Tempus Fugit Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 I think they should be selling tickets now, like airlines, the earlier you book the cheaper is is and they then know how much traffic to cater for, get all the carriages out of storage, double bank the engines like they used to (or am I showing my age ?), open up the Peel and Ramsey lines again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lonan3 Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 I often think it was foolish of the government to get rid of the rail network here, it could have been sooo good. Unless my memory fails me, the part we left is the legacy of Peter Craine MHK (Mecvannin and Manx National Party) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b4mbi Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 I also romanticise about having the full steam network reinstated, it would be just great! However economically, it's an absolute non-starter... even if you won the lottery, you couldn't afford to reinstate the lines / locos and pay for all the ongoing maintenance. (or maybe we could get chain gangs of no good prisoners to do the grafting...) Damn shame they were ripped up, but on the other side, the old routes have created a lovely walkway to Peel! [/nostalgia] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buggane Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 Totally agree, if they had made the incentive strong enough to use the train (rather than charging twice as much as the bus) I think people may have tried it (they might still do) and found it to be a really enjoyable way to travel, no traffic, can sit and stare out the window, listen to your walkman or iPod or read, total hassle free way to travel and a great way to unwind after a day at work You could even make a call on your mobile phone and say, very loudly: "I'm on the train!" Except I haven't got a mobile , travelling by steam train, no mobile, I must catch up one day !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cret Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 For instance, the Car Park at the MEA Power station is still only £1 AFAIK(haven't checked for a while so don't flame me) and then it's only a good 5 minute walk into the Centre of Douglas, all fairy on the level as well, so no great hike. Sorry to pick on this but no way is it a 5 minute walk to town centre unless you're a giraffe, or Robbie Callister - more like 15-20. I know that's only 10 minutes or so difference but as has been stated people are so lazy these days that a difference like that will stop them doing it. I used to live along near there and it'd normally take me about 17 minutes to get down to the lower end of victoria street each day and I walk pretty quickly. You're right about the cost though I think. (or maybe we could get chain gangs of no good prisoners to do the grafting...) What a superb idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bilbo Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 For instance, the Car Park at the MEA Power station is still only £1 AFAIK(haven't checked for a while so don't flame me) and then it's only a good 5 minute walk into the Centre of Douglas, all fairy on the level as well, so no great hike. Sorry to pick on this but no way is it a 5 minute walk to town centre unless you're a giraffe, or Robbie Callister - more like 15-20. I know that's only 10 minutes or so difference but as has been stated people are so lazy these days that a difference like that will stop them doing it. I used to live along near there and it'd normally take me about 17 minutes to get down to the lower end of victoria street each day and I walk pretty quickly. You're right about the cost though I think. (or maybe we could get chain gangs of no good prisoners to do the grafting...) What a superb idea. I have been using the car park by the powerstation for a while and it just recently went up without warning to £1.50. Grr, still cheaper than parking in the town center. It takes about ten minutes to get to Athol street. If it goes up anymore I will start parking in town again for sure. As said before for people to use such places, schemes there has to be a financial incentive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moghrey Mie Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 Interesting replies, while I'm all in favour of using the trains and love to travel by train over here, I cannot understand why the government is not pushing 'Lift Share' heavily as this is the simplest and most effective way of cutting traffic, I know most people want to drive their own car, on their own, from their door at home to their door at work (recent FOE survey over here showed that 85% !!!! of the traffic coming into Douglas in the morning had one person per car), but surely people would be prepared to share lifts during TT week, could easily half the traffic, surely thats an effective solution as the train will only ever solve a small part of the problem and get a couple of hundred cars off the road at the very most. Or maybe they could discourage people who live in Douglas from driving to work as that would prevent a lot of the bottlenecking too, seeing what the traffic is like most nights trying to get out of Douglas I can only imagine its going to be ridiculous in TT week, maybe it'll be OK, guess we'll have to wait and see Could possibly start a forum topic on here for people to find other people to share lifts with ??? - would people consider it just for 2 weeks ??? www.liftshare.org already covers the Isle of Man (thanks to Zero Waste Mann) Go to the site and you will find all the towns and villages on the island listed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buggane Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 Interesting replies, while I'm all in favour of using the trains and love to travel by train over here, I cannot understand why the government is not pushing 'Lift Share' heavily as this is the simplest and most effective way of cutting traffic, I know most people want to drive their own car, on their own, from their door at home to their door at work (recent FOE survey over here showed that 85% !!!! of the traffic coming into Douglas in the morning had one person per car), but surely people would be prepared to share lifts during TT week, could easily half the traffic, surely thats an effective solution as the train will only ever solve a small part of the problem and get a couple of hundred cars off the road at the very most. Or maybe they could discourage people who live in Douglas from driving to work as that would prevent a lot of the bottlenecking too, seeing what the traffic is like most nights trying to get out of Douglas I can only imagine its going to be ridiculous in TT week, maybe it'll be OK, guess we'll have to wait and see Could possibly start a forum topic on here for people to find other people to share lifts with ??? - would people consider it just for 2 weeks ??? www.liftshare.org already covers the Isle of Man (thanks to Zero Waste Mann) Go to the site and you will find all the towns and villages on the island listed. Excellent, would be worth pushing the government to publicise this in the run upto TT, will be interesting to see what increase there is in enquiries during the period, hopefully lots Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartT Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 Sorry to pick on this but no way is it a 5 minute walk to town centre unless you're a giraffe, or Robbie Callister - more like 15-20. Nah, even Sean Hands or Steve Partington couldn't do it in 5 minutes. You'd at least have to be running to stand a chance (and in full business suit + shoes as well!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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