Search results

I do sympathise with the question of "why can't they just get them to Grove Park under their own steam? Why do we have to Diesel haul?", and whilst during "normal times" you could potentially borrow a DI or DM from SWR and one from SE (whilst making sure their existing duties are covered) and...

In the future, I'd ask them to explore the option of being able to buy a smart ticket online, which can then be collected at the origin station, or can be loaded directly to the smart card if your phone is compatible. This way, you can eliminate the risks of the machines being out of service, or...

I'm in agreement that the best option here is to be up front and honest with them. As far as they'll be able to tell, this is your first "whoopsie" with regards to travelling without a valid ticket. They've got you bang to rights on this, but I believe that if you're truthful about this and...

Indeed. It does seem highly irregular than the RPI would ask to see your ID and make no implication that they were going to report you "on suspicion of not presenting a ticket on demand when asked to do so". I would argue that to fail to do this is improper, as they've not given the OP an...

On a small or closed system, I'd be inclined to agree. However, at scale, this becomes more problematic. That reliance on an always-available back-office system is just not realistic. If that system goes down, or your connection to that system goes down, you no longer have any way of issuing or...

One of my main criticisms of TfL Rail and this also applies to London Overground, is how they handle incidents and disruptions to service. Handling disruptions tends to be different per TOC, but for the most part, they usually try to run some kind of contingency or reduced service and cope with...

Easiest: C2C. I agree with most of you here. It's largely self-contained and doesn't really do anything "exciting". It operates from one terminal to a small handful of destinations - the only complexity that they have to deal with is engineering diversions to Liverpool Street, and I expect that...

If you look at what other nations and systems have gone with, many of them have gone with some combination of eliminating mag-stripes, or physical single-use tickets, or other combinations. As we all know, mag-stripes are not particularly reliable and a lot of the orange card stock we currently...

I've definitely heard the argument from people that since "Gatwick Express" is merely a sub-brand or trading name of GTR (formerly Southern) that they should be able to use a "Southern only" tickets on the Gatwick Express. But I note that the wording is slightly different - "Not Gatwick Exp" on...

I renewed my Railcard at the start of the year - like most others, I had no idea that within three months I was going to be largely unable to use my Railcard. In this case, I wouldn't mind an extension or discount on renewal. Otherwise I'm going to feel a bit bummed that I paid for something I...

Absolutely. Anything like text messages, call logs, or any other activity to demonstrate it was being used at or near the time of the offence. The bit that confused me initially was this... Is this when it says you "left" the house? Google location is periodically tracking your location, but...

Another thing to think about is that if you need to prove your whereabouts at the time the alleged offence took place, your phone may tell you where you were. Google Maps offers location history unless you have this turned off. I have very rarely found it to be inaccurate as a tool, and whilst...

This one was in the rumour mill for a while, and logically it made sense. Their sister 700s are already a common sight around many of the Kent routes and indeed many of the Orpington drivers already sign them, so conversion to 707s shouldn't be too difficult. I'm not all that set on seeing new...

People are going to have requirements to travel. You cannot expect people to reduce their reliance on a private vehicle without expecting bus, train and shared forms of transport to pick up some of the demand, surely? It's better to incentivise use of more efficient forms of transport rather...

I use my 26-30 Railcard predominantly for leisure and casual journeys. If they scaled back the perks of the Railcard, then why would I continue to consider using the trains when my car becomes a more economically attractive option? I thought we were supposed to be encouraging use of shared and...

Don't forget they also had the 395s back in 2009. But the HS service tends to operate relatively independently of the rest of SE's operations. Regardless, the bulk of their metro and suburban fleets still consist of Networkers. The 465/9s have done fairly well, but many of the others are...

I was waiting for someone to suggest this. After the initial closure, much of the line to Uckfield was singled in the 90s due to it being in a really sorry state. There's been a lot of "umm"ing and "aah"ing over what to do with it, because it's one of only a few lines down South that isn't yet...

I prefer to use digital and smart tickets where possible - less bits of paper to carry around and damage or lose, and less use of single-use disposables. I know that people will say: "But it's paper! Why don't you just recycle them?" Because the thermally-reactive compound that sits on the top...

I used the standard "contact" form (submitted as "enquiry") and politely requested if they could forward it on to the relevant depot, DM, or anyone else they believe it should go to, just in case they needed to investigate whether there was a defect with the train, or if they needed to sit down...

About 4 months ago, I was on a train to Sevenoaks that stopped at Knockholt but failed to open the doors. The train sat there for about 1 minute with no announcements and then started to pull away before abruptly stopping again. After another two minutes of silence, the driver clicked on the...