Gregory's Server@quixoticgeek @julf @marcas @cstross @tml @SteveJonesnono1 Yes, trains in Switzerland are quite reliable (more than 2 minutes delays are rare) and you get to every town in the whole country the entire day with a schedule of at least hourly. But (like everything in Switzerland), it's also quite expensive and unfortunately not a free service like roads. A yearly ticket (entire country, 1st class) is around 7300 USD. You can buy a used car for that amount (without maintenance, gas and insurance of course). A single ticket Geneva - Zurich (return ticket, 1st class, no discount, without reservation) is 143 USD. (2nd class is around -40%.) So yes, good service has its price. And it's still subsidized by government.
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@quixoticgeek @julf @marcas @cstross @tml @SteveJonesnono1 Before my time there was even a 3rd class with wooden benches for the workers. And smoking everywhere until just a few years back. 1st class helps if you need extra quietness for those with ADHD (and the rich) and contributes overproportional to financing the railway. Also good for advertising to switch away from car commuting. No first class in busses or other city traffic anyway.   @quixoticgeek @http @julf @marcas @tml @SteveJonesnono1 Quiet coaches aren't quiet. Last time I booked a seat in one I ended up sharing it with a hen night. And folks watching music videos on their phones at full volume without headphones. Someone spoke to me and complained in an Edinburgh-London quiet coach once, because I was explaining Gödel's theorem and the Church-Turing thesis too loudly @forestpines @cstross @http @julf @marcas @tml @SteveJonesnono1 Also if you run trains more frequently. Then they won't be as packed. And if the train your on sucks. You can get off at the next station. Wait a few minutes and get on the next one. This is also the flexibility of not having to book tickets on trains. You can move about. @quixoticgeek @forestpines @http @julf @marcas @tml @SteveJonesnono1 Bear in mind that tracks have a hard capacity limit—more than one train can't run within the same signal block (it's a safety thing) so they need to be spaced apart. Fast trains also take further to stop, so you can have fewer of them per unit track length. So "run trains more frequently" actually implies "build more tracks". And 5% of your track network needs replacing every year. So this drives up fixed costs. Going with Edinburgh to London as an example: there's plenty of capacity to run more trains between Edinburgh and Newcastle...except that Newcastle Central Station itself is pretty close to capacity Further south the main line basically gets more and more traffic the further south you go, until it's also at full capacity south of Hitchin (where the Cambridge & King's Lynn trains join the main line) @forestpines @cstross @http @julf @marcas @tml @SteveJonesnono1 excellent! A job creation scheme to build more tracks! Why do you threaten us with a good time ? @cstross @forestpines @http @julf @marcas @tml @SteveJonesnono1 With modern signalling systems, you can run a train about every 3 minutes or so. Assuming you already have a double track line. Bringing the signals into the 21st century is a damn good start. I'm not (yet) calling for every 90 seconds for a train. Every 15 mins is my minimum start point. @cstross @quixoticgeek @forestpines @http @julf @marcas @SteveJonesnono1 But try telling that to the "we don't need new high-speed lines for the elite, we just need more reliable trains" gang. @quixoticgeek @cstross @http @marcas @tml @SteveJonesnono1 The Dutch are not very good at enforcement... |
@http @julf @marcas @cstross @tml @SteveJonesnono1 I would abolish first class.