Why cant we have roll on roll off trains like the channel tunnel?

Question

Why cant we have roll on roll off trains like the channel tunnel?

Answer 1

So you've never heard of Motorail then! They had several stations in London - I can remember seeing Paddington and Olympia stations when they had the special ramps for cars to drive straight onto special open trains which travelled long distances overnight.

Naturally the hooligan element put paid to it because it became quite a fun past-time to stand on bridges and drop bricks and stones onto the car trains passing below, thus causing damage to the vehicles and so the idea went to the great car park in the sky, except for some special services using covered wagons.

Answer 2

So we get a question about trains, so will somebody please explain the entry above this and what relevance it has to 1)  the question and 2) Great Britain - because I'd love to know ! (That of course, is apart from telling us that it's an American posting!)

Answer 3

Unique! And it needs brains to come up with and idea like that.

Answer 4

http://www.ihateebay.org.uk/

http://www.safeshop.org.uk/

Answer 5

In the USA?  You mean besides RoadRailer and Auto-Train?   No reason we couldn't... and I could easily see railroads offering services like that to the long-haul car and truck industry.   For about the cost of fuel they'd haul you and your rig from Omaha to Reno... as fast as driving but with zero hours on the logbook!  That would be especially popular when snow closes the freeway.

Economic viability? It's all a question of fuel price.  The railroad could burn diesel, biodiesel or electric.

Roll-on roll-off in England makes no sense to me because the distances are too short.  I guess it would make sense if the roads were congested, like the Swiss have planned for AlpTransit.

Answer 6

We do - they are called car trains - one caught fire in Scotland about a month ago.

Answer 7

we have ! had them for years.

you can put a car on a train from scotland and travel south, and vice versa !

used to buy a lot of cars in scotland and transport them to london on a train years ago. in my motor trading days !

Answer 8

Would be a good idea!

Answer 9

Come to the UK and you will.................

Answer 10

That's a good question. maybe they haven't thought of it ...

Answer 11

In the days of British Rail we did; the service was known as "Motorail" and there were several such trains.

Since privatisation the concept has been lost due to several factors. Firstly there is the cost: leasing and maintaining rolling stock is expensive and the cost of that has to be passed on to the customer. If someone wanted to take their car and family by train say from London to Inverness, the cost would be far greater than using a budget airline and hiring a car when they got there.

First Great Western did try a motorail service from London to the west of England a few years back, but it was not profitable, so was quietly abandoned.

Secondly, since the days of "Motorail", the road network has been significantly improved and it's much easier to drive long distances with end to end timings not much greater than travelling by train.

The Channel Tunnel shuttle trains carry mainly freight vehicles, with the small number of private cars using the service to access French shopping centres where the drivers can stock up on cheap beer, etc, this being the incentive to part with considerable quantities of cash to Eurotunnel.

Answer 12

where?! (and not the channel-i know where that is)

this question is a little vague! do you want these trains all over britain, europe, the world? why do you want them?

Answer 13

There used to be car trains on all the major routes, you could drive on then relax in a railroad car while your car was transported on a flat wagon, but as roads improved, cars became more advnced and comfortable motorways opened up and driving long distances became easier and faster, they ceased to make money and were discontinued until revived when the Channel Tunnel was opened.

Answer 14

That is an idea which was used in Britain from the first days of the motor car. They were taken on trains in the same way that horse drawn coaches were in the railways' beginnings.

We do, or did, not so long ago have a naitional car carying service. It was called Motorail and you could drive on to the train in London, Bristol or the South West )not the same train) and drive off in Scotland.

Many decades ago it was possible to drive onto a train at Patchway (look it up) or Pilning and drive off at Severn Tunnel Jucnction in Wales. That was a competiotion to the Aust Ferry and stopped well before the Severn Bridge opened in 1966.

Not enough people used the services and the overheads of maintaining the terminals and specialised rolling stock was too high. This made it very expensive and the motorways were infiniately better competition.

If you want to re-start the trend to use motorail then please do so. But it must have customers nit whingers.

Roll-on-roll off trains are still used extensively to take motor vehicles to and from freight ports such as Southampton. But these are not intended for recreational use.