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  1. RailWonderer

    Best ever train to run on UK mainline (excluding HS1)

    Commuter: 442s and 444s. Regional: 158 and 755. IC: Pendolinos and the 745. If a Stadler Giruno was ordered we may have a winner. I'm judging solely about ride quaity as configurations can vary greatly i.e. 158 original vs Fainsa seating. The Lumo and new Pendolino seating is approaching IET...
  2. RailWonderer

    The best way to electrify the Chiltern Network and the Snow Hill Lines

    What nobody has mentioned yet is that even if TfL were mad enough to want the liability of having to serve the middle of Buckinghamshire (in a time they are cash strapped) they would have to order a load more S stock. Already the Northern line is suffering stock shortages just for a small...
  3. RailWonderer

    The best way to electrify the Chiltern Network and the Snow Hill Lines

    ? The 350/1 are dual voltage as are the 387s which both used it daily hassle free and currently the 700s use it day in day out with no issues at all.
  4. RailWonderer

    The best way to electrify the Chiltern Network and the Snow Hill Lines

    That doesn't change the fact as mentioned above, dual voltage or bi-mode is the best solution for the route. For the sake of consistency, the Tube's reach out of London should be limited and anything further afield should be for mainline trains only, or Purple tube branding and run by TfL.
  5. RailWonderer

    The best way to electrify the Chiltern Network and the Snow Hill Lines

    Partial electrification and bi-modes are the most realistic solution and for Chiltern to continue operating to Aylesbury services. They are S-bahn style routes where it would be absurd to send the Met line to given the Tube's main purpose is to serve London and its immediate areas, not plod...
  6. RailWonderer

    Which train family of the millennium had the least inauspicious introduction?

    I think people get too hung up on early technical and mechanical issues of trains in their first few weeks and months of service. The disruption is only temporary when you consider a 35-40 year service life. It's issues like the yaw damper cracks on the IETs and Class 180 fires that are most...
  7. RailWonderer

    Do you think that the UK switching to electric vehicles is realistic?

    https://news.sky.com/story/electric-car-uk-market-share-shrinks-figures-suggest-13107632 It's stagnant in the UK and demand is falling due to high interest rates and a tough economy. The same goes for car sales in general, IC included. Lack of public charging and expense of public charging plus...
  8. RailWonderer

    Permit To Travel still in National Rail Conditions of Travel

    Better keep the legislation there in case a ToC decides to install new ones or carry on maintaining the few that are remaining.
  9. RailWonderer

    Differences in rolling stock safety regulations in mainland Europe compared to UK

    Sweden also, and to a lesser extent, Denmark keeps its trains and lineside mostly clear of it.
  10. RailWonderer

    Do you think that the UK switching to electric vehicles is realistic?

    With the cost of motoring soaring including higher insurance for EVs I don't see myself owning one for many years. Plus you really need to own your own property to charge one or regularly drive to a place that has an available charger. There are high fees to charge at many stations and as demand...
  11. RailWonderer

    Do you think that the UK switching to electric vehicles is realistic?

    Sure, for the right price they will sell a lot more, but infrastructure is still lacking not in the UK as much as in parts of Europe and the US though.
  12. RailWonderer

    Do you think that the UK switching to electric vehicles is realistic?

    No, family and friends know a few car dealers, and the market does not want them. Remeber all the pro-diesel propaganda until we discovered they were dirtier than petrol. I'm always skeptical of these fleeting trends because before you know it, they're out. And why is this thread obsesed with...
  13. RailWonderer

    Do you think that the UK switching to electric vehicles is realistic?

    A single petrol station has at least two pumps, most have four or six. When you queye behind another car in the petrol station, they will be gone in 5 mins or less. Waiting for an EV to charge, plus charging yours and you've wasted an hour doing nothing. Google images and pretty much every...
  14. RailWonderer

    How does Waterloo only get 60 million passengers yet each SWR train I get is packed like sardines?

    I don't want to see it either, removing a few peak extras is all they need to do to allow increased reliability, resilience, fewer delays and more slack in the fleet. I don't want to see a spiral of decline but I only refer to cost saving because the UK will never be like Europe which subsidies...
  15. RailWonderer

    Do you think that the UK switching to electric vehicles is realistic?

    The reality is that dealers cannot shift their electric vehicle stock, and they are piling up on forecourts in the UK and in other countries. Expensive battery replacement will always be out of warranty added to the high cost of purchasing new without being able to use for long journeys due to...
  16. RailWonderer

    Potential up to 2,000 job losses at Alstom Derby

    Abroad makes better trains. Derby’s trains have mostly felt shabby compared to their Germanic counterparts Siemens and Stadler, and Fiat’s Pendolinos. Bombardier Belgium did the Voyagers, which is why they are a premium build quality train.
  17. RailWonderer

    How does Waterloo only get 60 million passengers yet each SWR train I get is packed like sardines?

    If passenger numbers are down 40% why not cut services and save money?
  18. RailWonderer

    UK Rail Map Info

    The SBB website has an interactive map (obviously with their routes in red and everybody else's in grey). I have dragged it to the UK with this link https://data.sbb.ch/map/passagiere/?location=9,51.88073,-1.13159&basemap=00c4d6 And you can see the UK network in its entirety if you zoom in enough.
  19. RailWonderer

    Are fine consequences too overkill?

    My theory has always been the UK is far stricter with penalties because govt subsidy is less and penalty paying is a lucrative revenue stream. Having to buy a new ticket if you miss your advance train rather than paying the difference is another lucrative scheme. Nationalisation won't change...
  20. RailWonderer

    Labour promises rail nationalisation within five years of coming to power

    It isn't always. First or last Ryanair of the day with no baggage may be but a midday flight with baggage allowance plus costs of getting to and from the airport can be drastically more than the train, especially in the wrong week or month. Train fares are a lot more consistently priced but this...

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