By Red Arrow To Milan (2)

It is a video included with the January 2022 bulletin from The French Railway Society, forwarded by Sheffield chum Dave, that helps us enjoy a ride on the new Trenitalia "Red Arrow" from Paris to Milan. But first, fbb must make a small correction. In yesterday's blog he quoted the Anytime fare from London to Inverness with LNER at £193 - but that was "Standard" Class.

As we will see, this is not a fair comparison. LNER's FIRST class anytime single fare is £281 which can be set against the Executive fare for our virtual journey of £136. 

But here goes.

We arrive at Paris Gare de Lyon in good time to catch the train.

Frecciarossa tickets are fully exchangeable up to the booked departure time - also refundable for a 20% fee, so you could nip to the ticket office ...

... any time up to a few minutes before 0726 and upgrade or downgrade as the whim takes you.

Our video presenter can now settle down in comfort for the lengthy but enjoyable journey to Milano.

Executive class is the top deal of four levels of service on this train - and the first delight is the seats!

1+1 seating is pure luxury. The next two levels down have the more usual 2+1 ...

... and only the lowest of the low have to suffer 2+2 slumming - but with more room that on any train in the UK.

But our ride is the top class!

Where are the tables in the Executive class, you may ask? Answer; they are cunningly hidden in the arm rest from which they unfold in a neat but complex manoeuvre. Lift out of the slot ...

... fold over ...

... and open up to full width.

Lets hope that the complex mechanism is strong enough to be reliable. It would be depressing to have paid Executive price and have your meals summarily dumped in the lap!

On the opposite arm you will find the controls for adjusting height and rake of the seat ...

... again all electrically controlled. And here is the equivalent in Azuma First Class ...

... and for twice the price!

And don't forget Trenitalia's power and USB sockets ...

... giving access to a wide range of entertainment as well as fast wifi.

There are plenty of screens at roof level, showing progress of the train and probably some tedious advertising which, hopefully, can be ignored.

As tends to be usual on posh trains in Europe, they give you the current speed; in the above display just short of 300kph (186mph) - or to use a technical term, FAST!

Tomorrow, we continue the ride and enjoy the grub!

How will it compare with LNER?

Meanwhile, Empty Weirdness!

The withdrawal of all Go Ahead Southern services to Victoria is truly unprecedented and leaves more questions unanswered than explanations given! This is Roger French in his blog.

The twittersphere has provided its explorers with some astounding pictures of a very empty "Southern" side at Victoria. Here, the barriers ...

... and the very blank departure screens.

But we tend to forget that just as Victoria is empty, so is the Southern half of Clapham Junction.

Weird indeed.

We live in strange times!

 Next Red Arrow blog : Friday 7th January 

By Red Arrow To Milan (1)

Red Arrow?

But not, fbb suspects, on one of these - or on something slightly more modern.

Even the latest vehicular option would be a challenger to any semblance ot comfort.

No doubt a ride in one of these would be a better option.

Now, if you could book a seat on something of this ilk ...

Today's Red Arrow is Freccia (arrow) Rossa (red) in Italian. It is a brand of Trenitalia, the state railways company of Italy; and has developed a network of high speed high quality trains between the major centres of population.

Journey times are impressive ...

... and this brief video gives some idea of what the trains and the service look like.

Recently, as shown in the video, a step-up in on-board facilities is provided by the latest development.

Another recent development is a pair of trains from Paris to Milan competing directly with SNCF's TGV service between the two cities.

It is a bit shorter than London to Inverness (570 miles). The Euro159 single equates to £134 in good old British Pounds.

For the record, a single "Anytime" ticket from London to Inverness is £193, with a massive reduction to £185.50 for off peak.

fbb wonders how the level of service compares.

Fortunately a video of the journey, taken recently, is available on line - so we can have a butchers.

Tomorrow!

The French Railway Society sends a mailing to Dave (one of our many correspondents from Sheffield) every month. It contains a wealth of information about the SNCF network, past and present. The January 2022 edition reviews the re-birth of sleeper services in France. It is only a few years ago that these dwindled to almost nothing - now they are back with a vengeance.

