Taxi or in your own car I would imagine. Still less hassle not having to change, but that is my personal preference.
Accepting that a change of train is less hassle... but getting stuff into a car, then out of it, then through a station, then onto a train, then off the train, then through the station, then into another car, then out of it is a lot more hassle in total. Particularly if you are taking all the kit and caboodle for a week at a seaside resort with 2.4 children.
In these circumstances, given the choice of
a) a direct train
b) a train with one change
c) the car
How many extra people will really choose to use the train if it is direct?
As I said, there may need to be some thinking outside of the box to help win people over if the situation is as bad as some are saying
The situation will be bad. Very bad. And I really like ‘outside of the box thinking’. However your outside of the box thinking has come up with a possible answer that is outside the wrong box.
The leisure market will return relatively quickly. Indeed
possibly to a higher level than we saw pre-pandemic, at least for a year or two. But what we need back, desperately, is premium fare long distance business traffic, and longer distance (+20 miles) London commuters. These are people who will be more likely than most to park a large German car in the station car park.
I really don’t see how encouraging bucket and spade trips to Eastbourne, Cleethorpes or, ahem, Wick would make the punters who use them think “You know what, this trip on a half century old train to the beach has really made we want to buy a £5k season ticket from Colchester to London”.
Something like this would get people talking about the railway again and bring some excitement back to rail travel.
Excitement in terms of ‘will we get there or not’, perhaps. Oh and the excitement of “Mummy, why are there lots of men on this train wearing anoraks in Summer?”
