What's to come on the railways in 2024

[snowball]

Labour seem to be promising a magic money tree to sort everything! Wonder where they are growing this tree!

On the contrary, they're going out of their way to avoid such promises.

 

[AM9]

Labour seem to be promising a magic money tree to sort everything! Wonder where they are growing this tree!

There won't be any "promises" until the Manifesto is published which of course won't arrive until the Government announces the date of the next election. So this waffle about magic money trees is just right wing media getting nervous.

 

[Sutton in Ant]

How much additional funding would TfL need to make a difference? It seems very unlikely in the near term.

When Covid hit this country really hard. Tfl took a big hit financially and is still recovering from the Covid pandemic.

I'm not sure Labour are actually making such promises, hence the accusation that they are just the existing government with a red rosette.

People just seem to think they will be able to sort things, without thinking about how if the money coming in is the same.

What Labour appear to have actually said is that they need ten years to turn things round by developing an economy with greater growth prospects.

A big bang in 2024 of all problems being sorted just by a change in politics is very unlikely.

With the election being next year. Labour will release their manifesto during the election campaign and their plans for transport and the railways as well. Labour is being cautious because of the right-wing media basically will use it against Labour. Manifesto when Labour will reveal the plans.

 

[ScottGallagher]

I'm not a betting man but if I were

1. Announcement to replace Northern 15x fleet right before the election
2. GBR will be binned off by either election winner as a waste of time and money
3. SWR or Avanti will be OLR'd
4 . EMR regional and electric fleet still won't see any refurbishment
5. Euston bit of HS2 to be kicked further down the road due to lack of funds
6. 195s will be cleared for the Cumbrian coast or the work to do so will start to take place.

 

[Rail Quest]

Announcement to replace Northern 15x fleet

Thats a good one - it would make me very happy as someone who has to use the 150s/156s all the time haha. I completely forgot about the tender they did for that a few months back so hopefully we see some movement.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I'd love to see Avanti OLRed and merged into LNER as a neo InterCity (the LNER brand could be used with the N flash, just change the word) but I'm not sure I can see it happening.

 

[EllieAquitrain]

I'd love to see Avanti OLRed and merged into LNER as a neo InterCity (the LNER brand could be used with the N flash, just change the word) but I'm not sure I can see it happening.

Would there actually be much operational benefit to this or would it just be an improvement on the paseenger-facing side?

(To be clear, I like the idea and a passenger-facing side improvement would be a good thing!)

 

[renegademaster]

People on here are forgetting Kier began his parliamentary career campaigning against phase 1 of HS2. He's not going to be the savior of the railway. The disputes will get settled for a year but nothing more dramatic will happen. Absent returning the bank of England back to direct government control and going a bit more wild with the money printer, which labour won't do, we're too broke to do anything dramatic

 

[Bletchleyite]

People on here are forgetting Kier began his parliamentary career campaigning against phase 1 of HS2. He's not going to be the savior of the railway. The disputes will get settled for a year but nothing more dramatic will happen. Absent returning the bank of England back to direct government control and going a bit more wild with the money printer, which labour won't do, we're too broke to do anything dramatic

Being against HS2 is not the same as being against the railway as a whole.

 

[yorksrob]

Being against HS2 is not the same as being against the railway as a whole.

Quite.

The current lot are so rubbish, Labour have real space do do something eye-catching and popular.

Whether they will do or not, who knows, however that's no excuse for keeping the status quo.

My predictions:

More stability in terms of industrial relations.

Less stability in terms of severe weather.

 

[renegademaster]

Being against HS2 is not the same as being against the railway as a whole.

When you aren't proposing a realistic alternative, you essentially are. After the hell hs2 was dragged through nobody going to attempt any big infrastructure in the next few decades

 

[Belfastmarty]

Hopefully we will find out what the class 93s will actually be used for ...

 

[A S Leib]

People on here are forgetting Kier began his parliamentary career campaigning against phase 1 of HS2. He's not going to be the savior of the railway. The disputes will get settled for a year but nothing more dramatic will happen. Absent returning the bank of England back to direct government control and going a bit more wild with the money printer, which labour won't do, we're too broke to do anything dramatic

I wonder how much of that was just trying to placate his own constituency. Johnson opposed Heathrow's third runway five miles from Uxbridge but was happy enough to announce support for Thames Estuary projects (or, at least, to have a big project he could put his name on. I'm less convinced that he was particularly concerned in investment for its benefits).

 

[yorksrob]

Hopefully, Newton Ayecliffe will get an order to extend various Azumas.

Derby will get an order to replace old DMU's (or better expand capacity).

 

[43096]

Hopefully, Newton Ayecliffe will get an order to extend various Azumas.

Derby will get an order to replace old DMU's (or better expand capacity).

Yes, let's keep giving orders for poor quality trains to manufacturers with a serial record of poor performance.

 

[A S Leib]

Hopefully, Newton Ayecliffe will get an order to extend various Azumas.

Do they have selective door operation, and what's the longest which could realistically be run with current platform lengths?

 

[yorksrob]

Do they have selective door operation, and what's the longest which could realistically be run with current platform lengths?

I'm sure they could build them in if need be.

Most of those services are used to doubled up Azumas anyway.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Do they have selective door operation, and what's the longest which could realistically be run with current platform lengths?

I suspect the suggestion is 5 to 9 rather than any super long ones.

 

[yorksrob]

Hopefully a return to bouncy cushions (If only !)

 

[A S Leib]

I suspect the suggestion is 5 to 9 rather than any super long ones.

Presumably extending them to seven would be possible as well (same length as the 807s, I think) but that would probably make them too long to run in pairs and without full benefits of sets of nine.

 

[JKF]

Predictions:

The budget in March will contain promises that will cripple the incoming government, e.g. unfunded tax cuts, constraining public finances;
Starmer will stumble his way ineffectually through a GE campaign, saved only by the fact the other guy is equally inept at appearing human;
Oil prices will rise significantly towards the end of the year as OPEC tries to evict a green-leaning administration from the US; this will put inflationary pressure on the economy;
Labour does nothing about reinstating HS2 proposals, has ‘bigger priorities’;
A new study will be announced for the Portishead line.

 

[A S Leib]

Greater Manchester (and the Liverpool City Region?) taking buses back into public control won't solve most of the issues with buses within the first few years but will lead to more support for doing likewise elsewhere.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Presumably extending them to seven would be possible as well (same length as the 807s, I think) but that would probably make them too long to run in pairs and without full benefits of sets of nine.

There might be sense in a mix - 9 for LNER/GWR and 7 for XC?

 

[dk1]

Presumably extending them to seven would be possible as well (same length as the 807s, I think) but that would probably make them too long to run in pairs and without full benefits of sets of nine.

Yes that's the problem with any more than 5. It would cause operational issues and prevent multiple working.

 

[southern442]

I predict the next government will float the idea of un-cancelling HS2 north of Birmingham, even if it is much scaled-back. But it may be 2025 or 2026 before we see a firm decision on it.

 

[greyman42]

Hopefully a return to bouncy cushions (If only !)

A spring in the seat base would be a good start.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Moving things back to railway predictions, what are the odds that the line between Wigan and Bolton will see passengers carried in electric trains in the next 369 days?

I don't think it's likely, they're not due to be done til 2025.

Bolton to Wigan electrification works

Northern | Buy Cheap Train Tickets and Check Train Times

www.northernrailway.co.uk

Work is targeted to be completed, with electric trains running, during 2025.