The Icelandic eruption has grounded all air travel in the UK. Meanwhile the trains run as if nothing is happening.
I travel a lot by air so I do understand the passengers' misery - and I certainly hope they do get away in the next day or so. This is nobody's fault.
But what it does show us that the more we rely on tempramental high technology, the more we depend on things running smoothly regardless of what nature throws at us, the more it becomes clear that what we need is a network of railways that serve every town and village in the UK, and via Eurotunnel connects us to mainland Europe.
Air travel is in terminal decline, but 95% of us haven't realised it yet. We need the alternative options, and they need to be in place before the real crunch comes. We probably only have five years of cheap oil left. Decisions need to be made now, before the problems realy kick in, rather than after it's happened. It'll be too late then. At the very least we need to switch ALL transport investment to rail, we need to quickly restore at least 5000 miles of track and 2000 stations, and that's just a start. If the political parties come knocking at your door this election time please please ask them what their transport policies are, and tell them why you are asking!
1 comment:
I must admit to thinking the very same thing myself this morning when it became apparent that the CAA were taking this (quite rightly) very seriously. The last time this volcano erupted was in the 1820s apparently and it coughed for around 3 years (although not continuously) but we didn't have air travel then and railways were just starting. It does indeed show that railways today are an excellent and more efficient answer to travel in Europe at least, than air travel (and I was a pilot!) so I think in some way this is mother nature's way of telling us to rebuild the S&D! Well done with all your progress on this by the way!
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