Could East-West rail solve many problems when there is disruption near London

ox_chap · 7 Jun 2026

Over recent months, lines from Euston, St Pancras and Kings Cross have all suffered major delays near London, for instance due to overhead wire problems. Can East West Rail (EWR), when open, really help in such circumstances? For instance, on the Midland line, could up trains try to get as far as Bedford, and advise changing to EWR, to reach other lines into London. Would EWR have the capacity to move massive numbers of people between north-south mainlines?

And the speculative bit. Could BiModes on the main lines actually use bits of EWR, to reach other lines (e.g. Milton Keynes to Oxford, for changing to London). Or, even more speculatively, could BiModes, once reaching other lines, continue to London if there is capacity? So Leicester, Bedford - swap to EWR - Bletchley, slow lines to Euston in the event of delays around, say, Luton?

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Sorcerer · 7 Jun 2026

In full the route definitely could help as long as the disruption is south of Bletchley, Bedford, Tempsford and Cambridge South. For WCML services, Avanti could terminate at Milton Keynes while LNWR can terminate at Bletchley, and both can transfer at Bedford for MML trains to St Pancras and vice versa. It's only really the EMCL where this might be an issue because the nearest LNER station on that route is Stevenage, which would require doubling back to reach the East-West route, or terminating at Peterborough and doing a change later on at Tempsford.

6Gman · 7 Jun 2026

Emptying several Pendolini each hour onto Bletchley-Bedford EWR doesn't seem very practical to me.

The Planner · 7 Jun 2026

ox_chap said:
Over recent months, lines from Euston, St Pancras and Kings Cross have all suffered major delays near London, for instance due to overhead wire problems. Can East West Rail (EWR), when open, really help in such circumstances? For instance, on the Midland line, could up trains try to get as far as Bedford, and advise changing to EWR, to reach other lines into London. Would EWR have the capacity to move massive numbers of people between north-south mainlines?

And the speculative bit. Could BiModes on the main lines actually use bits of EWR, to reach other lines (e.g. Milton Keynes to Oxford, for changing to London). Or, even more speculatively, could BiModes, once reaching other lines, continue to London if there is capacity? So Leicester, Bedford - swap to EWR - Bletchley, slow lines to Euston in the event of delays around, say, Luton?

Not without the driver route knowledge. Though I suspect E-W will end up as an temporary advised solution to get across to other main lines.

Zomboid · 7 Jun 2026

Trying to pack the WCML into a half hourly 2 car across to Oxford is likely to create more problems than it'll solve...

Halish Railway · 7 Jun 2026

Probably yes for people travelling from London to the Home Counties, but that is dependent on what the long term plan is for rolling stock, i.e. how long the trains will be.

For people going further a field, HS2 to Birmingham would in part do a much better job at moving large crowds of people, the weak link being the walk between Curzon Street and New Street for trains to the South West, South Wales, East Midlands, etc. and the short length of CrossCountry’s services from Birmingham.

Perhaps using the argument that HS2 to Birmingham and CrossCountry in the case of service disruption will be enough to encourage the Treasury to consider longer trains for CrossCountry and bringing more value to what remains of HS2.

Falcon1200 · 8 Jun 2026

Zomboid said:
Trying to pack the WCML into a half hourly 2 car across to Oxford is likely to create more problems than it'll solve...

True, so it would not be advertised as an alternative, but people in the know (like us!) might well use it anyway when there is a blockage between Bletchley and Euston.

Magdalia · 8 Jun 2026

ox_chap said:
Would EWR have the capacity to move massive numbers of people between north-south mainlines?

Small numbers possibly, massive numbers, no. Going on the proposals in the current consultation, the base service when EWR is completed will be 4tph of 5 car trains.

ox_chap said:
Could BiModes on the main lines actually use bits of EWR, to reach other lines

At Tempsford definitely no, there will be no rail connection between the ECML and EWR, only lifts and stairs between the ECML and EWR platforms. Furthermore, Tempsford will only have ECML platforms on the slow lines.

zwk500 · 8 Jun 2026

ox_chap said:
And the speculative bit. Could BiModes on the main lines actually use bits of EWR, to reach other lines (e.g. Milton Keynes to Oxford, for changing to London). Or, even more speculatively, could BiModes, once reaching other lines, continue to London if there is capacity? So Leicester, Bedford - swap to EWR - Bletchley, slow lines to Euston in the event of delays around, say, Luton?

There is no capacity for unplanned diversions on any of the lines EWR is going to connect.

For major blockades with years of planning behind them, maybe (GWR did test sending trains to MK recently for Old Oak Common Blockades).

Could East-West rail solve many problems when there is disruption near London

ox_chap

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Sorcerer

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6Gman

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The Planner

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Zomboid

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Halish Railway

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Falcon1200

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Magdalia

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zwk500

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