Viewing 29 posts - 81 through 109 (of 109 total)
  • Merry Christmas from Southern
  • binners
    Full Member

    On a serious note though, fun though this mutual abuse all is, it does raise a wry smile when we hear southerners bleating about their transport network. Given how much money it receives comparatively.

    You should try getting from Manchester to Sheffield, for example, using public transport, for 9 o clock one morning. Its an absolute joke!

    The solution?

    HS2 apparently.

    i don’t know what they’re going to do once they get their superfast journey to manchester, if they need to get anywhere outside Manchester City Centre?

    Its almost as if that’s not really anyones concern, and nobody could care less, as long as everything is ok at the other end of the line

    andytherocketeer
    Full Member

    Leyland buses on train bogeys most certainly aren’t or weren’t unique to the North.
    Twas weird being able to see in to the driver’s cab, and watching him actually change gear on a train that I’d caught from one of the most Tory of southern towns.

    pictonroad
    Full Member

    Binners, you’ve always struck me as a decent sort, I’ll er on giving you the benefit of the doubt and assume your tongue is firmly in your cheek.

    It’s beyond parody down here though. Just because we live in the South doesn’t make us pariahs or stereotypes any more than you are if you live in the ‘North’.

    My friend commutes into London to work for the Government to try and make air quality better for all of su. The fact that he earns a ‘Government’ salary means he has to live miles away and commute. He never puts his kids to bed and doesn’t get to ride off road with his mates any more. He frequently spends 2hrs+ stuck on freezing platforms and standing on crowded trains. I’ve moaned at him to change his job, but you know what, he believes in what he’s doing to benefit others. There are thousands like him, I’m not entirely sure that schadenfreude really applies to people just trying to make a living. 😐

    The knock on effect on the traffic is causing hours of delays for business and the subsequent pollution affects us all.

    It’s a disgusting miserable situation. I don’t have Nick’s (Njee) conviction of who is to blame but I totally 100% sympathise with his position. It’s pathetic, utterly pathetic and really hope it gets sorted.

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    njee20
    Free Member

    On a serious note though, fun though this mutual abuse all is, it does raise a wry smile when we hear southerners bleating about their transport network. Given how much money it receives comparatively.
    You should try getting from Manchester to Sheffield, for example, using public transport, for 9 o clock one morning. Its an absolute joke!
    The solution?
    HS2 apparently.
    i don’t know what they’re going to do once they get their superfast journey to manchester, if they need to get anywhere outside Manchester City Centre?

    And that, there, is the crux of the issue Binners. You’re right.

    I catch the 7.13 train, which is booked to arrive into Victoria at 8.20, or connect to the 8.03 to London Bridge, for a similar arrival time. That should be plenty of time to get to offices just about anywhere in London for 9. This is, of course, a great service.

    Coming home, I usually get the 17.48 or 18.03, which gets me home for 18.50 or 19.20 respectively. Again, good service, no massive issues.

    That this is an issue at all is because that’s not what we’re getting. On Tuesday the 7.13 was cancelled, as was the 6.39 and the 7.33, the 7.49 was 25 minutes late. That means people who conceivably planned to be on the first of those trains and be in the office by 8.30, couldn’t even get into London until 9.30. Whilst you can make jokes about people being so important they have to get in to the office etc etc, many employers (and I’m lucky mine aren’t one of them) have an expectation their staff will be there at a certain time. It’s the unpredictability which is so frustrating.

    Actually when Southern are on strike there’s a marked improvement in the service. It’s heavily reduced, but they run what they say they’ll run, when they say they’ll run it.

    To your Manchester – Sheffield journey, the 07.08 arrives in Sheffield at 08.32, the 7.20 arrives at 8.10, or the 7.38 arrives at 8.34. That’s more trains than I have.

    sbob
    Free Member

    binners – Member

    His job was to negotiate the best deal on behalf of his members.

    At the cost of the aforementioned, which you gloss over.
    Amazing how selfish self professed “lefties” often are.

    Ps. I walk to work. 😀

    sbob
    Free Member

    That’s more trains than I have.

