Through a spectacle glass rose-tinted, is SNCF BR as-was?

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Through a spectacle glass rose-tinted, is SNCF BR as-was?

Spent the weekend in Paris, for reasons that will eventually appear on
http://www.inkubus-sukkubus.co.uk.

Flew with EasyJet to Paris CdG, and thence by train into central Paris
(Gare du Nord) and after a wander along the Seine back out from the Gare
de Lyon to Melun, where the gig was held in the grounds, orangery, and
subterranean caverns of a rather spectacular chateau.

The return trip involved catching the 04:45 from Melun back to Gare de
Lyon, changing (cross platform) for a one stop hop to Chatelet Les
Halles, from where we got an express service back to the airport,
stopping only at Gare du Nord on the way.

The rolling stock was all EMU, single deck between the airport and
central Paris, double-deckers on the Melun run.

Overall, the experience was good, the staff were friendly and helpful
(and all seemed to speak at least functional English), the trains were
punctual and while sometimes crowded we always got seats.  It was also
obvious that the French have invested far more in their railways than we
have, absolutely everything, down to the most minor of sidings, was
electrified, and while here a similar trip might pass acres of tacky
housing and cheap industrial units built on railway land, there we
passed seemingly endless railway yards, junctions, sidings, and
intersecting routes.

The scenery on the ride in was not what one expects of Paris though -
grim industrial slums alternating with the railway yards, occasionally
punctuated by what looked like unofficial gypsy encampments.  There was
graffiti everywhere, disfiguring an already grim scene.  And this brings
the first rail-based criticism - all the trains we travelled in had
universally grubby windows.  Granted, the window-scratching plague is
hardly the railway's fault, and unlikely to be solved by anything short
of placing police in every coach and forcibly amputating the fingers of
the convicted, but that doesn't mean they can't at least wash the
outside of the coaches on a regular basis.

It was easy to work out where we needed to go, though the situation was
confused a bit as even though we explained to the clerk at the airport
that we wanted to go to Melun (which is in Z6), she sold us Z1-5 Paris
Visite cards.  There were no ticket checks on the trains at all, and on
arrival at Melun the exit was via simple one-way doors, so no tickets
needed - we only found out about the problem when I attempted to
re-enter the station to enquire about return trains on the Sunday
morning. Fortunately a local held the exit door open so I could nip back
in and find a stationmaster on Platform 1, who explained the zone
situation and advised us to buy singles to the first station in Z5 when
we needed to go back.  He didn't attempt to charge us for the extra ride
out we'd already taken however.

As it happened the 04:45 stopped at the boundary station on the way back
in, however had it not done so (we were originally advised to take the
05:37, which is I belive non-stop to Gare de Lyon), would we have had
UK-style "must stop at the boundary" issues or would it have been OK?

Was well impressed to find the station manned at 03:xx when we returned
on Sunday morning, the automatic ticket machines were easy to use, not
sure if the three serious looking security/police blokes (in riot-style
overalls, instead of uniform!) who turned up had anything to do with the
somewhat knackered Goths half sleeping on the platform or not. :-)

Back at the chateau we'd seen an interesting clash between the English
and French ways of doing things.  I have heard it said that the French
are a nation who love elegance and will do all they can to avoid an
"inelegant" solution, wheras the British are all "what's in it for us"
pragmatists who'll accept just about anything as long as it gets the
desired result.  The hour and a half that was spent debating who was to
be given a lift where and in which car was en entirely novel experience
- we just wanted to get on with it! :-)

The gig itself?  Totally hellfire!  Incredible setting, top notch PA,
sound guys, and lighting rig, a complete absence of all the annoying
"emergency" sineage that clutters up UK venues, and a slew of bands each
determined to out-do the others in style, drive and emotion.  The booze
flowed like water yet there was no trouble, just happy people.  Neat
little system of deposits stopped people throwing their beer cups away,
which prevented the usual festival litter problem of broken plastic
everywhere.

Paris rocks, I'll definitely be back.  Vive la Gothique!

The point of this post?  Given the way many of us talk about how much
better BR was than the privatised railway, I found myself wondering, at
5am on Sunday morning, staggering blearilly across the starkly
bare-flourescent-lit metro platforms at the Gare de Lyon, watching more
rather grubby double-deck units roll busily past at an adjacent
platform, is this how BR used to be back in the 80s?  Grubby, a bit
shabby, but reasonably efficient with what it had?

One final comment - whoever invented French platform numbering was
clearly on a mission to confuse!  Melun station has many through
platforms.  From what I remember, they were numbered, from the main
entrance, thus:  1, A, 2, 1b, 1a, 2b, 2a (except I think there was a "B"
in there somewhere too).  It made no sense at all to me, can anyone
explain it?

NP: Inkubus Sukkubus - Witch Queen.
-- 
 - Pyromancer Stormshadow.
http://www.inkubus-sukkubus.co.uk   <-- Pagan Gothic Rock!
http://www.littlematchgirl.co.uk    <-- Electronic Metal!
http://www.revival.stormshadow.com  <-- The Gothic Revival.

Date:Tue, 26 Jul 2005 02:26:33 +0100 Author: