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Post by Philip Ayres on Apr 16, 2018 8:06:05 GMT
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Post by Philip Ayres on May 11, 2018 10:14:11 GMT
An unexpected IET ride today's: preceding service delayed the Cardiff so we got on it. Service is 10 down and driver's doing his best to make it up. Didn't hear pan down at Didcot so I think we're still on the juice
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Post by The Doctor on May 11, 2018 21:18:23 GMT
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Post by Philip Ayres on May 12, 2018 11:14:32 GMT
Burns reminds me of this article from during the week Britain's 'best and worst' railway stations named www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44023411So what are the forum's experiences of best and worst stations? |
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Post by The Doctor on May 12, 2018 20:08:44 GMT
Queen St is a steaming pile of broken poo.
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on May 12, 2018 20:23:29 GMT
are you able to explain why, for those of us that have never been there?
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Post by The Doctor on May 12, 2018 20:34:34 GMT
Station that has lacked a proper floor, walls or basic facilities for several years now.
-Ralph
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Post by legios on May 12, 2018 22:17:23 GMT
It's still like that? Jings, I remember having to explain the state of the place to my family at my graduation and that was over two years ago! At that point it looked like an empty shell rather than a working station.
Karl
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Post by Philip Ayres on May 13, 2018 5:27:14 GMT
The problem is or me is that most of the stations that are bad are actually really useful in terms of changing trains. Bristol Parkway for example is a desolate hell hole but is useful for transferring from East/West London/Wales trains to the North/South cross country routes.
Similarly Westbury, very windy and exposed, but decent for interchanges and better buildings than Bristol Parkway.
Then there's Birmingham New St which just doesn't make sense above ground since the new building was done.
And all the London Termini are just heaving with people.
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Post by Philip Ayres on May 13, 2018 5:33:34 GMT
Looking at those lists: WORST
Glasgow Queen Street - 58%
Gatwick Airport - 66%
Oxford - 67%
Clapham Junction - 69%
Barking - 70%
Wimbledon - 71%
London Victoria - 72%
Highbury and Islington - 72%
Hull - 73%
Cardiff Central - 75% What's wrong with Wimbledon? Used that regularly! Cardiff's fab. Oxford's OK. Nothing particularly bad about Highbury and Islington either! Clapham: V useful, v v busy, much better since the lifts went in. BEST
London King's Cross - 96%
London St Pancras - 95%
Birmingham New Street - 92%
Reading - 92%
London Marylebone - 91%
Liverpool Central - 91%
Beaconsfield - 91%
Sheffield - 91%
Manchester Piccadilly - 91%
Glasgow Central - 91% New St, My backside! Flash and modern up top, but it's a maze and hard to navigate and it's still a dingy hell hole at platform level. Reading..... as the station I change at the most, yeah it's OK and better than it was. But certain interchanges are much harder now than they used to be and take longer. Marylebone is OK. |
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Post by The Doctor on May 13, 2018 9:20:31 GMT
New St is a shiny hell hole.
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on May 16, 2018 18:35:17 GMT
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Post by Philip Ayres on May 16, 2018 18:35:54 GMT
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Post by The Doctor on May 16, 2018 18:38:08 GMT
There is no way this can possibly go wrong, There goes the clock 'Ding dong! Ding dong!' -Ralph |
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Post by The Doctor on May 24, 2018 8:36:09 GMT
Speaking of said moron, I have booked in advance for a journey over a month in the future. Same route, same service, off peak times tickets booked in same transaction. Going there costs twice as much as it does coming back. This is choosing the 'advance option' to 'save money'. What a fucking joke. -Ralph |
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Post by Philip Ayres on May 24, 2018 8:38:14 GMT
There's a number of factors that might affect this, not least of which is "have they already sold the cheapest seats on the train which you're making the return journey" A month in advance means they've already been on sale for 2 months.
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Post by The Doctor on May 24, 2018 8:41:58 GMT
Yes though my point is that the transport minister says savings can always be made in advance...yet booking in advance shows huuuuge fare variances for the same journeys! I find this time and time again. It's madness! No wonder folk are fucked off with travelling by rail. Also: who always knows where they are going 3 months in advance! I only just got notification of a trip and booked straight away!
One price for standard class, one price for first class. That should be the way. Having seats next to each other which can sometimes have three figure price differences between them (yep, for Swindon journeys) is fucking idiotic. For example a return journey to Swindon from Edinburgh costs usually costs between £150-500 for the same trains on the same journeys on the same days depending on the seat!
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on May 24, 2018 9:17:44 GMT
The journey I do most regularly is Swindon -> Richmond, changing at Reading.
For that they'll be the single and return fares.
Then there's an Off Peak fares, at about 75% of full fare, but you're committing not to travel in he morning rush hour.
Then there's a Super Off Peak fare, at about 50% of full fare, but you can't leave towards London before 10:30 and can't come back during the evening rush hour.
All those are any train in the time period and can be bought on the day.
After that you get into the very murky world of advanced fares which are "booked train only", you're committing to be on a specific train at a specific time - unless of course a train gets cancelled at which point it becomes free for all. These are the ones that seem to be available at varying pricing levels sold in limited amounts. I don't fully understand how it works but no the cheapest sell out quick.
So there are cheap seats available.... but it's IF you know far enough in advance precisely when you want to travel and don't need to travel at peak times.
The system is very very confusing though and I don't pretend to understand the subtleties of advance ticket pricing.
I'm also not sure an overhaul to simplify it would be in passenger's favour because I think it would be the limited cheap seats that go.
As an aside...
