Barry Doe
“All new trains are basic, have barren interiors with glaring lights, offer no proper meals, and you have to endure all this while sitting on seats, even in First Class, that you’d never allow in your home.”
AFTER a prostate operation ten years ago, I was ‘confined to barracks’ for a week and then restricted to walking or using a bus for a further month.
Seeing my specialist at the end of that month, he told me all was well, adding: “You’ll be able to drive from tomorrow.”
I couldn’t resist the riposte: “You’re an even better specialist than I thought you were, because I couldn’t drive before!”
He enjoyed the humour. And to his credit, when he had come into hospital to see me at the weekend, he cycled, saying how excellent it was for his health. Over the past 65 years, cycling has been hugely beneficial for my health, too - and for my pocket, as well as being a relaxed way of life.
After all, I’ve never been to a garage, bought petrol, queued or paid for a parking space, or taxed and insured (let alone bought) a car. A bike can always be left outside the required shop, too! Travel within my home town has always been by bike or bus, with anything further afield by rail.
Since I started keeping records in 1967, I have travelled 1.06 million miles on 22,325 trains, and in so doing covered every line in Britain, save for the occasional newish chord such as the Hitchin flyover.
However, I have to say that were I starting today, I wouldn’t do the same. I would learn to drive and buy a car for long-distance journeys - bad for the environment, bad for my pocket and less safe, so why?
The answer is simple: that rail no longer offers quality travel for long distances in Britain. Up until early this century it did - comfortable seats in coaches that had real ambience and the ability to eat on the move. All that has gone.
All new trains are basic, have barren interiors with glaring lights, offer no proper meals, and you have to endure all this while sitting on seats, even in First Class, that you’d never allow in your home.
As a result, I have lost interest in travelling out of London on inter-city routes, for the scenery cannot compensate for the lack of comfort and the poor on-board service.
It’s an irony that in the 1960s, no cars had airconditioning - indeed, most even lacked proper heaters. Against that, Mk 1 coaches were comfortable, warm in winter, and meals were always available on trunk routes.
British Rail kept improving and ended up with the Mk 3, the finest coach ever built (although the Mk 4 came a close second). No wonder the High Speed Train transformed inter-city travel - the early sets had a kitchen and dining car at one end and a buffet serving hot snacks in the centre.
Fast forward to the train that has killed British long-distance travel: the Hitachi Intercity Express Train (IET). Great Western Railway shows them at their worst, with no buffet at all and just cold snacks from a trolley on some trains if you’re lucky.
Yes, every set has a kitchen, but it’s disused save for a handful of ‘Pullmans’ a day in preCOVID times. The seats are awful, First Class has no curtains or reading lights, and glaring ceiling lights spoil the view from the window.
Compare that with today’s cars, which have air-conditioning, very comfortable and adjustable seats, and a genuine ambience long gone from our trains.
I don’t wholly blame our railway operators, for the Hitachi interiors were specified by the Department for Transport. If you want comfort, the State won’t provide it. Independently managed British Rail did - but that’s now history. Don’t imagine that with concessions quality will ever return.
Oddly enough, my enjoyment today comes from travelling with my local operator, South Western Railway.
Siemens, which built the Class 444 Desiro trains, is an excellent manufacturer, and even though the ‘444’ is relatively high-density, the seats are better than on most inter-city trains. Indeed, with last year’s refurbishment, First Class was provided with curtains and reading lights and thus ambience is preserved.
Does ambience matter? Well, would those who kit out IETs and Azumas like to live in houses with glaring strip lighting in the ceiling, no curtains at the windows, and hard chairs to sit on?
Yes, there are pockets of quality remaining, such as GWR’s and ScotRail’s short HSTs, and the Class 175s with Transport for Wales - and the Pendolino is good (but will it survive its forthcoming refurbishment?).
Meanwhile, even East Midlands Railway and open access operator Hull Trains have gone for Hitachi, yet HT used to offer excellent accommodation and superb meals.
Why is there no open access operator interested in providing a genuinely upmarket service, at least in First Class, rather than merely undercutting other operators on price?
Long-distance travel on Advance fares is very cheap in this country, but operators merely want to pack people in rather than offer high standards. As a result, a whole market is being ignored.
I would be happy to pay a walk-on First Class fare in return for a premium service. I don’t just mean a decent seat and a few freebies, but a proper Pullman-style at-seat service throughout - not one begrudgingly starting with a coffee half-an-hour into the journey.
I think food should be paid for, and I wouldn’t even mind if there was a ‘Pullman supplement’, too. This would get me back to long-distance rail… and I’m not alone.