Very rare

From the Editor's sickbed.

Recovering from a bout of gastric flu has meant there's been plenty of news to be watched and read about and the biggest story during my incapacity thus far has been that of an overturned coach on the M40, which took place in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The coach was none other than one operating the flagship Oxford Tube service, owned by Stagecoach. A 21-year old man seemingly wrestled the driver for the steering wheel while the double-deck Van Hool Astromega coach was travelling eastbound along the M40 at a fair old lick, between Loudwater and Beaconsfield.

Lewknor Turn, M40 J6, two London-bound Van Hool Astromegas can be seen loading passengers

While this is the third coach to overturn in 3 years and 8 months, this should not be lumbered in the same category as the others: on this occasion, driver error has been ruled out with only one person being arrested and charged with criminal damage and assault, bailed, and due to return to court at the end of September.

It sounds like a cop out to some, but there's very little any operator can do to prevent this specific situation from re-occurring. It might sound shocking, but it is regrettably true. Fitting assault screens to buses operating urban routes is now the norm in most cities and while this could prevention a passenger making a grab for the wheel, it would not guarantee it. It may be something Stagecoach will consider, but the aesthetics of modern coach interiors do not lend themselves to the retrospective fitment of assault screens, with a virtual cocoon needing to be built, in which to house the driver.

So rare are these occurrences, that we both expect Stagecoach to ensure justice is done and then continue to operate its award-winning service in the same manner as ever. Should assault screens be fitted to the Astromegas, one could argue drivers of its Megabus coaches could be justified to ask for the same level of protection: they, after all, also travel at the same high speeds and operate some routes using double-deck Neoplan Skyliners.

The Astromegas replaced ageing Neoplan Skyliners (left); newer examples of the latter operate on Stagecoach's Megabus inter-city coach network and do not have additional driver protection

Taking the controls of other modes of transport is not as straightforward as buses and coaches. It is now nigh on impossible for anyone to overcome the captain and first officers of passenger aircraft. Indeed, it is accepted that those in the cabin should face whatever the terrorists on board have to throw at them while those in the cockpit make for an emergency landing. While this ensures another 9/11 will never occur, it does leave ordinary passengers and crew somewhat helpless.

The door to the driver's cab in trains would need more than a swift kick to gain entry. Besides which, the manner in which trains operate would see braking commence as soon as the driver released his 'dead man' device. The Astromega coaches used on the Oxford Tube do not have cruise control, so you could argue that the driver has a similar option here, to take his foot off the accelerator. This doesn't automatically mean the brakes will be applied and in the instance on Sunday morning, the steering wheel was what caused the overturn to occur. Excessive braking might have made things even worse.

Seen loading outside Queen's College in Oxford are two operators jostling for patronage and between them have grown the market impressively. Although the Astromegas are only a fraction taller than one of City of Oxford's single-deck Irizar Centuries, passengers will undoubtebly feel safer on a vehicle that has 'no upstairs'

The absolute worst possible outcome is the short-term decline of coach ridership between Oxford and London. We expect City of Oxford's single-deck coaches operating a near-identical route to see a slight upsurge in patronage, as passengers associate a single-deck coach with greater stability. Similar to the immediate aftermath of the 7 July 2005 bombings in London, Transport for London recorded significant growth in its bus usage as people chose not to travel beneath the surface. This has long since levelled out. We can't think of any reason why it shouldn't if a negative effect is felt on 'Oxford's Tube'.

Not in Service

A bout of pestilence has befallen all those sailing under the Good Ship LEYTR, which means normal service won't be resumed until later in the week. Apologies.

Ticking the boxes

The latest edition of RAIL has to be one of my all-time favourite fortnightly reads. It has nothing to do with managing editor Nigel Harris being out the office, but because its content covers a number of very specific subject matters in which I'm interested.

Edition 651, on sale 25 August-7 September carries a mock-up of a Pendolino in East Coast livery as its lead, in a move to illustrate plans that are afoot at Directly Operated Railways. Philip Haigh's editorial is both succinct and cautionary, detailing two recent news stories where genuine near-death incidents have occurred. One incident took place in the LEYTR area, along the East Coast Main Line just north of Grantham a week last Tuesday, when a northbound Grand Central train struck a train enthusiast's ladder which had been placed on the track bed. The other was the slightly more publicised runaway engineering train on London Underground on Friday the thirteenth.

As to the fate of the ECML photographer, we can only deduce he was either not stood on his ladder at the time of collision or was not thrown into the path of the 125mph train. Tornado was timetabled to be passing at about the same time, hence why the ladder is likely to have been accompanying the photographer. While there will be very little inquiry into this incident, Londoners can be assured of a full and frank investigation into how an engineering train was able to break free of its towing vehicle and head downhill towards the centre of London on the Northern Line necessitating trains to be diverted onto different branches.

Keeping with London, Barry Doe's The Fare Dealer column is one I know thousands upon thousands turn to first. In this edition, Barry detailed the hit 'n' miss approach Transport for London is taking regarding the use of Oyster cards on both National Rail and Underground services, effectively guessing the route passengers are likely to have taken (even if this may be comprehensively inaccurate) and charging accordingly. If TfL fails to control situations like this, its fare structure will soon catch up with that of the national rail system, seen as a laughing stock by the media and a good number of users.

However, one piece RAIL readers could look to the bus industry for pointers concerns the Analysis four-pager (normally just two sides of A4), penned by Steve Broadbent (my favourite writer in RAIL), which looks at the stringent emissions standards that will apply to the whole railway industry over the next few years, imposed by the European Union.

The bus and coach industries have been required to reduce their harmful exhaust emissions for the past decade and beyond and accordingly manufacturers have been developing engines to tick the right boxes. The picture painted by Steve in his article was one of doom and gloom for train operating companies, with new engines being too large for existing bodies and with the next stage of greener engine not yet properly developed, how will the industry meet its ever-nearing deadlines?

