On Trains & Buses

Thankfully, these are fairly minor compared to previous years. Nevertheless, they can catch you out if you are not aware of them, so I am sharing them on here.

The ones starting from 2024-09-01 are minor changes in journey times. The first is the afternoon journey on service 188, a variation of service 88 between Macclesfield, Knutsford, Wilmslow and Altrincham that is included in the same timetable, that will run 10 minutes earlier. The, there are tweaks to the route 60 and 60A timetables to add extra reliability. Coming on 2024-09-02 is a more dramatic change: Mikro Bus are removing the Brookhouse section from route 39. That will leave some looking for alternative travel options.

On 2024-10-24, two changes are being made to exclude parts of route 312 and the Sunday service on route 130 that go through parts of Greater Manchester. Route 312 will use the A555 instead, while route 130 will go along both the A555 and A34 on its way to and from Handforth Dean Retail Park. The latter will no longer go along Stanley Road or Earl Road; Monday to Saturday journeys are unaffected by this change and continue as they are. In addition, journey times on route 312 will also be altered to improve connections with service 88 for getting to and from Knutsford.

Hopefully, that will be all there is to these because more like the cessations in Nantwich rural services can come yet. There may be a Better Buses Bill on the way, but it brings no extra cash and there is a budgetary shortfall that has affected transport investment. At this moment, public transport needs all the help it can get, so that is a shame. Hopefully, we can get past this challenging period to enter better times; they are sorely needed. While there may be a new government, financial constraints sadly remain for now.

The two trips to France allowed for numerous opportunities for using their public transport system. Part of that included their long distance high speed rail network. My forays took in such places as Saint-Malo, Rennes, Paris and Grenoble. At one point, I was tempted by the prospect of a day trip to Geneva, though that never came to pass. Two Paris termini featured: Paris-Montparnasse and Paris Gare de Lyon.

Early Awareness

It was during my secondary schooling that I first became aware of the Train à Grande Vitesse or TGV. French lessons often featured details of life in France, and the commercially successful TGV network was part of this. A school trip to Brittany during one set of summer holidays even had the idea of a TGV trip mentioned. That never happened. The logistics of getting around Paris following an arrival at Paris-Montparnasse possibly would have been too challenging anyway. Instead, a day trip to Jersey as well as others to Dinan and Mont Saint Michel more than sufficed.

A Self-inflicted Hiccup

My 2024 journeying took a different form. The plan was to sail from Portsmouth to Saint-Malo with Brittany Ferries following by train travel to Paris Montparnasse with a stop in Rennes. The lapse of memory that had me leave home without a passport put paid to that scheme. Any bookings with SNCF needed cancellation. Handily, they use English on their website and their mobile app, which made that easier. It also helped that I got most of my money back too.

A Day in Rennes

Mixed weather on my first full day in Paris meant that a trip to Rennes by TGV became a possibility that made up for the disrupted plans. Travelling standard class and booking at the last minute meant that I got lower deck seating when being on the top deck might have been my preference; you do get asked at booking time. Nevertheless, the flatness of the countryside through which we passed meant that this was no shortcoming.

Since the mobile app stores and displays your tickets, using their QR tickets at barriers works smoothly when boarding. Not everywhere has ticket barriers, so there are onboard ticket checks too, and the QR codes work there as well.

Even without ticket barriers, the platforms are not opened until near departure. That can mean a wait, yet there always is plenty of time for boarding, which is just as well given how long the trains can be. Those taking me to and from Rennes had four electric power cars and sixteen trailer coaches, including two café bars (contenting myself with what I had with me, I made no use of these). With a mobility issue, you really need to book assistance in advance.

The whole coupled set may not come at once, as I found while returning from Rennes. The front set had arrived, but I was booked onto the rear set that had arrived later from Brest. When that came and was attached to the other one, boarding did not take long to complete. The wait needed added patience though. You need to keep your wits about you not to end up on the wrong unit.

Nevertheless, all worked well. Because there are no motors underneath the passenger accommodation, the TGV is not undeserving on its contemporary branding of “inOui”, the French for unheard. All certainly is still and relaxing on these trains, possibly to the point of being soporific at times. Spending time reading is as much an option as looking out the window at the passing scenery while scudding across the country at speeds of up to 300 kph.

