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While it seems there is a mountain to climb, I always thought that cheering on the underdog is a quintessential British value.

Yes, they are generally more punctual than the UK outside of the intensive central parts. And some of the factors mentioned above do play a part. But, I would be careful about drawing too many conclusions. The Shinkansen is a closed system, so doesn't generally pick up routine delays (although...

Urban commuter lines in Tokyo are frequently heavily delayed. It's just not normally that noticeable because the frequency of trains means that there's often a train coming anyway. You can normally tell when it is happening when the departure times are replaced by 'in X mins'. It happens pretty...

There's been a lot of comparison to the TGV on here. I think a better comparison (given the much higher planned frequencies) would be the Japanese Shinkansen. On the fastest or longest routes (and therefore the ones with the highest chance of getting the loadings messed up), many of the trains...

My flat in Japan has its front door facing directly into a station on the Keisei Main Line - 3 metres from door to track boundary, with the lightest of protection (think railings found near UK pedestrian crossings. 3 trains in each direction every 10 minutes, off peak, and passing loops in the...

In my experience, the teams cleaning each carriage tend to finish at around the same time - it is quite a precise and practiced process. So it is unlikely that the time saved by walking between the carriages would be quicker that simply waiting for that carriage to be complete. However, the...

I struggle to understand why the Intercity brand would be brought back for 'the fastest, longest trains'. Among train enthusiasts it has currency, but I doubt many others think about it. But at the same time, it really isn't a clear descriptor. There are lots of trains that run inter-city that...

Oh, happy memories of the 506, 507, 508 and 509, on which NCT put their newest, fastest buses. All totally bonkers, but the drivers clearly enjoyed flooring them (with hardly any passengers) in the limited stop section between Nottingham and Beeston. If I remember correctly, it was a reaction...

Outside of school holidays, it's pretty easy to get reasonably priced flights to Turkey. As well as BA and Turkish Airlines, Wizz, A-Jet and Pegasus go from various London airports to Istanbul, and other routes are available from several other airlines, from airports all over the UK. Remember...

But it is important to note that the Shinkansen does not get up to full speed between Tokyo and Omiya.

If you are using point to point tickets, journeys on a single operator will generally be a single fare, regardless of the number of different lines. At some stations you need to go out of ticket gates of one line to get to the other line - in which case, be careful to use the 'interchange' exit...

A bit late posting this, but in my trip across Japan over the last winter, I experienced one of the best railway moments I have had. It was at Obasute station on the Shinonoi line, near to Nagano. I was snowing heavily, so at many stations in the area, the snow was around half a meter on the...

I have thought for a long time that, if Victoria Coach Station were to close (either to use the land, or to reduce the number of vehicles in Central London), Stonebridge Park would be a good place for a replacement station. Close to both the M1 and A40, quite a lot of brownfield land, and a...

I think people are talking about the Nottingham - Lincoln corridor. Which, if you are doing it by car without going a very 'scenic' route, means taking the A46 through Newark.

Could the perceived issues here (and some others that get mentioned frequently around the southern end of the MML) be solved by running an all stations train Northbound from Bedford to Leicester or thereabouts (with an easy connection from Thameslink) every few hours? Or would pathing...

Might not be relevant in practice, but have been wondering for some time. When travelling in central europe, I sometimes see a locomotive in the middle of a formation. Some previous posts have wondered whether two sets can be connected together to form a 10-car set, and one of the problems has...

Tokyo station has an analogue clock, as this Streetview image shows. https://maps.app.goo.gl/Uz7qR9CR6JYGnRCe9

A small number of trains are reservation compulsory. Do we see the same issues arising as much on those trains (presumably people who want to sit in seats other than the ones they have reserved, or people getting on without reservations)? I'm reminded that on most long distance trains in Japan...

On the Tokyo Oimachi line in Tokyo, Kuhombutsu station contrained by level crossings at both ends (I can't remember which one it is). When some of the trains on the line were extended, they built a small section of platform the other side of the level Crossings, so that the guard could get out...

Indigo is unconnected with Tata. Tata owns part of Vistara and now Indian Airlines and Air Asia India.