The prospect of mounting tanks to contain this 'new' substance called AdBlue was touched on, with the inference here being that physical constraints played an equal part to cost. Ask any bus or coach operator, or haulier for that matter, who's purchased a Volvo post-2005 and they'll tell you all about AdBlue and its pros and cons.

The rail industry benefits from electrification more than the bus industry does and this is an avenue down which railways will be heading, with news last year that the Great Western route will be electrified. This will see hundreds and hundreds of track miles made operational for electric traction. The same economies of scale for converting either a solitary bus or a small fleet of buses, does not offer the same benefits. In fact, increased wear and tear on the road and the vehicle components themselves is often the trade-off.

While there's always talk of the bus and coach industries taking direct hit, time and time again from the EU, there are some things they've knuckled down and got on with. Reducing emissions is one of them. Sure, the EU had to give them a shove in the right direction, and initiatives such as the Low Emission Zone in London have ensured operators do not get complacent, but I believe this is an area in which the rail industry could genuinely learn a lot from its PCV sisters.

Pedal Power

While cycling is not specifically a form of public transport on offer to everyone, it is at least acknowledged as being part of 'the solution', and with that in mind we have agreed to promote what is clearly a very worthwile cause being undertaken by someone from the LEYTR area.

Ellis Jacklin will by cycling between Cleethorpes in North East Lincolnshire and Tywyn on the Welsh coast in order to raise money for the British Lung Foundation. The cycle ride of 200 miles is something that fits in well with the sort of (less energetic) jaunt we'd undertake and one that all members of the LEYTR committee wish him well with.

The coast-to-coast charity ride is not solely by bike as the initial and final modes will be by train, making use the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway and the Talyllyn Railway on the Mid-Wales Coast. Ellis' father, the late Bob Jacklin, was an avid railway enthusiast and volunteer for the Talyllyn Railway and accordingly tying in these forms of transport seemed apt.

The cycle race will take place on 22 April 2011 (Good Friday) and a Facebook group has been created so that followers can see how Ellis' training is progressing. A dedicated website has also been created for any donations.

Website
Facebook

Taking place this Sunday (29 August) is a sponsored bungee jump off the Transporter Bridge in Middlesborough, by Garry Pearson, a Delaine Buses driver, in aid of the Help for Heroes campaign. Anyone wishing to donate can do so by clicking here.

A European Jaunt - Part 3

Warning: this blog entry contains numerous Australianisms, befitting the company I've been keeping recently. Your patience would be greatly appreciated.

Day three broke with Australians shivering. Yes, it was an Arctic 10 degrees Centigrade in Lauterbrunnen, in the heart of the Swiss Alps, and a climate that the visiting Aussies had never experienced before. M'colleague and I, however, we more than happy to wander around in our short-sleeve tops commenting on how like London in the summer it was. Okay, it was perhaps a little chilly to have your arms on show, but it most certainly was not the dawning of the next ice age!

It was a little warmer once we'd left the Alpine region. Here the coach is seen parked at Rheintal Services on the A13/E43, adjacent to the Principality of Leichtenstein

Two coaches were parked overnight in Lauterbrunnen, at the Camping Jungfrau site, with ours heading north-east to Munich today (via Lucerne) and the other due south, bound for Nice. Both driver and guide were Simon and Dave - the same today as yesterday - and both commented how unusual it was since driver rest periods are usually taken here with it being the Busabout admin centre and with slightly more amenities for employees than elsewhere. However, at 0800, Dave greeted us all aboard our coach and Simon started the engine.

Our journey mirrored the end stage of yesterday's, as we retraced our steps along the A8 through the Brünig Pass and onto the A2 to Lucerne. It was here that those leaving the coach were escorted on foot by Dave to the accommodation. Simon, meanwhile, undertook guide duties of his own by escorting everyone else to a shop run by a dude called Harry, down one of the town centre streets. Harry is a purveyor of, amongst other things, Swiss Army Knives, where (knowledge bomb time) non-red variants can be purchased. Only in Switzerland can you officially by a purple knife, for example.

A reasonable amount of banter had taken place upon our arrival at Lucerne and it was now, while holding a small bag containing three sausage rolls, that Simon told us both what had happened. Apparently a neighbouring shop to that of Harry's sells something of a rarity in Switzerland: sausage rolls. Some guides reveal this in their spiel on Lucerne and before the driver can get into the shop to buy some, the passengers have purchased them all, so there was an agreed omission from the welcome-to-Lucerne speil as both driver and guide were feeling mighty peckish.

Parked at Lucerne

The Reuss River passes through the centre of Lucerne and is incredibly fast flowing. You'd not survive very long if you fell in. I quite liked Lucerne, though not sure that there'd be enough to occupy me for a couple of days, which is when the next coach would depart.

Back on board, we needed to take another stop before 1230, which is when Simon's 4.5 hour driving stint would be up, and so opted to take it at a service station backing onto one of the world's smallest countries - Liechtenstein. While we didn't enter the country, it was one that had always stuck out in my mind from geography lessons at school. The number plates carried by cars registered there look like those issued pre-1960 here in the UK, being white-on-black, both front and back.

Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein is seen here, clinging to the mountainside

Liechtenstein is something of a tax haven, perhaps best illustrated by the fact that it has more registered companies than citizens. They, like Switzerland, have made attempts during the past few years to prosecute money launders, though this has proven far trickier than had initially been envisaged. There were no knowledge bombs regarding Liechtenstein, but a quick Google provided a couple of my own: it's the world's largest producer of sausage casings and false teeth. It's also a German-speaking country which does not border Germany.

Back on the coach and we were told that the option of a guided tour around Neuschwanstein Castle, in south-west Germany, was on offer. The price would be determined on the number of takers and, in the event, 15 (of 15) wanted to undertake the tour, so a price of €9 was quoted. While the tour was underway, Simon would re-fuel the coach at a nearby BP garage (Busabout only use BP stations, with drivers issued with fuel cards). Neuschwanstein Castle, like so many, has its own story from inception to completion, though is relatively rare because, for a castle of its relative young vintage, it was never completed. It's also the castle on which the Walt Disney emblem is based.

