normally live ashore. For the Swift, the crew sleep on the Ulysses, and do one overnight round trip in their cabins on that ship before embarking Swift for her day's sailing. This has been happening since Irish Ferries started using...

It isn't unreasonable to delay trains to allow passengers to actually catch them. 15 minutes seems excessive, but they should be on the board in sufficient time for someone to walk at a slow pace from the far side of the station to the front of the train. Or alternatively, consider the train as...

With 6 platforms at OOC, that will be used for a while to turn the whole service, there should be ample room for a few tph to turn there once the main service moves to Euston. Since OOC is in west London, and an important enough market to stop every HS2 train at, could an open access operator...

Sarcastic, but in hindsight, it would be a great opportunity to see whether announcements actually make a noticeable difference to accident stats. A year out of service in one of the busiest stations in the country should have produced some proper results.

It would be interesting to see how many people have slipped on icy platforms or exploded through not seeing, saying and sorting during this period...

Alternatively, to minimise passenger inconvenience, whilst still encouraging industry compliance through their wallet, if a platform isn't announced and opened in good time then the train should be marked as cancelled from Euston in appropriate systems, triggering delay repay and poor annual...

Except that the LSWR route really isn't an alternative to Plymouth. It bypasses all of the population centres in the south and is much slower than the rail replacement bus from Tiverton Pkwy to Newton Abbot. If an alternative route is needed, a Haldon tunnel route would be genuinely useful...

Couldn't you equally describe them as being more resilient than the equivalent pure DMUs (which would probably have to come out of service with an engine out, at least on the GWML as they wouldn't be able to keep to time), or pure EMUs (the other GUs are still available for if the wires come down)

Moderator note: split from https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/surely-the-case-is-now-much-stronger-for-bere-alston-tavistock-okehampton.255787/ Why is the conversation always about this line? I don't recall ever seeing a thread about reopening the line to Bideford (for example), although...

Regardless of the usefulness (or not) of direct Newquay to Truro services, I think that an hourly Par to Newquay service will be a game changer on this route, particularly if coming from the east. Currently going from Devon to Newquay for the day is a simple decision - car is the only practical...