Our rail network is laughable, it's a F**king joke.

Rascal said:
I had to go to London yesterday, Avanti west coast are fucking useless. There used to be trains between Manchester and London every 20 minutes, now it seems like its every 2 hours at least. I got to Stockport station and there was not a Train to London on the departure board. I asked the Avanti guy on the platform when the next one would he and he just shrugged his shoulders. He did not know.

Whilst at the station, over the tannoy was announced a Cross country service to Manchester was delayed by 29 minutes because of a fault at a level crossing, the train to Hazel Grove was delayed by ever increasing increments because of a track inspection, The train from South Wales was delayed by nearly an hour because of signal failure, a train from London to Manchester was 24 minutes because of congestion leaving Euston. I decided to get the train to Sheffield and get to London that way and that train was delayed by 32 minutes because of people on the track.

I got the train to Sheffield and it diverted to Chesterfield, no reason given. From Chesterfield I got an East Midlands train to St Pancras, I was in first class obviously because i am a Socialist and the train looked like it had been service 60 years, it was filthy and the service was fucking rubbish, i got a lukewarm coffee and a shortbread biscuit. I was offered a bottle of water declined it as we were almost at St Pancras.

I got to Euston this morning and cancellations all over the place, so went to Kings cross and got the train to Leeds, service was excellent on LNER , a top bacon butty and decent coffee although the steward said he only had three decaf coffees for the trip. The Azumos are brilliant trains though.

Got to Leeds and got the train to Manchester Airport, it was rammed, ridiculously rammed, I had to stand until Huddersfield because the organisation was fucking rubbish. No food/drink service available on the train either.

I remember British Rail, it was not brilliant, "soggy butties" and rubbish trains but at least there was a service you could rely on.

Like everything in this country the decline of the railways is indicative of the way austerity and Tory nationalisation has fucked our services up. Travelling by train in this country is so expensive it is a piss take, Manchester to London at peak times is so expensive its cheaper to fly and that is fucking madness. I got a train from Lisbon to Faro first class for 37 euros and its a 4 hour trip on a clean train that is enjoyable, if i wanted to do a trip 1st class tomorrow from Manchester to London it is £236 one way.

I love travelling on trains, its my favourite way to travel. As a nation though we are having the piss taken out of us, our trains are fucking wank, the service is shit and we are literally giving our money to shareholders and the companies who make millions from subsidies, a few of who are European train state owned companies.

Renationalise Rail NOW

Pay the rail workers properly

And if this "Northern powerhouse" is ever to see the like of day, it needs Investment,
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All public transport should be nationalised. It should also be free to access (with money coming from increased taxes).

We need to move around the country as much as we need to have street signs, traffic lights, street lights, bollards and safety rails on pavements, zebra/pelican crossings, pavements, roads… so why are all of those free to access?

I don’t put £1 into the pelican crossing light box to stop the traffic and allow me to cross the road, I don’t have to keep popping out of my flat to put 50p into a street light once it gets dark, I don’t put £5 into a pavement toll box any time I want to walk on a pavement… so why do I have to pay for a train bus or Met to move me around?

Increase taxes and have all transport free to access just like all other essential services are or should be free (water, electricity, WiFi etc.)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Psychedelic Casual said:
All public transport should be nationalised. It should also be free to access (with money coming from increased taxes).

We need to move around the country as much as we need to have street signs, traffic lights, street lights, bollards and safety rails on pavements, zebra/pelican crossings, pavements, roads… so why are all of those free to access?

I don’t put £1 into the pelican crossing light box to stop the traffic and allow me to cross the road, I don’t have to keep popping out of my flat to put 50p into a street light once it gets dark, I don’t put £5 into a pavement toll box any time I want to walk on a pavement… so why do I have to pay for a train bus or Met to move me around?

Increase taxes and have all transport free to access just like all other essential services are or should be free (water, electricity, WiFi etc.)
Click to expand...
What taxes should be increased, on who and by how much to fund totally free public transport across the whole of the UK?
 
PPT said:
The Virgin service to London used to be excellent. Really good.
It's Avanti that have screwed it up - no one else.
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Avanti only give a fuck about profit for directors and shareholders.

As well as the national dispute there are 7 other breakdowns in industrial relations with my Union alone. AsLEF have two.


They have no respect for their staff and only see passengers as walking cash machines.
 
Psychedelic Casual said:
All public transport should be nationalised. It should also be free to access (with money coming from increased taxes).

We need to move around the country as much as we need to have street signs, traffic lights, street lights, bollards and safety rails on pavements, zebra/pelican crossings, pavements, roads… so why are all of those free to access?

I don’t put £1 into the pelican crossing light box to stop the traffic and allow me to cross the road, I don’t have to keep popping out of my flat to put 50p into a street light once it gets dark, I don’t put £5 into a pavement toll box any time I want to walk on a pavement… so why do I have to pay for a train bus or Met to move me around?

Increase taxes and have all transport free to access just like all other essential services are or should be free (water, electricity, WiFi etc.)
Click to expand...
I like this post a lot.

It would be a great move for the environment as it would take cars off the road, it would create jobs as public transport would need to expand to meet demand. As for trains they wouldn't all have to be free, but I would introduce a maximum fare of £10 per day on routes that are not local. All trains in say GM would be free, but to go inter city would be £10 for the day.
 
PPT said:
What taxes should be increased, on who and by how much to fund totally free public transport across the whole of the UK?
Click to expand...
It would need more planning than my two minutes of thinking about it, but I’ll always stand by the notion that public services should be nationalised and free to access, and public transport is a public service.
 
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