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I think in many ways the 195s may end up being the pacer replacements - 2 car non-gangwayed DMUs will end up being cascaded to minor branch lines that don't have the economic case for electrification, as they are replaced by EMUs on metro and inter-urban type routes. For shorter self-contained...

To which one :)

A simple option to cater for these people would be a say £10 bus + rail fare, bought from the bus driver, which is valid for transport to the station, and can then be used when you buy your train ticket as a voucher towards the cost of that ticket. It could perhaps allow you to buy your onward...

It would seem the very worst kind of microfleet to have to have something so specific for Marlow. Measuring on Google Earth, it looks like there is about 75 metres from the buffers to the points. Would it really be impossible to make some track alignment changes sufficient to be able to fit a...

It's worth saying that there is absolutely no evidence that either of these fleets are going to XC either. There was some speculation when there was announcement of enhanced capacity or similar when the new post franchise arrangements were announced, but it was just the few extra central...

One factor that hasn't been mentionned - with the railways now being effectively nationalised, and the government reported to be looking at reducing costs, one great way to do this is to get expensive rolling stock off lease. The challenge, of course, is that all of this expensive rolling stock...

Ah yes, in that case I agree!

It would also be a pain to crew - assuming it didn't have its own mini-depot, drivers would presumably need to ride as a passenger all the way from Acton Town or Arnos Grove before and after each shift. Given that, I suspect you are optomistic to think it could be run with 10 FTE staff.

You can also argue that a decent evening service makes the daytime service more usable, as you no longer need to worry about missing the last bus.

I reckon they got it right to close it. The area is pretty densely filled with underground stations anyway, and it's not a long walk from Temple or Covent Garden. Awkward little branches like this tend to distract from what TfL are good at - running high density frequent services through London...

Yours was much better than mine! Fascinating to hear about what it was actually like on those gorgeous ships.

Sorry I if I misunderstood, but I would be tempted to not disregard the Oostende - Dover route. At the time it was probably the biggest route from the UK to the continent. They had just introduced a small fleet of drive-on car ferries (Prinses Josephine Charlotte of 1948, Artvelde of 1958 and...

It is difficult to understand how something so daft could ever be put together. Why narrow gauge - If it was standard gauge at least you could pretend that there was a chance of running through services to Dorchester or Yeovil (even so, since neither of these stations have direct services to...

They are also spending billions of pounds on new rail infrastructure for that matter.

Something else not mentionned so far that is very different to your 1969 experience is ticketing. It is very unlikely your character would visit a ticket office (there in fact isn't a ticket office at Barnes, although there are ticket machines on Platform 1, which is the most likely platform he...

I completely agree that a jingle won't change it - but a well built brand will, and a bell jingle can be (admittedly a very small part) of that. The reason the Trainline has an established identity is because they have built that brand - given time, willing and a decent concept, any company can...

I worked on a ship that had a lovely deep 'bong' as the start of all of its announcements. It sounds silly, but it matched the dark colour scheme of the carpets, the subdued lighting, and the brushed aluminium signage very nicely, building up a real feel of a quality product. Subtle, clever...

A good brand can help you as a customer to trust a business, improving your satisfaction at your experience, and giving you a better overall impression, as well as encouraging additional purchases. I don't see any reason why a TOC shouldn't be any different at benefiting from a high-quality...

The admiralty might not object, but the 3 large marinas and the operators of the commercial berths above the Itchen bridge certainly would. ABP Southampton is in expansion mode too, so more coastal trade may well be pushed further up the river. The high air draft is most certainly needed on...

I agree completely. The sncf noise sounds very stylish and French whenever it is played, and reminds you who is operating the service. Of course it doesn't need to be a noise, it can be a verbal style, such as using a distinctive accent for the announcements, or using a particular tone of voice...