Whistler40145
Established Member
Normal passengers mistaking a Railtour formed of Mark 1s and a locomotive for their train, even though their train is modern.
Normal passengers wondering why they have to buy a Rail Ticket when travelling on a Rail Replacement Bus and not pay the price of a bus fare.
Keeping it on the bus theme;
Passenger are perfectly entitled to take a different (more expensive) route than what is stated on their ticket if there’s bus replacement on there original route.
Every train in the south of England is newer than every train in the north of England.
London and the South East doesn't need the amount of money spent on transport there that it gets.
I have also heard of people thinking that the local council was responsible for the hostpitals. It was before my kids were born so over 30 years ago but there was an account in the local paper of councillors turning up at a public meeting to protest about cuts to the local hospital being shouted down by residents who were convinced that they were responsible.Surely, the number one wrongly assumed fact by passengers, tax-payers and the Media alike remains the 31 year old favourite:
Buses are run by the Council(s)
I've been told that this is fine on two occasions. Once in the early days of Virgin Cross Country as I preferred to stand there rather than stand in the smoking carriage (the standard class vestibules were full of standees). The other was on the West Somerset Railway when I wished to photograph out the window from the rear of the train and the last carriage was first class.That a Standard Class ticket entitles you to stand in First Class vestibules
Normal passengers wondering why they have to buy a Rail Ticket when travelling on a Rail Replacement Bus and not pay the price of a bus fare.
As a normal passenger, I wonder this frequently. If the TOC can't deliver the benefits of a train, why should I be paying for a train over a bus? Especially as the RRBs are usually slower and less comfortable than the equivalent (cheaper) National Express / Citylink.
A rail ticket only guarantees that the TOC will get you from A-B. It does not mandate that you will get a seat, or even that you will get a train, or that you will get there on time. It literally just says they will get you there.
That a picture of a railcard on your mobile phone will get you discount.
That another person can get discount when traveling with you if you have a railcard.
That the Welsh Government Concessionary Travel Scheme applies from Newtown (Powys).
That Cambrian trains heading toward BHM INTL will split somewhere en route because they do in the reverse direction.
Indeed, but there is an expectation that it will be done in a certain fashion, as otherwise there is no reason to pay the extra to travel "by train". Yes, promising a train and providing a bus is certainly within the T&Cs, but it feels very unfair / unjust. While not intended this way, it feels like bait & switch.
Or, that bus travel is cheaper than train travel.Normal passengers wondering why they have to buy a Rail Ticket when travelling on a Rail Replacement Bus and not pay the price of a bus fare.
That selecting a reservation when booking a flexible ticket means you're tied to that particular train and cannot use that ticket on a different service. Known a few people who think that.
The TOC’s obligation is to get you from A to B. It’s safe to say they’d also prefer to convey you by train than go to the expense/hassle of arranging buses. But of course it is sometimes unavoidable and engineering works/closures may not be known about at the time you buy your ticket.
It also works both ways. TOCs have been known to organise taxis for passengers if, for example, the last train of the evening breaks down en route.
The latter is to comply with EU legislation. The alternative they have (to organising road transport) is to put you in a hotel for the night and to allow you to travel the next morning, which is only likely to happen where it's impossible to transport you by road or there's just one passenger to transport and they are going a very long distance.
That selecting a reservation when booking a flexible ticket means you're tied to that particular train and cannot use that ticket on a different service. Known a few people who think that.
The TOC’s obligation is to get you from A to B. It’s safe to say they’d also prefer to convey you by train than go to the expense/hassle of arranging buses. But of course it is sometimes unavoidable and engineering works/closures may not be known about at the time you buy your ticket.
A member of my family once told me that he didn't bother getting on stoppers (on a two-track railway), because the following express would always be able to "overtake" the stopper (by using the opposite track) and thus get to the destination faster...
I've had a taxi from Preston to Edinburgh, though admittedly it had 5 of us in it (I think). Taxi is always the preference, probably because it solves the problem more quickly. I've only heard of hotels being provided where weather conditions or similar precluded taxis. The only other case being I guess the Caledonian Sleeper, where a taxi through the night is not likely to be the first choice.
They did it well before the EU required them to.