All Line Rover experience
Over recent months, there have been many observations about the Oxford to Cambridge rail link. As a local who travels regularly to East Anglia, I wish the authorities would face up to it and secure the link.
It is alarming that there are proposals for a duplicate road expressway, which would diminish the success of a rail link. And while I acknowledge that not all rail or road journeys to and from Oxford would originate in the city, there are plans to make Oxford city centre free of diesel and petrol vehicles in the near future. In the light of this, and with doubts about electric vehicles, ought not the restoration of rail links be a priority?
And I was interested by Howard Johnston’s experiences on a First Class seven-day All Line Rover ticket - mine were not dissimilar, particularly with regard to the catering. His comments about the food offered on the Caledonian Sleeper were both damning and accurate.
I always make a point of travelling on the 1716 from Cardiff towards Shrewsbury and Chester, as one enjoys a superb evening meal. And this year I sampled Great Western Railway’s Pullman-style service on a midday train from Plymouth - it was excellent and well worth the money.
When I purchased the All Line Rover ticket, the clerk observed that he had sold four of them over several years, which is a pity. Perhaps the Rover/Ranger tickets ought to be promoted more widely - I know from conversations with friends that they are astonished that such a ticket exists.
At Manchester Piccadilly, the young lady who examined my ticket after it was rejected at the barrier machine (not uncommon, as only Cardiff Central lets one through) handed it to a senior colleague as it was her first day there. Her colleague told her that it was rare to see such a ticket, but both of them were very pleasant, waving me through and apologised for delaying me.
This brings me to a further point, that in my experience over the past two decades, railway staff are very helpful and kind. All credit to them for caring for their passengers - it was not always so! Henry Flower, Oxford