boat trains

[third-rail]

i notice that as from next year boat trains will be running from edinburgh calling at newcastle then ruuning down ecml to leeds then on to southampton with full silver service

[52A]

Shouldn't they be called ship trains?

[redtoon1892]

I can understand the thinking here, many cruise ships leave from Southampton and its a right pain getting there from up North, but of course at the end of the day its all about price, the train journey will probably cost more than the cruise.

[Flamingo]

What happened to Tyne Commission Quay? There used to be trains from London for Fred Olsen Lines cruise ships. Gone out of business I suppose.

[52A]

TCQ is still there though not rail connected. Ferries to Amsterdam, but not now Norway, and the occasional cruise ship.

[redtoon1892]

TCQ link must have demised 40 odd years ago, in fact the whole railway system around Gateshead & Newcastle has just about demised apart from the Metro system.
Borough Gardens was about the first to go,the yard there had a cornucopia of ancient waggons and tenders which stood there for years until the white elephant known as the Tyneside central freight depot was built on the site, there are no no depots in this area apart from Tyne Yard stabling point which is just a shadow of its former self. I had a walk along the old Leamside route at Pelaw recently, it will cost a fortune to bring that back up to grade, virtually everything has been stripped from it and even huge stretches of rails have disappeared.
Apart from the ECML it is becoming a railway desert.

[65447]

I can understand the thinking here, many cruise ships leave from Southampton and its a right pain getting there from up North, but of course at the end of the day its all about price, the train journey will probably cost more than the cruise.

I hope not! In today's papers under the great payment by card ripoff reports, where the extortionate charges added for you paying by debit/credit card are exposed, one example given is an amount of nearly £500 charged on booking a Saga cruise costing £19,000 On that basis surely the train fares have got to be less than the card surcharge, let alone the cost of the cruise? On the other hand, if you are spending that much money on a cruise I guess you'll be having a private limousine/flight down to Scunnerstown...

[Flamingo]

On the other hand, if you are spending that much money on a cruise I guess you'll be having a private limousine/flight down to Scunnerstown...

Have you got the spelling right on that last word? It's not how the Pompey fans would spell it.

[65447]

On the other hand, if you are spending that much money on a cruise I guess you'll be having a private limousine/flight down to Scunnerstown...

Have you got the spelling right on that last word? It's not how the Pompey fans would spell it.

Obviously not then - I've only ever heard it spoken...