Amazing Train Service
 

My girlfriend & myself had to go to Skipton last night for a business meeting. As we have no transport of our own, we had to travel by either train or bus. My first thought was to go by train, so i checked the times on the internet. I looked at the timetable & decided that we would catch the 4:20pm Accrington to Skipton service with a change at Leeds, this would make our arrival time approximately 6:30pm. We couldn't travel any earlier as my girlfriend was working until 4pm.

So far, so good (or so i thought).

I worked out that the meeting would take about 3 hours, so i then looked at the times for the return journey, thinking that we'd need a train back about 9:30pm. I was amazed when i noticed that the last train from Skipton to Accrington was at 7pm. We would have been charged £37.50p (return) each for this fantastic service.

Obviously we opted for "plan B", the bus. I phoned my boss, & luckily he organised an overnight stay at Heriots hotel for us. The bus journey cost us £12.40p (return) each, & we arrived at our destination 4 minutes before the train did.

Needless to say that, "Plan B" is now "Plan A" for any future journeys.

:eek:

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

Public transport has never been the same since the Tories privatised it.

Labour always said they'd sort it out as a matter of principal if they ever got back into power... we're still waiting for NooLabour (with your Tory policies!) to honour their word.

It's a sad state of affairs when your only viable means of travel beyond mainline stations or town centres is a car (be it private or a taxi).

Have you noticed the sad irony of Blackburn's new 'car-dealer disctrict'. Based on Whitebirk Drive, you need to have a car to get to it. So how does somebody looking for a first car get there? Ridiculous.

Where I live there used to be 6 different bus routes which would get me within a couple of minutes walk of home for a reasonable fare and with so many buses I could more or less guarantee not having to wait more than about 10 or 15 minutes to catch one. These days there's a single bus service which runs around an amalgamation of at least 3 of the old routes (the others no longer being served at all) - taking about 1 hour to get from the town centre to my nearest stop (it's only a 25 minute walk anyway!!!) and you're lucky if you can catch a bus after 5pm - I think there's about 1 every 2 or 3 hours perhaps.

The excuse given for there being a reduction in services is that there's nobody using the buses. The problem is that nobody uses them because the service is so bad. The worse the service gets, the fewer passengers they get, so they reduce the services further, driving more people away from the buses... it's a vicious circle that, like I initially said, started with the privatisation of public transport.

Go pretty much anywhere in Europe and you'll see publicly owned and run transport systems that are clean, cheap and efficient - so there's no reason it can't be done here. Otherwise start getting somee exercise, because when the oil runs out or the roads reach complete gridlock (whichever happens first) we're all in for a lot more walking - especially with most shopping facilities being built further and further from town centres.

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

Come on Accyjay you really didn't expecr the train service, which ever one it is, to provid a service that helps the traveller did you, this 2006 for gods sack. The motto is why be hopeless when with a little effort you can be bloody imposible.

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

It's a very good point about needed a car to get to Whitebirk. What gripes me the most, is the fact that the Government say they are trying to get more people to use public transport. It would have probably been cheaper to hire a car for the day, than it was to go on the train.

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

Indeed. :(

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

I've stood at many a cold, wet bus stop, waiting for a bus that was late - or never came at all. Last time I took a train there, had to drive to Preston in order to get a direct train to London. Wasn't an inexpensive fare either - and that's been at least 20 years ago. Definitely room for improvement. Didn't I read somewhere that Richard Branson was going to start a train service?

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

I get train to london when on courses. ~£150 a pop for an open return(Work pay).

I work about 2 miles south of Knutsford and I have to be in work before 10 (flexitime). If I catch the first train out of accy, it gets me to Knutsford at 10:30 then I have a £8 taxi ride each way to the site.

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

Thats a bit harsh! Not all services are that bad are they. Mind you I have the advantage of having access to the Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, Perth lines so I cant complain as during the day I can go to Glasgow or Edinburgh every 15 mins up to 19:00 and then every 30 mins untill midnight. :D

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

I spent the last twenty years travelling up from London, and down from Glasgow, to get back to Oswaldtwistle.

It's become a progressively worse service, and relatively more expensive.

Compared with the trains I've travelled on in France, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands, ours is a terrible service.

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

The trains in france and the holland are fantastic, quick, cheap, clean and on time!!!

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

Maybe I am lucky then I have had no real trouble with trains during my 16 years of toing and frowing from Falkirk to Accy and at £28.50 to £35 I aint complaining as on my first trip back in '91 it was £24. :D

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

You get the east coast line, I think?

The west coast line is definetly the worst of the two.

Good for you understanding the pricing system, and getting a good deal.

I travelled on exactly the same trains every month, and the pricing policy seemed to fluctuate as to whether there was a vowel in the month or not!

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

No I come down the West Coast.

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

I appologise.

Perhaps I really had a wonderful twenty years travelling on the trains, and got mixed up with the prices seeming expensive, because twenty years ago I qualified for child prices.:D

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

Scotrail have a great service and modern up to date trains. The Voyegers and Pendilino's of Virgin trains are comfy airy clean and have plugs for laptops etc and I can listen to the radio from the point at my seat. :D :D

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

Are all the intercity trains from Glasgow like that now?

Cool, they waited all that time, just for me to buy a car!

What about the service from Falkirk?

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

The west coast service is pretty good now that most of the work on the tracks has been completed. if you travel out from london after 9am and before 3pm costs about £50 ( other than these times its more like £150!)

the service from preston to/from Accy really is a joke, always only 2 coaches and sometimes really packed with day trippers to blackpool.
sometimes your better off travelling to/from Manchester and getting the bus.

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

Are all the intercity trains from Glasgow like that now?

Yes

Cool, they waited all that time, just for me to buy a car!

What you do to upset them?

What about the service from Falkirk?

During the day every 15 mins to Ggow Edin on new trains as well.

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

if you buy online about 2 weeks before on virgin you can get ticket at least 50% cheaper scotrail trains are far superior to the trains round here. the trains round here area disgrace dirty and rude staff my missus cant believe the difference in service and how clean the trains are in scotland....

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

You won't see an employee at most of the stations from Preston to Colne anymore though, and you'll be a lucky traveller if the tanoy comes on and tells you that your train is delayed or cancelled.:(

Oh for the days when you could send your trunk on ahead, and cheery Mister Porter always tipped his cap, as he whistled a happy tune.:D

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

If you go to a station you can get the same deals as online you just have to know what you are doing and the best train times to get cheap tickets. ;)

Scotrail have always been the same and are not scared to part with cash to keep the services pristeen. Scots are a friendly bunch and it shows when on the trains. :)

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

That's my problem then. I always had to travel on a Friday after work. Silly me for wanting to travel when other people did.;)

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

:) i can remember when they were putting electrical lines on the railways down the west coast ie irvine ayr /in the 1980s i wonder when the trans penine route is going to get them they seem to be stuck in a time warp....:cool:

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

Their answer will be;"sorry there is no mney available for the electrification of the line at this point in time. It might be possible in the future with govenment help."

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

its like the old saying investing in motorway subsidising railways whats the difference .......................plus the tacky trains where did they get them from . a third world country....................

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

No, the third world has all our old trains, going right back into history.


They never break down, because you can hit them with a wrench, and it's cheap to travel because you can sit on the roof.:D

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

:D and probably more reliable:D

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

And why would you know that? :rolleyes: :D

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by harwood red
The women in france and the holland are fantastic, quick, cheap, clean and on time!!!


And why would you know that? :rolleyes: :D

Might be planning a weekend away for you. ;)

Re: Amazing Train Service
 

Now that is very naughty changing the wording in my post....ooooo you better watch it neil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :mad: