" wrote:
On 16.12.14 23:28, Recliner wrote:
Paul Corfield wrote:
On Tue, 16 Dec 2014 12:16:24 +0000 (UTC),
d wrote:

I noticed an ad in the Overground today - 93.55% of services arrived within
5 minutes of their booked time last month or whenever.

Are we supposed to be impressed? Its an abysmal statistic. In Japan the line
manager would have been sacked immediately if he hadn't already committed
hari kiri.

Last time I was in Japan it was raining on arrival. There was a long
list of services and lines which were disrupted, suspended or with
delays. It felt like being back in London. ;-)

Don't believe all the public hype about Japan. It's good but it's not
perfect by any stretch of the imagination. The network is also
immensely complicated even with the aid of a reasonable amount of
English signage on the system.

As Boltar is afraid of flying, I don't think he's actually been to Japan
and seen what their railways are like in the real world. He assumes their
hype vs the reality of London. The UK also has a growing population, unlike
Japan, which brings extra challenges.

Perhaps he took the train out to Vladivostok and took the ferry to Takaoka?

It's not impossible.

I think we'd have heard, repeatedly and at length, about the superiority of
the Trans Siberian to the railways of North East London, if he had.

In article , () wrote:

On 16.12.14 23:28, Recliner wrote:

As Boltar is afraid of flying, I don't think he's actually been to Japan
and seen what their railways are like in the real world. He assumes
their hype vs the reality of London. The UK also has a growing
population, unlike Japan, which brings extra challenges.

Perhaps he took the train out to Vladivostok and took the ferry to
Takaoka?

It's not impossible.

But, in the words of the Guide, very improbable.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

On 2014\12\16 23:05, Paul Corfield wrote:

The [Japanese] network is also
immensely complicated

.... which implies that Beeching did rail travellers a massive favour!

On 2014\12\17 08:55, Paul Corfield wrote:
On Wed, 17 Dec 2014 05:29:01 +0000, Basil Jet
wrote:

On 2014\12\16 23:05, Paul Corfield wrote:

The [Japanese] network is also
immensely complicated

... which implies that Beeching did rail travellers a massive favour!

Not really. I am sure that London's railways appear very complicated
to Japanese people but it doesn't mean you can't build up knowledge of
where they go and how they work. I wouldn't like to see an urban area
of 16m people cope with a "simple" Beeching-ed rail network.

The bigger difference in Tokyo (and elsewhere in Japan) is the extent
of through running between various main line railway companies and the
Subway networks. That is on a scale I've not seen anywhere else and
can be hard to uncover as a visitor. I found myself on platforms
waiting for a train to an interchange point only to find a through
service operates that I had no knowledge of.


I'm not sure how anyone could find this confusing.
http://www.newworldeconomics.com/arc...o_trainmap.jpg

On Tue, 16 Dec 2014 23:28:36 +0000 (UTC)
Recliner wrote:
As Boltar is afraid of flying, I don't think he's actually been to Japan

Oh dear, is that still all you can come up with? Being afraid of flying is
one thing. Hating flying is something else altogether. The whole miserable
experience from the 3 hour check in with the inevitable delays to the cattle
truck airliners, security checks, to the interminable wait for baggage at the
other end I would have thought is something any sane person would seek to avoid
if at all possible. If I have to go long haul I'll fly - for most of europe
I'll take the car thanks.

and seen what their railways are like in the real world. He assumes their
hype vs the reality of London. The UK also has a growing population, unlike
Japan, which brings extra challenges.

So you're saying tokyo is less crowded than london are you?

--
Spud

wrote:
On Tue, 16 Dec 2014 23:28:36 +0000 (UTC)
Recliner wrote:
As Boltar is afraid of flying, I don't think he's actually been to Japan

Oh dear, is that still all you can come up with? Being afraid of flying is
one thing. Hating flying is something else altogether. The whole miserable
experience from the 3 hour check in with the inevitable delays to the cattle
truck airliners, security checks, to the interminable wait for baggage at the
other end I would have thought is something any sane person would seek to avoid
if at all possible. If I have to go long haul I'll fly - for most of europe
I'll take the car thanks.

So that confirms you've never actually been to Japan? On my last trip
there, the flight was smooth and comfortable, I got a good sleep, and there
were no delays. Much the same is true of all my other recent long haul
flights.

Instead of blustering, why don't you get treatment for your phobia?

On Wed, 17 Dec 2014 09:31:13 +0000 (UTC)
Recliner wrote:
wrote:
On Tue, 16 Dec 2014 23:28:36 +0000 (UTC)
Recliner wrote:
As Boltar is afraid of flying, I don't think he's actually been to Japan

Oh dear, is that still all you can come up with? Being afraid of flying is
one thing. Hating flying is something else altogether. The whole miserable
experience from the 3 hour check in with the inevitable delays to the cattle
truck airliners, security checks, to the interminable wait for baggage at
the
other end I would have thought is something any sane person would seek to
avoid
if at all possible. If I have to go long haul I'll fly - for most of europe
I'll take the car thanks.

So that confirms you've never actually been to Japan? On my last trip

Nope. But I know people who have and I trust what they tell me.

there, the flight was smooth and comfortable, I got a good sleep, and there

Probably a godsend for the people sitting to you.

were no delays. Much the same is true of all my other recent long haul
flights.

Jolly good. Last time we drove to the Med we stopped off at more historic
towns and cities on the way than I can count and had a far more enriching trip
than if we'd piled into some Easyjet cattle truck at Luton along with a load
of mouth breathing chavs.

But hey, if you're afraid of driving long distance then don't worry, plenty of
people are. Which is fine by me - the french and spanish motorways are nice and
empty compared to here )

Instead of blustering, why don't you get treatment for your phobia?

Awww, you just can't let it go can you? Like a little puppy with a ball.
Bless )

--
Spud

On 17/12/2014 11:30, Paul Corfield wrote:

On Wed, 17 Dec 2014 09:09:10 +0000, Basil Jet
wrote:

I'm not sure how anyone could find this confusing.
http://www.newworldeconomics.com/arc...o_trainmap.jpg

I prefer this one in a LU stylee

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kzaral...21846/sizes/o/


Ouch, brain hurts!

I've pointed various newcomers to our metropolis in the direction of the
combo London Rail & Tube Map (i.e. the latter day incarnation of the
London Connections map - why don't they just call it that?!), to
demonstrate there's more to London than the Tube. This is sometimes met
with bewilderment - in the future I think I'll tag on a mention or link
to the Toyko map too, just to demonstrate what complexity really is!