Everybody knows HS2 will never happen and looking at trains in general maybe it's better that it doesn't. I pay £45 for a return from Biggleswade to London. It's a 45min journey one way, trains rarely come on time and are often slowed down once you pass Stevenage or we have to randomly stop at a red signal. Going back they are often cancelled, almost as a rule they are 10min late when they come and a lot of times they come in 8 carriages instead of 12, so that means standing like a sardine for 45min not being able to breathe normally and when you do you're breathing in someone else's bad breath or afternoon farts. Sometimes going to London if we get stopped at Finsbury Park (because "that's as far as we go sorry") then I have to buy a new ticket to get to Moorgate for example which wouldn't be a problem normally if Moorgate had QR scanners, so instead I have to queue 20min to leave the station, go outside and buy a paper ticket and then go back into the station to get onto the platform. Imagine a train station in central London not having the high-tech that's capable of scanning e-tickets. That's why I can never go to work "on time" but instead have to go an hour early because I never know what's going to happen and leaving work I have to monitor both thetrainline.com and TfL in case a train is cancelled or the Tube is part suspended or heavily delayed. Worst part is I have to pay a small fortune for the privilege.
I would like to mention something else. I recently sold my car and moved to a place close to the train station because "public transport is great, why should I need a car" and it was working great until a few days ago when I was looking to go somewhere for the long weekend. A simple trip from Stevenage which has great train links to a place like Norwich proved impossible. Best trains I could get were one stop and 2h 30min and most had two stops 2h 30min. But those were expensive, between £90 and £130 for a return is a bit much and I got a warning saying due to strikes trains may be cancelled. National Express had no coaches in that direction, taxi was more expensive than trains and there's not a single BigName car hire company that is available in Stevenage and one that I found was not open on Sunday and Bank Holiday so I wouldn't be able to return the car. Had I rented it, it would be £120 for two days with £700 security deposit. With train strikes and ticket prices I didn't want to risk booking a hotel, so I stayed at home because what else am I going to do. Uneless I go to a local supermarket across the road or live in central London, I need a car.
NHS is also public infrastructure but I'd rather not even get into that. I'll just say that I'm convinced the Gov is letting NHS collapse on purpose so that they can pick it apart and privatise it. It's simply impossible that people are actually that incompetent.
> NHS is also public infrastructure but I'd rather not even get into that. I'll just say that I'm convinced the Gov is letting NHS collapse on purpose so that they can pick it apart and privatise it. It's simply impossible that people are actually that incompetent.
I think you're vastly underestimating just how incompetent the large majority of people are (not just NHS/UK, the world, the dumber you are the more you breed etc) - we're being overrun
I would like to mention something else. I recently sold my car and moved to a place close to the train station because "public transport is great, why should I need a car" and it was working great until a few days ago when I was looking to go somewhere for the long weekend. A simple trip from Stevenage which has great train links to a place like Norwich proved impossible. Best trains I could get were one stop and 2h 30min and most had two stops 2h 30min. But those were expensive, between £90 and £130 for a return is a bit much and I got a warning saying due to strikes trains may be cancelled. National Express had no coaches in that direction, taxi was more expensive than trains and there's not a single BigName car hire company that is available in Stevenage and one that I found was not open on Sunday and Bank Holiday so I wouldn't be able to return the car. Had I rented it, it would be £120 for two days with £700 security deposit. With train strikes and ticket prices I didn't want to risk booking a hotel, so I stayed at home because what else am I going to do. Uneless I go to a local supermarket across the road or live in central London, I need a car.
NHS is also public infrastructure but I'd rather not even get into that. I'll just say that I'm convinced the Gov is letting NHS collapse on purpose so that they can pick it apart and privatise it. It's simply impossible that people are actually that incompetent.