On 21/04/17 11:37, Tim Streater wrote:
In article , Roger Hayter
wrote:

Tim Streater wrote:

In article , charles
wrote:

In article ,
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Another John wrote:
In article ,
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:
Surely there is no point in running empty buses just in
case someone
need it?

That was the whole point of public services: they were there.
You knew
they were there, and you knew you could rely on them, and (in
the case
of buses), you could rely on a regular, frequent service. So
people
used them -- and I for one would use them again, if any of those
attributes still existed around here.
But if the busses are running empty, it's rather obvious people
aren't
using them. And saying you would use them if they were there it what
everyone says - but strangely didn't use them when they were there.

This was the argument used by Beeching to remove branch lines.
Change the
train times so that they are useless - don't make connections, etc, and
then claim nobody uses them.

Ah was that what he did, then? You know this do you?

I suspect that would have been completely unnecessary, there was no
shortage of tiny branch lines with no traffic already.

But he didn't just close "tiny branch lines with no traffic". He
closed, for instance the only North-South routes in Wales, which had,
and have, very poor road competition.

To be pedantic :-) he didn't close any, just recommended them for
closure.

But I don't think he needed to artificially reduce traffic. The policy
at the time was to just close even very busy routes, on the vague
grounds that road vehicles would turn out much cheaper and more
convenient.

The real shame is that the rights-of-way were not permanently held.
That would have allowed for them to be later re-used for rail, or
bus-ways or bike/walking routes f'rinstance. Such as parts of the Worth
Way in Sussex.

Fundamentally rail doesn't work in low density areas . The track and
staffing costs need high traffic volumes to justify the outlay.

There's lots of romantic crap talked about railways. I remember that to
get from Surrey to S wales took from 8 in the morning to 6 at night. You
can drive it in three to four hours these days. Door to door. No taxis
undergrounds, no need to go up to London and change twice..lugging heavy
luggage.


Beeching was 100% right to recommend closure of loss making rural branch
lines.

And I'll tell you something else: if home and teleworking takes off, you
can kiss good bye to dormitory towns and commuter traffic too.

And that means the end of commuter railways leaving just the high speed
intercity stuff. To compete with air travel in the sub 1000 mile routes


--
Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as
foolish, and by the rulers as useful.

(Seneca the Younger, 65 AD)