The railways that run parallel to the A36 and A350 are in a disgraceful state. What other European country would allow the train services running between major cities and towns (Bristol-Bath-Salisbury-Southampton and Swindon-Chippenham-Southampton) to become so infrequent, unreliable and overcrowded?
I wouldn't say the railways themselves are in a disgraceful state... Bristol - Bath - Salisbury - Southampton aren't exactly infrequent however I would agree with them on the Swindon - Chippenham - Southampton front as still there have been no daylight trains?...
On the TransWilts at least, services ARE getting more reliable and punctual after the hitches in December and January...
I must also say however that the rolling stock IS getting (do I really need the word getting?) old. I had a few friends who travelled down to Southampton at the start of the week, and came back yesterday. The direct Soton - Cheltenham train was of use, formed as a "St. Ive's Bay" Class 153 unit "All that way" was my friend's quote.
They said the FGW train was filthy on the outside, but not bad on the inside.
But earlier on in the day after travelling on a SWT from Chandler's Ford - Southampton, even though only for a few minutes, they were surprised by the high quality, clean interiors and exteriors which all their trains had. Do SWT employ more cleaning staff or have more train washes than FGW do or something?
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