"When you wish upon a star...." is the tune played at the end/start of most Disney productions, with a shooting star passing over an emblem of a castle (below). The castle was based on Neuschwanstein

We arrived at the foot of Neuschwanstein Castle at 1430 and had a look around the gift shops until 1500 when we re-grouped for a walk uphill to where the castle was perched, overlooking the valley. It's not a walk for the faint-hearted. Well, not at speed anyway. Since the remainder of our contingent were Australians and 'uber-fit', it was quite a feat maintaining pace. Though being British, neither of us were willing to lose face by dropping back! Oh know. The most excruciating part was that everyone else not only walked faster and more effortlessly to the top, along the 1.25km road, but that they did so in flip flops!!

However, once at the top, the view was very impressive. A further walk was needed to a vantage point (even higher) in the form of a bridge spanning what must be a 1,000ft drop to the valley floor below. We did it though, and to be honest, ignoring the initial breathlessness, recriminations, painful chests and foot ache, we both enjoyed the walk and soon recovered.

We visited the bridge spanning the narrow but incredibly deep canyon before our tour of the castle. The bridge affords visitors an exceptional shot of the castle in the foreground and most of lowland Germany in the distance

Our tour was a 1555 and we had to queue below a digital display that showed our tour number. While the castle was an impressive sight, the completely human-less and automated start to the tour was not. Where was the warm, friendly welcome? Where were people checking tickets? Where were people offering free advice on where to wait and what you can see from the courtyard? There was none of that. It was, perhaps, clinical German efficiency at its best/worst. When the digital display showed your tour number, you inserted your ticket into the barrier (identical to how you'd gain access to the Underground network in London) and then meandered your way (as you would in a lengthy queue at the local Post Office) through the remainder of the courtyard until you entered the building.

Clinical. Queuing for entry to Neuschwanstein Castle can be likened to the cheese counter at Asda

Full details of Neuschwanstein Castle can be read here. It's a fascinating story, but one our castle guide did not tell in full. Partly because some of it does not conform to the image the Germans want to portray (why, for example, was the Walt Disney connection never uttered, when Disney is known to virtually every child on earth) and partly because the tour is, well, a complete swizz: your guide does not deviate from his/her set speech whatsoever and in rooms where echoing is problematic, his/her speech is not altered to accommodate this. You're also guided through only five rooms, with the remainder done on your own. Photography is not permitted either, which incensed one tour member to exclaim: 'sacré bleu!'

The castle is a dominant feature of the landscape and I particularly enjoyed viewing the enlarged photos that showed it being built, with scaffolding clinging to the mountain sides. The views were superb, as was the walk downhill.

There was something of a rush back to the coach, though, as we'd been told 1700hrs and the guided element of the tour lasted 20 minutes (so, on paper our tour was between 1555-1615), but some people took longer than others and there was the 1.25km walk back to the coach. Another 30 minutes could have been afforded quite easily, but we suspected that both driver and guide wanted to push on to Munich as soon as possible.

And this we did. Having briefly passed through Austria when heading to Neuschwanstein Castle, we were now to remain solely in Germany, heading north along some unclassified roads before the B17 and A96/E54 to Munich. The drop-off and pick-up point here is down what you could be forgiven for thinking was a one-way street, with cars parked on both sides of the road. It is in fact a two-way road, just incredibly narrow. Senefelderstraße is the name, and the associated accommodation arranged for anyone who requests it is called Wombats.

We managed to secure a ride to the coach park and passed the site of Oktoberfest, which was in the process of being accommodated for, with a plentiful supply of marquees and stages being erected. Our driver told us that he would be double-manning a coach to Oktoberfest from London during mid-September, which he was very much looking forward to since he'd not been back in Blighty since leaving on 15 May. Upon arrival at the coach park, we both witnessed first-hand the extensive cleaning process that each coach undertakes daily:

• All carrier bags attached to aisle arm rests are either emptier or replaced
• Windows cleaned throughout
• Coach floor swept and mopped
• Carpeted area at front removed and cleaned
• Seat upholstery checked and cleaned if required
• Seatbelts checked
• Dashboard polished
• Exterior windows cleaned, involving the use of a huge wooden pole, at the end of which sits a blade
• Exterior bodywork cleaned
• Windscreen cleaned
• Wheel trims cleaned by cloth
• Security measures taken to ensure coach is as safe as possible parked overnight

As you can imagine, it's quite a lengthy process and one in which the guides have no role to play. While this is taking place, they are still working - checking travellers into the accommodation and letting them know what there is to do in the area that evening.

While the coach was being cleaned, another Busabout vehicle arrived, this one from Vienna. While the driver of that coach was getting to work polishing his wheel nuts, we headed into the city centre, making use of the U-Bahn. We walked about 3 minutes to an S-Bahn station called Heimeranplatz, though Simon said that the fare was cheaper to Hauptbahnhof from the S-Bahn equivalent, so after videoing two trains (see below) we headed to the subway station.

From here we paid €1,50 for a single fare into the city centre, with the Hauptbahnhof stop virtually opposite Senefelderstraße, down which was located our accommodation - The Euro Youth Hostel (we had a room each tonight). This establishment, incidentally, 'boasts' a 40-bed dormitory. Surely not for the faint hearted!

An evening stroll around Munich was in order, though after partaking some local cuisine, in the form of Wiener Schnitzel (chicken breast in breadcrumb) with chips and a splodge of what looked to be strawberry jam on top of a slice of lemon. It was delicious and what we both refer to as 'safe' foreign food.

