The Truth Behind Traingate

When did you last go on a crowded train Chewbacca? Just moving one person from a seat on a crowded train and replacing with another who then has to stand does not make it any less crowded. I do not, sadly, struggle to understand your challenge with this concept.

So, Chewbacca, you would expect a 40 year old to ask a 70 year old to stand on a train from Durham to York, would you?

I am pleased I've brought up my son to be better than that.

What are you on about now durham? What 40 year old? I AM the 70 year old! If, on one of my bi monthly train journeys to Birmingham New Street, I found someone sat in the seat that I've had the forward planning and good foresight to book, I would politely ask them to move. In 11 years, it's only happened a couple of times and, once asked to move, they have. But why would anyone not ask someone to move from the seats that you've booked and paid for? If they haven't had the gumption or wits about them to book their own, they only have themselves to blame I'm looking at you Corbyn

I'm now wondering if other countries have national holiday travel problems. The thing is, it isn't going to be economically sensible to be able to quickly enlarge standard trains for just a few days each year so how can bank holiday overcrowding problems be solved? It has nothing to do with nationalisation.

I'm also wondering why Owen Jones chose to travel to Edinburgh from London on a bank holiday weekend at the end of The Fringe when even he must have known the trains would be hyper busy. Perhaps he had to, poor thing. Or perhaps he's trying to prove something. He's failing at that any road.

But you might be selfish enough to move a young family or someone with mobility difficulties but you still would not have made the train any less crowded - or is it that you are really only interested in yourself and everyone else can go hang, because that's what it sounds like.

Twenty pages and 480 posts in fortyeight hours. I wonder whether it will make the 1000 posts by Tuesday and have to be continued?

I've worked it out. Certain posters on this thread (and others) are not happy until they've proved (to their satisfaction if no-one else's) that someone else is in the wrong or is a less good person than they. Proving their rightness and virtuousness is paramount at all times.

Going for the record, elegran! ?

You just don't read, do you, Chewbacca.
My son, the 40 year old, and his wife found 70 year olds sitting in their seats. You suggested that they should ask them to move, so that they would have had to stand.

That's what I am on about.
As I said, I brought my son up better than to ask 70 year olds to stand.

PS And they're still not happy. Always moaning and saying how terrible things are. Ah well, takes all sorts.

dj, you have been known to misinterpret posts. Me too. It's easily done.

So how many posts have you put on this thread, Baggs?
Most of them off the point, of course.

Chewbacca always misinterprets my posts.

OK GGMK2 , let's just suppose this fictitious, young, mobility impaired family get themselves onto the train and sit in my seat. I, aged almost 70,and with some mobility problems of my own, arrive to take my seat. Why would I not ask them to move? Assuming they know that one or more of their party is disabled, why didn't they make sure that they could travel in comfort by reserving a seat? Why expect someone else to do your thinking for you? And would I ask them to move? I certainly would.

But your 40 year old son isn't on every train is he durham ! He was on 1 train, on 1 occasion, and on that 1 occasion, an elderly couple were sat in his seats. On the next 2, 5, 10 train journeys your son makes, there may be nobody sat in his seats! but you've brought him up very nicely

As a 70 yr old I would certainly ask another 70 yr old to get out of the seat that I have paid for. I've know too many old people play the age card, they don't get away with it with me.
Although I will say the last time I travelled on a train was a sleeper car in Bulgaria.
Happens a lot on planes.

You might ask them Chewbacca but you would still not have stopped the train being overcrowded. To be honest I am not in the least bit bothered which hypothetical person sits in the hypothetical seat that has a hypothetical booking. I am more worried that you seem to think that who does, or whether or not you book a seat reduces the overcrowding on the train.

OK, let's takes this hypothetically overcrowded train and tack on 2, or 3, or even 4 extra carriages. Enough carriages that every passenger; the elderly, the disabled and durham's 40 years old son and his family, all have a seat, whether they've pre booked one or not. Perfect. Now, that train is much longer than the vast majority of station platforms can accommodate. We know this because vast amounts of money have been spent at Durham station, earlier this year, to extend the platform by 40ms. Similar work is being undertaken at Manchester's Piccadilly Station, for the same reason. Until all of the station platforms are sufficiently long enough to allow a train to disembark it's passengers safely, they are not allowed to stop at those stations. elf and safety. When the work to extend station platforms is completed, across the country, I suspect that overcrowding on trains will become less of a problem. and Corbyn will have to think of a new wheeze for publicity . Until then, just reserve a seat and be prepared to ask to ask anyone sitting in it to move. Please.

It will improve capacity at peak times by 28%.
Neither Corbyn nor my family and I travelled at peak times.

Sorry, but I still prefer it that my son and his wife did not ask 70 year olds to move.

Chewbacca , he will deal with it !

The 70 year olds shouldn't have been sitting in reserved seats in the first place. They probably do it all the time, knowing that no one will dare ask them to move.

Course he will Annie!

If 70 year olds are fit enough to travel unaccompanied on a train, then they're competent to arrange their own seating and not hijack someone else's. I'd certainly have asked them to move. As you say Ana,probably playing the old age card with younger people, knowing that the chances are they'll get away with it!

We could all try this, no need to book seats, just sit in somebody else's seat and look old and doddery?

This only works if they have been well brought up of course, and other old doddery people are not the real owners of the seats.?On second thoughts, I think I will just book the seats.

So that's how Corbyn got a seat lemongrove