Recent content by CalumCookable

I don't know if they ever did. Thinking about it a bit more, considering the length of the line, number of stops, and journey time, it seems pretty improbable that the trains will reach 100mph.

100mph according to Campaign for Borders Rail http://www.campaignforbordersrail.org/faqs.html

If the line is ever re-opened past Tweedbank, a station at the Borders General Hospital seems like a good idea? If we look back a few decades to the re-opening of the Edinburgh-Bathgate line, it was built on the cheap with a single track and no electrification. There was an hourly service and...

Why would Holyrood have to pay for the entire Western route but only the Scottish part of the Eastern route? Nonsense. If there was to be a high speed line, the best route would be worked out and Westminster would pay for the English bit and Holyrood would pay for the Scottish bit. The benefit...

I thought a few sections of the MML could be upgraded to 125mph with the existing rolling stock? There was a test run recently in which one of the 222s reached that speed.

Actually, the idea was to find out if people wanted alternative services. For example, East Coast said that if they didn't have to serve Inverness and Aberdeen, they could provide a half-hourly service between Edinburgh and Newcastle. This might have helped meet local desires for new stations at...

Ooooh, controversial :P The UK government's recent "workfare" scheme - that gave work placements to benefit recipients - didn't go down too well.

I'm aware of the cuts to the grade separated junctions, Dalmeny chord etc, which is not ideal and I have been critical of it elsewhere. But the rolling programme of electrification post 2016 is a fact. Dunblane and Alloa will most likely be done eventually. I think it's Shotts and Whifflet that...

I would further divide the group of realists into those who are pessimistic, such as your good self, and those who are optimistic. Hawick is a fair-sized town and it's not impossible to imagine a station there. The idea of the line taking logging traffic off the roads has also been thrown...

I find it amusing to see resistance to the notion of successful rail re-openings on rail enthusiast forum. Ah well. No it isn't. The populations served are smaller than those served by the West Coast Main Line, which was electrified first. See the connection? I never even said it should...

They are keeping the platform buildings, right?

I don't see how you can say it will *never* happen. The transport minister called it a "reasonable ambition". I'm not saying they're going to start planning for it as soon as the line to Tweedbank opens - and there are a few other places, like St Andrews and Leven, trying to join the queue for a...

I wonder where the user "aylesbury" lives... The government has specifically ruled out any more large-scale road building. EDIT: I see you were referring to the Scottish Government, which does indeed have a number of road projects. They are also investing in new railway lines, stations, and...

Falkirk already has a 15-minute frequency Glasgow and Edinburgh service. Glasgow-Edinburgh in general is very well served with 11 trains per hour across 4 different routes. There is also the possibility of a further 2 Glasgow-Edinburgh trains on the current infrastructure with a journey time of...

There used to be a Virgin lounge at Glasgow Central; it was demolished to make way for 2 extra platforms.