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Journey by Journey / London to the West / Re: Comedian humiliated for using disabled space on train - BBC News 17th July 2018
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on: July 19, 2018, 07:32:09 pm
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...and for those of us who don't use T*****r.....  Those of us who don't have a Twitter account can still clink on Twitter links and read what other people have twat twot twitted written. If our principals don't allow us to do that, then we can be reasonably confident we haven't missed anything terribly important. (The first one says: Just met with reps @GWRHelp in regards to the #ScooterGate incident. I am very confident they want to make positive changes. @GR8ASUR #ScooterCampaign The second one says: "It was so degrading and I felt worthless."
Comedian Tanyalee Davies says she was reduced to tears after a train guard refused to let her use a disabled space for her mobility scooter so that a mother could use it for her pram. ) |
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Request stops - replacement of arms by buttons
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on: July 17, 2018, 08:57:18 am
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Many is the time I've passed by places such as Ascott-under-Wychwood, Breich and Dilton Marsh and wondered at the abysmal passenger traffic that each of those stations generates close by where people live and / or work. Perhaps the traffic at each of those three is low because the number and utility of the services is also low; plenty of trains going through, but I would argue that an hourly service is about the minimum for best effective transport provision for day return trips.
But there's a problem. You can't really stop every train - at least initially - as you'll have lots of zero passenger calls. And you can't really make them into request stops either, with the need for the train to slow down and then move away again more often than not, with the delays that causes to exisiting passengers for no gain.
But pehaps there is an opportunity. The current system is not broken - it does what it says on the tin. But is it wasteful and could do more? Let's say you can get passenger numbers at Ascott-under-Wychwood up from 4,600 per year to 13,800 per year and the station currently costs £9,200 per year to maintain ... then you are reducing your costs from £2.00 per passenger to 66p per passenger, and that make the whole of their journey much closer to viable to the rail industry - an extra £1.33 each. No need for the train to stop or slow down any more if there's no passengers, and timetables can be (and are) adjusted and have slack for times when passenger numbers and load speeds are outside the commonly experienced metrics.
If I've understood correctly, you're saying that a system which makes it easier to timetable request stops can lead to more trains potentially stopping at a station, which in turn leads to more passengers because there are more journey opportunities (which then leads to more trains etc in a virtuous circle). Perhaps if a communication-based system might be unreliable, a system that's a sort of hybrid might do. In other words, waiting passengers could press a button which would activate a signal of a suitable colour at a suitable point in advance of the station as per martyjon's idea. So no potentially unreliable and expensive communications, motion detectors etc, but still giving the driver some advanced warning and eliminating the need to slow every train. |
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Request stops - replacement of arms by buttons
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on: July 16, 2018, 02:51:55 pm
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No need for buttons or arms, just install motion activated CCTV linked to a green / flashing yellow signal on the approach to such a location (request stop station).
Probably more reliable than a communication-based system but motion detectors are not infallible. It would also be prone to false positives from cats, random visitors, spotters, etc. And more seriously, whereas a breakdown in a communication system to all users, a breakdown in this system would not be. |
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All across the Great Western territory / Looking forward - 2018 to 2045 / Re: Making our rail corridors more productive
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on: July 13, 2018, 05:16:30 pm
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I can't wait to hear the loud agreement from the residents of Goring when the S face of the embankment is covered in solar panels.
I have no knowledge of that particular embankment, but can think of several embankments and cuttings where they would cause no objection and in some would enhance the existing sight. The new embankments being built just south of Filton Abbey Wood being one example. ...until our talented young street artists discover their sprayable qualities. I wonder how sprayable they are? I've never seen any graffiti on solar panels; but then pretty much the only ones in urban settings are on roofs. I think fences and the high voltage warning signs would probably put most taggers off, but doubtless some would still have a go. |
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture Overseas / Re: Danish on-train catering
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on: July 13, 2018, 08:43:40 am
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Not quite. A buffet has a machine for hot drinks so they are actually hot when you get them, rather than hot when they were poured into a large thermos. It has some sort of cooking or heating facilities, at least a microwave, for hot – I won't necessarily say cooked! – food. A buffet is also a permanent and separate part of the train, that's always there, whereas a "stationary stand" can be added or removed.
It sounds more like a trolley with additional disadvantages (you have to go to it rather than it coming to you) but with some advantages (it can't get stuck in the gangway or obstruct passengers).
I'd also note that Denmark is quite a bit smaller than the UK, though I don't know how far the longest rail journey you can make on Danish railways is.
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All across the Great Western territory / Looking forward - 2018 to 2045 / Re: Making our rail corridors more productive
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on: July 12, 2018, 09:52:44 am
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Sounds like a waste of solar panels to me. They work best when they're pointed at the sun (obviously!) and at a specific angle to the horizontal. Lying them flat is not so efficient. It also means they will get dirty, which is going to cut down their production far more than the occasional train or car passing over them. What we could do, far more productively, would be to install solar panels along the verges of rail or road corridors, correctly angled and all.
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So a push button system should avoid that as well as avoiding the driver needing to be ready to stop on a visual signal that probably usually isn't there. But certainly if it isn't reliable it won't be worth anything.
), walking it is quite a good idea. Though not both directions in one day. 
