Whatever Happened To Easy Rail Travel?

Next September, I plan to be in Armagh for an astronomy conference- not that I ever need much of an excuse to go to Northern Ireland.

Now, these days we are encouraged to go green, and to use the train for short (i.e. domestic travel) rather than flying. And it has to be said that the Channel Tunnel has improved rail links to the rest of Europe- apparently, by train, the nearest capital city to London is Brussels (having displaced Cardiff). From Southampton, it seems that the Benelux countries and parts of France and Germany are closer than the north-west of England.

But, the rail system has contracted. We used to have the Virgin Trains crossing the country- when I would travel home from work I would frequently get on a train which had come from Edinburgh- there was one which came all the way from Aberdeen.

But now the east coast line is awkward, as the Cross-Country Trains here simply go up to Birmingham and then over to the west coast- and even then only as far as Manchester. Whatever happened to the recent era when you could hop on a train at Carlisle (or even Glasgow) and make it to Southampton without changing?

If I am to go to Northern Ireland using the rail network, I am going to have to spend much of two days travelling. It is only practical to get as far as Carlisle in one day (and that involves a change at Birmingham New Street, which is not ideal if you want to carry luggage from one platform to another), and then it's a train up to Glasgow Central and one down to Stranraer (there are direct Carlisle-Stranraer trains that start at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, but they are for an early evening ferry, and it's getting late by the time you get to Belfast, and impractical to go on from there to Portadown, where I might be staying).

It's at times like this that you realise how annoying it is that the trains from southern England to Scotland no longer run. No wonder people abandon difficult rail journeys for the air instead.

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[Added 10 November]

Looking at the train and ferry times, there is a simpler route, which involves leaving Britain and re-entering it both ways. Train from Southampton to Birmingham International, then one from there which goes along the north Wales coast to the island of Ynys Mon, and a ferry from Caergybi (on Ynys Mon) to Dun Laoghaire (in the Irish Republic). I stayed at Dun Laoghaire for a few days last September, so know my way from the ferry port to the train station. Train to Dublin, then train to Portadown. Easy.