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Following our theme of late trains, the Telegraph posted this heart-breaking letter from a 6-year old girl to rail bosses.  The article states….

A six-year-old girl has written a “heartbreaking” letter to rail chiefs begging them to get her father home on time so he can tuck her into bed…..

But because of delays and cancelled trains between Uckfield and London Bridge, Mr Porter is “constantly” late home to see his six-year-old daughter Ella before she goes to bed.

And as for the letter…

“Dear Mr Railway Man, my daddy is always late home and I miss him very much because he always used to tuck me into bed.

“This makes me upset.

“Please get him home on time. Daddy says you take all his money, that is why I can’t go to Disneyland. i really want to go to Disneyland.”

She signs off, writing “Ella, aged six”.

Point taken!  Mind you, Uckfield is somewhere out in the wilds on the end of a partially single tracked line.  I like the excuse for not going to Disneyland.  I was always in trouble for not going.  And I could never use rail fares as an excuse – I can walk to work.

But there may be some hope.  Is Hong Kong taking over our trains?  Another article from the Daily Telegraph:

Almost a third of all Britain’s trains have been bought by billionaire Hong Kong investor Li Ka-shing after rolling stock group Eversholt Rail was sold to CK Investments (CKI).

Eversholt owns 28pc of Britain’s passenger trains and was bought in a deal that will see the current owners receive about £1bn, with CKI taking on £1.5bn of the rolling stock group’s debt.

The company leases its mainly electrically-powered fleet – which comprises about 3,500 vehicles – to 11 of Britain’s train operating companies…..

Eversholt began life as one of three rolling stock companies formed when British Rail was privatised and was owned by HSBC between 1997 and 2010.

The sale shows the continuing attraction of Britain’s infrastructure assets, which produce long term and stable returns for their owners…..

CKI is jointly owned by Cheung Kong, Li Ka-shing’s flagship company, and Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings, which is chaired by his son Victor Li.

From the BBC News site this week, describing a new exhibition, “Playing Trains”, at the National Railway Museum in York:

What is it about toy trains that has continued to entertain children, admittedly mostly boys, for nearly two centuries? A major new exhibition is about to find out.

They ran to your own personal timetable. Engineering work at weekends was rare. And there were never leaves on the line, just the occasional bit of fluff from the living room carpet.

For decades, toy trains have enthralled generations of youngsters – and this coming March the National Railway Museum, in York, looks into why children love them so much, in its exhibition Playing Trains.

The NRM describes its exhibition thus:

Trains can be big. Trains can be small. They can be fast or slow, noisy or quiet, grimy or shiny, long or short. There are lots of reasons we all like them so much. They are in some of our favourite stories and we can build huge tracks for them that seem to go on for miles. They can even take us to the zoo or to the seaside.

In our new exhibition, Playing Trains, come and find out what you like most about them most. The exhibition will be full of interactives and amazing objects to let young and old explore why we love all things trains when we’re children.

Featuring in Playing Trains will be some of our fantastic tinplate toy collections, models large and small, and a specially restored bedset from the 1930s built to look like an engine with a luxury carriage.

We’re putting the finishing touches to the exhibition and the website soon so check back soon to see some of the exciting things we’ve been working on.

 

The exhibition runs from 20 March – 4 September 2015.  Perhaps worth a visit together with the York MRC show?

From the BBC News site this week, quoting the Metro:

Metro, a free newspaper largely targeted at commuters, is never short of horror stories from those using Britain’s public transport network.

But in the story of the 07:29 from Brighton to London Victoria, it may have hit the mother lode. The paper says official documents have shown the Southern Rail service was not on time on any of its 240 journeys to the capital in 2014.

One traveller is quoted as saying: “‘I don’t expect to arrive on time. The train always slows down.

“The Brits put up with it but it’s always been the same, trains have always been bad in this country.”

“The new revelation comes only a week after rail commuters – who fork up to £5,000 a year for a season ticket – were forced to pay 2.5 percent more for their fares,” Metro adds.

Southern Rail chief David Scorey says: “I don’t think we’re delivering the level of performance customers expect.”

But he adds that demand for seats and trains makes the network his company operates seem like the M25 at rush hour.

“If there is the most minor of problem or delay on a train, another train can be thrown off its path or slot on the network by a couple of minutes which can sometimes then snowball,” he tells the paper.

“The options of what we can do are quite limited,” he concludes.

The Times editorial imagines an exchange between two Southern Rail employees.

“Is a late train that’s always late actually late?” muses one.

“Yes. Yes it is. 240 times in 2014,” replies the other.

“No, no. I mean like if nobody is there to hear it, does a tree falling in a forest make any sound?” the philosophical railwayman continues.

“Don’t care if it falls in the forest. Only if it falls on the line. And it’s bound to happen, eventually,” his more literally minded colleague responds.

Brighton line commuters may appreciate the Waiting For Godot-like quality of the Times’ sketch while they do some waiting of their own.

Sean – is this your fault?