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If performance is poor now, which is what they said during the sunmer, then the infrastructure clearly doesn't support 'existing plans' to run even more services. There is no pressing need for more capacity to Liverpool but a pressing need for more capacity on XC, although it is also true to...

That is a little harsh... When John Major introduced the Passengers Charter, the target was to run of the order of 99% or 99.5% of services. How standards have slipped that 6% is the new normal!

It was always shortsighted to buy more 3 car EMU units. 4 cars (at least) have been standard in most of the SE north and south of the river for decades. I understand the numbers to be 34x323 in service and 36x350/2 heading off lease. Buying new units now, to see off Class 333s seems crazy when...

It's largely performative. Most people doing journeys like Wolverhampton to Birmingham are already avoiding them, other like Stoke to Birmingham don't have much choice and most people in Leamington are going to Birmingham rather than Coventry. If nothing else, it is a terrible waste of...

WCML South fast lines were deemed congested infrastructure in 2020. ORR quoted NR evidence in their 3rd July determination, when Wrexham / Lumo / Virgin applications were all rejected, and before many of these new Liverpool trains have been added, that south of Rugby from 11am on a typical day...

Avanti have brought in extra stock to run more services on what is deemed 'congested infrastructure' and NR, ORR are already knocking these back. How about using Class 390/807s to cover XC Birmingham - Manchester by extending the 2tph from Euston that terminate at New Street and turn back the...

See the never ending saga of Boundary Zone 6 to places like Haywards Heath. That is not valid on this red train. It is only allowed on trains that stop at either East Croydon or Coulsdon South.

Manchester to Heathrow Terminal 5 is more than an hour longer in journey time than to reach Euston. North and West London to Heathrow is a horror show unless you are on the Elizabeth Line. Epsom to Heathrow is around 2hrs by rail, and about 1hr20 using the Superloop buses. Modal share for...

It is a shame this is restricted to rail transport. Most travel is urban / suburban and inevitably will not touch heavy rail. Urban metros, trams and bus improvements are usually better value and more impactful. Difficult to think of much in Cornwall that is not much less impactful than spending...

Rail Fares are 0.42% (42 per thousand) weighting in the CPI. Regulated fares went down in cash terms in 2009 when RPI was something like -1.5% It seems to be government policy to remove regulated fares on LNER with this never ending 'trial' until such a point most people no longer remember...

It looks very difficult for Gatwick. Increasing modal share while the airport also doubles in size is not going to be easy, without making it hostile for road users. The least difficult way to get modal share is dense urban transport, but Gatwick doesn't have much urban nearby and Horley...

This Swiss system is a way of doing Account Based Ticketing without doing it 1 TOC at a time, three stations at a time, £1m at a time. The barcode it generates when you check in, doesn't need to replace anything, they just don't happen to have any station controls. You can have station controls...

They could and I would argue should, but Network Rail have never taken the lead which is necessary to make it happen. On routes with one operator, or half a dozen of them, trains often run at different times each hour through the day with no little synergy. Connections happen pretty randomly...

They have this in Switzerland. You open an account in their App and link it to a bank account. When you want to travel you tell the app you are starting your journey. From GPS it figures out where you are and generates and barcode to show as required on route. When you are at your destination...

They were given far too much freedom, given their monopoly power. For the initial crop, privatisation was a get rich quick scheme. The initial franchises and ROSCOs were both incredibly lucrative and those that sold out to larger business made incredible profits. Today the government pays far...

When a big company says we are doing x because of y, you can safely rule out y as the actual reason. When rail was privatised, long distance business / peak fares were inexplicably left to the free market, despite obvious monopoly issues, and rocketed in price. The bottom tier of flexible...

The number of total rejectors is very high and many people entered this state a long time ago when fares were much cheaper. Even going back before the pandemic, projects with regular in person meetings would find a rhythm, a very inefficient one, because travel was at own expense and the...

It wasn't that long ago the toilets emptied onto the track and you had to lean out of a door to open it. When it is their own money almost everyone chooses Standard Class, and price is by far the bigger barrier to people choosing rail. Having said that, there is no excuse for the terrible...

Unless advertised up front as this price until one month, that price until one week, then it's dynamic pricing. Even offering 10 at this price and 10 at that price will produce something that looks like dynamic pricing is just as non-transparent. In practice most long distance rail, aviation...

It is stretching credibility somewhat to suggest that a railcard that costing less than most long distance fares (even then) offering a substantial off peak discount would reduce a £10bn farebox by just £10m. A substantial number of people would just swap out of the Network Railcard, so even...