HS2 and Fradley Junction

[John V]

Realy,?

 

I suggest you check your facts.

 

Family and friends as it is now called....£30 for anyone

[nbfiresprite]

The facts http://www.familyandfriends-railcard.co.uk/using-your-railcard/are-you-eligible/

 

 

Are you eligible?

 

Two adults can be named as cardholders on your Family and Friends Railcard. You don't need to travel together but you do need to be travelling with at least one child between the ages of 5 and 15 to be eligible for the discount. What's more, up to four adults and four children can travel on the same card and receive the savings. You don’t need to be related either, so it’s great for big fun days out.

 

The great news is that if you’re with kids under 5, they travel completely free. Each adult can have up to two ‘under 5s’ with them. But if there’s only one child in the group and they’re under 5, you’ll need to buy them a child ticket to be eligible for the Family & Friends discount. And remember that all child fares are subject to a £1 minimum fare.

 

If your little one turns 16 before your 1-year Family & Friends Railcard runs out, they can still travel at the discounted child fare for as long as the card is still valid.

 

If you’ve got a 3-year Railcard and your child turns 16 before it runs out, they can carry on travelling at the discounted child rate until the day before they turn 17.

[Guest]

The facts http://www.familyandfriends-railcard.co.uk/using-your-railcard/are-you-eligible/

 

 

Are you eligible?

 

Two adults can be named as cardholders on your Family and Friends Railcard. You don't need to travel together but you do need to be travelling with at least one child between the ages of 5 and 15 to be eligible for the discount. What's more, up to four adults and four children can travel on the same card and receive the savings. You dont need to be related either, so its great for big fun days out.

 

The great news is that if youre with kids under 5, they travel completely free. Each adult can have up to two under 5s with them. But if theres only one child in the group and theyre under 5, youll need to buy them a child ticket to be eligible for the Family & Friends discount. And remember that all child fares are subject to a £1 minimum fare.

 

If your little one turns 16 before your 1-year Family & Friends Railcard runs out, they can still travel at the discounted child fare for as long as the card is still valid.

 

If youve got a 3-year Railcard and your child turns 16 before it runs out, they can carry on travelling at the discounted child rate until the day before they turn 17.

Yes. I read that.

 

Families often consist of older children, mine are 26 and 32, hence it was not economically viable for us all to travel to Cornwall by train last September.

 

The car won again in terms of both cost and convienience. It was stupid money and too many changes to contemplate.

Edited October 7, 2014 by The Dog House

[Graham Davis]

Just a small point but 1500+ tonnes of coal per train is closer to the mark. To put that in perspective, more than 50 maximum weight HGVs would be needed to replace each train.

 

George ex nb Alton retired

 

My apologies, fat finger syndrome. Most of the stuff on our line is around 800 tonnes.

 

Yes. I read that.

 

Families often consist of older children, mine are 26 and 32, hence it was not economically viable for us all to travel to Cornwall by train last September.

 

The car won again in terms of both cost and convienience. It was stupid money and too many changes to contemplate.

 

Somewhat trite response, but then of course you could use this card instead:

http://www.twotogether-railcard.co.uk/

 

I was amazed to find out the other week, that since I wear a NHS hearing aid, I'm entitled to a Disabled Persons Railcard, and that gives me a better deal that a "Coffin Dodgers" Card, as I can take someone with me at the same discount.

[Ange]

 

Somewhat trite response, but then of course you could use this card instead:

http://www.twotogether-railcard.co.uk/

 

I was amazed to find out the other week, that since I wear a NHS hearing aid, I'm entitled to a Disabled Persons Railcard, and that gives me a better deal that a "Coffin Dodgers" Card, as I can take someone with me at the same discount.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that this card now existed. In the past I've complained that they have railcards for students, families with children and old folks but nothing for us middle aged farts

 

After a 5 1/2 hour car journey down to Kent last weekend followed by a 4 hour journey back I'm looking into the rail alternative. You do have to get clever with ticketing though (worth consulting Money Saving Expert) - it's not a two minute job because the pricing discrepancies are ridiculous. I'm exploring the split ticketing options to see if I can get the price down to an affordable alternative to the hellish road journey. Plus the cost of booking the dog in kennels of course - no way would our little girl stand that sort of train journey with a tube interchange!

