"Graham Harrison" wrote in message
news:acGdnTYpFrxwa1XVnZ2dnUVZ8sLinZ2d@bt.com...
>
>
> > If you make trains work like planes, all you will do is reduce capacity
> > and put even more traffic on the roads.
> >
> > --
> > http://gallery120232.fotopic.net/p9632901.html
> > (33 208 at Poole, May 1985)
>
> Surely, part of the "problem" with full trains at the moment is length and
> frequency? If EMT, for instance, ran 2+8 HSTs instead of 5 car 222s
*and*
> ran them more frequently the capacity issue would not necessarily go away
> but the game plan would change.
>
> Not only that but a more frequent service offering more seats with a
booking
> system that guarantees a seat (and allows easy and low cost changes)
would,
> in my view, attract traffic, not drive it away.
>
> It's time to stop accepting the status quo and thinking about the future
and
> pushing for it. And remember, I'm making a difference between "short"
and
> "long" distance trains.
>
The real prize for TOCs is to come up with a fares structure that achieves
the 80% load factor which low cost airlines aspire to, while offering
everyone a seat. This means keeping just enough capacity for passengers who
need walk-on flexibility and are prepared to pay for it - this should be
reasonably predictable - then pitching Advance fares at the right level to
sell the rest of the seats. They then need to make it really easy for
passengers to buy and collect Advance tickets. This could be print-your-own
technology, but achieving that will not be easy when a proportion of
passengers will continue to enter the rail network at unstaffed stations. It
could be using Fast Ticket machines - but they need to be available at all
stations, and not just a select few, and need to be extremely reliable. The
reliability of trains needs to be much better - a common cause of
overcrowding is that the previous train has ben cancelled.
Peter
|