whats important to you

[whole diary]

[devon_metro]

I personally find coach travel claustrophobic, slow and uncomfortable. At least with the train I can get up and walk around!

[Btline]

I know that you are an exception. Your commutes are so long you NEED to work on the train (esp. with the OU stuff as well). I just hope you switch off once you're off the train!

But when people are on a 40, 60 or 90 minute commute, perhaps they should relax...

[moonrakerz]

I saw somebody on the train with three Blackberrys the other day and just wondered what effects being on call all the time were having on the person...

[waits for the backlash]

But once you get your Blackberry you are "empowered" - just imagine the power that man must wield (or thought he did) with three of them !

[Btline]

It was a woman.

[shaun healey]

Some seem to be missing my point, which is family travel. and the abilty for a family to sit together as a group, which as the HST^▸ (High Speed Train) has a almost total lack of tables (even in the so called family carriage) is an impossibility, if there were, i would travel more often on FGW^▸ (First Great Western), its what is important to me.

[Phil]

I seem to remember back when my (now grown-up) kids were young and we travelled everywhere by train as a family, I used to welcome any chance at all to sit well away from them so I could get on with reading my paper and gazing out of the window! "That's alright dear, you sit there with our little darlings and I'll find myself somewhere up the other end of the carriage..."   

[inspector_blakey]

Have to agree completely with that - the majority of travellers (especially the ones paying the higher fares) are travelling individually or in pairs. At risk of sounding like a stuck record, I really like what FGW^▸ (First Great Western) has done to the HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) because it has produced lots of very nigh quality airline seating, vastly superior to the airline seats in the HSTs pre-refurb which were pretty dreadful, especially in terms of legroom. That is why I always sought out a table pre-refurb and just put up with the occasional specimen of swamp life sitting opposite me exploring the deepest recesses of his/her nasal cavity.

The argument that "it's impossible for families to travel without a table" is, I'm afraid, fatuous. I've never heard families travelling by air or bus (or car, far that matter...) complain that it's impossible without fixed tables. I've travelled with groups of friends on the new HSTs many times and it's just not an issue. It can sometimes be tricky finding a suitable number of seats together (which you can't always solve by reserving - XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) seem to produce some bizarrely random seat reservations for groups) but that was always the case anyway; people would invariably spread out 1 or 2 to a table until all the tables were gone.

As an aside, Amtrak's Amfleet vehicles (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amfleet if you're interested) which operate most of the long-distance services here in the North East US (unless you want to pay through the nose to travel on a marginally faster Acela service) are fitted entirely with airline-style seating except for the cafe cars and I heard no complaints from the large number of family groups using the trains over the Independence Day holiday last weekend. These seats always face forwards; Amtrak somehow manages to physically turn whole trains at the end of each journey. Considering their age they are remarkably presentable and comfortable, my main gripe is that they have slitty little windows with big gaps between them so there are lots of seats with no view... It's almost like being back at home on a Voyager except it has legroom and enough toilets (sorry, restrooms!).

[Mookiemoo]

One of the things that annoy me about table usage are those that sit at one but don't need one!  And I dont mean families.  I see it more often on arrive wales services.

You get on, a good 90 minutes to do some work, you look up and down the car and every table has at least two people at it, which is fine.

EXCEPT all they are using it for it to put a cup of coffee on!  Invariably they are reading a novel or a news paper.  These same people  then get shirty when you sit down and dare to encroach over a perfectly measured 1/4 of the table (which wit a 17 inch laptop on a 158 I do just by getting the laptop out).  YOU DONT NEEED A TABLE FOR A CUP OF COFFEE!

I once had a woman on a 175 down to Newport.  She was sitting at the table that only has two seats - i think the wheel chair space is in front of it - and had her luggage piled on the table.  It was the only table not occupied as above.  When I asked her could I have some space she directed me to the airline seats. Pointed out that my laptop wouldnt fit so (un)graciously move her suitcases etc and then flounced off making a big point of being the one to move.  And proceeded to go back to sleep.

I did however get the table to myself for the duration - by the time we got to HEreford if was full of course books and laptop - but at least it was being used as more than a luggage rack!

[RailCornwall]

After considerable travel first and second on the continent, there is nothing worse than returning to Britain's overcrowded and jam packed full trains. Everyone should have access to a table and enable a group of four to sit together 2+2. This issue is of course nothing to do with the TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) but the way investment has been starved both financially AND it's methodology. To ask any TOC to 'tool up' to meet demand with such contrived franchises is nothing short of unforgivable. Jamming people into the 'Airline' seating for anything more than an hour is very poor and for anyone over 5' 10'' cruel there simply isn't the needed room in them.

Doubling the amount of rolling stock in use would help on services that currently have less than three coaches, and more services for all others would assist, but it might help to note that a train in Switzerland is declared officially by SBB as Full when over 80% of the Second or 70% of the First accomodation is occupied. They recognise the need for space and treat passengers with the respect they deserve, hence the seven minute dual pathing of relief services in busy periods.

The UK^▸ (United Kingdom) needs to think strongly about signalling in the future to enable more services to run on existing tracks, in addition to the obvious bottlenecks requiring work, and the HS^▸ (High Speed (short for HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) High Speed Services)) series of developments.

It's shameful that twenty years after I visited France and did a day trip from Paris to Nantes, in comfort and at 150mph plus, with just over 4 hours travel, that the same distance from the British Capital to St Austell, makes a day trip by train to the Eden project from London an impossible dream.

