Hi aussiesteve
Yes, my comments were really meant for HS2 and other high-speed/intercity lines. Their trains stop for several minutes which makes it possible.
When I'm driving over commuter lines the aim is for 20 seconds as a 'door open time'. That's fine on the quieter outer stations or off-peak at the bigger ones, but it can be much longer.
And yes, there was a trial done quite a few decades ago on the Southern or South-Eastern region, can't remember which but I'm sure one of our historians can add some details.
To my mind it was a half-hearted attempt because that part of the country has the highest number of tunnels and bridges, built to the tightest of gauges.
So the train wasn't a true double-decker, more a deck-and-a-halfer. I always thought the photos reminded me of a toy dolls house, with people squashed in - smiling for the camera but looking rather uncomfortable.
I suspect the trial train was built with the best of intentions by its designers, but that the politics was the Bigwigs never really wanted it to happen.
And this is a backwards-looking country that resists change of any sort. I'm told that when the first double-decker busses were conceived in the UK there was a wave of opposition.
The more things change, the more they stay the same - as the French say.
BW.
Last edited by Beeyar Wunby; 17th January 2018 at 11:36.
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