Rail boss apologises for two months of hell as £9bn investment unveiled

“Good luck Mr Hallgate, in balancing the public's conflicting demands of increased capacity, reliability and resilience of our rail infrastructure, and cheaper rail fares.”

“The plan includes .....doubling the main line into Bristol at Filton Bank from two tracks to four...."

In other words, simply putting back what they ripped up years ago in order to save money on maintenance.”

“The problem isn't Network Rail - which at least is public-owned and not concerned with lining the pockets of shareholders - but the useless private companies like First that a ludicrous and unnecessarily expensive franchising system foists on us.”

“The trains can only go as fast as the slow train in front,add onto that leaves on the line,flooding and those few minutes faster will become a few minutes late....
The overhead gantries and pylons ,new safety fences and the cables will totally ruin the look of the countryside for ever. The view of the long Viaduct out of Bath towards Twerton will look horrundous!!!”

“A pretty poor apology from Mr Hall gate!

I'm sorry, am i the only one who thinks that an extra few minutes rail travel to London is a tad overpriced at £9billion!! The money would be better well sprent updating the current stock of locos and not retracking the entire line with horid looking continental style pylons! This so called development is going to ruin the look of Bath. At a push this fund could subsidise trvel fares!!”

“Abandonship, I totally sympathise. In my case, it was after 11 years of commuting to bath from South Glos. To cater for oldfield school, First ran 2 buses within 5 mins of each other, then leaving a 1 hr 20 min gap till the next. There was no rail alternative other than travelling about 8km to the nearest station - and you guessed it; bus and train times didn't match. So it was either a long wait for a bus to the station or a similar for a train to bath. Needless to say, almost everyone I knew in my locality who worked in bath, drove there.

The southwest of england, lush as it may be, is decades behind in basic public transport provision. Who, in their right minds, sends a 2-coach train to bath from salisbury? Who puts a 40-passenger capacity bus at a time when there are likely to be nearly double that number waiting for it en route?

My train was 6 minutes late this morning. In fact, I let that one go as the previous one was 18 minutes late and only 3 mins behind. That train had 10 coaches, so I was guaranteed a seat. It took 24 mins to do journey similar in length to yours. Had this not turned up, what were my alternatives? Short walk, bus and tube. Both run at about 3 min frequency. Tube journey takes longer than anything else as there are nearly 20 stops. Short walk and 2 buses. Short walk, tram and train or tube. All these options take longer than a train, but note the word, "options".

In south glos, this was a typical experience. Bus doesn't turn up. Wait 20 mins then ring 'customer services'. They have no idea. Rush 3 km in the opposite direction, hoping a bus to the station hasn't gone already. Get to the station and discover that the train to bath has been delayed due to some issue between cardiff and newport. Total time taken to travel just under 15 miles: over 2 hours. I have to pay on the train as my bus annual season ticket, costing 1400 gbp, doesn't cover it. Both are run by Firstgroup.

So, no thanks. I'd rather stand in the armpit of someone in a sardine-packed train as I know it will arrive at my destination in a few minutes. It costs 50 per cent less for the same distance. Even in my own 'developing' country, all the buses possible are on the road at peak times. It sometimes causes total chaos and infuriates people driving cars. No worrries, though. I usually wave at them when the air-conditioned bus glides past on a bus lane... That bus is run by the state operator. Private ones run in parallel. No one takes 2 hours to do 15 miles.”

“Abandonship, I totally sympathise. In my case, it was after 12 years of commuting to bath from South Glos. To cater for oldfield school, First ran 2 buses within 5 mins of each other, then leaving a 1 hr 20 min gap till the next. There was no rail alternative other than travelling about 8km to the nearest station - and you guessed it; bus and train times didn't match. So it was either a long wait for a bus to the station or a similar for a train to bath. Needless to say, almost everyone I knew in my locality who worked in bath, drove there.

The southwest of england, lush as it may be, is decades behind in basic public transport provision. Who, in their right minds, sends a 2-coach train to bath from portsmouth? Who puts a 40-passenger capacity bus at a time when there are likely to be nearly double that number waiting for it en route?

My train was 6 minutes late this morning. In fact, I let that one go as the previous one was 18 minutes late and only 3 mins behind. That train had 10 coaches, so I was guaranteed a seat. It took 24 mins to do a journey similar in length to yours. Had this not turned up, what were my alternatives? Short walk, bus and tube. Both run at about 3 min frequency. Tube journey takes longer than anything else as there are nearly 20 stops. Short walk and 2 buses. Short walk, tram and train or tube. All these options take longer than a train, but note the word; "options".

In south glos, this was a typical experience. Bus doesn't turn up. Wait 20 mins then ring 'customer services'. They have no idea. Rush 3 km in the opposite direction, hoping a bus to the station hasn't gone already. Get to the station and discover that the train to bath has been delayed due to some issue between cardiff and newport. Total time taken to travel just under 15 miles: over 2 hours. I have to pay on the train as my bus annual season ticket, costing 1400 gbp, doesn't cover it. Both are run by Firstgroup.

So, no thanks. I'd rather stand in the armpit of someone in a sardine-packed train as I know it will arrive at my destination in a few minutes. It costs 50-60 per cent less for the same distance. Even in my own 'developing' country, all the buses possible are on the road at peak times. It sometimes causes total chaos and infuriates people driving cars. No worries, though. I usually wave at them when the air-conditioned bus glides past on a bus lane... That bus is run by the state operator. Private ones run in parallel. No one takes 2 hours to do 15 miles.”

“Just returned to the train after a year's hell on the X39 commuting to Bristol. Since First bus modified their timetables "to increase efficiency" it was taking up to 2 hours to commute between Bristol City centre and Combe Down (about 15 miles). Out of the frying pan into the (expensive) fire, as the 7.59 train service from Bath to Bristol this morning was 25 min late.

Really can anyone be blamed for driving? The alternatives are pretty grim.”