An Arrival According to a Previous Plan

With an unused Brittany Ferries booking, albeit amended twice, I set sail from Portsmouth to Saint-Malo on the evening of the summer solstice. My arrival in France was dampened by showers while using the time in advance of a direct train journey to Paris-Montparnasse on a TGV. This time, I had more luggage with me than a rucksack on my back. Thus, I was not enthusiastic about moving very far with it.

After a small circuit of Saint-Malo, I found its train station with a waiting TGV being readied for travel. There was a wait before they left us onboard, though a passenger with restricted mobility was helped onto the train well in advance of the departure time.

This time around, I booked a first class journey that did not cost that much more than standard class. This time, I was able to choose a seat in the upper deck. There were plenty of luggage racks that allowed you have your baggage nearer to you than I have experienced elsewhere. The seating may have felt a little worn, yet it was more spacious and the reclining action moved the seat and not just the back, something for airline and bus companies to note. On one side of the aisle, there were single seats with tandem ones on the other side. There is mix of airline and table seats too. Finding an isolated position to my liking, that is what I got to use, even if I was without a dropdown tray for some reason.

Getting a heavy case onboard requires lifting, for nothing is step free, even for the lower deck. For the upper one, you have to step down from the platform before ascending to where you should be. Travelling light may a wiser choice as I was to find more than once on my second round of French travels. Once upstairs moving around was easy enough, and luggage accommodation is generous.

The line between Saint-Malo and Rennes is of the classic variety, so you get a high speed train going at much less than its designed speed. That did offer more opportunities for window gazing, and a classic line felt more built up, thus allowing you a greater feel for French countryside. After a stop in Rennes, progress was far more rapid on the Ligne à Grande Vitesse (LGV). From then on, the experience was not dissimilar to my previous encounter and I do not fault it. Once at Paris-Montparnasse, there was a change onto a local train for Versailles, but that is another story.

To Grenoble and Back

After spending some time around Versailles and Paris, I was bound for more alpine surroundings. That meant getting to Gare de Lyon, where trains running on the LGV Sud-Est and LGV Rhône-Alpes serve. Like the journey from Saint-Malo to Paris-Montparnasse, I was going direct to Grenoble without a change of train. Again, I went with upper deck first class accommodation with much the same experience.

This time, the trains were shorter. There were two electric power cars topping and tailing eight trailer carriages. The doubling up that I encountered on the LGV Bretagne - Pays de Loire was not the case here. There was one stop prior to Grenoble: Gare de Lyon-Saint-Exupéry. This not a city station but is attached to an airport, quite a distance from Lyon.

Beyond that station on the outbound journey, you again find yourself on a classic line with some very sluggish progress. Having a train designed for 300 kph loping along at around 50 kph with many pauses is an odd business until things speed up beyond that point. It makes one wonder if arrival will be on time; that was not a problem as I found. At least, the scenery had got more interesting by then and that last section showed many mountain sightings, pre-announcing an imminent arrival. If anything, that passage along the classic line felt quicker on the return journey. Maybe, being forewarned is being forearmed.

Other Possibilities

Nothing that I came across on the French high speed network would put me off using it again. Other ideas came into my mind during my trips to France. Marseille cropped up as a possible getaway from inclement weather that I never needed. The same might be said of Geneva, an international option that came to mind during the first trip. It may be that these and other possibilities could have a use on any future continental European escapades that come to pass. Rail may take longer than that by air, but it remains kinder to the environment, and you may get to experience a lot more of your surroundings. For those reasons, I would not discount the prospects of a repeat venture like what happened earlier this year.

This year, I got a few opportunities to sample Eurostar’s services between London and Paris. Brussels and Amsterdam are destinations reachable from the UK, but I stuck with France. Former Thalys services, still in red and now branded Eurostar, are part of the network too, so other destinations in Belgium and the Netherlands are a possibility, as are a selection in Germany. There are trains to skiing destinations in the winter as well as ones to sunshine counterparts in the summer. Changing your train somewhere in continental Europe will grant you more options. At a time of greater climate consciousness, it is good to have these.

The prospect of an out and back trip to Paris by train had lain in my mind for a few years, only for it never to happen for one reason or another. The idea predates both Brexit and the height of the pandemic. Last year’s visits added the idea of an outbound ferry crossing followed by a return by train. Passport fumbling on my part was enough to scupper this the first time around.

