Standing Room Only

[jeremyp]

Jeremy Corbyn seems to have sparked off a bit of a debate on the railways. Passenger numbers have doubled since privatisation which makes overcrowded trains more common. Jeremy C is suggesting that we re-nationalise the railways (presumably in an attempt to alleviate overcrowding by halving passenger numbers). Is this the right solution? What is the guarantee that the same mistakes from the last nationalisation won't be made again? Has he forgotten that the nationalised railways were not exactly a paragon of good service?

[SusanDoris]

I heard on radio 4 (I think it was PM) that a reporter went on that train today. As far as he could tell, there are usually empty seats which Jeremy Corbyn could have found for him and his wife.

Re-nationalisation would be a disaster. During the past three days, I have been on SW Trains, Cross-country, East Midlands, London Midlands (I think) and observe many other trains at stations. It is amazing how many people are on all these trains at whatever time of day one is travelling. The Assisted Travel was excellent, the trains clean inside and out  and the stations clean too.

(I went to basingstoke-Birmngham New St-Sheffield; Sheffield-Nottinghamn; Nottinghamn-Tamworth-Rugby-to get to Northampton; Northampton-Coventry and back home via Southampton.)

[Jack Knave]

I thought you were going to comment on the fact that Corbyn's no bullshit talk or spin approach to politics had been exploded by his pathetic attempt here to highlight a problem that wasn't present? The guys an amateur!!!

[Walt Zingmatilder]

I thought you were going to comment on the fact that Corbyn's no bullshit talk or spin approach to politics had been exploded by his pathetic attempt here to highlight a problem that wasn't present? The guys an amateur!!!

Virgin trains were packed out when I used them last from London to York.
I think you'll have a job persuading commuters that the morning crush they experience is due to them missing vacant seats.

[Walt Zingmatilder]

Like many privatised industries Our railways are largely run by the commercial overseas arms of the nationalised railways of European countries.

In this sense they are nationalised.

[jeremyp]

Virgin trains were packed out when I used them last from London to York.

I think it's a pity that the story has become about how Corbyn spun the truth. The reality is that the trains on the East Coast mainline very often are completely rammed even if the one Corbyn was on wasn't. However, I don'y know why he thinks nationalisation is going to fix it unless he's planning to return passenger numbers to 1995 levels.

The Cross Country trains are even worse. They have a system whereby you can reserve a seat by text message which means that, even if you do find a seat that's empty, you might find yourself being evicted further down the line.

[Harrowby Hall]

This stunt highlights Jeremy Corbyn's unfitness for high office. In order that politicians are capable of working effectively then they should manage their own life and time efficiently and be seen to do so.

No doubt Corbyn was advised that a reservation would be required but he chose to ignore that avice (or even cancelled a reservation) so that he could be perceived and presented as being "close to the ordinary people" or some such left-wing claptrap.

I'm with JK here, the guy's an amateur. Vlad may be correct in saying that Virgin East Coast trains are packed, but the man has an official constitutional role which has a salary. He has an office and support staff who ordinarily would have booked a reserve seat as a matter of course. He must have told them not to make a reservation so that he could milk whatever situation subsequently arose.

[L.A.]

This stunt highlights Jeremy Corbyn's unfitness for high office. In order that politicians are capable of working effectively then they should manage their own life and time efficiently and be seen to do so.

And the useless idiot couldn't even pull off that simple deception without being rumbled. High office? - I wouldn't trust him to organise a church jumble sale!

. . . and I notice that he chose not to comment on the chaos that his chums in the RMT are currently inflicting on rail commuters.

The man is a complete disgrace - God help Labour if they can't get rid of him

[jeremyp]

This stunt highlights Jeremy Corbyn's unfitness for high office. In order that politicians are capable of working effectively then they should manage their own life and time efficiently and be seen to do so.

No doubt Corbyn was advised that a reservation would be required but he chose to ignore that avice (or even cancelled a reservation) so that he could be perceived and presented as being "close to the ordinary people" or some such left-wing claptrap.

I'm with JK here, the guy's an amateur. Vlad may be correct in saying that Virgin East Coast trains are packed, but the man has an official constitutional role which has a salary. He has an office and support staff who ordinarily would have booked a reserve seat as a matter of course. He must have told them not to make a reservation so that he could milk whatever situation subsequently arose.

Perhaps I imagined it, but I'm sure I read that he refused the offer of an upgrade to first class. Apparently, train operators prefer well know national politicians to travel in first class because they are inevitably surrounded by a scrum of aides and media types and sometimes security people which disrupts the journey for the ordinary plebs. Unfortunately, politicians tend to get worried by the image that travelling in first class puts out, to the extent that Ed Miliband's aides were once caught trying to remove first class signs and stickers from a carriage he was travelling in.

My own experience is this: I frequently travel from Reading to Bristol on the train and sometimes I travel first class if I'm feeling particularly flush. One time I got on and sat down and then I noticed that the tables all had table cloths on them and there were more people in the carriage than normal. Also, there was a waiter taking breakfast orders. I glanced across the aisle to discover that I was sitting opposite the then foreign secretary (David Miliband). I was expecting to get moved on but nobody batted an eyelid and so I sat with the British foreign secretary all the way to Bristol.

[L.A.]

My own experience is this: I frequently travel from Reading to Bristol on the train and sometimes I travel first class if I'm feeling particularly flush. One time I got on and sat down and then I noticed that the tables all had table cloths on them and there were more people in the carriage than normal. Also, there was a waiter taking breakfast orders. I glanced across the aisle to discover that I was sitting opposite the then foreign secretary (David Miliband). I was expecting to get moved on but nobody batted an eyelid and so I sat with the British foreign secretary all the way to Bristol.

I'd be demanding a refund if I had to sit with Corbyn.