The transport in the Great Britain

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The transport in the Great Britain

1. Private transport

Cars.

Nearly tree-quarters of households in Britain have regular use of a car and about a quarter have more than one car. The widespread enthusiasm for cars is, as elsewhere, partly a result of people using them to project an image of themselves. Apart from the obvious status of indicators such as size and speed, the British system of vehicle registration introduces another. Registration plates, known as 'number plates', give a clear indication of the age of cars. Up to 1999 there was a different letter of the alphabet for each year and in summer mere were a lot of advertisements for cars on television and in the newspapers because the new registration 'year' began in August.

Another possible reason for the British being so attached to their cars is the opportunity which they provide to indulge the national passion for privacy. Being in a car is like taking your 'castle' with you wherever you go (see chapter 19). Perhaps this is why the occasional attempts to persuade people to 'car pool' (to share the use of a car to and from work) have met with little success.

The privacy factor may also be the reason why British drivers are less 'communicative' than the drivers of many other countries. They use their horns very little, are not in the habit of signaling their displeasure at the behavior of other road users with their hands and are a little more tolerant of both other drivers and pedestrians. They are also a little more safety conscious. Britain has the best road safety record in Europe. The speed limit on motorways is a little lower than in most other countries (70 mph =112 kph) and people go over this limit to a somewhat lesser extent. In addition, there are frequent and costly government campaigns to encourage road safety. Before Christmas 1992, for instance, Ј2.3 million was spent on such a campaign.

Another indication that the car is perceived as a private space is that Britain was one of the last countries in Western Europe to introduce the compulsory wearing of seat belts (in spite of British concern for safety). This measure was, and still is, considered by many to be a bit of an infringement of personal liberty.

The cars owner can join to the AA and to the RAC. These are the initials of the Automobile Association and the Royal Automobile Club. A driver who joins either of them (by paying a subscription) can get emergency help when his or her car breaks down. The fact that both organizations are very well-known is an indication of the importance of the car in modern British life.

Mopeds or motorcycles

The British are not very keen on mopeds or motorcycles. They exist, of course, but they are not private enough for British tastes. Every year twenty times as many new cars as two-wheeled motor vehicles are registered. Millions of bicycles are used, especially by younger people, but except in certain university towns such as Oxford and Cambridge, they are not as common as they are in other parts of north-western Europe. Britain has been rather slow to organize special cycle lanes. The comparative safety of the roads means that parents are not too worried about their children cycling on the road along with cars and lorries.

What the British motorists hate the most? Traffic wardens are not police officers, but they have the force of law behind them as they walk around leaving parking tickets on the windscreens of cars that are illegally parked. By convention, they are widely feared and disliked by British motorists. Every year there are nearly a hundred serious attacks on them. In 1993 government advisers decided that their image should change. They were officially renamed 'parking attendants' (although everyone still calls them traffic wardens).

Traffic cones are orange and white, about a meter tall and made of plastic. Their appearance signals that some part of the road ahead (the part marked out by the cones) is being repaired and therefore out of use and that therefore there is probably going to be a long delay. Workers placing them in position have had eggs thrown at them and lorry drivers have been accused by police of holding competitions to run them down. On any one day at least 100,000 of them are in use on the country's roads.

Now about the situation on the motorways. Statistics show that only 12% of all journeys made are by public transport. Around six times as many are made by car. Unfortunately, the poor performance and questionable safety of British public transport is forcing more and more travellers out onto the roads. But, as anyone who's experienced the motorways recently will attest, this isn't always a quick and easy alternative.

It's estimated that a quarter of all main roads in Britain are jammed for at least an hour a day - compared to our neighbors in Germany and France, where that figure is less than 10%. In fact, a journey from London to Manchester (that's less than 200 miles) frequently takes as long as seven hours. That's an average speed of less than 30 mph on roads with a maximum of 70 mph. A fit cyclist, accustomed to lengthy periods in the saddle, could get there quicker. Of course, it isn't just the increased number of car owners that are choking our motorways - there are more trucks out there too. However, it's wise to be careful when apportioning the blame - after all the motorways were originally built for freight.

