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How many 196s will EWR/Chiltern/WMT be using once the line is open between Oxford and Bletchley?

There's been a lot of debate about whether or not Chiltern Railways will continue with the 68/CS sets and which trains they will use if they choose to replace them. However, in this present age of rail cuts & savings, should the 'extras' even continue at all in their current form or should a...

I've heard the term 'New Labour' used more and more as a cultural reference to the era of Tony Blair's Government, rather than its literal meaning coined around 1995 to describe the modern and forward-looking Labour party of the 90s, speaheaded by Blair and Brown. What do you think were the...

What do people expect the rail network in this country to look like, 50 years from now? Could all trains be like the DLR in being driverless? Could ticket offices defy all expectations and outlast every other role and still be a thing in 2070 (sic)? Away from roles, could any of the rolling...

In hindsight of the problems through Manchester caused by the construction and operations of the Ordsall Chord, do you think it would have been better to have spent more money in reopening Manchester Central, refurbishing the disused Castlefield Viaduct, reopening the line through to Heaton...

What do people think of this idea to try to make the North TPE operations more reliable and improve line capacity across Standedge, without impacting too much on the capacity available on the trains? 1 x tph Liverpool to Newcastle formed of 10 coaches (2 x 802), calling only at Man Vic, Leeds...

There is currently a lot of uncertainty about government funding towards the waterways beyond the end of the current grant to Canal & River Trust, which expires in 2027. The financial problems we're facing has led to doubt about whether the government will continue to spend as much towards the...

Not sure whether or not it is across the board but Northern are scrapping the sale of advance tickets from their booking offices from Tues 15th. Don't know if they'll still be available online or at TVMs but it's a bit more chipping away of the ticket office role - and will probably lead to more...

Out of the three big cities after London, which rail passenger flow is usually the busiest; for commuting, business and leisure? Manchester-Leeds, Manchester-Birmingham or Birmingham-Leeds?

Would it be possible to open out the tunnels at Kilsby and Watford into cuttings, or at least, could they have originally been dug as cuttings? Some tunnels were such because the landowner at the time didn't want the railway passing over the land, even though they were shallow enough to have...

With the 196s seemingly highly thought of after their first day in service, the promise of the 197s and the well-discussed issues with the 195s, do you think that any future Civity orders Northern place should be for 196s or 197s (or electric/hybrid/bi-mode equivalent); including an interior...

What do people think about the idea of reconnecting Kingswinford and Stourport to the national rail network? For Kingswinford it would mean converting the Kingswinford Railway Trail back to its original use, with connections to existing lines at Wolverhampton and Stourbridge. For Stourport the...

The December timetable will see no regular direct services between Stockport and Bolton, with both Blackpool services running to Manchester Airport. The Southport-Alderley Edge will also be split at Manchester. I know this has been done as part of the taskforce plans to improve Castlefield drawn...

Do people think a justice system in this country which has much shorter but generally tougher jail sentences with a bigger rehabilitation programme would be a good idea? The prison population has been stretching the limits of capacity for some time now and I think there is an argument to be...

The reason given for the closure of many lines in the 1960s was that they were operating at a loss and that their continuing operation would be financially unsustainable. However, was this a short-sighted decision, considering the road traffic problems we have now and the pollution levels this...

Sheffield is one of the major cities in the UK, yet its mainline station and service offering is small compared with the main city centre stations of similar cities (like Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester). It's made worse by the current station being the only one in the city centre. What do...

Do people think more could be done to upgrade the line between Stockport and Ashton Moss/Guide Bridge to mainline standard? The main advantage would be less congestion through Castlefield - because trains from the south could run through to Victoria. What other potential is there from making...

I regularly pass sections of the former Timperley-Lymm-Warrington and Nantwich-Audlem-Market Drayton lines and, seeing the old bridges, cuttings and embankments still there, I wonder about people's experiences of travelling along these lines in the 1960s? Does anyone have any recollection of...

This idea may be a way 'off track' but could the offer of a London service from Avanti (similar to Telford/Shrewsbury) swing the business case in favour of building the new line to Skelmersdale? Hypothetically if there was a Skelmersdale Station with a London service is the business and leisure...

It seems clear that Avanti don't consider Chester (and North Wales) as one of their more important destinations, at least not from London, and this is evidenced in the service as it was before the pandemic still not being reinstated. I don't think it is surprising; Chester is arguable in having...