As I said the journey I do the most is Swindon -> Richmond, changing at Reading. Most of the savings on that journey are generated off the Swindon -> Reading leg, run by GWR with discounts of up to 2/3 of the standard price. The Reading -> Richmond leg is the same price every time because SWR don't offer advance discounts on the majority of their routes thanks to them being relatively short suburban commuter lines, as I discovered trying to do Portsmouth to London. You'd need something like to Exeter or Weymouth to London to get discounts!
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Post by The Doctor on May 24, 2018 12:33:10 GMT
There was a time I was looking at a trip to Swindon and was trying to book 3 months in advance but could not go as the cheapest return fare was £440. A while later trying to book just a month in advance and the return fare was £160. By the transport minister's logic the fares should have been the other way round!
I book in advance quite often (as on the day fares are usually too expensive for me to afford when travelling cross-country) and there is no ryhme nor reason to how the system works which is why it makes me so angry. It feels difficult to plan financially for such journeys as I never know what it will cost. An example being the one I mentioned upthread.
Local trains are fine even from east to west coast Scotland as the 'on the day' fares are the same as Adavance.
Madness!
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on May 25, 2018 16:25:20 GMT
Had an "eyes down for a full house" situation for Pig Hill departures to The Smoke this morning. a combination of a faulty train, trespassers on the line and, indirectly, track problems meant there was no west bound service through Swindon for 45 mins this morning just as the tickets got cheap!
I timed our arrival for just after a cluster of trains which should have cleared the backlog. As we walked into the ticket office the last of those trains hadn't arrived but our one which should have been due 20mins later was A) late (not a surprise) and B) reported full and standing (slightly surprising as it was the 3rd train from South Wales in 20 mins)
So we took the decision to go for the train arriving..... which was rather fuller at the the back of the train than the front. We started walking up and I keeled over going into the 3rd carriage.
Fortunately the train manager was behind me and we were able to find some seats I could fit in (need the priority seats, don't fit in standard seating on GWR HSTs when I have my leg braces on)
Have been paying for that fall most of the rest of the day :-(
Swindon's west bound service is xx:00 (Origin: Cardiff) xx:10 (Bristol) xx:30 (Swansea) xx:40 (Bristol, or further West) and the occasional xx:45 (Cheltenham Spa). The 10:30 was delayed 40min, 10:40 cancelled, 11:00 delayed 10ish mins, 11:10 we were on and 11:30 full & standing!
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 9, 2018 13:00:38 GMT
Phil needs to go to the Isle of Wight start of June. The easiest option would be to do this from Mum's in London as I'm only going for part of the week and some of that week I need to be in London. But I thought I'd cost up the journey from Swindon: Swindon -> Reading
Reading -> Basingstoke
Basinstoke -> Porstsmouth Harbour
Porstsmouth Harbour -> Ryde Pier Head (ferry, through tickets available)
Ryde Pier Head -> Ryde Esplanade and from there to London Ryde Esplanade -> Ryde Pier Head
Ryde Pier Head -> Portsmouth Harbour
Portsmouth Harbour -> Surbiton and from there back to Swindon Richmond->Reading
Reading -> Swindon It boils down to a return between Swindon & Reading
a return between Basingstoke & Ryde Esplanade
a single between Reading & Baingstoke
a single between Basingstoke & Surbiton
a single between Richmond & Reading | SWI->RDG ret | 16.95 | | RDG->BSK | 4.30 | | BSK->RYD ret | 33.55 | | BSK->SUR | 12.20 | | RMD->RDG | 10.10 | | 77.10 |
Then I costed up returns Swindon & Reading and Surbiton & Ryde Esplanade | SWI->RMD ret | 25.80 | | SUB->RYD ret | 38.70 | | TOTAL | 64.30 |
But hang on, those tickets include all the journeys taken above bar the 4.30 between Reading & Basingstoke. So I can pay £68.80, don't use some of the journey that includes and get my tickets nearly a tenner cheaper than just buying for what I would ride? |
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Post by Pinwig on Jun 9, 2018 13:13:50 GMT
MADNESS. As is going to the Isle of Wight. Are you sure about that? Don't forget if you're going to Ryde there is a Doctor Who shop there: www.whoone.co.uk/contactus.phpI did when I was there in April, kicked myself afterwards. There's also a comic shop there too: www.facebook.com/fantasticstoreiow/Which I also completely failed to get inside. |
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 10, 2018 17:41:57 GMT
There's a train to the Isle of Wight???
-Ralph
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Post by Pinwig on Jun 10, 2018 17:52:35 GMT
It goes on skis.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 10, 2018 17:54:15 GMT
You can get through tickets from the mainland to any station on the Isle of Wight. Train goes to Portsmouth Harbour, you walk off the end of the train and onto the ferry and off the ferry at the other end onto another train..... which is ex London Underground!
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Post by Pinwig on Jun 10, 2018 18:00:02 GMT
'Any station' makes it sound far grander than it is! One line, straight down and up the east side, six stations.
Nevertheless, it is a railway and it's a nice home for retired underground trains.
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 10, 2018 19:24:23 GMT
You can get through tickets from the mainland to any station on the Isle of Wight. Train goes to Portsmouth Harbour, you walk off the end of the train and onto the ferry and off the ferry at the other end onto another train..... which is ex London Underground! I feel I need to do this. I have 28 days unused annual leave. -Ralph |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 10, 2018 19:27:13 GMT
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 10, 2018 19:56:06 GMT
*screams*
I must book some Annual Leave!!!
-Ralph
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Post by blueshift on Jun 10, 2018 20:00:35 GMT
*screams* I must book some Annual Leave!!! -Ralph You can't get a train to the Isle of Wight, Phil is tricking you |
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