    Yeah but no-one cares because you’re commuting into London, so by default you must be some kind of ****.

    I think that’s how it works. 😉

    binners
    Full Member

    I think what we’d all agree on then is that, given the state of the countries transport infrastructure, spaffing 55 billion quid (probably a lot more) on a whizzy train from Manchester to London, and the sum total of **** all on anything else represents a pretty… erm…. ‘interesting’ set of priorities

    Its almost as if they were only listening to a bunch of self-interested consultants

    njee20
    Free Member

    think what we’d all agree on then is that, given the state of the countries transport infrastructure, spaffing 55 billion quid on a whizzy train from Manchester to London, and the sum total of **** all on anything else represents a pretty… erm…. ‘interesting’ set of priorities

    Well, no. High speed rail is mainly about capacity, which is sorely lacking on the west coast main line, and HS2 is a very viable solution to that. GTR’s issues won’t be sorted by investment, the two are mutually exclusive.

    andytherocketeer
    Full Member

    whizzy train from Manchester to London

    is it only a one-way train?

    like that one from Stockport to Stalybridge?

    How are all the Londoners going to get to the likes of media city as stuff is gradually relocated?

    sum total of **** all on anything else

    One deduces from that, that the Virgin Azuma / GWR class whatever trains are a freebie from Japan.
    And the brand new thameslink trains that are probably standing in a sidings, cos the drivers are on strike, are also free.
    Crossrail too.
    And the Waterloo-Windsor trains are a freebie from Germany who feel a bit of sympathy at UK having such an antique infrastructure. Or as a thankyou for us handing back the original DLR rolling stock, which they now use as trams.

    RustySpanner
    Full Member

    So, an underfunded, I’ll equipped mess of a service.
    Unaccountable, overcomplicated and riddled with poor management and unnecessary bureaucracy.

    And you lot are blaming the union?
    Absolute genius.

    How about blaming those responsible for the mess in the first place?
    But I imagine you voted for them, so it must be someone else’s fault, right?

    binners
    Full Member

    Before the last election George Osbourne promised billions of pounds in investment (HS3) so that transport between the northern cities as part of his Northern Powerhouse charade. When the Tories were elected literally the first thing he did was cancel all of it. Instead we’all be getting the investment total of… drumroll please…. nowt!

    So when those Wizzy HS2 trains finally pull into Manchester (80, 100, 120 billion quid later?) the cities of the north will still be linked with Pacer train/bus things running on Victorian lines.

    And they wonder why we’re so cynical?

    Like I said… an ‘interesting’ choice of priorities

    njee20
    Free Member

    So, an underfunded, I’ll equipped mess of a service.
    Unaccountable, overcomplicated and riddled with poor management and unnecessary bureaucracy.
    And you lot are blaming the union?

    What is? Southern’s issue is that their staff are ****. This isn’t about underfunding. No idea why you’re talking about voting, I didn’t vote for GTR. No member of the public did. That’s not how franchising works. Are you going to talk about British Rail as well soon? There isn’t really much complexity either. It goes like this:

    GTR: “we’re changing your job description slightly, we’ll give you a bonus, a pay rise and guarantee your job security for a good while though”
    Southern: “no you **** won’t, we’re striking”

    About The only way funding would help would be to train up a parallel workforce, so the strikers can be sacked properly. This just isn’t an investment issue.

    Instead we’all be getting the investment total of… drumroll please…. nowt!

    Again, this isn’t about investment, this isn’t whinging that our service is inadequate, it’s not, it’s pretty good (on paper). This is a very specific example of the union shafting the travelling public.

    I’m now on the 17.02 from Victoria. I had to ensure I was home at 19.15. The 18.03 should be good enough, albeit tight. The 17.02 actually left 26 minutes late, the 17.34 was “delayed” and the 18.03 already cancelled. I didn’t fancy chancing my arm that the 17.48, the one train from London Bridge would actually run. That’s shit.