 

ETA We're back in Kent for Remembrance Weekend (a big family get together which we miss on pain of death, despite having travelled down last weekend for our niece's 18th birthday celebrations) I'll do my research and report back regardless of the results, I'm hopefully optimistic but will admit if the experiment is a failure.

 

I'm of a mind to open a new thread - I think passenger travel is very much a sideline to getting those lorries off the road and putting freight back on the railways - there's certainly not enough capacity now and whilst I feel genuine sympathy for those whose houses are blighted I can only see the alternative as being other people's houses blighted by new roads at a worse environmental cost.

 

(Before anyone shouts hypocrite - yes my hubby is currently doing his CPC after passing his practical HGV2 so he can drive lorries for a living, but that's a pragmatic choice for us locally - he won't be driving long distance and in my utopia would be transporting the freight a few miles from the train depot to the customer )

Edited October 7, 2014 by Ange

[Guest]

My apologies, fat finger syndrome. Most of the stuff on our line is around 800 tonnes.

 

 

 

Somewhat trite response, but then of course you could use this card instead:

http://www.twotogether-railcard.co.uk/

 

I was amazed to find out the other week, that since I wear a NHS hearing aid, I'm entitled to a Disabled Persons Railcard, and that gives me a better deal that a "Coffin Dodgers" Card, as I can take someone with me at the same discount.

Hells teeth. How complicated do they want to make it?

 

Does that avoid all the changes or will the train pull up at my front door and drop me where I want to be?

 

Jump in your car and drive, door to door, simple and in most cases much cheaper too.

[Southern Star]

 

 

I'm of a mind to open a new thread - I think passenger travel is very much a sideline to getting those lorries off the road and putting freight back on the railways - there's certainly not enough capacity now and whilst I feel genuine sympathy for those whose houses are blighted I can only see the alternative as being other people's houses blighted by new roads at a worse environmental cost.

 

(Before anyone shouts hypocrite - yes my hubby is currently doing his CPC after passing his practical HGV2 so he can drive lorries for a living, but that's a pragmatic choice for us locally - he won't be driving long distance and in my utopia would be transporting the freight a few miles from the train depot to the customer )

Not hypocrisy at all, I operate my own truck, an articulated lorry, but I still support the idea of goods being moved by the most efficient method. If that be rail, then so be it. It must be said though that in the majority of cases rail is not the most efficient method, I believe the point at which rail becomes more efficient is "2000 tonnes over 200 miles" and certainly nothing I do could be done by rail.

[furnessvale]

 

My apologies, fat finger syndrome. Most of the stuff on our line is around 800 tonnes.

 

 

No problem. 800 tonnes equates to 11 wagons. I have never seen main line coal that small. Are they perhaps splitting the train (maybe gradients from the dock) and then combining for the main line run?

 

George ex nb Alton retired

[furnessvale]

Not hypocrisy at all, I operate my own truck, an articulated lorry, but I still support the idea of goods being moved by the most efficient method. If that be rail, then so be it. It must be said though that in the majority of cases rail is not the most efficient method, I believe the point at which rail becomes more efficient is "2000 tonnes over 200 miles" and certainly nothing I do could be done by rail.

I applaud your sentiments, especially from a haulier where I often find major hostility to rail.

 

I think your figures are a touch draconian. Where I live there are a number of trainloads of stone each day to various locations. The largest carry around 2000 tonnes but the smaller ones can weigh less than 1000 tonnes and some are travelling less than 30 miles. Very few existing freight trains in the UK would pass both your criteria.

 

George ex nb Alton retired

[John V]

Ah! the days of your goods being delivered to your door on the back of Scammel Townsman !

 

British Rail smashem and bashem department could have taught modern delivery drivers a thing or two

[Pluto]

Surely there should be some consideration of why we need transport, and should we be providing so many facilities. Basically, transport is money down the drain. It might get things to market, but it doesn't add any value. And what about commuting? Is someone who has to travel several hours everyday away from family and friends being successful? Perhaps we should reconsider our priorities, though this is difficult in a world which equates money with success.

 

If you look back at infrastructure redevelopments, in general, the most successful ones have been those promoted and built as local projects. Canals and railways are good examples, with the earliest, and most successful, having been essentially local affairs. Introducing London money markets and values has often been the death knell for projects.

