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Bring back Motorail now electric cars are here
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The Channel Tunnel is a good example of greedy capitalism.
Even as a frequent traveller the lowest price I can get is £44 each way - but that's only if i buy a minimum of 10 tickets and travel 'off peak' and/or in the middle of the night.
Travelling from anywhere in the North of the UK makes determining your exact arrival time at the Tunnel terminal a bit difficult and if you want flexibility to be able to cross any time of day then the price leaps to £132 each way.
The ferries also cash in with varying prices according to which time of crossing you choose - with prices soaring whenever there is a holiday weekend or school holidays start.
The ferry company season tickets are decent value though - you only need to buy a minimum of 6 one-way tickets at £36 (3 return crossings) for a total of £218
They are amendable at no additional charge and can be used any time of day with only a few 'high season' exceptions.0 -
We're talking about LeShuttle, the car-train, or EuroStar?Travelling from anywhere in the North of the UK makes determining your exact arrival time at the Tunnel terminal a bit difficult and if you want flexibility to be able to cross any time of day then the price leaps to £132 each way.
If we're talking about LeShuttle, then they automatically offer flexibility if you turn up early or late. When you check in, you're given a list of available crossings.0 -
Just buy a good diesel if going long distances and forget electric until they get them to work for more than 150 miles
They do. Tesla. They're just a bit pricey. Renault Zoe 41kW can do 150 miles in summer...0 -
We're talking about LeShuttle, the car-train, or EuroStar?
If we're talking about LeShuttle, then they automatically offer flexibility if you turn up early or late. When you check in, you're given a list of available crossings.
The 'LeShuttle' must have changed then - I once had to wait for my allotted crossing and on another occasion I was offered to cross on the next available train for a £30 'upgrade'.
The ferry people at check-in seem to use a bit more common sense.0 -
Just buy a good diesel if going long distances and forget electric until they get them to work for more than 150 miles
Most electrics will do approaching 150 miles, and charge within about 20 minutes at a service station whilst you take a pee/coffee break every 2/3 hours.
If range is really a problem, then there's always hybrids - run on electric most of the time and fall back to combustion when you run out of range.
But that still doesn't solve the issues motorail did - you don't have to drive the whole way.
Would some sort of coach/car transporter combi be a viable alternative to rail? Like an overnight bus that can take a few cars as well? It would address the capacity issue and it only ran on motorways could be pretty big (connecting service stations North/South, as you'd likely have a car to use it anyway). Charging might be an issue, but there'd be nothing stopping it carrying a massive battery as well.0 -
I like the idea of the sleeper pulling the cars along with so you could hop off the train after a night's rest and head off in the car
Yes - we could do that 50+ years ago, no problem. That's progress for you....I used to think that good grammar is important, but now I know that good wine is importanter.0 -
Most of the time ?then there's always hybrids - run on electric most of the time and fall back to combustion when you run out of range
most hybrids will only do max of 20 miles ish in electric only mode
http://www.plugincars.com/cars
US site, but still relevant for numbers0 -
bob_a_builder wrote: »Most of the time ?
most hybrids will only do max of 20 miles ish in electric only mode
http://www.plugincars.com/cars
US site, but still relevant for numbers
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (one of the big players in the space) does 70 miles on electric before falling back to petrol.
Plus, the vast majority of journeys are well under 20 miles for people who don't live on the motorway.0
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