Wiener Schnitzel

Munich is a very nice place to be - certainly the city centre. Although the evening was upon us and it was getting dark, we managed to see many of the sights on display, from the story-telling town hall clock to the infamous Hofbräuhaus, where Hitler made a speech in 1920 that effectively re-united disaffected Germans following their defeat in WWI to ultimately form the Nazi Party. Up until 2006, the Hofbräuhaus held a baby photo of Hitler. We headed inside for a pint but the row was such that you couldn't hear yourself think. There also appeared to be very few seats. Revellers were certainly in full swing. Well, it was a Saturday night and much the same occurs in the UK's city centres.


Munich is certainly a place we'd return to - not only to sample its light rail network, but to take in more of the sights. Sadly, this wasn't to happen on this jaunt as tomorrow we'd move onto our last call - Stuttgart.

To be continued.....

Quaint

Not quite an entry in the LEYTR's Bus Stops that Time Forgot competition, but the following is nonetheless worthy of note. Photos courtesy of 'Mr B'.

Taken at Goathland, North Yorkshire, more recently home to the ITV drama Heartbeat, is this bus shelter in the centre of the village, complete with its own 'entry solution':


Adjacent to the shelter is this sign, attached to a gate. Could this be a ploy by the road lobby to get us all into our cars?

A European Jaunt - part 2

Warning: this blog entry contains numerous Australianisms, befitting the company in which I've been keeping recently. Your patience would be greatly appreciated.

Day 2 dawned at 0700 when we awoke following our first night's sleep in a hostel. It had gone better than we'd expected. We'd been nattering to our fellow dwellers before heading to sleep the night before. All Australians appear to either have relations in the UK or have visited London and seem reasonably knowledgeable about the city's transport and the Oyster card.

Breakfast was not offered at the Hotel Baccarat, so we headed round to corner as we knew there were a couple of small supermarket-type shops opposite Nice Ville station, which is where our Busabout coach would depart from at 0800. Unlike London - and indeed any UK city or large town - these newsagents were not open at 0730. Nor did they open before we had to jump aboard our 51-seated VDL SB4000/Marcopolo Viaggio coach.

They're not the most attractive coaches in the world and we understand Busabout will receive Berkhof Axial-bodied coaches next year

The Busabout guides do not check passengers on using a sheet of paper. They use an 'ipaq', which connects to the Internet through their company-issued mobile phones. It all seems very progressive and enables the driver to concentrate on, well, the driving, though first he has to load the luggage. We only had seventeen aboard our coach today. We were travelling to Lauterbrunnen in the Swiss Alps, via Milan. The journey time was between 10-11 hours, with a number of stops en route at various motorway services.

The stops are all prescribed and approximate timings are given. Our driver, Simon (British) and our guide, Dave (Australian) had both returned to work today, following two days off in Nice. They'd both popped to Cannes and had watched Inception at the cinema there and both were still talking about it this morning. Simon's day had commenced at 0600 when he'd left the Busabout accommodation and headed to the No. 23 bus stop with his suitcase to get to the coach park, which was just under 2 miles away. There, he'd done all the checks required of him before driving to the pick-up point, opposite Nice Ville station.

Initially it seems strange to seem all the controls on the wrong side, but you soon get used to it. Our driver said he and all new Busabout employees receive a week's training at Stellendam, learning to change gear right-handed and to get used to driving on the 'European side' of the road

Owing to the EC Drivers' Hours Regs, he needed to take a 45-minute break at the pick-up point to then enable him to drive 4.5 hours, taking a 15-min break at the first service stop and 30 mins at the second. Consequently, he was parked in the centre of town at 0720. The guides do not conform to such guidelines (and consequently do not appear to generally receive such generous weekly rest periods). Their days do start later than the driver's (and don't finish as late, either), with Dave arriving at 0745 and he got to work loading passengers while Simon packed their suitcases in the boot.

Newcomers to Busabout are issued a lanyard and credit card-sized I.D tag that they need to put round their neck while on board. Existing people, i.e. those who've travelled in the past few days, simply present these to be checked-off on the ipaq. It's all very straightforward. A large number of those on board had travelled with Busabout recently, so Dave only had to issue a couple of lanyards/cards out to the newcomers. Most of our contingent were travelling through to Lauterbrunnen, with a couple choosing to leave us at Milan.

This was the scene the following morning in Lauterbrunnen, though the same occurred in Nice today, with Simon (in orange) seen loading luggage while Dave (stood at front in black) loads passengers. It's a lot calmer than the scene in London Victoria Coach Station

Busabout's advantage over equivalent European operations is that if passengers wish to change their travel plans and, say, remain in Nice another couple of days, they simply inform the guide who'll book them on the coach in two days' time at no extra cost. Likewise, if someone booked to travel in two days decided they wanted to leave Nice early, they simply turn up at the coach and the guide amends their requirements for immediate travel. No amendment fees of any kind are charged. The only risk is that your desired service may be full, but for delayed journeys, once the guide books you on using his ipaq, you're then guaranteed a seat.

Also departing from Nice Ville was a Busabout coach heading to Barcelona. This, said Simon, is one of the lengthiest journeys drivers are required to undertake in one day, and also sees some of the highest exterior temperatures, too. "It was 40 degrees Centigrade the last time I was in Madrid," said Simon, "which made cleaning the coach out - even with the climate control on - quite a challenge!" Apparently the heat is so intense that cleaning the windows becomes almost impossible, with the water drying as soon as it's applied. The Barcelona coach was fully booked and left a minute before us.

We headed out of Nice, due east, slowly climbing and following the coast road (D6007) through to Monaco. We saw a very bad accident just a couple of miles outside Nice, which involved a Mini Cooper and three motorbikes - one rider had been 'covered up' by ambulance crews at the scene. It brings it home to you just how dangerous these meandering roads can be, with their sheer drops and tunnels. Also pointed out to us was the spot where in 1982 Grace Kelly came to her death - her car plummeting off the cliff top into the sea below. As a result of this very high-profile accident, the road now dissects a chunk of rock, rather than skirting round it.

