Well, I was hoping for argument. There hasn’t been much of one because, to an astonishing extent, readers seem to agree with the thesis of Eleven Minutes Late: that Britain’s railways constitute a cock-up – always have done, presumably always will.
Thr response to the book has been fantastic, and the sales figures very gratifying. Thanks to everyone who has written to me, on this site and privately. I am very grateful to those who have pointed out errors. Luckily, they all seem to be small ones. But I will incorporate the changes in the paperback edition, due out next spring.
That wil also include an update, incorporating this year’s astonishing events, most particularly the rush – after 180 years inaction – towards High Speed Rail linking Britain’s major cities. That’s gratifying too, though anyone who has read Eleven Minutes Late might pause for a little scepticism.
This plan is coming from one energetic minister at the fagend of a government seemingly facing inevitable defeat in 2010 and in the midst of an economic crisis. Precisely the kind of situation where, in the British experience, grand plans end up being junked. Readers’ thoughts welcome.
From the potentially sublime to the utterly ridiculous: the one point which has brought out the earnest tendency in the readership is the business of fares. Heaps of people have insisted to me that railway travel is very cheap really, if you play the operators’ game and book in advance.
That may work for some people who know precisely what trains they want to catch weeks ahead. But it’s crazy. Britain’s railway has one huge advantage over most others (to offset the disadvantages): frequency.
What’s the virtue of that if you are banned from missing one train and catching another because you face, in effect, penal fines? What’s the point of travelling from the provinces to London for pleasure if you cannot cope with the football match going to extra time? If you can’t suddenly decide to see a show or have a meal – and then go home? What if you’re in business and your meeting overruns?
I’ve tried buying tickets in advance and the stress is intolerable.
How can I cope with that?
August 28, 2009 at 6:02 pm |
Another small slip, Matthew. p200. The pioneer of “the beer & sandwiches approach to settling union disputes” was actually David Lloyd George.
Also, on p228, “north of Inverness…..thick with marginals”. Actually there are only two constituencies north of Inverness so “thick” is certainly O.T.T. isn’t it?
And you also need to visit Manchester where the rail system was reorganised in the early 1990s with Exchange demolished and Victoria largely handed over to Metro trams (though some E-W routes still pass through) . David Poole (ex-Rainhill, now in Manchester)
November 13, 2009 at 12:38 pm |
I would argue that the advance planning needed to get a decent rail fare is typical of society as a whole rather than the railway in particular. Leisure time is a comodified activity in general, and hence you buy your few hours of fun in a very regulated way. And so, you plan ahead for your holiday with your regulated rail ticket! Its reflective of inflexibility in society, and of course, generates inequality. If you don’t have a nerdish affection for web based ticket queries, or indeed, computer access at all, you are far more likely to pay through the nose.
November 13, 2009 at 9:05 pm |
What a great book – i couldnt put it down. As a single mother of two children, we spend lots of necessarily well planned holidays travelling on UK railways during school holidays on cheap tickets- in the last 14 months we have been as far North as Helmsdale ( Highland Games 2008) and South to Isle of Wight and Exeter(Summer hols 2009) . I wish we had travelled the line as far as Newton Abbot as that last stretch sounds lovely .
I usually buy cheap singles and often am left potentially stranded for a few days until the return journey becomes available on cheap single tickets due to the 12 week rule- so it becomes a gamble as to whether it might actually have been cheaper to buy a return right at the start – but thrilling when we got the return train travel to london from Dundee for 3 of us for just over £32 at the start of july – amazing- how can the railway be making any profit on these prices ?These tickets are perhaps subsidized by those who have no choice but to buy a walk up ticket and pay through the nose for the convenience, and we only manage to get these cheap tickets by planning our trip around the availability of cheap train tickets .
I have always loved the trains and history and romanticism of the railways, and spend my journeys looking out for old railway buildings etc from the distant past – lying forlorn at the sides of the track , or surrounded by new buildings . This new book seems acceptable to be seen reading without being accused of being a nerd- not that i care really – i am now reading The Official British Rail Book of Trains (1993) – so i must be past help anyway.
December 7, 2009 at 4:25 pm |
Having bought cheap advance tickets for my mother on several occasions, I have to disagree with your statement that “the stress is intolerable”.
I usually use the East Midlands Trains website, from which you can book tickets to and from anywhere in the country.
I type in the date and the time around about when my Mum wishes to travel and the site comes up with a list of trains around that time. One more click give me the fares available for each service and I click on the cheapest that is available at a convenient time. The savings are often huge. The last time was £25.00 for a single from Woking to Nottingham. and another single back a week later.
Admittedly, for anyone without internet access this would be more complicated, call centres are usually abominable and ticket office staff do not always give the correct advice.
As for people who are not certain what time they will be travelling, cheap day and saver fares can still be bought just before travelling and can be used on any off peak journey for the outward portion and, in many cases, any train at all for the return.
The restrictions on off peak travel are, admittedly, a mess. At one time the morning peak ended at 09.30 pretty much everywhere. Nowadays it can be as late as 10.30 or even 11.00 in the case of some London tickets.
This is really caused by the operators trying to solve overcrowding by pricing passengers off certain trains, rather than providing more, or longer trains. This again isn’t all the companies fault, as the current set up actually discourages the TOcs from investing in new rolling stock because of the cost and the short length of the francises.
Thanks once again for a very interesting and entertaining book.
