Wapping Dock
Member
I was reading the Wiki Article regarding 'Races to the North' (and back) and I was wondering why such friendly rivalry, does not take place today, even for publicity reasons.
I'm aware that the main competition for the railways, for travel between London and Scotland, comes from air-travel (which is why I think High Speed Rail should always push for faster timings) but is nothing to be gained from such friendly competition between East Coast and West Coast today, and would such competition be unthinkable?
Does it not inspire operators to push for faster trains and quicker timings? Or could either operator not afford to take up the challenge today.
To quote from the article:
"When Britain's railways were privatised in the mid 1990s, the West Coast and East Coast routes were now once again operated by two different companies - now Virgin Trains and East Coast (train operating company).
Unlike the pre-1948 era however, the two operators have played down the fact that they are in effect rivals on the Anglo-Scottish routes, and have rarely been seen to advertise themselves as direct competitors meaning that a re-emergence of the Races To The North is unlikely."
Why is this?
I've always found High Speed Rail to be impressive, I've travelled on Pendolinos between the North West and London and also travelled from Newcastle to KX, East Coast, and of course from London to Paris via Eurostar (very impressive).
p.s sorry if this has been posted in the wrong forum.
I'm aware that the main competition for the railways, for travel between London and Scotland, comes from air-travel (which is why I think High Speed Rail should always push for faster timings) but is nothing to be gained from such friendly competition between East Coast and West Coast today, and would such competition be unthinkable?
Does it not inspire operators to push for faster trains and quicker timings? Or could either operator not afford to take up the challenge today.
To quote from the article:
"When Britain's railways were privatised in the mid 1990s, the West Coast and East Coast routes were now once again operated by two different companies - now Virgin Trains and East Coast (train operating company).
Unlike the pre-1948 era however, the two operators have played down the fact that they are in effect rivals on the Anglo-Scottish routes, and have rarely been seen to advertise themselves as direct competitors meaning that a re-emergence of the Races To The North is unlikely."
Why is this?
I've always found High Speed Rail to be impressive, I've travelled on Pendolinos between the North West and London and also travelled from Newcastle to KX, East Coast, and of course from London to Paris via Eurostar (very impressive).
p.s sorry if this has been posted in the wrong forum.
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