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  1. Sad Sprinter

    Kent classic lines usage

    Was looking through the excellent Railway Data site and come across a couple of anomalies: According to the site, over 39,000 people travelled by train from Dover to Victoria last year. This seems an awful lot considering it's nigh on 2 hours to Victoria. If people wanted cheaper fares, you...
  2. Sad Sprinter

    Weekend engineering works

    Is it me, or has the frequency of line closures at the weekend increased over the past few years? It seems every weekend there’s sweeping blockades across the system. Here in South London it’s more of a pleasant surprise when my local lines are running normally on a weekend. It is very...
  3. Sad Sprinter

    Was there ever any intention to run express services to Cambridge using Class 91s?

    I wonder if an express service to Cambridge with 225s were ever considered
  4. Sad Sprinter

    What exactly were brake vans?

    I remember seeing them in Hornby catalogues. And coaches called things like ‘1st brake open’. Did they actually help the train brake?
  5. Sad Sprinter

    Could there ever be a Victoria-Catford Loop service?

    Commuting in this part of the world, I find Victoria to be a much more useful terminus than Blackfriars. Although I admit in the peaks the through Thameslink services to the Catford Loop are always very busy. Could a regular all day stopping service to Victoria ever be possible?
  6. Sad Sprinter

    Discontinued TGV services

    What ones are there? I know there’s the former Amsterdam to Marseille Thalys Solei service, which was a really interesting route. But I also have a picture from a 2003 copy of Railways Illustrated showing a TGV on a Paris to Antwerp service, which I’ve yet to see replicated.
  7. Sad Sprinter

    Destination boards

    Is it me or have destination boards at stations become harder to see? There’s only one on each platform now and they’re tiny
  8. Sad Sprinter

    Fast services routed via Catford?

    Are Ramsgate/Ashford trains still routed via Catford? I’ve seen a Canterbury West train pass Denmark Hill in the late evening, and this morning I saw what looked like a Ramsgate train pass fast through Denmark Hill for some reason. How regularly does this happen?
  9. Sad Sprinter

    When did Victoria replace London Bridge?

    When Victoria was built, did the LBSCRs main routes transition from London Bridge overnight or was there a balance still? Plus, now with Thameslink’s increased frequency, can we say London Bridge has once again become to main terminus of the Brighton Line?
  10. Sad Sprinter

    Crossrail via Willesden Junction?

    I can’t remember if I actually saw this as a real proposal, but was it ever looked at to send Crossrail via WJ between Paddington and Acton Main Line? Trains could reach the Great Western via the Poplar lines, and such a station would provide a ready made interchange there without having to...
  11. Sad Sprinter

    Schaerbeek Shuttle?

    When I visited Brussels in 2024 I am sure I remember seeing a number of shuttle services that ran from Brussels South to Shaerbeek and back, operated by two car units. However, I haven’t been able to see these services now on Apple Maps. They were useful for just shuttling around the central...
  12. Sad Sprinter

    Will South London’s Covid cuts be reversed?

    Sunday and evening services are still half an hour on the Crystal Palace line and the Victoria to Orpington service. Surely by now it’s time for a better service?
  13. Sad Sprinter

    Should the Northern City Line have been built?

    Taken from the current thread on GTR timetabling. It is a bit of a dead-end. Too far east to be of use to West End passengers, a bit too far north to be in the heart of the City. It seems a bit of an odd line to build considering the Great Northern theoretically had access to two City terminal...
  14. Sad Sprinter

    LBSCR Hastings routing

    Did the LBSCR ever run Victoria to Hastings/Bexhill trains via the Uckfield and Cuckoo Lines to compete with the SECR route through Tonbridge? Might have given those lines a bit more of 'main-line' feel if they did.
  15. Sad Sprinter

    What happened to Virgin's VHF timetable?

    Seems there are fewer trains to Birmingham and Manchester these days from Euston, and the stopping patterns have changed. Did they use to be 3tph to both cities all day every day before?
  16. Sad Sprinter

    Euston to Glasgow needs to go half-hourly

    Every. Single. Time. People are standing, luggage blocking corridors no access to the buffet. It’s a massive stress every time I use it. It certainly needs a second train an hour. Maybe with a stop at Nuneaton for connections east. Long-distance Intercity travel should not be like this.
  17. Sad Sprinter

    The sad dumbification of announcements

    I’ve spoken about this before, but it seems the weird trend of simplifying language in train announcements has spread further in recent years. Why is that? Take old phrases like “…and Horsham, where this train divides.” Or “This train terminates here.” Has now become “where the train will...
  18. Sad Sprinter

    Hornby 2026

    Well it’s almost that time of year, again. What do you think will come up in the ‘26 Hornby range? As I’ve been saying for the past decade I just want the original NSE VEP back.
  19. Sad Sprinter

    London Bridge station late night crime

    I read about the recent sexual assault that took place in London Bridge station recently late at night. As someone that uses one of the last trains frequently, I have also noticed it seems to attract a level of anti-social behaviour higher than other London terminuses. I've witnessed young...
  20. Sad Sprinter

    Triangular Haughley Junction?

    Here’s an idea, will adding a new chord at Haughley allow a faster Norwich-Cambridge service?

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