In 1994, a law was passed that all trucks over seven and a half tones had to be mechanically restricted to 56 mph. This safety measure transformed British motorways overnight, and not necessarily for the better. Prior to this legislation, there were always faster lorries and slower ones, so they were evenly dispersed along the length of the motorway. Now all lorries travel roughly at the same speed, give or take an mph or two. As a consequence, they now bunch together in long lines travelling nose-to-tail. These rolling road-blocks can have a devastating effect on the flow of traffic. When a truck pulls out to overtake another, two out of three lanes are effectively slowed to below 56 mph - two-thirds of the maximum speed. This forces faster cars and vans into the third lane, effectively creating a 'bottle-neck' where three lanes are suddenly funneled into one.

2. Public transport

Public transport in urban areas.

Public transport services in urban areas, as elsewhere in Europe, suffer from the fact that there is so much private traffic on the roads that they are not as cheap, as frequent or as fast as they otherwise could be. They also stop running inconveniently early at night. Efforts have been made to speed up journey times by reserving certain lanes for buses, but so far there has been no widespread attempt to give priority to public transport vehicles at traffic lights.

Trams.

An interesting modern development is that trams, which disappeared from the country's towns during the 1950s and 1960s, are now making a comeback. Research has shown that people seem to have more confidence in the reliability of a service which runs on tracks, and are therefore readier to use a tram than they would be to use an ordinary bus.

Double-decker buses.

Britain is one of the few countries in Europe where double-decker buses (i.e. with two floors) are a common sight. Although single-deckers have also been in use since the 1960s, London still has more than 3,000 double-deckers in operation. In their original form they were 'hop-on, hop-off buses. That is, there were no doors, just an opening at the back to the outside. There was a conductor who walked around collecting fares while the bus was moving. However, most buses these days, including double-deckers, have separate doors for getting on and off and no conductor (fares are paid to the driver).

There is a sane of George Mikes that says «An Englishman, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue of one». It is true that waiting for buses allows the British to indulge their supposed passion for queueing. Whether this really signifies civilized patience is debatable. But queueing is certainly taken seriously. When buses serving several different numbered routes stop at the same bus stop, instructions on it sometimes tell people to queue on one side for some of the buses and on the other side for others. And yes, people do get offended if anybody tries to 'jump the queue'.

Underground.

The famous London Underground, known as 'the tube', is feeling the effects of its age (it was first opened in 1863). It is now one of the dirtiest and least efficient of all such systems in European cities. However, it is still heavily used because it provides excellent connections with the main line train stations and with the suburbs surrounding the city.

Taxi.

Another symbol of London is the distinctive black taxi (in fact, they are not all black these days, nor are they confined to London). According to the traditional stereotype, the owner-drivers of London taxis, known as cabbies, are friendly Cockneys (see chapter 4) who never stop talking. While it may not be true that they are all like this, they all have to demonstrate, in a difficult examination, detailed familiarity with London's streets and buildings before they are given their license. (This familiarity is known simply as 'the knowledge'.) Normally, these traditional taxis cannot be hired by phone. You simply have to find one on the street. But there are also many taxi companies who get most of their business over the phone. Their taxis are known as 'minicabs'. They tend to have a reputation, not always justified, for unreliability as well as for charging unsuspecting tourists outrageous prices (in common with taxis all over the world). However, taxis and minicabs are expensive and most British people rarely use them, except, perhaps, when going home late at night after public transport has stopped running, especially if they have been drinking alcohol.

3. Public transport between town and cities

It is possible to travel on public transport between large towns or cities by road or rail. The arrangement of the country's transport network illustrates the dominance of London. London is at the centre of the network, with a 'web' of roads and railways coming from it. Britain's road-numbering system, (M for motorways, then A, B and C class roads) is based on the direction out of London that roads take.

Coaches.

Coach services are generally slower than trains but are also much cheaper. In some parts of the country, particularly the south-east of England, there is a dense suburban rail network, but the most commercially successful trains are the Inter-City services that run between London and the thirty or so largest cities in the country. Coaches provide long-distance links throughout the UK: in England & Wales the majority of coach services are provided by National Express. Megabus run no-frills coach services in competition with National Express and services in Scotland in co-operation with Scottish Citylink. Within regional areas, there is are various local bus systems which in Great Britain were usually originally owned by local councils, but have been deregulated and privatized under the Transport Act 1980. Since deregulation the majority of these local bus companies have been takenover by one of the «Big Four» private transport companies: Arriva, FirstGroup plc, National Express Group (owners of National Express) and Stagecoach Group. In Northern Ireland coach, bus (and rail) services remain regulated and are provided by Translink.

