Train versus Car

So, you have to make this journey. Its 130 miles each way with an overnight stop. Should you go by train or by car?

Train is green. Train can be so comfortable; seats leg room, table, toilets and refreshments. The train gives options to work, sleep, play or read on route, but sometimes the train can be uncomfortable. Hesitation to dash down to the station stems from lingering memories of nightmare journeys standing cross legged in the crowded carriage for hours, unable to access the toilets – just far too many people crammed in the corridor (Richard Branson, I hope that you are you reading this?)

Then again, motorways are most often congested. Recall that dark rainy night crawling through road works, mega congestion, multiple accidents, diesel fumes, tyre spray, frequent emergency braking, and all for no apparent reason. Do not forget the erratic British driving by frustrated fellow motorists, and endless motorway halts only because of some kind of activity on the other side aroused the curiosity of the bored motorists. For every journey, the traffic seems to be a little worse than the previous (unless it is a school holiday).

However, what about those cold wet nights standing on the station platform listening to the repeated announcement about your service being cancelled? Whilst they were “very sorry for the inconvenience caused”, they did f… all about it. You recall your blood pressure going sky high because the only reason 200 bored, hungry, people are waiting a whole hour for the next train is that just one member of the train crew (speculatively) had a skin-full the previously evening.

Well this time I decided to use the car. The reason – the only hotel my booking agent could find was 10 miles from the office. This was a great shame as the office and railway station were within a five minutes stroll.

That car journey was…. horrendous. Four hours comprising road works, delays caused by accidents (as usual some were not even on my side of the motorway) and the mega MEGA congestion. I had not travelled down the M6 from Manchester for over two years. Traffic congestion it seems is like a virulent disease for which the application of all known cures is prohibited due to lack of majority consensus. Tolls, road pricing, higher fuel duties are all politically too difficult because out there is a vocal, political active bunch of petition signing anarchist who seem to prefer to keep it just the way it is today. Do they really understand how much congestion is costing them?

So next time…. the plan is to sack the company’s hotel booking agent and find myself a hotel near to the railway station, even if it is only a two star. Alternatively, I could just stay at home and video conference. You would have thought that, working for a technology company, the latter option would be easily available. Not so. The former shortsighted CEO would not spend a dime on encouraging that facility. Now he’s gone to off to make spurious cost savings in some other company’s budgets maybe there is a chance for sanity here.