February 20, 2010 at 12:04 am |
As a native of Inverness and a regular traveller (usually for pleasure) on the scenic railway lines of the Highlands of Scotland, I must say that some of your comments which relate to the lines are, in my own humble opinion, not totally justifiable or fair. Without wishing to act like the proverbial English teacher and criticise writing which is in many places excellent, being subtly humorous; I must say that your description of the scenery on the Dingwall to Kyle of Lochalsh line, one of the most magnificent railway lines in Europe; as ‘a bit Jimmy-Shand-White-Heather-Club, you know, rather than West Highland spectacular’ was not easy for me to get the gist of. I do not believe that the phraseology was in any way succinct as it did not really tell me exactly what it meant and why you were disappointed by the scenic attractions of the line, which I gathered that you were. Unfortunately, I cannot see what a Scottish television programme which younger readers, especially down south, will never have heard of, actually has to do with scenery- though I may well be wrong.
It is true that there will always be one line more scenic than another and I would say that the West Highland Line between Crianlarich and Fort William is the most stunning I have ever travelled on- I agree with you there, and I find your scenic descriptions quite charming. I know that each and every man should have his own opinion- we Scots are the greatest exponents of that belief- but I cannot see how anyone could be disappointed by the Kyle line scenery, even if it perhaps did not quite come up to the wow factor of the West Highland. You talk about various things being intrusive, but in such a vast and beautiful landscape, they are mere dots.
‘Loch Carron is quite built up’- I do not think you should have written that at all. That statement is totally unjustified considering that there is a mere row of pretty white cottages seen on the stunnig lochside from the train on two occasions- these are the vilages of Lochcarron and Plockton. They are not an intrusion at all and traditional cottages which were there before the railway cannot be considered as making an area built up. The way the countryside in the Home Counties is being swallowed up by vast, modern housing developments which are bland and characterless and not part of historic villages is burning the heart out of me- I am sure that if you took anyone from Southern Essex on those stretches of line, they would be speechless because of the sheer tranquility, remoteness and unobtrusiveness of the pretty villages; backed up by beautiful mountains in Torridon and Wester Ross. On a sunny day, they look beautiful reflected in the loch.
Your comments on Fort William station are fair enough- OK it is a bland and characterless affair which looks more like a tax office than a Highland railway gateway, but it functions well and is clean, bright, spacious and efficient. The toilets are particularly clean. The old station was an idyllic building in an idyllic setting; but its demolition seemed fair (it was demolished to make way for a town centre bypass rod in the mid 70s) considering that the town centre was being bombarded by endless processions of cars and lorries: the High Street of the town is at least quiet and pleasant rather than plagued by the heavy drone of lorries. It is even now pedestrianised.
I have to say that my experiences of the Caledonian Sleeper service have been nothing other than unbelievable- I can remember that I once took the train to Fort William (alighting at Spean Bridge) to catch a taxi to Inverness when the Highland line through Aviemore was blocked; and the view from the lounge car with its picture windows over the moors to the mountains of Glencoe was out of this world. And the breakfast was not a ‘nasty cup of tea and an even nastier bread roll’, but a lovely hot cup of coffee with china cup and silver pot; with shortbread, apple segments, yoghurt and a lovely fresh chocolate brioche. However, I do appreciate that breakfast is totally different if you enjoy it in the lounge car- at no extra cost in first class- you get a proper tray and everything is lovely and fresh. However, second clas passengers can enjoy bacon rolls and coffee in the lounge car for only £4 extra and in the Highlands, you really would be a fool to have breakfast brought to your cabin which has only a diminutive window! Anyway, to cut a long Homeric epic short, how the breakfast tasted was totally irrelevant considering that I was watching the most amazing scenery pass by: I was more interesting in photographing the mountains of Glencoe, which I had never actually seen before despite being a Highlander, and soaking up a Highland atmosphere as I like it- I’m even more critical of this land because I know a lot of it very well- believe me. the line north of Perth will not be remembered by people waking up on a sleeper in the Highlands for the first time for the quality of the bread roll, but for the Monadhliath mountains, Loch Insh, the Pass of Druimuachdar, Slochd Summit, the foaming rivers and the stunning viaducts over the River Findhorn at Tomatin, the Soldier’s Leap at Killiecrankie and the Alt-na-Slanaich at Moy.
Though you have obviously tried to add as much humour as possible, I do not believe that slanderous, dry humour is relevant when you are actually referring to the only lights that shine in the darkness that may be Britain’s railway system. Ive never known a train in the Highlands 11 minutes late! To sum it all up, the railways of the Highlands will be remembered by everyone as our monuments and where there is still splendour and romance about rail travel- I don’t know what could be more civilised than eating a fresh pastry in a comfortable, loose lounge car chair while watching the mountains of the Nevis Range appear on the horizon above a breathtakingly golden moorland. I will never forget the looks on the faces of the people from Chelmsford sitting on the sofa behind as suddenly, a remote blue loch appeared out of nowhere amid a mountainous wonderland- in a wilderness unimaginable to people in the built-up London commuting towns.
The rest of the book is thoroughly enjoyable! Just don’t poke unnecessary fun at my homeland- the fun should be had describing what’s excellent about it!
October 22, 2011 at 6:15 pm |
Brilliant book and enjoyed it so much! Since the book was written, Sunderland station has had a £7.5 million facelift and won an award – its nice now.
Also, you’ve missed out one of the most impressive railway journeys in the UK – that being the line north of Durham to Edinburgh. The views are dramatic and coming across the King Edward Bridge into Newcastle makes me proud (being from the North East). I love how the route straddles the cliff edge in Northumberland and to see the waves crash against the rocks at 125mph is exhilarating.
Thanks and to the next one!
Oh, can you sort out Thameslink?