Fortunately, I got myself onto an outbound Eurostar train at fairly short notice to continue the trip. That added to the cost, which seemingly is never cheap anyway. Booking further in advance does help, though.

Travelling in standard class, I got allocated a seat, and it looks as if choosing one yourself is not a standard option, unless you get that in travelling in business class. At one turn, I saw a family dealing with the non-ideal arrangement they had been given.

For a lone traveller, it is less of an issue, and I was not put out by it. The first time around, I was seated with three others and airline seating was my lot after that. The last trip even gained me two airline seats to myself, a much more relaxing proposition that I did not expect to have.

At St. Pancras International, the waiting area was not so commodious with all who were travelling. Seat availability is not assured, though business class travellers get access to a dedicated lounge. At Gare du Nord, there is much more space for everyone. That may be on an overhead annex seemingly fasten to the front and side of the station, but it does work and there appear to be more outlets providing food and drink as well as duty-free shopping.

Because of passage through the Channel Tunnel, luggage and personal possessions needed x-raying at both locations, but this was not as strenuous as with air travel. If anything the process is much faster. At both termini, you need to pass though both British and French passport control. It is not as if you have one country’s passport control in one place and another’s in another one. However, the double clearance makes for rapid disembarkation on arrival at your destination, which can be a bonus for making onward travel connections.

Boarding is fairly efficient once they open the gates for doing so. The trains are long you need to be use the right ramp to save yourself a lot of hurried walking. Getting luggage sorted is another matter. It makes life easier and matters quicker if you are not carrying so much. My first trip only used a large rucksack because I saw myself walking around different places with it. That was easy enough since an overhead rack was all that I needed. For the second one, I carried a case as well as a daypack. The latter could go on an overhead rack, while the former had to be stored in the correct area. Getting on early made that a quick operation, though there is a step up from the platform that added to the amount of lifting and carrying (it could have been lighter…).

While there is a café bar onboard, I stuck with whatever food and drink I brought with me. With journey times not exceeding two and a half hours, there was not a lot of available time anyway. One omission that I noticed was Wi-Fi; it may have been advertised, but there was no sign of it when I tried to connect. Mobile signal did work to a point given the speeds at which we were going. That was enough for any reading or tracking where we were going. What really struck me was the flatness of any countryside through which we were passing. The Channel Tunnel section only lasted for around twenty minutes, and I dozed for much of that on the first journey.

Aside from grumbles about lack of Wi-Fi and an appreciation for choosing a seat for oneself, I had no complaints about the journeys. Gare du Nord is not the most centrally located of stations though, something for which you need to account in a city as big as Paris where it is easy to walk for an hour between any of its landmarks. The proximity of St. Pancras International to Euston worked far better for me, and even the previous terminus at Waterloo is only a short underground journey away. All in all, the added flexibility of rail travel still works. It may need more time, yet there are further uses that I can concoct for possible escapades that may or may not come to pass.

For once, there is some better news about bus services in Cheshire East. Sunday and bank holiday services have been very limited for too many years, and there is some movement on that now using government money made available in response to Cheshire East Council’s Bus Service Improvement Plan. It is a far cry from having a busy bus station on Sundays that we had when Gordon Brown was Prime Minister. If we get a Labour government after the ongoing election, it will be interesting to see what happens, even if they have little leeway on spending.

Services 12 (Leighton Hospital - Crewe - Brookhouse Estate - Shavington), 38 (Crewe - Sandbach - Congleton - Macclesfield) and 130 (Macclesfield - Alderley Edge - Wilmslow - Handforth - Wythenshawe - Airport) got Sunday and Bank Holiday services added to their timetables from 2024-06-09. Of these, service 12 also got new Saturday evening journeys from 2024-06-08. From 2024-06-03, some timings on route 38 changed to improve service reliability.

The result for route 12 is that the Saturday service runs from around 07:00 until 21:00 with a frequency of approximately thirty minutes for most of the day, with frequencies halving after 18:00. On Sundays and Bank Holidays, buses run approximately every sixty minutes between Leighton Hospital and Shavington between 09:00 and 18:00 albeit with a reduced frequency to every 90 minutes in the middle of the day.

On route 38, Sunday and Bank Holiday buses run approximately every ninety minutes between Crewe and Macclesfield between 08:00 and 19:00. Route 130 is similar with buses running approximately every 90 minutes between Macclesfield and Handforth Dean between 08:00 and 18:00, the only exception being the last bus of the day from Handforth Dean that runs an hour after its predecessor instead of ninety minutes.

