UK RAILWAYS RANT ALERT!!!!
To be complete honest, I don't understand why the DfT and the TOC's have a massive obsession for Multiple Unit trains in the UK. I understand that the High Speed services, should be in DMU form (e.g, pendos, 800s etc...) but I think the more inter region services should become loco hauled, with new MK5 coaches. Routes like the Cross Country routes, instead of a 4 car DMU, a 6 car loco hauled service, could be used, and depending on events, and bookings, extra coaches can be added easily, and a single crew can be used.
I think, when we went from Praha to Berlin HBF, we were in a 6 or 7 coached loco hauled train, which had no overcrowding, simply because planning was ahead, and everyone was either in their booked seat, or in one of the unreserved seating carriages. When you look at the Voyagers, they cram people in, in a tiny space, and offer no amenities, no buffet car, no FREE Wifi, and little for free in first class. I seriously feel that there is a lack of planning and customer care for British railways in general. Trains which are in a set, set, are overcrowded, because another coach can't just be added, half way down the line, or even before the train starts, but if we had loco hauled coaches, and an intense planning, of events etc, we would be able to pop another spare coach on, before the train leaves.
Now, for commuter trains, I see the need for gangwayed sets, for the simple ease, of having lots of doors, for quick alighting etc, but for Inter region trains, it'll be easier to have 1 68, and 11 MK5s, for the Fort William to Penzance, or the Edinburgh to Birmingham.
I have spent my holidays every year, traveling by train in Europe, and you see that the way train travel is conducted is so much different... When was the last time the guard had an iPad Mini, as a ticket scanner in the UK? (DB Berlin - Hamburg) When was the last time, your train had a buffet car, serving cooked food, cooked onboard?
Why do we still run 4 car trains on some of the most highly congested routes? Why can't we build the infrastructure, so we can order trains, the same gauge as Europe? BECAUSE BRITAIN HAS FALLEN BEHIND!
Never, in England, would you be able, to board a train onto a boat, and get it off again, without a delay.
I'll tell you what we need... We need a real conversation, about our railways... Away from the government, we need a consumer inquiry, into what we want from our railways, because I'll tell you something... As much as we love the idea of a 4 coach cramped train in paper, I'd much rather see a bulk order, for 300 MK5s, for across the network!
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I am going to miss riding on them.
hock: