What is your controversial railway opinion/idea?

[yorksrob]

Hand 'dryers' should have no place on trains.

 

[Cowley]

Bring back shiny toilet roll.
Actually no, maybe not that one.

 

[F Great Eastern]

That the DFT should take the blame for their own decisions rather than the continued use of operators taking all the flack for things which are partly or fully the result of DFT mismanagement or downright incompetence.

They can make cock up after cock up and the naivety of the public means that they will blame the operators for everything and then call for the DFT to be given ever more control by renationalisation, unaware that it's the civil servants who cause many of the problems.

The DFT have this all worked out to a T and are effectively able to nationalise the praise when it happens through a few photo opportunities and slapping logos on an IEP, but vanishing and effectively privatising the blame when something goes wrong, even if it was out of the operators hands.

 

[gg1]

If ever there was a thread which would benefit from a forum 'like' button it's this one.

 

[fowler9]

Bring back shiny toilet roll.
Actually no, maybe not that one.

Ha ha.

If ever there was a thread which would benefit from a forum 'like' button it's this one.

Definitely.

 

[backontrack]

First ScotRail 'Barbie' was a cracking livery.

 

[bastien]

There's no point in doing more than 125mph on the conventional network, and no 140mph+ trains should ever have been ordered for it. Ditto catenary and track. Just look at the GWML madness - all for what? The distant offchance that the 800s will get in-cab signalling before they're scrapped.

In-cab signalling for *capacity* on the other hand

 

[BigCj34]

While I am not of the view that privatization should have occurred, nationalisation will not magically fix everything either. I don't trust the current government to run all the services any more than the private franchises, given a lot of the timetabling mishaps have been the responsibility of the DfT. I think a more feasible solution is to have private operations kept behind the scenes, like TfL, but give the public sector the chance to bid for franchises as well.

Also think that if electric aviation takes off it will probably be the death knell for high-speed rail development. It will not make a huge difference for UK services, and trains that are competitive with flying times will remain as they are, but ambitious high-speed rail projects will see an end as the argument that trains are more eco-friendly than flying will no longer be the case. Regional and local services will unlikely be affected though.

 

[Kite159]

Bring back shiny toilet roll.
Actually no, maybe not that one.

Coming soon to a train toilet near you...

(Picture of some Izal Medicated toilet roll)

 

[exile]

Controversial train opinions
1. If all lines closed other than inter city and South Eastern commuter, the UK economy would not be significantly affected.
2. Privatisation has been good for rail staff
3. Government controls railways much more strictly than in BR days
4. Self driving taxis, by removing the cost of hiring the driver, would eliminate most public transport except on very busy urban/suburban routes.

 

[XC victim]

My controversial opinion is that the voyagers are actually a good train.

They do get a lot of criticism (usually from me) but I think in terms of performance and reliability they really are a very successful train. To be honest I don’t think the seats are particularly that uncomfortable, especially when compared to other new trains. I also like the large windows, Although I really dislike the lack of alignment between the seats and windows, meaning you end up sat for 4 hours staring at plastic.

The obvious problem with them is the lack of capacity. Interestingly I read very little criticism of the virgin west coast voyagers when run as double units.

If they were run on lines with less demand I think we would all be saying what a great train they are. However for now I will continue to slag them off as I am crammed into the vestibule with 20 other passengers outside a smelly bog.

 

[BigCj34]

My controversial opinion is that the voyagers are actually a good train.

They do get a lot of criticism (usually from me) but I think in terms of performance and reliability they really are a very successful train. To be honest I don’t think the seats are particularly that uncomfortable, especially when compared to other new trains. I also like the large windows, Although I really dislike the lack of alignment between the seats and windows, meaning you end up sat for 4 hours staring at plastic.

The obvious problem with them is the lack of capacity. Interestingly I read very little criticism of the virgin west coast voyagers when run as double units.

