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Letters
written by Aaron Gowell in the
February edition.
The problem of not being
able to book through-tickets
beyond the Eurostar network,
except for some very limited
destinations, is the fault of
reorganisation in the last years
of BR.
Pressure put on the industry,
by the then Conservative
regime’s pre-privatisation,
resulted in the UK railways
closing down the travel centres
that could do European rail as
an easy option, to cut costs, and
then Eurostar deciding in the
early years of operation to drop
through-ticketing.
These actions threw away
knowledge and expertise,
resulting in nobody being able
to book tickets for Europe or
anywhere else in the world.
I am a bit confused by the
article, however. It seems to me
the author should know that
nobody has built a search engine
capable of producing a one-hatfits-all
system.
The rail network is very
complicated, and to be of use
to the public it has to be able to
book a ticket from Newcastle to
Warsaw or Oslo to Istanbul, on
the correct routings, otherwise it
is a waste of resources.
However, the European rail
network is not working together
on this.
One answer to the problem
is to call my company,
Trainseurope, on 01354 660222
or call at our counter in the
East Midlands Travel office,
counter number 1, at St Pancras
where we can solve their
problems.
To be fair to the other agents
doing European Rail, the public
can look on the website of the
Association of European Rail
Agents – www.aera.co.uk where
they will find a list of dedicated
rail agents like my company who
can help.
Bob Hex
Peterborough
East-West line should
never have closed
I was interested in your piece in
the January Rail Professional on
the project to re-open the East-
West line – which, like a number
of others, should not have been
closed in the first place.
Looking back at the rail
service that ran just before
closure, one can see something
of the problem. You mention
people finding it easier/faster
to travel between the two ends
via London. Hardly surprising.
Virtually all the trains stopped at
all or most stations on the way.
Most through journeys
between the two ends of the line
involved a change at Bletchley.
There were only two trains
each way that were advertised
as through-trains and these all
involved a wait at Bletchley –
some of significant length.
These concentrations on
Bletchley were presumably to
accommodate connections with
the West Coast Main Line; but
they did at least allow passengers
to get some refreshments at the
buffet, as none of the trains had
any refreshment service. I think,
in the past, there had been faster
trains, but they had been cut.
Interestingly, there has
been recent correspondence in
the railway press about some
inter-urban rail lines in the
UK, where the service has been
skewed to serve small stations,
with low passenger flows, to
the detriment of a faster link
for longer distance passengers,
which would give a better
cost:benefit.
Hopefully, the East-West link
will concentrate on the longer
distance passengers, chiefly
Oxford, Bicester, Milton Keynes,
Bedford and Cambridge.
I see that longer distance
through-services are
contemplated, but am intrigued
by the southern route to
Stansted Airport. The Bedford
to Hitchin section needs to
be replaced, but is in open
country. However, the Stansted
link appears to be routed via
Hertford. Surely, it would be
much more economic – both
in construction and operation
costs – to serve Stansted via
Cambridge, where the route
already exists.
Eric Stuart
France
Delving into the past
I trust Mr Shoveller has now
stopped digging on the issue
of the quality of the rolling
stock on the Portsmouth Direct
expresses.
A little history, perhaps.
When the line was electrified
in the mid-1930s, the fast
trains were worked by suitably
constructed express stock with
a good range of seats, including
compartments for first and
third-class passengers.
These units were replaced
in the mid-1960s by new stock,
4-CIGs, I believe, based on the
BR Mk.1 chassis and body with
mixed compartment and saloon
seating. The 4-VEPs came later.
In the late 1980s, the SW
Division of the Southern Region
rediagrammed the Class 442
fleet, and many of the express
services on the Portsmouth
Direct were operated by Class
442 formations.
I am inclined to agree that
the Class 450 is not adequately
furnished for use on the
Portsmouth Direct expresses.
The Class 444 seems to have
been designed to have all the
disadvantages of the Class 442
with none of the advantages.
Perhaps, therefore, Mr.
Shoveller could be prevailed
upon to re-seat a proportion of
the Class 450 fleet to a standard
more in keeping with the nature
of the Portsmouth Direct route
and timetable, which would give
passengers more comfort and
shorter journey times.
David Smith
Western RAILS Consultancy
Wiltshire
Look north
Your correspondents Nigel
Tarrant and Bruce Oliver
would, I believe, benefit
from a trip north before
complaining about the use
of Class 450 units on the
Portsmouth to Waterloo
route.
Many commuters in
the cities of Liverpool,
Manchester, Leeds and
Newcastle would give their
eye teeth to travel in the
‘substandard’ stock used on
this route.
I would imagine that the
Class 450s are used in
eight-car formations during
the peaks, compared with
two-car Class 142,143, 150
and 156 formations in the
northern cities.
Even the TransPennine
Express services are mainly
formed of only three-car
Class 185 units. Stopping
services between Liverpool
and Huddersfield regularly
leave passengers on the
platforms along the route,
due to short formations of
inappropriate dirty rolling
stock.
Please, before
complaining, find out
‘how the other half live’.
The amount spent on rail
infrastructure on the old
Network South East areas is
grossly out of proportion to
the rest of the country and,
unfortunately, most of the
trade press only rub salt in
the wounds by exaggerating
the discrepancy in their
reporting.
Steve Hyde
Ashton-under-Lyne
www.railimages.co.uk
March 2012 Page 13