Recent content by haltendehand

A few points, from south to north: Where would you put the tunnel portals for Wimbledon fast lines tunnel? Note that the industrial estate where Network Rail Wimbledon DU is is already pencilled in for a reversing siding (https://crossrail2.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Wimbledon.pdf)...

It may well not have an intensive service, but it is fundamentally a main line. If the question is about an intensive service, then Dublin Connolly or Heuston would probably be the best candidates

What is the question here? The Chiltern Main Line is not really an 'important main line'. Is it about large wholly unelectrified stations in European cities? If so, Cagliari comes to mind, with its 8 platform faces and no wires. Or about wholly unelectrified lines, from the first to the last...

That is very surprising - don't think the figures are out for October yet, but September's punctuality figures are staggeringly awful: 58.4% Time-To-5 on long-distance, with even usually reliable regional services now falling below 90%.

Given the byelaws' formulation is "No person shall smoke or carry a lighted pipe, cigar, cigarette, match, lighter or other lighted item on any part of the railway on or near which there is a notice indicating that smoking is not allowed" It follows that it is lawful to smoke on any part of...

On this occasion, the pantograph seems to have struck the office building that bridges the railway - which, ironically, is occupied by RDG and part of Network Rail. So proceeding all the way to Blackfriars before checking would seem to be impossible.

Line reopened at 14.23 in both directions. Pantograph on 5K15 was damaged, apparently by hitting the office building over the line at Puddle Dock.

It's not about incriminating or 'slandering' staff - it's really a question of company culture. It's very difficult to dispute that despatch is often done in a leisurely manner in Germany and that persistently travelling at +1 / +2 is just not seen as a problem. This used to be the same in...

Many of the operating practices do seem incredibly lax compared with GB these days - 2-3 minute station dwell times at minor halts combined with very leisurely dispatching and a total lack of concern about 1-2 minute delays accruing for no real reason. Literally almost everything (including RBs...

There are benefits and drawbacks to Germany's shape and population distribution. On the one hand, it makes it very difficult to build new high-speed mainlines between one very large city and a series of medium-sized cities, in the French or Spanish way. On the other hand, it makes it much...

CrossCountry is nothing like 'almost always late' - 6.5% of its services are over 15 minutes late. This compares with currently 18.6% on German long-distance trains - nearly 3x worse. Not a single operator in GB comes even close to the staggering unreliability of DB at the moment.

This is true for the above statistic, which is based on station stops made. Note that this is also true for German statistics though! PPM, which is based on station stops advertised (cancellation, part-cancellation, or stop-skipping is a 'fail' for all stations on the trip) and is time-to-10...

It absolutely is true of long distance trains. DB long distance is significantly worse than any UK operator. Currently time-to-5 is 63%, time-to-15 is 81% - so 19% of long-distance trains in Germany arrive 15 minutes or more late. For every single UK operator except Avanti, time-to-15 is above...

I don't think the latter point is accurate. The law's phrasing is: If a passenger having failed either to produce, or if requested to deliver up, a ticket showing that his fare is paid, or to pay his fare, refuses [F2or fails] on request by an officer or servant of a railway company, to give...

Not all termini! Within the London Terminals station group, there are a few that NRE does not use the 'London' prefix for: City Thameslink London Bridge Moorgate Old Street St Pancras International Vauxhall Out of these, London Bridge is a silly technicality and St Pancras International is...