Morning:
8°c
DO you remember the old notice in rail lavatories, warning you not to use them when the train was at a station? After the past few days on our beloved railways, I think the people in charge need a similar reminder: Please refrain from p***ing on your customers.
Virgin imposes a fare rise of 6 per cent then follows it, yesterday morning, with a service reduction of 100 per cent. Since the fares went up, Virgin's service has melted down: nearly three-quarters of its trains have been late. A botched and rushed line upgrade is blamed.
Southeastern imposes a fare rise of 8 per cent to pay for new "high-speed" trains that most of its customers cannot use. Not satisfied with that, it is also planning to slash many of the trains that those customers do use.
TfL imposes a fare rise of 6 per cent to pay for "transforming the Tube". What this actually means is shovelling more money into the Grand Theft Metro of the PPP. So far, £8 billion has been spent, with virtually nothing to show for it, in the single greatest public policy scandal of the past five years.
Each of these failures arises from attempts to improve. The West Coast upgrade, the Kent high-speed line and the PPP are flagship capital projects. But what they show is a rail network apparently incapable, as it is presently structured, of improvement.
Yes, I know this is an exaggeration. When the Virgin trains are running, they are faster than the old ones. But then, with their tiny windows, cramped and inadequate seating, smelly toilets, rotten food, low ceilings, constant intrusive announcements, often aggressive staff and insufficient luggage space, they would have to be.
The fact is that until quite recently rail travel, even Tube and bus travel, often used to be civilised, even a pleasure. Now, it is an exercise in low-level misery. As the private car grows ever more luxurious, British trains grow ever meaner and more crowded.
I used to think that the answer was to build more and better tracks, rather than trying to stuff more passengers onto the same amount of railway. But though other European countries manage it, the West Coast and the Tube seem to prove that, even when we try, we cannot.
It's time to accept that just as we will never have Californian weather, however much we long for it, we will never have German trains, however much we spend. Our railways will never be any good. Our Tube will never change (the few eventual improvements from the PPP fail to keep pace with existing demand, let alone future growth). It makes you think it's time to give up on public transport.
Over the past three or so years, I have given up, kicked the habit, become an ex-user. I have cut my use of the railways by around 80 per cent. Apart from regular research forays so I can still write about them in the Standard, I have not travelled on a London bus or by Tube for more than a year. It is one of the best things that has ever happened to me.
Until you stop using public transport, you don't realise just how unbearable it is. Like being dependent on some drug, you think you can cope. But you are under the control of something other than yourself. And until you stop, you don't realise how it chipped away at your well-being.
I was, I admit, lucky. My alternative is the bike, and I live in inner London, within cycling distance of most places. But though many people are probably in the same position as me, millions are not. Chelmsford to London is too far to cycle.
Yet even if you cannot go cold turkey, you can reduce your dependency. You could get the train halfway and bike the rest. As the house prices that drove many families out of London crash, you could even move back in to town again. You could ask to work from home.
There are still some civilised niche public transport services you could use - such as the brilliant Thames riverbus between Woolwich, Greenwich and central London, every 20 minutes all day and amazingly little-known. To avoid Virgin, take the excellent (and cheaper) Chiltern trains from Marylebone to Birmingham, or the even better Wrexham and Shropshire service from the same terminus.
Any success Boris enjoys in transport will come not through the Tube - but by working around the Tube, by transforming niche operations such as the riverbus and cycling into real and serious Tube bypasses. He must also try to deliver the biggest Tube bypass of all, Crossrail - which could, if it works, give public transport a good name again.
Until then, however, there is one last alternative to train and bus hell that we haven't mentioned. You could get back in your car, for all or some of the way. Not only will it probably be cheaper and more pleasant, if perhaps slower; it may not be quite the eco-crime it's claimed to be.
The uncomfortable truth is that although buses and trains are better for the environment than cars, their advantage is nothing like as great as most people imagine, particularly when they are not electric and particularly when they are not full. I would not myself drive a car. But so outrageous is the provocation offered by our public transport operators, I would not, for the moment, blame anyone else who does.
It is time to show the railway fat cats that our patience with their greed and exploitation is at an end. It is time to tell ministers that if they want us to travel in the most eco-friendly way, they must stop putting so many barriers on the tracks. And it is time to strike a blow against being herded like cattle by incompetent blokes in hi-viz vests. Rise up: you have nothing to lose but your trains.
Reader views (20)
I travel to London a good deal and after years of miserable lwiaitng on cold stations for late or cancelled connections with Virgin, Wrexham and Shropshire is like a gift from heaven. Trains are, clean, comfortable and reliable. The staff go the extra mile to be helpful and they serve delicious meals. I thoroughly recommend this service.
- Jane Cooper, Gobowen, Shropshire
Yes i cannot praise the staff on Wrexham & Shropshire enought. They have the most fantastic staff who stop at nothing to make your journey great. Im Deaf/Blind and the service is excellent forget Virgin who i used to travel with they have no time for passengers now.Well done W & S
- Eric Griffiths, Feltham Middlesex UK
I agree with Andrew's praise of the Wrexham and Shropshire offering. The outstanding customer service on-board and the comfort of the W&S carriages make it an obvious choice compared with the cramped and unwelcoming services of both Arriva Trains Wales and Virgin. Why did Virgin object to W&S picking up passengers en-route at Wolverhampton if they didn't believe they would lose business to the superior service?
- John Wardle, Wellington, Shropshire
I agree with the article. Why don't we just hand over our railways to SNCF (FraNCE) or the German equivalent
- Sandi.Dunn, London
OK so it does take 4 hours to get from Wrexham to Marylebone on the Wrexham and Shropshire trains but this is more than compensated for by the standard of on board service you receive irrespective of whether you travel standard or first class. Polite and helpful staff who are always on hand to help. Good food at reasonable prices and seats that you can actally sit on. It has my vote.
