Recent content by hs2critic

Yes, the walk-up fares is the best explanation given for the ghost trains, but Virgin do not operate any of their airlines on that principle. I know they usually operate against other competitors, and I know Virgin is just the brand, but the principles of yield management are the same. In fact...

When was the last time you went through the CUTTING as it traverses north-south through Rugby? True, it is a nature reserve, true, it is used by some joggers and cyclists, but as a keen member of the latter group, even I would accept the return of a RAILWAY to its original use, as long as...

In what way is Virgin's market more captive than HS2 will be? There's a time difference of just 7 mins between the fastest Chilterns and regular Virgin services ex Brum - or typically about 20 mins. HS2 will have a greater difference between it and the Virgin or whoever at the time...

Well that might be what you think, but repeat that exact statement and substitute "HS2" for "Virgin Trains" and that is what you have now. And as for - "And they say pricing will be in line with existing services" (Yorkshire Bear) Well yes, they say that, but you have an incredibly high...

Sure - now serving city centres, that's a really DANGEROUS idea! So dangerous that it is done throughout practically the entire German speaking world (Berlin HB and the new combined Vienna HB being cases in point). My understanding is that costs for the former were in the region of €700m for...

For comparing local traffic, pax numbers alone may be a guide, but TOCs, and XC especially will look at figures based on yield, rather than bums alone. If you are looking at P&Rs running along a branch or a metro which terminates at an airport - such as Newcastle, then local traffic will be...

Agreed. There's lots I don't like about HS2, but that's for other threads. No transport system can be 100% safe. Railways didn't have a good start, but now they carry billions of people each year with relatively few serious incidents. Whilst we continue to accept daily carnage on our...

That is a good question, especially if you look at relative passenger numbers at SOU when compared with other airports that have stations. Two other additional factors: 1) It is such a direct juxtaposition that it makes obvious sense to have a station there, as no other infrastructure is...

This is the only explanation I had been able to make, other than some reference to DB trying out variable pricing and their core business clientele being really upset by it. However, you can still have fixed open tickets and drop the price outside the busiest time for advance purchase...

It is up to the government to propose the scheme. They decide what goes out and what goes in. There will always be some things the treasury says you can / can't put in, but at the end of the day we have to evaluate the case based on what HS2 Ltd, a "company" that defines its internet presence as...

Well I thought "Specials" here just meant one-off excursions services ;) Anyway, that song might have its roots in Coventry, but iirc it was written about Glasgow. However yes - that is the meaning of ghost train I meant - not as in the Madness Ghost Train that never comes, but as in a...

In my experience, imbys are much rarer than nimbys - in fact, for a generic planning app, work on about 1:7 being par for the course. But HS2 isn't a planning app, it is a hybrid bill, and it is also government money funding it, not a private developer. Given the high usage proposed, the...

Not true. They voted to stop outright opposition and to get engineers to look further into whether or not they could get any extra changes, subject to a report for a later date. The agenda item still quite clearly states there is nothing which would lend Coventry towards giving outright...

You forgot to add when James turns up at Coventry station and has a Network Railcard, and is fully aware of the Section 17 rule. So repeat the same exercise with fare splitting options at Banbury, Milton Keynes or Northampton. As for definitions, yes you are being a pedant. I'll take...

Worth pointing out that's an LM service. Doesn't say how quickly it empties out, but they usually do by Milton Keynes. I think that is a wonderfully cunning plan, but it still doesn't solve the problem of people who just slump themselves down in the vestibule and don't even bother to look...