Monaco, one of the world's smallest countries, where an application to become resident will cost €1 million. Since the application is just that, there's the possibility it could be turned down and refunds are not offered

Having skirted Monaco, we joined the A8/E80 into Italy. Two things caught our attention here. The first was that it was just before 0900 on a Friday morning and the dual-carriageway was very quiet indeed; there was barely a vehicle to be seen. Crossing into Italy actually took place in a tunnel, with just the change of brickwork the only noticeable sign until the official Welcome sign once the other side. While the Italian scenery differed not one jot to that of the French, the second observation was the one addition to the landscape: greenhouses - hundreds of them. Dave told us (in what Australians refer to as knowledge bombs) that within them are flowers grown for the perfumeries that sell their fragrances around the world.

Italy was also the location of our first motorway services stop, at Cireale Sud, just short of Genoa. The service area belonged to the Autogrill chain of companies, who appear to have Italy all sewn up. They don't, though, appear to offer any kind of grilled food. The situation within the establishment is not straightforward. For those requiring food, you enter the restaurant area and look to see what's on offer beneath the glass counters. You then cross to the other side of the room, to the tills, and order/pay, before taking your receipt back to the counters and presenting it. Your food is served as soon as they get round to you.

This was the case at the second services, another Autogrill, at Dorno Est, just south of Milan. The route taken between services was north, along the A25/E25, then east on the A7/A26 and then north on the A7/E62 to Milan.

The most attractive thing in Milan was our coach, parked at the only YMCA used on the Busabout network

Milan, despite it's place in the fashion history books, it has to be one of the most dour-looking cities Europe has to offer. Those planning on leaving the coach here were not impressed with what they saw either, so, mid-journey, amended their requirements and continued with everyone else to Lauterbrunnen. It's worth stressing again how convenient this can be. No fee was charged for choosing to alter their journey plans, even mid-route. Amending your plans on Eurolines, for example, necessitates a fee and simply cannot be done at all once a coach has departed.

This section of route had been the most uninspiring. The dramatic coastal scene had long since left us and we were now heading north inland with scenery that, quite honestly, could have been stolen from Lincolnshire. The weather was nice and the climate control being set to 22C was ensuring no one was becoming too hot. While Nice was hovering around the 30C mark today, northern Italy was a more comfortable 23C.

In Part 1 we mentioned that luggage provision wasn't as comprehensive as that you'd expect from a rear-engined coach. Seen here is the luggage of 17 people, taking up most of the front locker while boarding takes place in Nice

By mid-afternoon we came to the Swiss border and our coach's Swiss road tax sheet needed renewing so Dave went off to do that while we observed the Swiss border control officers dressed in blue t-shirts and automatic machine guns stopping car drivers in a parallel queue. As soon as Dave returned, we were away, with no one wanting to check the coach, its passengers or their passports. This also marked the point where the scenery improved considerably: mountains lay ahead.

Simon told us that we'd be passing though the St. Gotthard Tunnel, which is one of Europe's longest. He also dropped the bombshell that overhead signs were stating there was a 10km queue for entry. There's no toll to pay, just traffic lights which regulate the entry of vehicles that slows things down considerably. However, he and a number of other drivers, had concocted a short-cut that saw a good deal of the queue omitted. We left the A2/E35 (our road of choice since Milan) at Junction 42 and followed a parallel road to Airolo. Here we rejoined the A2/E35 right at the front of the queue for the tunnel, saving at least one hour's worth of queuing. We were all very impressed.

Measuring in at 10.5 miles long, the St. Gotthard Tunnel is the world's third longest road tunnel, opening on 5 September 1980. Significant congestion is generated as only one tunnel bore is used, with traffic using one lane in each direction and entry is regulated using traffic lights on an overhead gantry, which permits just half a dozen cars in every 30 seconds. The speed limit within the tunnel is 80km (50mph), and it took us 13 minutes to pass through.

Simon told us that sometimes not only can the weather conditions be completely different upon emergence, but the whole climate can change. You're now in an Alpine region with some of Europe's highest mountains. Snow is still visible on the peaks of some of them. It's amongst this very dramatic scenery that our third service station was to be found, at Gotthard-Raststätte, still on the A2/E35. Free Toblerone was being offered and we changed our appearances slightly to avail ourselves or more than just one morsel (which worked), before buying some traditional Swiss chocolate for the remainder of the journey.

What I hadn't realised is that the Toblerone logo was more than just a random mountain - it's one that contains the image of a bear, chosen because Switzerland's capital city, Bern, is Swiss for 'Bear'. Can you see it?

As with virtually every establishment we'd visited so far, English was spoken very well indeed. Switzerland was the first country in which we'd travelled that offered another currency. While they accepted Euros, your change was in Swiss Francs; and with the prices all being in Swiss Francs, a calculation was needed to ensure you tendered as accurate a denomination of Euros to limit the number of Swiss Francs in your change as possible. To be honest, the chocolate on offer here was not wildly different from that on offer at any Tesco back home, though perhaps the range of flavours may be a little greater.

Knowledge bomb time again as Dave told us why cars from Switzerland have stickers with CH on. GB, of course, means Great Britain; E meaning Espania; IRL for Ireland etc., but why CH for Switzerland? It's because the official title of the country is the Swiss Confederation, which was translated from Confœderatio Helvetica in Latin and abbreviated to CH for cars identification within the EU and web domains. Wikipedia offers an in-depth entry on why Switzerland is known as Helvetica. Incidentally, the word Helvetica seemed to resonate for another reason. In a knowledge bomb of my own, I can reveal that it's one of the standard fonts offered with Microsoft Word.

Our service station stop just north of the St. Gotthard Tunnel was nothing like Toddington on the M1!