Britain needs to rethink, and rethink quickly many aspects of the Rail System.

[devon_metro]

One of the things that annoy me about table usage are those that sit at one but don't need one!  And I dont mean families.  I see it more often on arrive wales services.

You get on, a good 90 minutes to do some work, you look up and down the car and every table has at least two people at it, which is fine.

EXCEPT all they are using it for it to put a cup of coffee on!  Invariably they are reading a novel or a news paper.  These same people  then get shirty when you sit down and dare to encroach over a perfectly measured 1/4 of the table (which wit a 17 inch laptop on a 158 I do just by getting the laptop out).  YOU DONT NEEED A TABLE FOR A CUP OF COFFEE!

I once had a woman on a 175 down to Newport.  She was sitting at the table that only has two seats - i think the wheel chair space is in front of it - and had her luggage piled on the table.  It was the only table not occupied as above.  When I asked her could I have some space she directed me to the airline seats. Pointed out that my laptop wouldnt fit so (un)graciously move her suitcases etc and then flounced off making a big point of being the one to move.  And proceeded to go back to sleep.

I did however get the table to myself for the duration - by the time we got to HEreford if was full of course books and laptop - but at least it was being used as more than a luggage rack!

My laptop was perfectly suited to the small table on a number of journeys I took yesterday (One being an empty HST^▸ (High Speed Train) up the cotswolds. Funny that )

[Mookiemoo]

After considerable travel first and second on the continent, there is nothing worse than returning to Britain's overcrowded and jam packed full trains.

That is a sloppy generalisation (amended to add, so is the rest of your post!), the majority of trains I work during the day are less than half full leaving London, certainly by Reading (25 minutes down the track). The exceptions to these are the peak-time trains, by definition the busy ones, even these are usually only half full by Swindon. On the way in to London it's the same, they are rarely anything like half full before Reading. You must be spending your journey in Coach E! (go on, live a little, walk a bit further down the platform  )

Regarding the rest of your points, I've never seen any airline that has limited their flights to an hour, the leg=room is considerably more than is provided in economy on most airlines, and I have seen a huge number of passengers over 5 10 manage to sit perfectly comfortably in the seats.

I think the comparison is probably wrong in most cases!

When you fly it is - for most people - a one off return trip to somewhere they want to go to. Several hours in economy is bearable.

Train travel in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) is more mundane for most people - and you spend a lot longer in total there than you probably do in a plane (business people and jet setters excepted)

If I cant fly Virgin and use my airmiles or premium/upper then I will go cattle because I cant afford the several K plus to go better - because it is a one off! 

Note - most first/business seats are not occupied by people paying the full fare - they are occupied by frequent fliers/mileage club holders having upgraded.

The comparison is only valid I think for people using the train to go on vacation - and how many of them are there?

[Btline]

Everyone should have access to a table and enable a group of four to sit together 2+2.

How can this be done realistically. The trains would have to be hugely long to seat an off peak load at tables. As for rush hour. Scale this up to "everybody" - how many new depots, stations, platforms would have to be rebuilt. The cost? And that's before you add on the price of the extra carriages!

To ask any TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) to 'tool up' to meet demand with such contrived franchises is nothing short of unforgivable. Jamming people into the 'Airline' seating for anything more than an hour is very poor and for anyone over 5' 10'' cruel there simply isn't the needed room in them.

The fact of the matter is that people would rather sit down than stand. At peak times, this is impossible, but the HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) have been made airline only to maximise seated passengers. I don't particularly like it. But instead of ranting without thinking about practicalities, I realise why FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have done what they have done.

Doubling the amount of rolling stock in use would help on services that currently have less than three coaches, and more services for all others would assist, but it might help to note that a train in Switzerland is declared officially by SBB as Full when over 80% of the Second or 70% of the First accomodation is occupied. They recognise the need for space and treat passengers with the respect they deserve, hence the seven minute dual pathing of relief services in busy periods.

Very nice for the Swiss. But what a waste of rolling stock during the off peaks. And a busy country like Britain is never going to achieve such statistics!

The UK^▸ (United Kingdom) needs to think strongly about signalling in the future to enable more services to run on existing tracks, in addition to the obvious bottlenecks requiring work, and the HS^▸ (High Speed (short for HSS^▸ (High Speed Services) High Speed Services)) series of developments.

We have. But ramming more trains onto the same tracks affects reliability and punctuality. Look at the WCML^▸ (West Coast Main Line) with VHF. The cramming of more trains is also why many FGW trains take longer now, as they get held up more by other trains.

It's shameful that twenty years after I visited France and did a day trip from Paris to Nantes, in comfort and at 150mph plus, with just over 4 hours travel, that the same distance from the British Capital to St Austell, makes a day trip by train to the Eden project from London an impossible dream.

But France is different to the UK. Paris is more central than London, so it can have lots of LGVs^▸ (Large Goods Vehicle) in all axises from the capital. Cities in France are better spaced so it makes sense for a high Speed line.

Nantes is France's 6th-ish city (aka, say, Liverpool - who's hourly clockface service is probably as good as or better than Nantes') so it deserves good rail links. St Austall is nowhere near that. If, by some dream, a HSL reaches Cornwall, it probably wouldn't stop here - it would speed onto Truro! More likely, an HSL will only reach Exeter or Bristol (more likely) and the journey time will still prohibit a day trip.

My advice, book a travelodge...