A brief summary of the Frecciarossa Paris to Milan is provided ...

... plus the link to the video which will provide the basis for tomorrows posting. A nose-end view illustrates how spectacular these trains look in their bright red livery.

One little snippet was of particular interest to fbb. The "Happy New Year" tag was backed up by a seasonal photo from the (recent - 10 years ago) past.

It comes with a summary of SNCF progress.

fbb's phone did not reveal the "engineering staff in the lower right hand corner", but a second look in the laptop revealed these chilly chain-saw-less chappies!

Brrrrr!

Alan's Self-Financed Christmas Present to Self

Alan models in narrow gauge, and the above is newly produced by Bachmann. It is a beautiful model at a beautiful price which now graces his beautiful layout. Gorgeous. Here is the real thing!

Wrong Again!

In a rush of post festive blood to the head and a horrific lack of common sense, fbb revealed, in his bus station quiz, that the above was Bolton. It is NOT Bolton and certainly does NOT appear in the bis stations book under review.

West Yorkshire correspondent Colin points out that it is WAKEFIELD's old bus station! The clue, Colin avers, is the spire of Wakefield Cathedral in the background.

Apologies! And anotgher shot of the main building at Wakefield.

 Next Red Arrobe blog : Thursday 6th January 

Another Christmas Book - The Review

But First : Yesterday's Answers

1. Derby (Moorledge) - now rebuilt

2. Broad Marsh Nottingham

3. Broad Marsh Notttingham - Mark 2

4. Bridport

5. Buchanan Street Glasgow - replaced by "Buchanan"

6. Bedford - now rebuilt

7. Dundee - now rebuilt

8. Gloucester Green, Oxford : now rebuilt

9. Loughborough - gone

10. Portsmouth (The Hard) - now rebuilt

11. Golders Green

12. Northampton Derngate - replaced twice!

13. Bradford - now rebuilt

14. Shanklin - now on-street stands

15.Bolton - now rebuilt

Now, The Book : fbb's Christmas Present

This book is not an academic study! It is a collection of archive photographs and offers a feast of pure omnibological nostalgia.

This book is not a complete set. It provides a good selection of bus stations in England, Scotland and Wales that illustrate how varied the genre was. There is no mention of either Derngate in Northampton or its replacement, Greyfriars, now also demolished.

Development since the eighties are not covered, hence there is nothing about Nottingham's Broad Marsh Mark 3 which currently looks a bit like this:-

The book has no maps, leaving the reader to open up Google Maps or Street Map and search for where these facilities once were. Thanks to the vast amount of information available on-line, this investigation can be a pleasurable, sometimes a frustrating task. Here is a corner of the original Airdrie bus station ...

... and the helpful textk that accompanies it ...

... and a Streetview shop of the buildings today.

The trend in recent years is to remove bus stations and sell the site for development. Where new bus stations have been built, almost always by local authorities as bus companies no longer consider the expense of providing comfort for their waiting passengers worth the reductions in "bottom line" profits. Where new bus stations have been built they are usually smaller than their predecessors.

Many of the stations in this book were owned by the company. Here is East Yorkshire at Bridlington ...

... now The Promenade shopping centre. But "round the back" is a replacement.

By far the most fascinating picture, for fbb, is of this "bus station".

And, wowsers, it is still there!

The building at the back is the point of reference,

It is no longer given the title of a bus station - but it was once known as such. Google maps now call it "turning circle". The buses nip up the cul de sac, turn in the "circle" and use the shelter which once was a lean-to against the wall!

Surely the smallest bus station in the UK, it is in the community of Waterfoot.

It is just along the road from Rawtenstall.

Bus Stations in Britain by Kevin McCormack is published by Capital Transport at a whopping but stimulating £30.

Tomorrow we go on a train ride.

 Next Red Arrow blog : Wednesday 5th January