Sheldon Cooper's Lament

I enjoyed the trains when I spent 7 weeks galavanting about Europe. I still flew from Edinburgh->Amsterdam, Amsterdam->Berlin, and Rome->Paris. All my other legs were by train*. The density over there certainly helps.

*The full trip was something like this...
London->Wales->Manchester->Edinburgh->Scottish Highlands (bus tour)->Amsterdam->Berlin->Prague->Vienna->Venice (kinda)->Rome->Paris

I like the idea of a full service train. Unlike a plane you could put all those extra cars to work if you wanted for different passenger interests.. (a gambling express train! The ball is really random in roulette with all the bumps)

But I don't know that they are all that practical. Like a resort in AC, if you don't get enough support from a customer base you could probably go under pretty quick. Then it all goes back to nickel and diming the customers and cutting space by crowding 3 people where 2 use to sit.

I've never travelled by rail, unless you want to count the subway in Mexico City. All I know about trains is what I've picked up from TV and the movies, plus a few books. From such portrayals, it would seem rail was both better and worse than travelling by plane. All depending on what you could afford.

Quote: TheCesspit

The city centre-city centre nature of trains in the UK is why I much prefer taking the train from London to Edinburgh rather than flying. It's almost as fast given that I don't have to check in or wait at either end for baggage, it's a fair bit cheaper, and just much more pleasant in terms of seating, wireless and view.

London to Edinburgh is 400 miles in about 4.5 hours during the day. Although you can get to Heathrow Airport by underground, it is much easier to get to the train station. It's a huge cost savings overall, and it costs relatively little time. In a perfect world, they should be able to almost eliminate flights from one location to another within Britain (or at least England+Glasgow+Edinburgh+Cardiff).

Even early in the morning it takes 6:37 on an Acela to travel from Boston to Washington DC (400 miles).

The express to Heathrow is about 15 minutes now, once you get to Paddington. Paddington though is in a weird corner of the tube, and a pain to get to from the North or East or South of London.

There is no London/Cardiff flight these days. The train from London to Cardiff is about 2h30m. London/Glasgow is seeing significant route upgrades, as the London/Birmingham and Birmingham/Manchester sections get upgraded.

London-Edinburgh is still useful if you are connecting on through to other parts of the world, like, say western Canada.

Quote: TheCesspit

The express to Heathrow is about 15 minutes now, once you get to Paddington. Paddington though is in a weird corner of the tube, and a pain to get to from the North or East or South of London.

It isn't worth it. The hotels near Paddington are expensive and boring. If you take the train, you have to wait in line for an expensive taxi since you can't get on the underground there with luggage.

The underground to Heathrow has extra space for your luggage, and you can usually get off and walk to a decent hotel.

The Strand Palace is old, but you can't beat the location.

Quote: Pacomartin

It isn't worth it. The hotels near Paddington are expensive and boring. If you take the train, you have to wait in line for an expensive taxi since you can't get on the underground there with luggage.

The underground to Heathrow has extra space for your luggage, and you can usually get off and walk to a decent hotel.

Nope, those are standard Piccadilly line trains. The Circle/District Line trains through Paddington are more designed for commuters with less luggage, for sure. I've gone by tube from Paddington to other places with a big bag. But not during rush hour.

Paddington IS worth it if coming/going to the West (Cardiff, Oxford, Swindon, Taunton, Penzance).

I'd certainly not be staying IN Paddington if I can help it. The 30-50 minute tube ride is something some people hate... I don't mind it if I have given it plenty of time to reach my destination (made from Heathrow for my train north last time, with a bit of a dash through Kings X).

Quote:

The Strand Palace is old, but you can't beat the location.

I much prefer flying into Gatwick, but that hardly ever happens. Express takes you to Victoria, slower train to London Bridge or King's Cross, good connections to the rest of the UK. Virgin flies LV top Gatwick as I recall.

Quote: TheCesspit

Nope, those are standard Piccadilly line trains. The Circle/District Line trains through Paddington are more designed for commuters with less luggage, for sure. I've gone by tube from Paddington to other places with a big bag. But not during rush hour.

Paddington IS worth it if coming/going to the West (Cardiff, Oxford, Swindon, Taunton, Penzance).

I'd certainly not be staying IN Paddington if I can help it. The 30-50 minute tube ride is something some people hate... I don't mind it if I have given it plenty of time to reach my destination (made from Heathrow for my train north last time, with a bit of a dash through Kings X).

I much prefer flying into Gatwick, but that hardly ever happens. Express takes you to Victoria, slower train to London Bridge or King's Cross, good connections to the rest of the UK. Virgin flies LV top Gatwick as I recall.

The Piccadilly cars were specially designed in the early 1970s to cater for airline passengers carrying baggage, extra floor space has been provided, made possible by setting back the glass screens at door openings to provide larger vestibules than normal. They don't have shelves like the Heathrow or Gatwick Express. I've learned that in rush hour you can put your luggage at the end of the car, but people will sit on it. You have to pack accordingly, and put your breakables in a smaller bag that you can hold on your lap. Also, theoretically someone could run out the door with your luggage, so don't put anything valuable in it.

There used to be more flights from the USA into Gatwick, but with the exception of Las Vegas and Orlando, they moved all the flights from the USA into Heathrow.

I guess Paddington is more convenient if you are going west, but I was almost always staying in London or going South toward Plymouth .

I've stayed in 10 different hotels in London over the years, the best being the Langham. The Avalon Hotel was the first one when I was age 18. I just liked the convenience of Strand Palace and I can live with the small rooms.

As ever, I learn something new (you mean Piccadilly Line cars, but I getcha). I used the Piccadilly Line a lot when living in London, heading out on a different branch to Heathrow, or just going into and out of the city centre, so never really thought much about them. I always keep my bag infront of me in the aisle, or stand next to it if it's slightly busy. I've often just been sitting for 10 hours.

There was talk of a Heathrow/Waterloo express, which would be very convenient, especially if they added check in desks at the station. Ah well, one can dream.

The Plymouth train runs out of Paddington (pretty deep into the West Country). Or do you mean Portsmouth? Lived on the mainline from Portsmouth to London growing up. Very convenient for a fast train into the city.

Yes, I meant Piccadilly. I had Paddington on the brain. And yes I also mean Portsmouth. There was a big naval research center there.