Glasgow to Edinburgh express via bathgate

[ShadowKnight]

It seems that the north Clyde line via bathgate is the most direct rail route in terms of miles travelled between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
With the north Clyde line commuter services generally 10-15 minutes slower than the "ScotRail express" via the circuitous Falkirk high route.

I'm not suggesting that there should be limited express services on the north Clyde route as it works quite well as a commuter service. But as an thought experiment, how much quicker would a limited stop express be stopping at Airdrie and bathgate (or non stop) be?

With no calculations perhaps it could be a 30min travel time?

Perhaps what other central belt services/routes be sped up?

 

[Kite159]

The biggest issue you will run into with a limited stop service on the Bathgate line is the lack of passing points so the express will soon catch up with a preceding stopper.

Although what ScotRail could do is bring back the pre Covid 4tph between Edinburgh & Bathgate all day.

 

[NCT]

Without consulting any hard data - route miles wise there doesn't seem to be very much in it between the A2B and the E&G. The A2B looks to be a twistier railway with some slow sections. Overall I'm not sure you'd necessarily get a (perceptible) faster limited stop journey time out of the A2B than you would on the E&G.

 

[waverley47]

Back when the service was 4tph, you had two semi-fast and two slower services. Usually the semi-fast would make it to Queen Street in about 60-70 minutes, with the stopper about ten minutes slower.

The route is just slower, twistier, and the stations are much closer together on the western end, meaning there was a lot of bunching when the service was 6tph from Bellgrove to Airdrie.

It's also the case where on the Falkirk High line, there are other services to call at the minor stations. The express trains don't call at Lenzie, Bishopbriggs or Edinburgh Park, and it's unlikely they'll all call at Winchburgh.

Therefore, on top of there just being fewer stations to call at, they don't have to call at all the stations.

The Airdrie - Bathgate line just isn't ever going to compete on journey times I'm afraid.

 

[hexagon789]

The Airdrie - Bathgate line just isn't ever going to compete on journey times I'm afraid.

It's also a lot slower in terms of linespeed as Queen Street to Bellgrove is 40 max, Bellgrove to Airdrie is 60 max and there are a number of intermediate restrictions - one to as low as 25mph IIRC.

 

[Transilien]

The biggest issue you will run into with a limited stop service on the Bathgate line is the lack of passing points so the express will soon catch up with a preceding stopper.

There is an electrified three track section between Shettleston and Garrowhill for some reason. It probably wouldn't be enough to make an express service efficient however.

 

[numtot12345]

Slightly off-topic...I'm sure there was talk of - at least in this forum pre-Covid - of grade-separating Greenhill Junction. I think it was as much as anything to improve reliability, but also potentially release an extra bit of capacity and maybe increase line-speed for E-G services through that section?

 

[hexagon789]

Slightly off-topic...I'm sure there was talk of - at least in this forum pre-Covid - of grade-separating Greenhill Junction. I think it was as much as anything to improve reliability, but also potentially release an extra bit of capacity and maybe increase line-speed for E-G services through that section?

Greenhill Upper Junction, where the line to Larbert and onwards to Stirling and Perth diverges from the E&G, is already 100 on the E&G and 70mph diverging.

 

[fgwrich]

Back when the service was 4tph, you had two semi-fast and two slower services. Usually the semi-fast would make it to Queen Street in about 60-70 minutes, with the stopper about ten minutes slower.

The route is just slower, twistier, and the stations are much closer together on the western end, meaning there was a lot of bunching when the service was 6tph from Bellgrove to Airdrie.

It's also the case where on the Falkirk High line, there are other services to call at the minor stations. The express trains don't call at Lenzie, Bishopbriggs or Edinburgh Park, and it's unlikely they'll all call at Winchburgh.

Therefore, on top of there just being fewer stations to call at, they don't have to call at all the stations.

The Airdrie - Bathgate line just isn't ever going to compete on journey times I'm afraid.

It's also a lot slower in terms of linespeed as Queen Street to Bellgrove is 40 max, Bellgrove to Airdrie is 60 max and there are a number of intermediate restrictions - one to as low as 25mph IIRC.

I’ve often wondered about this (as I have family up in the area and often travel along the route) and this is the problem. Whilst the Bathgate end has been lucky to see several almost continuous upgrades over the years, the Airdrie into Glasgow end really is the crux of the route with its slower speeds and predominantly 2 track railway. It’s a shame some passing loops and line speed improvements haven’t yet been made to this end as it can be a crawl into Glasgow when you’re stuck behind a stopper.

 

[snookertam]

There is an electrified three track section between Shettleston and Garrowhill for some reason. It probably wouldn't be enough to make an express service efficient however.

That’s Shettleston loop, used for turning trains or looping slower trains where required. Not signalled the required standard needed for passenger services.

There’s no requirement for faster end to end services on this route as that’s not what it is intended for. It is intended to connect towns in West Lothian and North Lanarkshire with both Glasgow and Edinburgh. As already pointed out, the route via Falkirk High is a much more optimal main line route, due to the higher capable speeds on the straighter course of the route.