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Trains kind of suck though. I used them a lot in the UK because I didn't have a car. The UK has an OK train network. The problem with trains is that they are v

by rmtech 7y ago

Trains kind of suck though. I used them a lot in the UK because I didn't have a car. The UK has an OK train network. The problem with trains is that they are very, very inconvenient for most journeys. Sunday evening? forget it. After 11pm? Nope. Journey that runs perpendicular to the local line to London? Lol, enjoy a 5 hour journey to go 100 miles. Want to take cargo like a new washing machine? Lol. Want to go somewhere that's not near a station by bus? Enjoy Journey times that are 4, 5 or 10 times slower than a car. Trains are good for busy commuter lines and nothing else.

bamboozled 7y ago
"Trains kind of suck though. I used them a lot in the UK because I didn't have a car." You're blaming trains because you want to have a boozy night out? Get a hotel or start and leave earlier like everyone else. This is just a silly comment.
- NoSorryCannot 7y ago
  I can't find where the parent mentioned drinking. But to stab at that anyway, it wouldn't be silly if he did. People driving impaired for lack of other good and affordable options is an emergent reality, no matter how morally hazardous it is.
- rmtech 7y ago
  I don't drink, but it is very, very inconvenient if your activities are constrained by the train timetable. Much better to have a car available and be able to travel when you want to. Of course sometimes you dont want to travel late or at weekends
0xB31B1B 7y ago
1) trains go basically everywhere frequently in Japan, it’s very much a functioning rail network, they exist and kick ass. 2) a train doesn’t need to replace 100% of personal car trips to be useful. I’m sure you’re not transporting dishwashers or taking trips after 11 pm every day. Covering 90% of use cases is sufficient, and the other 10% can be handled by either renting a car or taking an Uber. 3) we can and should make busses faster than cars during times of congestion by giving them their own lanes.
- TheSpiceIsLife 7y ago
  Most people don’t live in Japan. There are no commuter trains Tasmania.
  - 9nGQluzmnq3M 7y ago
    Compared to Japan, there are no people in Tasmania.
    - TheSpiceIsLife 7y ago
      I guess my wider point was that today, 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 68% by 2050.[1] Urban commuter trains will have little effect on that ~45% of people who won't live near them even if they are built. On the flip side, though, I guess, that doesn't mean we shouldn't build more train lines. 1. https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/2018-revision-of-world-urbanization-prospects.html https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/2018-...
- kalleboo 7y ago
  I life in a city of 600,000 in Japan. Trains DO NOT go everywhere. And as GP wrote, they don't run at night. Everyone here owns a car.
  - Larrikin 7y ago
    The biggest fault of the entire Japanese system is the stoppage at night. 24 hour service is not the solution and is one of the reasons the services there work very well. But I don't understand why they don't have a replacement system. In Philadelphia the (smaller) system is completely replaced by buses. In other countries the trains run 24 hours but only Friday nights and weekends nights which could increase the use case of 90% of riders to 95% of riders.
- isatty 7y ago
  The Japanese rail network is awesome but it does not stop everywhere and it’s quite expensive. Japan is huge and taxis get expensive real quick. Consider Singapore, which is tiny, has a kick ass public transport system (trains and busses) and where it costs 90-100k SGD to own a beater Corolla: people still own cars.
jtolmar 7y ago
Aren't all of those problems solved by more trains?
- hutzlibu 7y ago
  But it is not really efficient, to use one train, for one passenger.
l0b0 7y ago
No, trains in the UK are not "OK", they are crap compared to most of Western Europe. Fewer trains and more cancellations than any other country I've ever used trains in, stupid connections and pricing structure, all because of privatization. Look to Switzerland for the best train network in Europe. Reliability is top notch, there's only one company to deal with, and prices are reasonable for the income level.
- fyfy18 7y ago
  Reliability of trains in the UK really varies by route. When I was studying and when I first started working I extensively used mainline routes and had no issues. The last train I could take on a Friday night was 10pm, but given it was a 3 hour journey that didn't seem unreasonable. Each year there was usually one incident that caused delays, but other than they worked well. If I took a fast train the journey time was around the same as driving - quicker in fact given on the journey I would stop for a break - and ticket prices were about the same as driving (for 1 person). On the other hand I was working in London in 2018, and at weekends often flying from LTN. In the end I added an hour buffer (to a 45 minute journey) because the reliability of Thameslink was so bad.
- rmtech 7y ago
  They're not as good as the best, but they're a lot better than the worst countries for trains. The train network is also fairly thorough in its coverage of the country. I think it's a good representative example (not best, not worst).

by rmtech 7y ago

bamboozled 7y ago

"Trains kind of suck though. I used them a lot in the UK because I didn't have a car." You're blaming trains because you want to have a boozy night out? Get a hotel or start and leave earlier like everyone else. This is just a silly comment.

