Recent content by Eagle

Because the platforms don't have any track, I'd guess.

Been corrected; it's now the 1615 Adwick to Manchester Piccadilly (via Dore and Marple). Journey time 2h15. Timed as a Pacer, of course.

Midland and South Western Junction Railway (running Andover to Swindon and Cheltenham) and Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway. Also S&D is ambiguous in Dorset as it could also refer to the Southampton and Dorchester Railway (the LSWR old mainline via Ringwood and Wimborne) or the Salisbury...

Think part of the difference may be the road networks; Holyhead is pretty well connected by the A55 North Wales Expressway, whereas Aberystwyth is only really accessible from the slow and tortuous A44.

Although St Pancras was used quite a lot pre-redevelopment.

Oh right, didn't realize there was a difference between the absolute voltage and the voltage difference.

Probably not. Linespeeds between Cary and Dorchester are pretty terrible (75 max, average is about 60), which might negate the 125 running you'd get on the way out of London. Additionally there's not much of an intermediate market; on the SWT route you have Southampton, Bournemouth and Poole...

Then how come 444s, 450s and 455s can and do?

The other main reason is that coaches are available for hire (in fact there's a whole industry based round that :P), whereas buses often aren't because they're needed in day to day service.

And then to top it all off there was a line to Yeovil Town station (actually in the town centre, unlike the other two) on the line to Taunton.

I think what could be done fairly simply is an improved bus service between Axminster station and Lyme. Currently the 31 runs between them, and you can buy through rail tickets for it, but it's only hourly and doesn't connect well with the train.

So by that logic they should have kicked Arriva out when DB bought them out? Why does the ultimate owner have any bearing on it? It makes no material difference at ground level.

As far as I'm aware, there is no special shoegear needed, and ordinary third rail units can work over fourth rail lines. Many do all the time; as well as the obvious 378s on the Bakerloo and District lines, a number of SWT units of various classes travel over the Wimbledon branch for stock...

GER ran the daily Cathedrals Express service (London to York via Cambridge and Lincoln).

And yet a cargo and ferry company, whose only experience with the British transport industry was owning VSOE (at the time), was alright to run the ECML for eleven years :p