The Pendelino

Just had the delight of travelling on the new Pendelino back from London to the Second City of the Empire.

Good things first

• It's fast
• It ran on time
• The seats are comfy

Bad things

• Luggage space
• Smoking Nazis prevent you hopping off for a sly puff at a station, even in the open air.
• Prats who are trying to find a seat who forget they have a backpack on and turn and smack your coupon with it.
• The fact that there are almost as many empty first class coaches as there are full to the rafters Standard class. (Black Hole of Calcutta de nos jours as we say in the hostelries of the Royal Burgh).

The luggage space in particular is a joke. Each coach seats about 70 people but only has luggage space for about six large suitcases. Does it occur to them that some of us might have a bit of luggage? So we leave it in the wheelchair space only to be shouted at by a politically correct host (or whatever bizarre term the committee has come up with for ticket collector these days). So I asked him where I should put the large case I had. He walked away.

It's nice that they get the good stuff right but the bad is enough to get you back in a car.

So come on beardy; get your act together!!!