Dave rang ahead to the Lauterbrunnen accommodation - a site called Camping Jungfrau, which describes itself as being "located at the feet of the world-famous mountain giants Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau in the valley of the 72 Waterfalls. Even Johann Wolfgang von Goethe referred to the beauty of our valley in one of his poems" And we were not to be disappointed. Lauterbrunnen has to be one of the most spectacular places I've ever visited by coach. Before that, there was the small matter of the Brünig Pass to negotiate, which elevates to road to 1,008m above sea level.

A stop for photos was made as we meandered our way through the Brünig Pass

It was all very spectacular and our coach managed well through the winding roads and steep hills. Simon said that sometimes he could do with a little more power, but wasn't too concerned since their arrival was not timetable to-the-minute. Our arrival was expected, however, following Dave's phone call, and Lauterbrunnen is also Busabout's administrative centre. Upon our arrival, lots of Busabout people emerged from the woodwork (literally - wood cabins aplenty) and greeted the driver and guide. Moments later the coach from Paris arrived so there were double the hugs and handshakes.


No one on board our coach was leaving here the following day, except us. Being Australians, they all wanted to be far out and indulge in some very respectful paragliding and tandem skydiving from planes. We much preferred an evening of Swiss beer and cheese fondue before turning in for the night - to our individual wooden mini Swiss cabins - our feet always firmly on terra ferma. Incidentally, I can heartily recommend the cheese fondue - it was so strong, it reminded me of Vodka!


To be continued....

Minimum Fare

A bus driver writes...

I've been reading with interest your coverage of the likely train fare rises in January and I'm sure few will disagree that this seems the absolute worse time to increase them by almost 6%. I'd like to relate this to an experience I found myself witnessing on board the bus I drove today.

Bus fares are, rightly, seen to be cheaper than train fares - considerably so, for the most part. However, one fare that's likely to draw considerable shock from passengers is a bus operator's minimum fare; you know the one - the fare to go to either the next village or just round the corner.

While some excellent multi-ride tickets exist, these same operators - mine included - have some eye-wateringly high minimum fares, charged for these short hops. Some operators have special deals for travelling into the town/city centre from areas where people traditionally walk, but excluding these, they are, for the most part, very expensive.

My company operates around 30 vehicles in traditional Middle England (so their fares are, at best, average). We are considerably cheaper than a sole commuter using his car to travel to the nearest town or city, but not so when four or five share. The range of single fares is £1.60 and the range of day returns is £2.80.

It was raining this evening and I was working my last run back to town, whereupon I'd return to the depot. I was in a town some 11 miles away and two passengers approached me, both looking very wet indeed. One had a return ticket to the town 11 miles away and the other held out his hand, in the palm of which sat a 50 pence coin. Both were in their early-20s and were covered in Burberry and Lonsdale items, which screamed out 'chav!' to me. They both conducted themselves well, though.

The one with 50p in his hand asked for "Maccies" (McDonald's), which is three stops away, or 0.4 miles. He'd made the subliminal calculation that 50p was worth 0.4 miles by bus in the rain. Regrettably, I told him the fare (our minimum fare) and his jaw dropped. "You've got to be jestin' me?!" he said. Sadly, I wasn't.

The fare? £1.40.

I'm sure the Editors and contributors could write about whether a minimum fare of £1.40 is moral, just or right, but 'rules is rules' and that was the fare. He got off and chose to get even wetter. What shocked me is that this was a lad who was not around when 'two-and-six' would get you a great evening out with someone called Doris at the flicks, a fish and chip supper and your bus fare home (What? Not back to her's? - Eds). He's of the 'what's a pound nowadays?' generation, yet still tendered 50p.

My moral decision was whether to override my ticket machine and issue him a fare for 50p or to just let him squelch away into the distance. So far as my contract of employment is concerned, it was a case of £1.40 or nothing. But then, surely, 50p is better than nothing, even if, in the eyes of my company, I'd committed gross misconduct?

Editors' note: We would like to state two completely unrelated one-liners

1. Having a high minimum fare increases the average fare paid by cash-paying passengers
2. The concessionary reimbursement rate, paid to operators by local authorities, is based on the average fare paid by cash-paying passengers
   

A European Jaunt - part 1

Warning: this blog entry contains numerous references to Australianisms, befitting the company in which I've been keeping recently. Your patience would be greatly appreciated.

Ripper, mate! The day had finally arrived: a European Jaunt, travelling in a manner befitting the wily old desperadoes that we are when it comes to splashing out a few quid on hotels and such like - the posh man's backpacking holiday, using coach travel from city to city.

A LEYTR associate is the employee of one such purveyor of transport throughout Europe and we enquired with a little insider assistance as to what the score really is. We were both very impressed and chose to take the plunge. We'd be travelling for five days in total, making use of three coach rides and passing through five countries. We'd reside overnight in accommodation recommended by the transport provider and, when this was unavailable due to insufficient rooms, we would stay in nearby establishments of similar standing.

Busabout

This European transport operator has been around for quite a while now. Owned by Holland-based Atlas Reizen, Busabout's sister operator may be a little more familiar if you've ever travelled abroad: Contiki. Both operate city-to-city coach journeys. Contiki provides all-inclusive holidays, while Busabout refer to their product as being for the 'independent traveller'. They provide the transport and will recommend accommodation, but you can simply use them as a stepping stone for your own planned itinerary. They're two very established models and business appears to be doing well.


Concentrating on Busabout, their website is the place to go to find out more about the company. Their vehicles are based at Atlas Reizen's depot in Stellendam, Holland; their administration centre is in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland and, presumably because their currency is Sterling, their financial address is in Guernsey. They employ mainly British coach drivers, though a splattering of English-speaking Europeans and Australians are also on the books, and each coach has a guide - virtually all of whom are either Australian or from New Zealand.