D&G Bus operates all of these except for the Sunday and Bank Holiday service on route 130, a surprise given that it operates that route every other day of the week. Even if High Peak Buses have the contract for the additional route 130 journeys, D&G Bus passes and tickets will still be accepted. The other element of surprise is that both D&G Bus and High Peak Buses are owned by Centrebus, making me wonder why they might be competing against each other for contracts. Of course, there may be another story here that lies outside my knowledge.

While none of this is near as good as what we had under the last Labour government, it is better than nothing. Hopefully, the new services get the patronage that is needed to sustain them. It is one thing to have subsidised services, but we know from recent experience that reasons can be found to remove these in an unfavourable political environment. After all, years of austerity have done serious damage to Cheshire’s bus network to leave a less dependable shadow of what once was in place.

For a change, I spent the Christmas and New Year period in Scotland. Having been in Macclesfield for the same since a New Year getaway to Tenerife in 2018/9, I felt that it was not before time that I went somewhere else. There was a time when I spent Christmas in Ireland every year until family bereavements stopped that, and the novelty of being in Macclesfield had well and truly left me.

Many Ways Obstructed

Christmas was spent in Edinburgh while New Year was spent in Aviemore. The weather may have been mixed, but some better days came too, especially when I was further north. However, Storm Gerrit really obstructed travel when I wanted to travel north. Because of flooding and other damage, getting north of Perth towards Inverness or doing the same towards Dundee or Aberdeen virtually became an impossibility.

All of this arrived on the first day of train services after the Christmas stoppage. That may explain the poor quality of information provided by the National Rail app on my phone, which was far too optimistic. Getting things updated can appear to more laboured than is optimal, and this was one case of that. If correct information had been available, I would have not gone as far as Perth only to return to Edinburgh again for another night.

Others had their plans disrupted as well, so you have to ask how everyone got accommodated. Staff in Perth were not impressed to hear that many had been advised to go that far, and it seemed that everything was running in an ad hoc manner. The weather warning only came through the night before in any case.

Strong winds and heavy rainfall had blocked roads as well. The A9 was impassable near Dunkeld, which meant that road transport was no help since it could not operate, and the railway was flooded between Stirling and Perth as well; a fallen tree blocked rail services to Aberdeen and also damaged a train. Only for needing to get to a hotel, I might not have bothered at all. Thankfully, the hotel in Aviemore took the first night off my stay and kept the rest of my booking in place.

With most Scottish Citylink services calling at Broxden Park & Ride instead of Perth city centre, it was enough to make one pause for thought before risking a trip out of town. In the event, getting a seat on any coach service would have been challenging anyway. However, knowing that Stagecoach service X7 linked Perth with Aberdeen might have made for an overnight stay there instead of Edinburgh, cutting down on travel time the next day. These are times when the likes of Booking.com can help with getting things sorted while on the move, though working through options takes some time and is not so easy on the move even with the power of mobile telephony these days.

A Long Way Around

Things were clearer the next morning, albeit in a more pessimistic manner. No train was running between Edinburgh and either Inverness or Aberdeen. Trying Edinburgh’s bus station was the only way to be sure that coach services were operating. Everything going up to Inverness was fully booked while I waited to see what if any trains were running. That still left Aberdeen as a possibility and a last minute booking got me on a laden coach going there. The next to four-hour journey allowed for plenty of time to see the countryside going by the coach windows. Busy traffic made for a sizeable delay serving Broxden Park & Ride when the service was running late anyway.

On arriving in Aberdeen, it was time to see if there was any way of getting to Inverness when no trains were going between the two cities because of flooding. Though very busy, there was a departure on service 10 that did what was needed. Having a seat was a bonus and a wheelchair user failed to get on board at a later stop because of how full the bus was. What lay ahead was a four and a half hour journey with fewer people on board after Inverurie and Huntly. That made things more comfortable, though the calls to Ardersier, Inverness Airport and Inverness Shopping Park were frustrating. That was because I spied the restoration of train services going south from Inverness. Thankfully, I got to that in time and avoided making an Uber booking.

The hotel in Aviemore was reached at least so no other bookings or booking changes were needed. Then, I could make the best of what came and there were few if any disappointments in the offing. All came together in the end.