NoSorryCannot 7y ago
I can't find where the parent mentioned drinking. But to stab at that anyway, it wouldn't be silly if he did. People driving impaired for lack of other good and affordable options is an emergent reality, no matter how morally hazardous it is.
rmtech 7y ago
I don't drink, but it is very, very inconvenient if your activities are constrained by the train timetable. Much better to have a car available and be able to travel when you want to. Of course sometimes you dont want to travel late or at weekends

0xB31B1B 7y ago

1) trains go basically everywhere frequently in Japan, it’s very much a functioning rail network, they exist and kick ass. 2) a train doesn’t need to replace 100% of personal car trips to be useful. I’m sure you’re not transporting dishwashers or taking trips after 11 pm every day. Covering 90% of use cases is sufficient, and the other 10% can be handled by either renting a car or taking an Uber. 3) we can and should make busses faster than cars during times of congestion by giving them their own lanes.

TheSpiceIsLife 7y ago
Most people don’t live in Japan. There are no commuter trains Tasmania.
- 9nGQluzmnq3M 7y ago
  Compared to Japan, there are no people in Tasmania.
  - TheSpiceIsLife 7y ago
    I guess my wider point was that today, 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 68% by 2050.[1] Urban commuter trains will have little effect on that ~45% of people who won't live near them even if they are built. On the flip side, though, I guess, that doesn't mean we shouldn't build more train lines. 1. https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/2018-revision-of-world-urbanization-prospects.html https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/2018-...
kalleboo 7y ago
I life in a city of 600,000 in Japan. Trains DO NOT go everywhere. And as GP wrote, they don't run at night. Everyone here owns a car.
- Larrikin 7y ago
  The biggest fault of the entire Japanese system is the stoppage at night. 24 hour service is not the solution and is one of the reasons the services there work very well. But I don't understand why they don't have a replacement system. In Philadelphia the (smaller) system is completely replaced by buses. In other countries the trains run 24 hours but only Friday nights and weekends nights which could increase the use case of 90% of riders to 95% of riders.
isatty 7y ago
The Japanese rail network is awesome but it does not stop everywhere and it’s quite expensive. Japan is huge and taxis get expensive real quick. Consider Singapore, which is tiny, has a kick ass public transport system (trains and busses) and where it costs 90-100k SGD to own a beater Corolla: people still own cars.

jtolmar 7y ago

Aren't all of those problems solved by more trains?

hutzlibu 7y ago
But it is not really efficient, to use one train, for one passenger.

l0b0 7y ago

No, trains in the UK are not "OK", they are crap compared to most of Western Europe. Fewer trains and more cancellations than any other country I've ever used trains in, stupid connections and pricing structure, all because of privatization. Look to Switzerland for the best train network in Europe. Reliability is top notch, there's only one company to deal with, and prices are reasonable for the income level.

fyfy18 7y ago
Reliability of trains in the UK really varies by route. When I was studying and when I first started working I extensively used mainline routes and had no issues. The last train I could take on a Friday night was 10pm, but given it was a 3 hour journey that didn't seem unreasonable. Each year there was usually one incident that caused delays, but other than they worked well. If I took a fast train the journey time was around the same as driving - quicker in fact given on the journey I would stop for a break - and ticket prices were about the same as driving (for 1 person). On the other hand I was working in London in 2018, and at weekends often flying from LTN. In the end I added an hour buffer (to a 45 minute journey) because the reliability of Thameslink was so bad.
rmtech 7y ago
They're not as good as the best, but they're a lot better than the worst countries for trains. The train network is also fairly thorough in its coverage of the country. I think it's a good representative example (not best, not worst).