Leeds train operators encourage car use with shoddy service – Yorkshire Post Letters

WITH COP26 underway, and the PR blurbs from railway companies trumpeting rail’s attributes as a green mode of transport, it’s very ironic that the railway companies in our region provide such a strong incentive to drive.

This East Coast Main Line ticket farce exposes rail’s failings – Yorkshire Post Letters

A key question is why on earth a city and station the size of Leeds had all of its train services on Sunday replaced by buses. This shouldn’t happen except in an unforeseen emergency.

Budget 2021: Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2 betrayal fears grow – Tom Richmond

I don’t have a smartphone, I prefer laptop and PC as that suits my professional work. The information vacuum on the railway was compounded by the attitude and behaviour of Northern and LNER staff at Leeds station who didn’t know what time services were, and seemed to think passengers are a nuisance who should do more homework.

If rail is going to play a meaningful role in reducing global emissions, the passenger experience, including being given important information, needs to get a lot better, and the management and staff need to show a lot more sensitivity to the needs of passengers, and a lot less cynical contempt towards them.

My experience on Sunday was an excellent reason not to travel by train including for somebody who is pro-rail.

From: Dr John Cameron, Howard Place, St Andrews.

COAL use will be a key issue dividing industrialised and developing countries as they meet at COP26 in Glasgow. Some industrialised countries have been shutting down coal plants for years but in Asia, home to 60 per cent of the world’s population and about half of global manufacturing, the use of coal is soaring as Asian nations try to meet the demand for power.

The global economy remains heavily dependent on coal for electricity. In 2020, 40 per cent of the world’s power came from coal, 25 per cent from natural gas, 15 per cent from hydro dams, 10 per cent from nuclear and 10 per cent from renewables like solar and wind. In Asia, coal’s share of the generation mix is twice the global average and the total global coal consumption is set to rise for the foreseeable future.

From: Peter Hyde, Driffield.

WHEN you stop to think about COP26, it will actually do more harm than good. All those leaders flying in huge aircraft and driving about in gas guzzling cavalcades of cars, eating large amounts of food and all their delegates doing the same.

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