Trains.

The rail network in Great Britain is the oldest such network in the world. The world's first intercity railway was the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, designed by George Stephenson and opened by the Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington on 15 September 1830.

Until 1996 the rail network in Britain, and the passenger and freight services on it, were owned, operated and maintained by British Rail, a government-owned monopoly. In 1994 and 1995 British Rail was split into infrastructure, maintenance, rolling stock, passenger and freight companies, which were privatized from 1996 to 1997. Privatization has proved controversial and the rail network has not yet experienced the full improvements that had been hoped.

After more than 100 years of private operation, the railways became a state concern in 1947. British Rail accounts for some 6 per cent of total passenger mileage, but is now being privatized through a complicated sale of routes, management structures and equipment. This is causing public concern about the quality and availability of future rail services.

Rail passenger structures consist of a fast intercity network, linking all the main British centers; local trains which supply regional needs; and commuter services in and around the large areas of population, particularly London and south-east England. Increased electrification of lines, and the introduction of fast diesel trains such as the Intercity 125s travelling at a maximum speed of 125 mph (201 km/h), have improved rail journeys considerably. But such speeds and facilities are still inferior to those in other countries.

Many railway lines and trains are old and need replacing, and more electrification is required. There is much criticism by passengers, particularly in south-east England, about fare increases, overcrowding, delays, cancellations, staffing problems and poor services. Similar complaints are also made about the London Underground system (the Tube), which covers 254 miles (408 km) of railway line in the capital.

Critics argue that the inadequate state of Britain's railways is due to lack of government investment; Conservative policy that the rail system should be run on commercial lines, rather than as a public service; cuts in government subsidies to British Rail; and a failure to realize that rail could be part of a modernized and properly funded integrated transport system catering for passengers and freight. This latter point would ease road congestion, satisfy demand and improve the environment.

In Britain, the infrastructure (track, stations, depots and signalling chiefly) is owned and maintained by Network Rail, a not for profit company. Network Rail replaced Railtrack, which became bankrupt in 2002 following the Hatfield Accident in 2000. Passenger services are operated by train operating companies(TOC's), most of which are franchises awarded by the UK Government. Examples include Virgin Trains, GNER and First Group plc. Freight trains are operated by Freight Operating Companies, such as EWS, which are commercial operations unsupported by government. Most Train Operating Companies do not own the locomotives and coaches which they use to operate passenger services, being instead required to lease these from the Rolling Stock Operating Companies (ROSCOs) examples like HSBC and maintained by bombardier.

The difference between certain trains is a fascinating reflection of British insularity. Elsewhere in Europe, the fastest and smartest trains are the international ones. But in Britain, they are the Inter-City trains. The international trains from London to the Channel ports of Newhaven, Dover and Ramsgate are often uncomfortable commuter trains stopping at several different stations.

It is notable that the names of the main London railway stations are known to almost everybody in the country, whereas the names of stations in other cities are only known to those who use them regularly or live nearby. The names of the London stations are: Charing Cross, Euston, King's Cross, Liverpool Street, Paddington, St Pancras, Victoria, Waterloo. Each runs trains only in a certain direction out of London. If your journey takes you through London, you have to use the Underground to get from one of these stations to another.

The numbers of trains and train routes were slowly but continuously reduced over the last forty years of the twentieth century. In October 1993 the national train timetable scheduled 10,000 fewer trains than in the previous October. The changes led to many complaints. The people of Lincoln in eastern England, for example, were worried about their tourist trade. This town, which previously had fifteen trains arriving on a Sunday from four different directions, found that it had only four, all arriving from the same direction. The Ramblers' Association (for people who like to go walking in the countryside) was also furious because the ten trains on a Sunday from Derby to Matlock, near the highest mountains in England, had all been cancelled. At the time, however, the government wanted very much to privatize the railways. Therefore, it had to make them look financially attractive to investors, and the way to do this was to cancel as many unprofitable services as possible.

In order to get to more remote areas, for instance, other countries, it is more comfortable to use sea or air transport facilities.

Air transport.

Britain's civil aviation system accounts for some 1 per cent of passenger mileage, and is in the private sector following the privatization of the former state airline, British Airways, in 1987. But there are other carriers, such as British Midland, Britannia Airways and Virgin Atlantic, which run scheduled and charter passenger services on domestic and international routes. All are controlled by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), an independent body which regulates the industry, including air traffic control, and which the government may privatize. The airlines also provide air cargo and freight services.

A very small minority, of mostly business people, travel within Britain by air. International air travel, however, is very important economically to Britain. The largest airline in the UK is British Airways, who operate long-distance flights from the UK to all over the globe. Others include bmi, Easyjet, and Virgin Atlantic. British Airways is one of the biggest airlines in the world. Its ambitious plans for the future include operating an enormous new kind of jumbo aircraft. This will not travel any faster than today's aircraft, but will be big enough for passengers to move around inside in rather the same way as they do on a ship. There will be no duty-free trolleys or meals coming round; instead, passengers will go to the bar, cafe or shop to get what they want. First class travelers will have sleeping cabins and a fully-equipped business area. But how many airports will be able to accommodate the new monsters of the sky?

There are 137 licensed civil aerodromes in Britain, varying considerably in size. Heathrow and Gatwick Airports outside London are the largest. These airports, together with Stansted in south-east England, and Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen in Scotland, are owned and managed by the private sector British Airports Authority (BAA). They handle about 73 per cent of air passengers and 84 per cent of air cargo in Britain. Most of the other larger regional airports, such as Manchester, Birmingham, Luton, Belfast, Newcastle and East Midlands, are controlled by local authorities, and cater for the country's remaining passenger and cargo requirements.

Expansion of existing airports (particularly regional facilities), and the provision of new ones, will be necessary if Britain is to cope with increased consumer demand and competition from Europe. But such projects are very expensive and controversial because of environmental problems, such as construction work, noise and traffic. Some disquiet also exists about plane congestion in the skies over Britain, the efficiency of the air traffic system, and safety generally.

Retaining its world number-one position, others are not so pleased. The problem is the noise (which British people tend to regard as an invasion of their privacy). Local farmers and the hundreds of thousands of people who live under Heathrow's flight path are objecting to the idea. The airport planners arc arguing that the next generation of planes will be much quieter than present-day ones. Nevertheless, the plan is going to have to win a tough fight before it goes ahead.

Water transport.

Due to the United Kingdom's island nature, before the Channel Tunnel and the advent of air travel the only way to enter or leave the country was on water, except at the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Approximately 95% of freight enters the UK by sea (75% by value). Three major ports handle most freight traffic:

· Felixstowe on the east coast - the fourth largest seaport in Europe.

· Tilbury, near London.

· Southampton on the south coast.

There are many other ports and harbours around the UK, including the following towns and cities: Aberdeen, Avonmouth, Barry, Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Dover, Falmouth, Glasgow, Gloucester, Grangemouth, Harwich, Hull, Inverness, Leith, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Peterhead, Plymouth, Poole, Port Talbot, Portsmouth, Scapa Flow, Sullom Voe, Swansea, Tees, Tyne.

Although there are over 300 ports in Britain, most are small concerns which do not handle much cargo or passenger traffic. However, the bigger ports such as Clyde, Dover, Tees, London, Southampton, Grimsby, Hull, Felixstowe, Liverpool, Cardiff and Swansea service most of the country's trade and travel requirements. But there has been a big decline in work and labor since the great days of the ports in the past.

The British shipping fleet has been greatly reduced from its peak year in 1975, owing to increased competition and a world shipping recession. The cargo market is now dominated by a small number of large private sector groups. But 77 per cent Heathrow, on the western edge of London, is the world's busiest airport. Every year, its four separate terminals are used by more than 30 million passengers. In addition, Gatwick Airport, to the south of London, is the fourth busiest passenger airport in Europe. There are two other fairly large airports close to London (Stansted and Luton) which deal mainly with charter flights, and there is a small City Airport, which caters mainly for business travelers between London and north-western Europe.

There are plans for a fifth terminal at Heathrow, bigger than the other four combined. The aim is to double the capacity of Heathrow by the year 2015. However, while some British people may be proud at the prospect of Heathrow of Britain's overseas trade is still carried by sea, although passenger mileage has been much reduced. Both may decline further because of competition with the Channel Tunnel.

