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An unusual (possibly unique post-1968?) event occurred today, when the 'Belmond Pullman' Kent circular tour, headed by Bulleid 'pacific' 35028 'Clan Line' had trouble climbing Hildenborough bank as rain started (presumably slipping). The train lost around 8 minutes on the climb, and the...

Possibly because the longer the saga drags on, with seemingly new snags at every stage, the worse the overall delay gets (and the more impatient some get with the state of the rail industry that can allow this to happen).

Something that strikes me from this and other troubled new stock introductions is what impact it might have on attitudes to ordering new stock. Perhaps it will be thought better to stick with trains that are running, even if a little outdated, for longer rather than go through what seems to be...

I was basing my thoughts, wrongly, on it being weather-related and TOCs being too ready to give up accordingly. Yes, buses have to use the roads too but I would like to think they are at least a little safer than private cars in those situations. Yes, too, RRBs are a problem, but less so if...

Getting back to the OP - was the "Do Not Travel" weather-related? The railway is not only seemingly throwing in the towel more and more readily, but it is also unable to provide alternatives, and people in these situations will be forced onto the far more dangerous roads in bad weather. The...

Whatever the details of this saga are, the railway has come out of it very badly indeed. I can't recall any stock introduction that has seen such a farcical and tortuous route and with no real proper conclusion in sight still. 'Arterio' accompanied by sclerosis - not allowing a free passage of...

So it appears that the couplers can't readily be used because access cannot be gained owing to a failure of the mechanism. Requiring an on-call manager to attend is all very well unless the failure happens in a remote location and the time taken to get him or her there is excessive. Having a...

I think I'd rather it had at least a semblance of prototypical lighting rather than be festooned with dazzling LEDs for the sake of no yellow.

Brilliant - so a lacking maintenance regime leads to a vital, if rarely-needed, function failing... I wonder if this incident will lead to more attention being given to the ability of the stock to assist in the event of failures.

Yes, but the tricky balance is; how many TBs, where and at what cost? What maximum distance from any TB to any possible failed train, or what maximum time? How do you take into account the bi-di options plus trains' positions to allow a TB to gain access? It's horribly complicated.

The fact that you are black was something I wondered about a little way into the thread, owing to the way things seemed to escalate and develop. I'm sure we all hoped that possible racism wasn't a factor here, but it may have been. My advice would be to seek a written explanation from BTP as...

Perhaps an obvious question - could the following train not have pushed the stricken one? Can 390s not couple/assist/be assisted in this way?

It's just wrong. Many members of the travelling public will question how ANY trains can run if all lines are blocked. It just introduces doubt about the veracity of all the information.

How odd...?

No, no - it's the British way to run as much diesel mileage under the wires/over the juice rail as possible... More seriously, where are the electric locos to run them?

There is a type of person who simply likes being loud for the sake of it - they play loud music from their cars, they speak loudly and they feel a need to make an impact on everyone else everywhere they go. I detest that type...

Yes, it is a problem, but the last time that happened to me I removed the abuser (who was obviously 'on' something) from the train at the next station, which he very definitely was not expecting from a passenger sitting in first class! Not a course of action open to everyone, though, I know.

Me too, but I don't know where all their costs would be covered from - I very much doubt that the perpetrators could cover the sum.

Simply because standards of behaviour and awareness continue to fall. No-one expects to be challenged about their behaviour. It manifests in all areas of society. 1725610390 It depends on the circumstances. I was alone in a coach opposite a woman who carried on a very loud phone call with...

Whatever the legal rights and wrongs here regarding the right of way/access, the owners/operators of the land have illegally buried tyres and perhaps more besides, so have not covered themselves in glory. If Network Rail are having problems (rightly or wrongly) getting road access for whatever...