Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Manchester

Quite busy at the moment with client work so few postings here.

Yesterday in the pre-dawn I was on the 6.15 a.m. train out of Reading to Manchester for a client meeting. The locomotive ambled its way via Oxford, Birmingam, Crewe and Stoke for a very leisurely arrival at Manchester Piccadilly at twenty to ten.

It took a similar three and a half hours at the end of a day's client engagement, and I had then to drive back to Andover through the fog, finally arriving home just before ten p.m.

With its flat topography and dense population, England ought to be a natural for high-speed trains. But as soon as both ends of the route aren't London, you've had it.

Next time I'm flying.