If they were run on lines with less demand I think we would all be saying what a great train they are. However for now I will continue to slag them off as I am crammed into the vestibule with 20 other passengers outside a smelly bog.

I am of this view, there is not much wrong with them on a technical standpoint and I barely notice the underfloor engines or toilet smell. However they should have been built with at least 2 more carriages, and just have 50% of toilets accessible. Whether they could have been made bi-mode in 2002 is debatable though.

Curious question, does having the tilting disabled on the XC units add to the journey time on any routes?

 

[Cowley]

Coming soon to a train toilet near you...

(Picture of some Izal Medicated toilet roll)

Oh blimey. I hope that’s not in your bathroom Kite?

 

[randyrippley]

Hand 'dryers' should have no place on trains.

You don't need hand dryers if the windows open

 

[yorksrob]

You don't need hand dryers if the windows open

I find that those trains without opening windows are likely to be the ones without paper towels

 

[randyrippley]

I find that those trains without opening windows are likely to be the ones without paper towels

they're usually the ones with no toilet paper either

 

[yorksrob]

they're usually the ones with no toilet paper either

That's because everyone uses it in lieu of the absent paper towels

 

[Clip]

That what Germany and Switzerland do with their number and taktfart plans will work here because changing 200 years of railway usage will be so easy

 

[Buggleskelly]

The Class 312's still had at least another 10-15 years left in them at the time of their withdrawal. Consider the fact that the 313's are around the same age and still going strong.

 

[randyrippley]

Like the Leyland Nationals on which they are based, the Pacers and 153/155 Sprinters should be rebodied using the plans from the East Lancs "Greenway". That would give us a cheap, more modern lightweight vehicle

 

[Joe Paxton]

Completely privatise the railways, as in Japan.

For any given line, one company should own the track, the rolling stock, and operate the services.

Therefore the companies involved would have a genuine long term incentive to improve services.

The Japanese state still owns four JR companies, including JR Freight that operates across the JR companies' network(s).

 

[Arrpi87]

I hate Pendolino units. No matter where I sit, every single one I've been on smells like a blocked drain.

 

[Joseph_Locke]

I hate Pendolino units. No matter where I sit, every single one I've been on smells like a blocked drain.

Errr .. is anyone else NOT posting the reply to this that I'm not posting either?

 

[Joseph_Locke]

Controversial train opinions
1. If all lines closed other than inter city and South Eastern commuter, the UK economy would not be significantly affected.

If all lines closed including South Eastern commuter the southerners would know how it feels on a normal working day up here ...

 

[Cowley]

I don’t want rolling stock to be really quiet inside.
If they’re completely hushed then I have to (try not to) listen to other people’s boring conversations.
The noisier the underfloor engine the better I say...

 

[arrivasuck]

Over 55 bus passes should be banned nationwide.
Any conductor wearing a 'GUARD' badge needs reminding of their responsibilities.
First class must be seat reservations compulsory.
Private companies should be given opportunity to purchase and take full control of rail lines, trains and staff provided they keep Barbara Castles essential public service lines open.
Police not allowed to take control of sites following an incident even if they are first on the scene.
All grades must go through promotion or earn a place in a talent pool.
And of course Arriva should be banned from running all public services.

 

[CC 72100]

Most people who want nationalisation of the railway do not really understand why they want it and what it will change (or not as the case may be) and only want it from a political perspective because they feel it 'should' be that way and not from thinking about a "better" railway.

Note this does not extend to people who are happy to debate the merits of nationalisation v. Privatisation in an informed manner.

 

[Arrpi87]

Errr .. is anyone else NOT posting the reply to this that I'm not posting either?

Walked right into that one! Doh!

 

[Cowley]

Walked right into that one! Doh!

 

[James James]

That what Germany and Switzerland do with their number and taktfart plans will work here because changing 200 years of railway usage will be so easy

You do realise that the Taktfahrplan hasn't existed forever?

But they do happen to have one company essentially running the show, which far simplifies implementation.