- Posts: 614
- Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 9:12 pm
This is all starting to look a bit depressing. Fair play to the person who put those graphs up - very illuminating. It does seem as if the quality of the line deteriorates once you get passed Wootten Bassett. Is that generally true and has it always been the case? Amazing that it's 40 years since the inter-city trains came in and we're still in this position.
Thinking more economically what drives rail investment. I don't think it's largely about politics or bold(?) visions of the future - more a matter of meeting current demand. We live in a poor region of the UK and it's often forgotten that rail can be a bit of a luxury for many. I was talking to someone who'd gone on the coach to London. Might have taken 4hrs but it was so much cheaper that I doubt he would have ever considered a train. Quite understandably that's where a lot of Welsh people are. Greater economic success would drive more rail demand.