Modern Britain makes surprisingly little use of its many inland were busy thoroughfares, and the profession of 'waterman', the river equivalent of the London cabbie, was well-known. In the last hundred years transport by land has almost completely taken over. A few-barge still goes up and down the Thames through London, but is used mostly by tourists. Several attempts have been made to set up a regular service for commuters, but none has been a success so far. There is no obvious practical reason for this failure. It just seems that British people have lost the habit of traveling this way.

The story of goods transport by water is the same. In the nineteenth century, the network of canals used for this purpose was vital to the country's economy and as extensive as the modern motorway network. The vast majority of these canals are no longer used in this way. Recently the leisure industry has found a use for the country's waterways with the increasing popularity of boating holidays.

Passenger ferries operate internationally to nearby countries such as France, the Republic of Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands. Ferries also operate within the UK, connecting Scotland with Northern Ireland, Southampton with Isle of Wight and many smaller routes. Cruise ships depart from the UK for destinations worldwide, many heading for ports around the Mediterranean and Caribbean. The Solent is a world centre for yachting and home to largest number of private yachts in the world.

And of cause, describing transport and communications in the United Kingdom, we cannot miss talking about famous Channel Tunnel under the sea well known as la Manche tunnel.

The rail Channel Tunnel, privately operated by a French/ British company (Eurotunnel), is meant to improve passenger and freight travel between Britain and mainland Europe, although there are doubts about its pricing policy and competitiveness. The system has two main tunnels and a smaller service tunnel. It provides a drive-on, drive-off shuttle service on specially designed trains for cars, coaches and freight vehicles as well as passenger trains. The two terminals, Folkestone and Coquelles, are 31 miles (50 km) apart. Improved rail services from Folkestone to London should have been provided, but there have been delays and confusion over cost and policy. A high-speed connection has yet to be constructed, and there are no adequate facilities which would allow freight from the rest of Britain to cross London to the Tunnel.

It was opened on Friday 6 May 1994, when Queen Elizabeth II of Britain and President Mitterand of France traveled ceremonially under the sea that separates their two countries and opened the Channel tunnel (often known as 'the channel') between Calais and Folkestone. For the first time ever, people were able to travel between Britain and the continent without taking their feet off solid ground.

The channel was by far the biggest building project in which Britain was involved in the twentieth century. The history of this project, however, was not a happy one. Several workers were killed during construction, the price of construction turned out to be more than double the Ј4-5 billion first estimated and the start of regular services was repeatedly postponed, the last time even after tickets had gone on sale. On top of all that, the public showed little enthusiasm. On the day that tickets went on sale, only 138 were sold in Britain (and in France, only 12!). On the next day, an informal telephone poll found that only 5% of those calling said that they would use the channel.

There were several reasons for this lack of enthusiasm. At first the channel was open only to those with private transport. For them, the small saving in travel time did not compensate for the comparative discomfort of traveling on a train with no windows and no facilities other than toilets on board, especially as the competing ferry companies had made their ships cleaner and more luxurious. In addition, some people felt it was unnatural and frightening to travel under all that water. There were also fears about terrorist attacks. However unrealistic such fears were, they certainly interested Hollywood. Every major studio was soon planning a channel disaster movie!

One small but remarkable success of the channel (the Channel tunnel) enterprise seems to be linguistic. You might think that there would have been some argument. Which language would be used to talk about the channel and things connected with it? English or French? No problem! A working compromise was soon established, in which English nouns are combined with French words of other grammatical classes. For example, the company that built the channel is called Trans-manche Link (la Manche is the French name for the Channel), and the train which carries vehicles through the tunnel is officially called Le Shuttle.

This linguistic mixing quickly became popular in Britain. On 12 February 1994, hundred of volunteers walked the 50 kilometers through the channel to raise money for charity. The Daily Mail, the British newspaper that organized the event, publicized it as 'Le walk', and the British media reported on the progress of 'Les walkers'.

The public attitude is becoming more positive, although very slowly. The direct train services between Paris and London and Brussels and London seem to offer a significant reduction of travel time when compared to travel over the sea, and this enterprise has been more of a success. At the time of writing, however, the high-speed rail link to take passengers between the British end of the channel and London has not been completed.

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