Aiguillages, the French rail YouTube channel, has a go at explaining why Swiss trains are so reliable https://youtu.be/f9KnoQAHY00?is=w95JvQLJfT-Sqv9R
He’s *so close* to going “why the hell doesn’t France learn something from this?” but you only read that between the lines
@jon i don't buy his argument that Switzerland's dense network is an advantage
a sparse network makes it easier to experiment
we just spent a fortune renovating Breil -> Nice and the fastest trains still take 1h07
reelectrification past pont michel could surely have got that down to 0h50 or better
Ventimiglia -> Limone should be even easier, 2h04, just need to reduce dwell times and speed restrictions 🙃
@bovine3dom I'd bet the Breil renovation cost more and delivered less speed gain than if someone other than SNCF Réseau had been handling it. (Not that that's your point of course).
But I think the idea that you start with the timetable, and design infra based on that, in the video is correct. Few countries do that.
@jon oh, yeah, the SNCF is one of the biggest blockers to progress in the French rail system, it's definitely a handicap
but the incorrigible optimist in me has to believe that if we asked the SNCF for different things, they would muddle through and expensively deliver something OK
probably extremely controversially i think the second biggest blocker is that French commuters don't pay enough for their season tickets :)
i have a terrible opinion to suit every audience
@bovine3dom @jon Are you arguing the Deutschland ticket is too cheap too ?
(Because I pay less for my whole D-ticket nowadays than I paid for a pass on a specific line in France)
@Sobex I wasn't joking when I said I had a terrible opinion to suit every audience
Yes, I think the Deutschlandticket should probably cost €2-3k a year
Its power is in its simplicity
I don't think we should have social tariffs either. Give poor people cash and trust them to spend it on what is best for them rather than thinking we know better than them
@bovine3dom @jon Well, if you get a 2k subsidy from the government, and you have to pick between the 2.5k train pass, and driving, you might still drive.
Having subsidies on public transit, and not cars incentivises using public transit.
(Or at least, this sort of get rid of social tarification & heavy subsidies of commuter passes may have serious unintended consequences).
@Sobex all the data I have ever seen for commuters says that pricing is one of the things they care about least
For occasional, long distance, flexible journeys pricing matters much more. Outside of TGVs, France overcharges a lot for these - I think the logic is that people outside the region can't vote and so can be exploited without consequence. A bit like the Swiss halbtax actually
Jon Worth
Oliver Blanthorn
Dr. Sobek