Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
Travel & transport from BBC stories as at 16:35 31 Mar 2023
- Local Elections 2023: New powers will help prevent potholes, says Rishi Sunak
* Heathrow security guards begin 10-day strike during Easter break
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 28/04/23 - Bristol Model Railex
31/05/23 - WWRUG meeting
08/07/23 - WWRUG Weymouth trip
19/08/23 - Imber Bus

On this day
31st Mar (1995)
Last run of 4EPB (*)

Train RunningCancelled
15:18 London Paddington to Cardiff Central
16:50 Reading to Gatwick Airport
17:54 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
18:29 Gatwick Airport to Reading
18:58 London Paddington to Hereford
19:28 London Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill
Additional 22:38 Plymouth to Liskeard
23:40 Liskeard to Plymouth
Short Run
13:25 Warminster to Great Malvern
14:48 Plymouth to Cardiff Central
15:29 Gatwick Airport to Reading
16:31 Barnstaple to Axminster
16:43 Great Malvern to Westbury
18:48 Plymouth to Cardiff Central
19:00 Cardiff Central to Plymouth
Delayed
13:23 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central
13:50 London Paddington to Great Malvern
14:23 Swansea to London Paddington
15:04 London Paddington to Plymouth
15:16 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington
15:18 Hereford to London Paddington
15:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
18:23 Par to Newquay
PollsOpen and recent polls
Open to 07/04 06:11 What GWR train has the best WIFI connectivity?
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple MeadsBath SpaChippenhamSwindonDidcot ParkwayReadingLondon PaddingtonMelksham
Exeter St DavidsTauntonWestburyTrowbridgeBristol ParkwayCardiff CentralOxfordCheltenham SpaBirmingham New Street
March 31, 2023, 04:38:11 pm *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[140] GWR Onboard WIFI
[90] Active rail campaigns across the area we cover
[55] Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption el...
[36] shame no football specials this weekend
[20] Freight train derailed in USA
[17] On this day / 28th March 1988 - formal end of carrying coffins...
 
News: the Great Western Coffee Shop ... keeping you up to date with travel around the South West
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: [1]
  Print  
Author Topic: Not just the economy?  (Read 640 times)
CyclingSid
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1673


Hockley viaduct


View Profile
« on: February 02, 2023, 06:32:31 pm »

We are told we have the worst financial prospects by the IMF.

And then we find we are also missing the train as well:

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/society/swiss-federal-railways-judged--very-punctual--in-2022/48247710?view=canonical

Did we ever have such punctuality in this country, or does one have to go back to Grouping, or before
Logged
ChrisB
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 11645


View Profile Email
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2023, 06:41:04 pm »

We run far more trains on our network. I would suggest that Swiss Railways statistics would be far nearer ours if they ran such a service
Logged
JayMac
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 18429



View Profile
« Reply #2 on: February 02, 2023, 08:47:45 pm »

Agreed, not comparable.
 
Switzerland 11,000 trains per day over 3,300 network miles
Great Britain 22,500 trains per day over 9,900 network miles

So Switzerland runs a far more intensive service on its track mileage than Great Britain.

Switzerland does more with less and is far more punctual.
Logged

grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 38136



View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2023, 10:01:32 pm »

The thing that struck me in Switzerland (last November) was a gentler schedule and modern electric trains. I don't recall any staff issues.
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
Noggin
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 452


View Profile
« Reply #4 on: February 02, 2023, 10:11:29 pm »

I seem to recall that they had some years of delay in the introduction of Bombardier EMUs (Electric Multiple Unit), so they at least share some of our problems  Smiley
Logged
eightonedee
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1386



View Profile
« Reply #5 on: February 02, 2023, 11:14:15 pm »

Not necessarily an indication of the intensity of the service, Jaymac.

It is surely the mileage of all train journeys undertaken,  not just the number of trains, that gives the intensity of use.

I would guess they have a predominance of medium intensity short or medium distance services. There would be much less of the service intensity of the kind generated by (for example) London area rush hour crowding of services, as I think the entire population of the country might be less than Greater London and its associated commuter are, or the problems of fitting slower stopping services into and around long distance faster services.
Logged
eightonedee
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1386



View Profile
« Reply #6 on: February 02, 2023, 11:17:35 pm »

Just checked. Switzerland's population is 8.7m.
.
Perhaps we need more railway mileage - cue resumption of never ending restatement of opposing views on HS2 (The next High Speed line(s)) on this forum....
Logged
Richard Fairhurst
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 1120


View Profile Email
« Reply #7 on: February 03, 2023, 09:43:44 am »

The thing that struck me in Switzerland (last November) was a gentler schedule and modern electric trains. I don't recall any staff issues.

Yes, the "gentler schedule" struck me too. It's much easier to be punctual if you have three or four minute dwells timetabled at lots of stations.
Logged
PhilWakely
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1879



View Profile
« Reply #8 on: February 03, 2023, 01:06:03 pm »

On my recent trip to Switzerland, our return trip from Zermatt to Kandersteg had a 5 minute change at Brig and we were advised that was 'plenty of time'. We arrived at Brig some 7 minutes late, just to see our connection leave for Kandersteg, running 2 minutes late!

It did, however, give us the opportunity of enjoying one of the advantages of the Swiss railways and that is 'to get from A to B, if there are multiple routes, it does not matter which one you take'. So, instead of waiting nearly two hours for the next direct train 'over the top' to Kandersteg, we were able to enjoy the longer trip via Visp and Spiez (270 degrees around the circle as opposed to 90 via the direct route).
Logged
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: [1]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules (email link to report). Forum hosted by Well House Consultants

Jump to top of pageJump to Forum Home Page