 

And what about planning blight. There have been some posts complaining about a £50k fall in property markets along the line of HS2. Well, up here in East Lancashire, you can still by property for £50k. Forget transport improvements until we reassess our economic base which currently results in such variations in property prices. Of course, that will also mean reintroducing jobs for the less intelligent and paying them a reasonable wage. Today, all economic planning seems to be based on the idea of employment for highly skilled workers, conveniently forgetting that not everyone is capable of such work. We need to find employment for them as well, and I don't see how HS2 will help that.

[Graham Davis]

No problem. 800 tonnes equates to 11 wagons. I have never seen main line coal that small. Are they perhaps splitting the train (maybe gradients from the dock) and then combining for the main line run?

 

George ex nb Alton retired

 

Sorry, haven't been at work for a few months (Industrial Injury), but the problem on our line is Llanvihangel Bank near Abergavenny.

 

TBH, I'm sure that our complainant would be even more up in arms when he realised how many lorries it would need to replace the coal trains out of Portbury.

Edited October 8, 2014 by Graham Davis

[Graham Davis]

 

If you look back at infrastructure redevelopments, in general, the most successful ones have been those promoted and built as local projects. Canals and railways are good examples, with the earliest, and most successful, having been essentially local affairs. Introducing London money markets and values has often been the death knell for projects.

 

 

Err? No.

Wasn't the Bridgwater built to take coal from the coal mines to Manchester? Might be local now, but it certainly wasn't then.

And weren't the canals of the North Midlands built to take the products of the Potteries to the ports in the North West? They aren't local.

[Pluto]

 

Err? No.

Wasn't the Bridgwater built to take coal from the coal mines to Manchester? Might be local now, but it certainly wasn't then.

And weren't the canals of the North Midlands built to take the products of the Potteries to the ports in the North West? They aren't local.

There were certainly not national in their ambitions. The T&MC serving the Potteries was principally financed by people living along its route, while the original plan for the Bridgewater was a canal just five or six miles long, so definitely local in character. The distances haven't decreased over the years. The Duke changed his views on what the canal was to achieve whilst it was being built, hence the extension to Runcorn. Successful canals were built by local people who wanted to improve their local economy, sometimes by creating a regional route to a port. The decision and finance to build was local, sometimes with several local groups coming together, as with the L&LC.

[comfortably numb]

So am I correct in thinking that HS2 Phase 1 will still be crossing the canal near to Fradley Junction somewhere around the sharp bend towards Fradley Junction?

 

If this is so then despite the other 2 crossings being cancelled it would nevertheless still be a blight on the area.

[Guest]

So am I correct in thinking that HS2 Phase 1 will still be crossing the canal near to Fradley Junction somewhere around the sharp bend towards Fradley Junction?

 

If this is so then despite the other 2 crossings being cancelled it would nevertheless still be a blight on the area.

As I read it its one crossing instead of three.

 

The two that have been removed crossed at arguably the nicest bit ie at Woodend lock. So it is a definite improvement for sure. Be thankful for small mercies I would say.

 

However it's hard to tell as to date I can't find a map of the revised route just a description of it.

[casper ghost]

If they allowed some of these London jobs to move north they wouldn't need this HS2.. They've just spent £15billion linking some underground stations in London to cut journey times... and yet, where I live, there isn't even a bus I can get to work, and the nearest train station, except the steam line, is 15 mile away.

Casp'

[PaulD]

As I read it its one crossing instead of three.

 

The two that have been removed crossed at arguably the nicest bit ie at Woodend lock. So it is a definite improvement for sure. Be thankful for small mercies I would say.

 

However it's hard to tell as to date I can't find a map of the revised route just a description of it.

 

I've also been looking for the revised route without success. I read that the remaining crossing has been shifted a bit to avoid demolishing the Fradley Park industrial estate. Still crosses somewhere above Shadehouse lock, probably where the nice moorings are.

 

It still seems to run straight through / over Great Heywood marina unless I am looking at an old route.

[5thHorseman]

The route appears to pass Great Haywood Marina on the open ground just to the Stone side of the Marina and then crosses the West Coast mainline at a right angle

 

http://assets.hs2.org.uk/sites/default/files/consultation_library/pdf/Route%20section%20HSM03%20plan%20and%20profile%20sheet%204%20of%207.pdf