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[Bigron]

On the basis of what you say, Lizzie, I think that the best solution would be to concrete over all of the railway lines and convert to road traffic - maybe without speed limits, as there won't be any pedestrians to get in the way?
That's another plank in my Ministerial Transport Policy! 

Ron.

[aaronjb]

What a pity that his broad gauge system wasn't adopted universally; we would have had a safer network with greatly improved carrying capacity.

No idea what gauge is used in France, but their trains seem to work much better than ours, so I don't think the gauge is the only thing to blame!

Of course, they also have the nifty double-decker coaches most places, and they've figured out air conditioning on the Metro, unlike most of the London underground...

Given the choice of the train or a Taxi from CDG to Paris, I'd take the train every time - given the choice of the train or driving from anywhere to Heathrow, I'd drive every time

[Lizzie Zoom]

What a pity that his broad gauge system wasn't adopted universally; we would have had a safer network with greatly improved carrying capacity.

No idea what gauge is used in France, but their trains seem to work much better than ours, so I don't think the gauge is the only thing to blame!

Of course, they also have the nifty double-decker coaches most places, and they've figured out air conditioning on the Metro, unlike most of the London underground...

Given the choice of the train or a Taxi from CDG to Paris, I'd take the train every time - given the choice of the train or driving from anywhere to Heathrow, I'd drive every time

They use Standard gauge, 4 foot 8 1/2 inches, like us, as do most of Europe apart from Spain.  That is why trains can run freely through the Chunnel and travel across most of Europe.

The likes of Russia and Spain use gauges that are classed as "Broad Gauge" of around 5 foot.  However, that is NOT the Broad Gauge Brunel used and promoted of 7 foot 1/2 inch; that would have made a tremendous difference to all railway operations and their profits

[Marks DTM Calib]

What a pity that his broad gauge system wasn't adopted universally; we would have had a safer network with greatly improved carrying capacity.

No idea what gauge is used in France, but their trains seem to work much better than ours, so I don't think the gauge is the only thing to blame!

Gauge is more than the distance between rails, the UKs most limiting factor is the ancient infrastructure which restricts the height and width of rolling stock (its so bad in places specific rolling stock was produced for certain lines....Hasting branch being the classic with slimmed down Locos and trains)

[Sir Tigger KC]

They use Standard gauge, 4 foot 8 1/2 inches, like us, as do most of Europe apart from Spain.  That is why trains can run freely through the Chunnel and travel across most of Europe.

I thought they'd outlawed the use of imperial measurements in the EU, so surely that should be 2.2479m gauge?   

[LC0112G]

Gauge is more than the distance between rails, the UKs most limiting factor is the ancient infrastructure which restricts the height and width of rolling stock (its so bad in places specific rolling stock was produced for certain lines....Hasting branch being the classic with slimmed down Locos and trains)

Yep, and another daft fact was that when the Channel Tunnel first opened the Electric locos used to pull the car and lorry trains through the chunnel were too large to travel on the rail-lines to their servicing depot at Willsden Junction in North West London. So the Locos were loaded onto road transporters and driven up the M20/M25 to the depot. Barking.

[Lizzie Zoom]

What a pity that his broad gauge system wasn't adopted universally; we would have had a safer network with greatly improved carrying capacity.

No idea what gauge is used in France, but their trains seem to work much better than ours, so I don't think the gauge is the only thing to blame!

Gauge is more than the distance between rails, the UKs most limiting factor is the ancient infrastructure which restricts the height and width of rolling stock (its so bad in places specific rolling stock was produced for certain lines....Hasting branch being the classic with slimmed down Locos and trains)

Yes indeed, but we had been talking of track gauge. But you are right, and apart from the Great Central Railway main line, completed  in 1899, none of the UK's infrastructure allows for the height of railway stock, even on the ex- GWR broad gauge lines. The GRC was built with high speed running of the future in mind, with heightened structures and wide shallow cuttings, with a connection envisaged with a line to a Chunnel across to France.  It could have been the first British HS1, but as usual with the lack of imagination and faith in the railways it was closed successively in the 1960's as a Beeching casualty.

[Lizzie Zoom]

They use Standard gauge, 4 foot 8 1/2 inches, like us, as do most of Europe apart from Spain.  That is why trains can run freely through the Chunnel and travel across most of Europe.

I thought they'd outlawed the use of imperial measurements in the EU, so surely that should be 2.2479m gauge?   

I'm an Imperial minded Lady so let the Europeans call it what it likes!

...and anyway standard gauge there is 1,435 millimetres (4' 8 1/2")

As a sideline note I have always chuckled over the Spanish Canfranc International Railway Station in the Pyrenees, that was an extensive complex built to speedily handle through traffic into France and back.  However a mistake was made somewhere during the planning.  It was suddenly realised that the Spanish track gauge of 5 ft 5.8 inches (1,672 millimetres) did not match the French main line gauge of 4' 8 1/2" (1,435 millimetres)!!  Ooooops!

Up until 1970 all that meant that lengthy stops took place with an interchange of passengers between Spanish trains and French trains!

Also, as an interesting historical fact, many Nazis escaped to Spain as the Third Reich collapsed taking their looted wealth!

[TheBoy]

Remove the subsidies, and see if *anyone* can run it.  We need the money to pay for the other pink elephant, the NHS.  And now we (or the 52%) have properly buggered ourselves financially as a country, the government need to plant some money trees

[aaronjb]

Remove the subsidies, and see if *anyone* can run it.  We need the money to pay for the other pink elephant, the NHS.  And now we (or the 52%) have properly buggered ourselves financially as a country, the government need to plant some money trees

BOE says the economy is doing so well, they think interest rates should go up. So clearly you are peddling fake news  (OK, 3 of 9 say that..)

[ronnyd]

Remove the subsidies, and see if *anyone* can run it.  We need the money to pay for the other pink elephant, the NHS.  And now we (or the 52%) have properly buggered ourselves financially as a country, the government need to plant some money trees

BOE says the economy is doing so well, they think interest rates should go up. So clearly you are peddling fake news  (OK, 3 of 9 say that..)

Wasn,t it Mark Carney who was telling us how bad things were going to be if we voted to leave the corrupt EU.

[aaronjb]

Remove the subsidies, and see if *anyone* can run it.  We need the money to pay for the other pink elephant, the NHS.  And now we (or the 52%) have properly buggered ourselves financially as a country, the government need to plant some money trees

BOE says the economy is doing so well, they think interest rates should go up. So clearly you are peddling fake news  (OK, 3 of 9 say that..)

Wasn,t it Mark Carney who was telling us how bad things were going to be if we voted to leave the corrupt EU.

Apparently they've changed their minds But now Airbus are telling us they'll take 15,000 jobs out of the UK along with tens of thousands of other jobs in suppliers, if May doesn't (effectively) stay in the EU.. so maybe BOE will change their mind.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Might the well timed threats from Airbus have any connection to the fact that they have received around 10 million Euros in grants from the EU ? 
He who pays the piper...…..

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Sorry, that's wrong. Don't know what I was thinking when I typed that figure. It should have been $22 billion !!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44120525

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

My guess is big business will ensure we stay in the customs union and the single market.

So.....we won't really be leaving the EU even after we leave the EU.