The Busabout website is very upbeat and well presented, though you do have to do some digging for the nitty gritty

It's no coincidence, then, that Busabout's staple diet is backpackers from Australia and New Zealand. Mainly the former. It's effectively an Australian company in Europe catering mainly for Australians and anyone else what wants to make use of their services. This should in no way put you off. Australians are some of the most easy-going people in the world and very easy to get along with. During our trip, we'd mix with more Aussies than ever before in our lives and everyone - guides and passengers - reaffirmed the very positive stereotype we have of them.

The Coaches

The Busabout fleet consists of ten VDL SB4000/Marcopolo Viaggio C51F coaches, all built and delivered in 2005; this is their sixth season and they are, apparently, to be replaced next year, forming part of a recent order with VDL for some Berkhof Axial-bodied vehicles. Both inside and out, the current fleet is spotless and the driver's cleaning routine is as extensive as any operator's here in the UK. They each have a 715-litre fuel tank, independent front suspension, measure 12 x 3.8 x 2.5m and have engines rated at Euro 3 standard. They are equipped with a crew seat and dashboard fridge as well as two TV monitors and a DVD/audio entertainment system. They have Sutrack Tropical air conditioning and were delivered new with a chemical toilet.


They've been tailored for the work they undertake with a whole host of technical items and cleaning utensils beneath the saloon. They do seem to have poor luggage provision for a rear-engined coach, though. Although a toilet is fitted, this is sealed off and not referred to, as provision for emptying it each night is simply not possible. Regular stops are made at motorway service stations for passengers to use the dunny and have something to eat.

The Diagram

Busabout's network comprises three loops - North, West and South. The drivers undertake a diagram that encompasses all loops, while guides, who are not restricted to the EC Drivers' Hours Regulations, work slightly differently: they generally do a couple of circuits of each loop before going onto another. Below is the 18-day vehicle diagram with estimated mileage (km):

Lauterbrunnen - Munich (445)
Munich - Paris (850)
Paris - Amsterdam (525)
Amsterdam - Berlin (670)
Berlin - Prague (350)
Prague - Vienna (350)
Vienna - Munich (450)
Munich - Venice (550)
Venice - Rome (550)
Rome - Florence (285)
Florence - Nice (425)
Nice - Barcelona (660)
Barcelona - Madrid (620)
Madrid - San Sebastian (485)
San Sebastian - Paris (850)
Paris - Lauterbrunnen (640)
Lauterbrunnen - Nice (550)
Nice - Lauterbrunnen (550)

With the exception of two legs, drivers do the entire journey each day. The Munich-Paris and San Sebastian-Paris legs are both 850km and a driver changeover takes place at Stuttgart and Bordeaux respectively. With rest periods included, it can take at least 24 days for drivers to complete a circuit. I think you'll have to agree, as far as coach diagrams go, few can be more extensive and encompassing! Coaches depart each location on alternate days, requiring a PVR of 9 in total, with the tenth spare.


With such an extensive route and the knowledge required to operate it professionally, a fair level of training is given to new recruits - both drivers and guides. This takes place during March and April and lasts for six weeks. At each place the coach calls on the route and/or point of interest, the guides leave to research the area/place en masse, while the drivers take it in turns navigating their way in and out, before picking the guides up a couple of hours later. It's no mean feat, sounding very much like a genuine busman's holiday - one which many younger coach drivers prefer to bombing up and down the M1.

The final thing to mention at this stage, before our jaunt continues, is that the simplicity with which Busabout operate their services. At the start of the day, all coaches depart the pick-up point at 0800hrs. No exception (save legal ones - if a driver has not yet had his 9 hours daily rest, for example). Busabout benefits from all countries through which they operating being in the same time zone, too.

Flying out

We flew from Stansted Airport to Nice (Côte d'Azur) with easyJet, though beforehand travelled to the airport by train as we'd not be returning here, so did not make use of a car. The weather was cold, grey and dank. We'd been assured by our LEYTR associate that coats and fleeces would not be needed since it was positively tropical along the Mediterranean Coast right now.

We shivered all the way to Stansted Airport, where we arrived a couple of minutes late aboard our CrossCountry Class 170 'Turbostar'. We'd been as punctual as the Japanese Bullet Trains up until the last junction, where we were held for two minutes for a Stansted Express train from London. By now it was raining quite heavily and in our summer wear we ran inside the airport terminal from what was the platform furthest from the station canopy.


We had no luggage to check-in, just very well-packed backpacks, so headed for security and passport control. This all went fine and before we knew it our departure gate had been released.

Second-from-top is our flight, EZY3103 at 1245hrs to Nice, departing from Gate 15

To get to it required us using the free transit service, which was all new to me. The two-car, driver-less electric trains operate every two minutes and connect Gates 1-39 with the terminal building. We alighted at the first stop (Gates 1-19) and the train continued completely empty to the second stop for Gates 20-39.

Getting a clear photo of one of these very dull-looking, driver-less trains is easier said than done. At the terminal stop, I managed this shot of one that was heading in the opposite direction, passing us on a loop. As you can see, rain was still falling.

When I've travelled with easyJet before, after your passport has been checked at the departure gate, you then head down to the tarmac only to be penned into another room and called in a vague order. On this occasion, it was a free-for-all, which ensured passengers were drip-fed onto the tarmac as fast as the dude checking the tickets could muster.

I always enjoy filming take-off; initially I did it to take my mind off all that could go wrong, but now it's kind of a ritual for me. I'm one of these people who'll quite happily travel anywhere at any time and by any mode of transport, but I find air travel the least comfortable of all. Banking at low level is my worst experience on board a plane - landing at Inverness Airport was the worst I've ever experienced; it was if we were going to loop-the-loop.

However, once you're at 37,000 feet (as we soon were), it's all rather boring and you're looking forward to landing to get it all over and done with. Our plane was one of easyJet's Airbus A319s and was fully loaded, seating 156 people.