    This is not an investment, infrastructure or rolling stock issue. This is a staff issue.

    project
    Free Member

    Pacers – made from bits of old bus, fact!

    un-facted, pacers are based on a steel underframe purpose made for rail use, with 4 wheels two at each end on an axle, and non steerable, the sides are infact from leyalnd national 1 bus pressed pannel parts, the roof and front is not a bus part as a bus is narrower than a train, the heating pod of a leyland national is also not fitted due to height restrictions under catenary and tunnels bridges.

    At the time the pacer was a low cost alternative to the class 150 series and the hugely expensive 210 class, and was only designed as a short term replacement, all pacers are going to be withdrawn from Northern before 2020 due to access for disabled persons not being suitable, eg a step entrance.

    njee20
    Free Member

    Eh? I didn’t say they were a bus on rails, I’m fairly sure buses don’t have metal wheels, and I’m pretty sure Pacers have neither a steering wheel or accelerator pedal. Or indicators. They are made of bits of bus.

    binners
    Full Member

    So the problem with the farcical transport infrastructure in this country is….

    The staff?

    But of course it is

    You are Norman Tebbit, and I claim my free bicycle to get on

    njee20
    Free Member

    in the case of Southern, yes, that is overwhelmingly the problem at the moment. As someone who uses them every day. I’m unclear on how this is a difficult concept to grasp?

    But no, the strikes aren’t actually happening, media hype. They cancel trains because of a lack of investment. You’re right. When did you last travel on Southern?

    binners
    Full Member

    Sounds to me like somebody is a bit miffed at uppity working class oiks getting ideas above their station!

    What will they be demanding next? The vote? 😆

    njee20
    Free Member

    Oh god. Has someone told them we operate a democracy?

    June 23rd shows what happens when we let idiots vote.

    binners
    Full Member

    Interesting that they’ve just raised HS2 on question time, from Wakefield, and the unanimous opinion (including a Telgraph journalist and a Tory MP) was that it was a complete white elephant, and a complete joke given the state of the present transport infrastructure in the north.

    Someone gave the example that it takes over 3 hours to get from Wakefield to Liverpool.

    A squillion quid well spent

    pictonroad
    Full Member

    It’s not about geography. I used to live in Liverpool, I have experienced the dire transport links that cannot cope at peak times. The situation at Southern would be just as unacceptable anywhere, the happy coincidence for some is that it’s both near that London and for convenience called Southern.

    Lifer
    Free Member

    What do the strikes have to do with poor service on non-strike days?

    Also they’re striking despite being offered a pay-rise, bonus, and job security? Source please

    bikebouy
    Free Member

    And today’s the day the Price increase is announced.

    Let’s hope that Southern are forced into a reduction of 25% 😛

    g5604
    Free Member

    Strikes aside, there are not enough carriages anyway – for example the Ashford international to Brighton has 2 carriages at rush hour, 2 ! I never got a seat in over 2 years.

    Lifer
    Free Member

    2 cars all day

    Lifer
    Free Member

    It’s okay, Grayling’s got a brilliant idea:

    Give maintenance to the TOCs too!

    Absolute moron.

    MrSmith
    Free Member

    I suppose if you’re going to be one of them dead dead important ‘Master of the Universe’ types,

    You mean Yorkshiremen?

    How are all the Londoners going to get to the likes of media city as stuff is gradually relocated?

    Just because the BBC was forced to move there (freeing up some prime real estate in the process) doesn’t mean there will be an exodus of creativity/media from the capital.

    El-bent
    Free Member

    They’re being held to ransom by the union. I do agree they’re a bit shit, but I place the blame for all this shit squarely at the feet of the union. Because that’s whose fault it is. Simple.

    No. No. No.

    This is the Governments fault.

    Read and Learn.

    Lifer
    Free Member

    Good article El-bent and shows that it’s not a simple fix.

    Grayling’s plan for TOC’s to perform maintenance should be looked at with that article in mind, and also the conflict between profit (at risk from overrunning or emergency maintenance) and safety.

    There are already too many contractors on track IMO, and there have been incidences where large scale works undertaken by contractors have led to delays as their shoddy work is fixed by NWR track staff.

    pictonroad
    Full Member

    They’ve stopped checking tickets at night round here. Guard just waved people through.

Viewing 29 posts - 81 through 109 (of 109 total)

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