- Martin Cleverley, Wrexham
Thank you for telling people about Wrexham & Shropshire Railways one of the best kept travel secrets, with good staff and service its a pity the so called big boys won't give them a fair crack of the whip ( or the tracks 0
- Colin Pettener Mbe, Shrewsbury Shropshire
Not sure that Wrexham & Shropshire gets my vote mainly because of the time it takes which is probably due to "Network Fails" support for the service. I certainly support the return of a direct London service from this area of the country but it is a joke in this day and age when you can get to Lille and back in a better time.
- Mike Collier, Eastcote, Middlesex
Totally agree with the article, especially the paragraph about how commuting every day in these conditions affects your quality of life. We're polite and tolerant in this country to a fault, and we're far too inclined to put up with bad service - we roll our eyes rather than make a fuss.
The fact is rail travel is appalling. It is ridiculously overpriced, unreliable, unsafe (especially at night) and horribly unpleasant to use. Ditto bus travel.
The root problem is that this country, particularly the South East, and especially London, has become overcrowded. The existing public transport system was designed to transport far fewer people and it cannot cope with today's numbers. No amount of "planned engineering work" is going to change that.
- Kevin T, Beckenham
Virgin Trains have presided over a huge reduction in service standards on the Euston - Manchester line whilst continually raising the price of tickets. My company has ceased to use the railways and often finds a door to door taxi service is now cheaper when 2 or 3 staff are required to travel. I am sure that Virgin Trains will maximise the negative publicity surrounding the recent Network Rail problems to get as much compensation as possible which of course is never used to provide reliable services at fair prices.
- Peter Ellis, London
But Labour solved overcrowding. It was 110 people for 100 seats as overcrowding. Recently Labour changed it to 130 people for 100 seats so now NO 'overcrowding'!
What is the problem. We must assume that labour intend to improve the UK. We should not think they only want to get votes, and the reason Brown has hollowed out the economy so it now fails the EU tests, is just to get people under state income control by welfare, or job, or housing, or immigration, or nationalisation of industries.
Then Labour will always have a solid vote to keep power. Who would think that was what Labour intended?
Surely they change these measures on crime, transport, housing, incomes, health, teenage pregnancies, inflation, immigration etc only to help improve the UK. Surely the change in measures is not just to make Labour seem to be doing well?
- Jimmy, Bradford
I'll tell you a "Fiasco" I am fed up with - overuse of the word "Fiasco"! Can't we just have a simple complaint, opinion or even dare I say it some constructive criticism? The new year is 8 days old and we have seemingly had dozens of fiasca (?) already!
- James, London
I would be inclined to sympathise but you fail to distinguish between Network Rail and Virgin. The Virgin service when the line is working is fairly good, their staff are not aggressive (if only because they're barely there and when they are say little) and how can one announcement every 20 minutes be intrusive?
- Cp, London UK
Our entire piblic transport system is in the hands of proven incompetents. The answer would be to throw in the towel on our home-grown management. Kick them onto the dole queue and replace them with a motley collection of Germans, Japanese, Italians, Frenchmen....
- Peter Sykes, Pirot, Serbia
If cycling becomes a chore why not do what those in places like India and Vietnam do-get a small motorbike? A Honda 50 does about 120mpg, is quiet, and takes up very little road space. We should be lowering rail fares in the UK, building more lines, laying tramways in cities, designing mono-rails; but none of this happens-instead, in this crowded island, badly driven 4x4 monsters clog up narrow streets and add to the CO2 problem. I agree with Andrew's argument that public transport can be so unpleasant that people prefer cars, but it's no answer to the problem.
- Jon Kent, Hertford. UK
Some of your comments are fair, and my daily experience of the Tyne and Wear Metro - mostly punctual, not overcrowded, airy (though feeling less safe than the tube in the late evenings) - compares favourably with trains in the south east.
BUT I also think that when you opt out of the public transport system you become even more critical of it. I have often spoken to people who tell me how bad the bus service is, or how it fails to meet their needs - but who don't even know which buses pass their front door. They go on about how bad it, it seems, to justify their actions.
I do agree about making more use of bikes, if you can.
- Graeme, Tyne and Wear
cycling's great - everone should try it. It's not that dangerous, especially if you abide by the Highway Code and use common sense.
- Sean, London
I share George's concerns. When I used to work in Paddington, the main BR station was thick with greasy white smoke from diesel trains. I never heard any complaints from the eco lobby, maybe they are just against private transport?
I am also concerned at the deterioration of air quality due to particulates, even after the establishment of the Low Emissions Zone. I am wondering if it is connected with the expansion of buses and other large diesel engines that produce them?
- Brian, London
Ridiculous exaggeration. Apart from the last week (which is the fault of Railtrack rather than Virgin), the Pendolino service Liverpool-Euston is very good, infinitely preferable to driving. If trains are less 'special' than they were, it's usually due to people's selfishness (tinny muzac, tedious mobile chit-chat). And if you really think you're more the master of your own destiny in a car, what about my colleague's recent experience of sitting on the M5 for over 4 hours in sub-zero temperatures?
- Fred Flint, Liverpool, U.K.
Although I actually cycle and take the the train to most places, I still don't buy the 'green' argument about trains. The average train carriage weighs some 30 tons (or 300 tons for the entire train) compared to 1.5 tons for a car. But the train carriage is usually empty for most of the day, and certainly for the return journey against the flow of passengers. It doesn't figure that dragging 300 tons of empty train around is somehow 'greener' than a car that only travels when it is needed.
And both car and train use fossil fuels.
- George, London
Good, get back in your car - one less prat to contend with on the tube.
- Liberal And Proud, London, UK
