Bring back Motorail now electric cars are here

Johnmcl7

stator wrote: »

I've always thought motorail would be a success if it had significant investment.

There is capacity in most of the rail network, just not the west coast mainline between london and birmingham.

With investment the old routes could open, from Cornwall to Scotland and from London to Cornwall and London to Scotland. You would need large depots out of town to make loading easy.

With the price of petrol/diesel and electric cars I would certainly use the service but it would need a lot of advertising. I don't think most people even knew the old service existed.

I can't see the costs working out, I have a pretty thirsty car and even then it's generally a lot cheaper taking the car rather than the train and that's just a single seat.

John

AdrianC

Johnmcl7 wrote: »

The eurotunnel is not bad but it was still more than the entire return flight and it's a lot of driving to get there.

I've just checked the flight - and booking for September, ONE seat is £152 from my nearest major(ish) airport to Lille (nearest to where we were going). With a change in Amsterdam. Ten hours from Bristol to Lille.

Flights to Lisbon (nearest to where we're actually going in the summer) are £390 each, changing in Munich.

nickcc

Used the motorail back in 1976, Newcastle on Tyne to Newton Abbott, two adults and two children jammed into tiny sleeper compartment with a pull down sink and no air con during the hottest summer for years. Just hope if it's reintroduced they don't use the old rolling stock

Gloomendoom

Nodding_Donkey wrote: »

Didn't Motorail die because it cost too much?

The roads network improved making it largely redundant.

Car_54

nickcc wrote: »

Just hope if it's reintroduced they don't use the old rolling stock

I think it's unlikely that it will be reintroduced to satisfy the demand from one poster on this forum.

Strider590

rhr2000 wrote: »

I am looking at an electric car as a real option but range is still a limiting factor.
What would be fantastic would be to roll into a train near London and travel to Bristol, or Preston,or Edinburgh...charging my car while on the train.

This really would let the train take the strain but allow one to complete end journeys with luggage in your own car.
I know we used to have to have this and it's an old idea but with electric 150+ mile journeys are likely to be an issue for the longer term.
It works for channel tunnel / Germany /Italy etc. why not in the UK?
Any views.

Above all, corruption and capitalism.
In this country everyone is out to squeeze personal profit before investing money in the business infrastructure, because in this country "success" is measured in perceived wealth.

Take a holiday in Malta, use the bus service to get around the island and you'll soon wonder why the hell our bus services are so bad...........

n217970

AdrianC wrote: »

I went on the EuroTunnel to France. Two of us plus car, over Easter weekend, booked in Feb - £128 return.

£4 a mile. Not exactly cheap.

Car_54

rhr2000 wrote: »

It works for channel tunnel / Germany /Italy etc. why not in the UK?
Any views.

But it's ceasing to work. See https://www.seat61.com/Motorail.htm

"Motorail trains are an endangered species. They run on a dwindling handful of holiday routes, often summer-only and usually only once or twice a week, see the motorail route map below. All French Motorail trains from Calais were discontinued in 2010, Dutch Auto Slaap Trein from the Netherlands was discontinued in 2014, and German DB Autozug was almost completely discontinued in 2015."

The reasons are the same as in the UK.

peter_the_piper

AdrianC wrote: »

Flights to Lisbon (nearest to where we're actually going in the summer) are £390 each, changing in Munich.

Crumbs, that's only about £50 quid each less than our October flights to Bangkok.

stator

Might be more feasible on HS2 if it allows double decker trains