Having cocked up spectacularly on the East Coast Main Line, National Express will be losing their East Anglia franchise in 2011. This is the line I use when I want to burn money on rail travel.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8380108.stm

Which is good, because if they cannot run a rail service, they should not be allowed to continue. The bad thing is that their livery is at least sensible. One, their predecessors, used an awful pink and green colour scheme which was ghastly. No doubt the next bunch of clowns to run the line will choose a truly awful livery to “differentiate” themselves.

This does mean that National Express will lose out on the income from the Olympics. Stratford is on the East Anglia line.

And yet the worst performing franchisee in the country get to keep their franchise. Unbelievable.

I always liked the original GNER livery (before they painted the doors red). I thought it looked very classy.


It's a shame their parent company went bust as GNER was very good. Sure the trains were old, but they'd been refurbished so were as good a new inside. They had better food on board than most and their weekend first upgrade was a bargain. Plus they on time much more often than other train companies at the time.
I haven't used the ECML for about five years now though.

For liveries IMO nothing beats Intercity Swallow:



Though the National Express one was quite good.

I beg to differ.

IMHO nothing has ever come close to beating a LMS Coronation Class in Crimson Lake livery at full steam



But then I'm a northern boy so I'm biased....

Au contraire, you clearly haven't seen a King or Castle class locomotive in GWR green pulling coaches with the chocolate and cream livery.

Have too

Seriously though, today's trains are but a pale shadow of the marvel that they used to be.

That’s because we don’t have recognisable locomotives. Here in Chelmsford, we have a pretty impressive viaduct which trains run over. When I was a kid, these huge diesel electric things used to thunder over it and along the embankment through Witham (a few miles further up the track). It was noisy, but impressive. We just don’t have that kind of drama now.

Great Western Railway? Meh, a mere apprenticeship for Sir William, who then went on to create the Princesses and Coronations.

In the past, there has always been a certain dignity to the liveries trains have been give. These days, they look awful.

For example:





I have no idea what requirement caused this rather striking blue to be coupled with pink. This is First being “modern” no doubt. Just makes them look cack. Some colour theorist probably told them that the pink was vital and important. Or someone’s relative owns a paint shop and there was a “buy two tins of blue, get one tin of pink free” offer. They use the pink on their busses too. Sometimes I walk.


Just why?


I donno - can’t choose a colour? Use a photo. That will confuse Hornby.


A kind of fading graduated turquoise.


“We painted this train this colour to make you feel comfortable, relaxed but invigorated after travelling on our clapped out bone-shaking rolling stock”


Use green, yes. But not that kind of green.



This is the kind of train I had to travel on when going into London. Yes, they were really that colour. They also were cursed with the worst name in the world. When they thanked you for “travelling with One” you could hear the embarrassed, resigned apology in the driver’s voice. Crap name. Crap livery. Crap service all round, really.




National Express does the decent thing. I like their livery.

Look - I don’t mind colour, but it has to be done with dignity. These eye sores plough through our cities and countryside, and they look horribly out of place. Apart from National Express, all these paint jobs are horrible. But then most train companies treat their customers with disdain and contempt these days anyway. The only time I felt like I was travelling on a train with any interest in my arriving in an unfractured state was when I used Virgin. Or the Eurostar who seem to have got it right.

I think there's a common theme in those photos.
Painting the doors a different colour to make them stand out makes the scheme look arse!

Yes. they say “here are the doors, you idiot”. I can spot the doors. They are the bits that open to make a hole in the side of the carriage. If I am lucky, and they are not blocked by bikes, fatties and ruck sacks, I can get on.