^^^ this is the reason that the current franchise arrangements need to be scrapped along with the current ticketing system.
Oh they do! I had a choice earlier of buying an off peak return which would allow me to travel on any train this weekend, or for 5p less I could have limited myself to one train option. Thanks XC for that bargain advance offer. Laughable!!!
Hasn't anybody else read the posts in this and other threads saying that the Treasury - via the DfT - (or whatever it is called this week) have demanded cuts in expenditure regardless of consequences, so capacity doesn't matter, just scrap it off! Maybe I'm imagining things.
Sure, it has been claimed many times that the DfT have ordered cuts regardless of the consequences. However, what JonathanH wrote was that:
In other words, XC (not even the DfT) have claimed that this particular cut has no negative consequences - the extra capacity provided by the IC125s, apparently, "is no longer required" - we of course know that is nonsense.
It's not just the Treasury. Climate change is notably absent from the Prime Minister's / Government's five key priorities for 2023, it feels like they may have given up even pretending to care.
Oh they do! I had a choice earlier of buying an off peak return which would allow me to travel on any train this weekend, or for 5p less I could have limited myself to one train option. Thanks XC for that bargain advance offer. Laughable!!!
Perhaps, but there are many people in the south west who do go north fairly frequently. I think the sh*t is about to hit the fan personally as 4 and 5 car voyagers just aren't going to cope on so many services. Something will have to give eventually.
at least there are ex-avanti voyagers that could be brought in relatively quickly when the **** hits the fan
Could be but won't be. The operational costs drive everything.
Sadly it won’t! I’ve been left on the platform by several full to bursting Voyagers over the past few years and nothing ever changes!
If modal shift from road/air to rail was a priority, the current* suituation (in my opinion) would be enough to justify increasing (rather than reducing) capacity on XC. I expect people are left behind by Voyagers anyway, - however even if they weren't it's only two 300+ HST diagrams being removed. What will happen is (more) people will be left behind, but I fear not enough to make anyone in a position of power pay attention. Some (perhaps many) of those passengers who suffer as result of the coming cuts will simply go by car or by air next time.
Not immediately. Sooner or later the climate impact of that negative modal shift is could well hit home though.
So a good quarter or more of all XC trains ex Plymouth will be short formed compared with now from May. Progress indeed.
Blame the government, either for just not caring about public transport (outside London,) or for kow-towing to the Treasury. Write to your MP - and think about it at the next election.
Commenting here highlights the problem. What else is a chat forum for? And re the next election, ill only need think about it for about 0.0001 seconds before ensuring my vote doesn't go to whoever the Tory candidate may be.
Problem is last Labour government didn't exactly cover themselves in glory where rail system was concerned.
OK that was more than 13 years ago. Its an entirely different administration now. Not very fair on Labour to tarnish them with the mistakes of the Blair/ Brown era. Ancient history frankly. What IS current is the Tories wrecking the railways as we speak with all the cuts and industrial unrest. Anything is better than this.....
Where's the money coming from to change things? Don't remember any Labour government really investing heavily in the railways.
Again, your talking about 13 years ago.
Ok, so there's an infinite supply of it? Afraid when it comes to it Railways will lose out. If funding tight it's more of a vote loser to cut services like NHS. If it could always be found then everything would be wonderful as nothing would be short of funds. That's not reality be it a Labour Government or Conservative. Doesn't matter about 13 years ago, reality is there are lots of bills to pay irrespective of who's in Government. I'm willing to bet railway system will be no better off under Labour.
Yes and no.
Well, actually, the NHS, the care system, the military and local government all need more funding. As well as the railways.
Thanks for telling me what I already knew but point still stands, I'm willing to bet any government will not increase rail spending above what it already is. Nothing to do with above, all to do with having to make books balance and we are massively in debt. At some point things have to give.
No money you all say… and to think what could have been achieved with the £100 billion thrown incompetently at HS2. We could have added an extra coach to all the voyagers AND repainted them AND replaced the seat covers and fixed the blown windows AND replace the broken lighting, and had change of … around £100 billion !
Which has got absolutely nothing to do with the railways, the NHS etc.
At the same time, politicians are being criticised for a tax burden on the population which is apparently higher than it ever has been before.
There is a debate as to whether long distance trains or shorter distance services should have priority on the railway network, but short long distance trains aren't very effective in that regard.