The Airbus A319

We had two pilots and 4 members of cabin crew. Take-off speed was at 150mph and cruising speed was likely to be 500mph - something that would make even travelling in the cab of a 'Javelin' train seem slow. The plane's range was 3000 miles and the crew had already done an outward and return trip that day so far, with no break. Jetting off to Nice or Cannes is not something families with young children often do - even in August - (and especially not with easyJet) so it was nice not to hear outbursts of screaming and shouting or toddlers crying. There were 26 children on board in total.

By chance I photographed a blob of land that turned out to be the landing strip at Nice Airport. We touched down using the one to the left as the following YouTube clip will show

Landing in Nice was even more surreal than Gibraltar; well, from my side of the plane anyway. At least with Gibraltar you knew you were heading towards land. Sat facing south as we headed in from the west, all I could see was water until the very last minute.

Leaving the plane took ages as we were only permitted to disembark through the front doors into one of those suspended walkway things. As we left the cabin, for the first time in my experience, the First Officer was stood there, next to a member of cabin crew, wishing everyone bon voyage, even outstretching his hand to anyone who wanted to shake it. A very nice touch indeed.

You know when you walk into a shop in the town centre on a cold winter's day and you feel a warm jet of air blowing from above the doorway? Well I felt exactly that, though soon realised it was the 27C air temperature. Yes, fleeces would have been very inappropriate!


Our short-wearing LEYTR associate met us and we made our way to the terminal's bus station, where we'd catch a bus to the centre of town. We were to stay in Hotel Baccarat, virtually opposite Nice Ville station, on Rue D'anglaterre. Despite its name, it was in fact a hostel, something which neither of us had stayed in before. It wasn't a particularly cheap one either, though we expected it to be reasonably pricey since we only booked the jaunt half-a-month beforehand and this is Nice in August afterall. €32 was the price each and we'd be in a dorm with four other people; as it would transpire, all of which would be Australians.

Before all that, we had to sample a local French bus service. Trams and buses share the Ligne d'Azur name, currently operated by Veolia (though without reference). The company is branded as a community transport provider, who offers integrated ticket options and a €1 flat fare for as many trips as you like within a 70-minute window. It's around three miles from the airport to the central station, making out trip incredibly cheap indeed.

The bus we wanted was No. 23 to Bella Vista

The bus appeared to have an air-con pod on the roof but it wasn't turned on. Either the driver preferred to drive in a mobile sauna or the unit had malfunctioned. What made matters worse was the windows being jammed shut, as opening them would "prevent the air conditioning from working properly." It wasn't the best of welcomes, but we didn't grumble much as it was a very cheap journey indeed. We alighted on Boulevard Gambetta and walked along Avenue Thiers to Nice Ville station, checked-in to our hostel and headed into town.

Trams are very frequent in Nice. They have the look of Nottingham's units, though were built to blend in with Nice's archietecture. They were initially operated using third-rail technology, but have since been converted to overhead wire operation

To be continued....

Train fares 2011

Yesterday saw the Bank of England release the rate of inflation and its effect on the Consumer Prices Index and the Retail Price Index (RPI). Inflation is much higher than the Bank's preferred level of 2%. More worrying is that the RPI, on which train fares for the following year are based, is even higher - 4.8%. The calculation for the affected fares is RPI+1%, so the likelihood is that regulated train fares will increase by 5.8% from 1 January 2011.

Or is it?

The government was very careful in its response to this. The official line is that this is NOT assured by any means and that 'all options' are being considered. By all options, they're assuming (nay, hoping) travellers will refer to the LibDem 'angle' which, in the run-up to the general election, was that the formula should be RPI *minus* 1%.

Cue reports of in-fighting within the Coalition, with the LibDems eager to see their policy introduced and the Tories mindful that, if so, this will generate a lot less money for the DfT's coffers.

Less reported is the view that the Tories are willing to amend the current RPI+1% formula in an upwards direction. RPI+3% perhaps? They could argue that rather than all tax payers contributing to the rise, only those who use the railway network are paying more.

This time last year the RPI was greater than -1%, which, when the formula was applied, saw these regulated fares actually fall slightly. This was something train operators did not want - reduced revenue when they needed it most - so increased non-regulated tickets significantly in some cases. The exact opposite scenario will play itself out from January; can you see the non-reg ticket prices being frozen wholesale this time?

In an interview with The Guardian, National Express' chief executive Dean Finch, said of raising train fares: "It is absolutely legitimate for anybody to look at, in terms of raising revenues. Everyone complains at rail (surely 'train' - Ed.) fares being awful, but we have more than one billion journeys on the railways every year. That tells you in the overall scheme of things the railway is an effective form of travel and is an integral part of people's lives".

As gutsy as Finch's statement is, could he be right? Put the fares up by whatever you like and people will keep on coming? At what point will a London commuter, resident in Brighton, look for work on the South Coast where a 10-mile journey by car will be cheaper and the saving offsetting the reduction in salary? NX's top man seems to think we're nowhere near that point yet.

If others in the government share this opinion, train passengers will continue to be hit very hard for the foreseeable future.

Bus Stops that Time Forgot - Ingoldmells

Just down the road (literally) from the LEYTR exclusive we posted at Chapel St. Leonards yesterday, is the tourist village of Ingoldmells. National Express coaches to/from London call here, too, using the bus station. Holidaymakers may have been astute enough, however, to spot this coach stop flag, also in Ingoldmells:


It's been attached to the lamp post in question, at the northerly tip of Roman Bank, since (we believe) 1997. As a trial, the main Mablethorpe-London service called at the holiday camp near the centre of the tourist hot-spot in addition to the bus station (further west). This trial lasted one season and the coach stop has never been taken down.

The sun was pointing directly into the camera when an attempt was made to photograph this flag from the other side

While, from this angle, the flag looks worn and faded and the double-N logo barely visible, apparently the shot from the other side is of an almost-pristine logo. We've been told other NX coach flags at Lincolnshire villages, through which coaches no longer operate, also exist. Contributions welcome.

Bus Stops that Time Forgot - Grimsby