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Late to the party, but there is not a cats chance in hell of me ever getting on a 737MAX. My grandfather was an engineer and was always going about "if it doesn't look right, it isn't right". The 737MAX never looked right with the engines slung so far forward and higher so it clearly...

Absolutely stupid not to electrify it. Totally agree with Bletchleyite - any new rail construction should be electrified from Day 1 unless it creates an electrified island. Of course it would make even more sense if the Oxford - Didcot electrification was done.

Someone forgot to remind the pilots that the logo has changed :D Bet Joycey was a bit pissed about it.

A management contract simply means the operator will run the trains on behalf of the government for a fixed fee. All revenue received goes to the government, and all expenses are borne by the government. A franchise is where the operator runs the trains but receive all the revenue and bear all...

Two that always spring to mind: Crianlarich whilst waiting for the Sleeper in the middle of January... and Sheffield (forgot which platform) whilst waiting for a London train, snowing and blowing a gale (and me just off the plane from Australia!). At the wrong time of day/year, just about any...

The often quoted "worth" figures for people are educated guesses and paper values only. They are indeed rarely very accurate to boot. It does not mean that those people have loads of cash sitting around in bank accounts doing nothing. Why people don't understand that is beyond my...

In the end everything gets back to 3 facts: 1. No matter what system you use, no matter how simple and easy you make it, there will always be a significant element of the population who will try it on and complain about everything when they are caught. 2. People generally get more stressed when...

The sad fact for Cross Country is that it has to fit in around everything else that in general is considered more important such as commuter services in the greater Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham areas. There are simply too many physical infrastructure issues that are not easily solvable to...

I would think most improvements to the Great Western would revolve around reinstating the electrification programs that have been cancelled. Not going all the way to Bristol Temple Meads by both routes is idiotic and not going to Oxford is almost as bad.

They are actually made in Italy now, not sure whether any helicopters are actually made in Yeovil anymore? I was under the impression the factory was closed a few years ago (Cue memories of holidays in Yeovil watching helicopters being test flown there) Not sure how successful they will be...

The Qantas 747 retirements had already been planned for this year anyway, having been announced in June, 2019, so nothing to do with Covid-19 really. Most major airlines still flying 747-400s would have been planning to retire them within a couple of years, whether Covid-19 happened or not...

Isn't it the case that extending services/combining end to end services to make longer single journeys is a fair part of the reason why Northern got into the ****? The longer the multi-stopping journeys are, the more likely they are to introduce delays especially if routing through/to major...

The signalling systems of New South Wales and Victoria are in any case reasonably similar so confusion is not really a factor to be considered. As LesS says, there is only one safe working system on the ARTC lines. The only real way signalling could be an issue here is either a failure or...

Check the fare conditions. Some airlines have wised up to the fact that people were taking advantage of return fares being cheaper than one way fares, so the conditions of a no-show have changed to say no refund is due for the unused portion of the airfare. Another example: Perth to India...

Would it really have cost that much extra to give the power cars the same profile as the passenger cars?

Get the Chinese to build it, with Chinese labour under Chinese laws. It would be finished 5 times quicker, well within the revised budget (including bribes) and without long ongoing arguments about whether (for example) a specific tree should be saved... :smile:

Is it just my perception or have the problems with the LM/LNWR franchise been getting progressively worse since they started operating to Liverpool?

Surely the best way of approaching the XC franchise/division (since franchising might be going the way of the dodo) would be to replace the current Voyagers with 9 car Class 802s on a 1 for 1.5 basis, ordering the 802s now so that they are ready for when the XC franchise is up for renewal. That...

Cebu City in the Philippines has a metro-area population of over 3 million people and is no where near a railway line. By the time it gets a planned light rail system, the population will likely be around 4 million plus. Davao City in the Philippines has a metro-area population of around 3...

Yes they do (E4 series), but latterly only on the Joetsu Shinkansen Line (since they have the same problem as the UK on classic lines). They are being withdrawn (withdrawal may now have been completed) and being replaced by E7 series which are not double deck. When Japan has not continued with...