Comfort and catering: the demise of quality rail travel

摘要

I am hearing more and more from readers who are giving up long-distance train travel, owing to the poor quality of the trains now provided. One reader said he has been using trains from Paddington to Truro for years. But the ridiculous decision to abolish the buffet was one of several last straws, with the new trains far inferior to the old High Speed Trains in terms of seat comfort and ride quality. He explained: "Sorry to say, as a family we have given up on train travel to Cornwall and our travel is now by car or sometimes by air to Newquay. So much for our green footprint!" A second reader said he didn't want to drive to Cornwall. Instead, he now opts to travel from Waterloo to Exeter St Davids, then change onto a local service onwards.