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I think there are several rough options that GBR could take for their branding. If the whole network is largely going to have the same livery, this could either go down the route of something simpler (likely with a white or light grey base), like the current Thameslink, Greater Anglia, Northern...

This may have been discussed already - but would it be possible to convert the 458s to battery operation? If so, surely it would be a lot simpler to keep the 458s as a separate fleet for this purpose, and the 450s all remaining on fully electrified routes?

I think part of the problem is the proposed route being split into branches. There is little sense in having a branch to Kew Bridge, with the proposed Lionel Road Station nearby towards Hounslow. To the north, Brent Cross West would make sense as a terminus, with redevelopments in the area and...

Completely agree with the original post, I have often thought that Thameslink might have worked better as a Crossrail-style service (and ideally also run by TFL). In terms of distance, it would make sense to keep a core route to/from the airports, but not necessarily going much further. But as...

I think diversions to Waterloo/Marylebone have taken place in the past when there was a more substantial closure on the GWML, requiring trains to divert away further west. As it's only a shorter section nearer Paddington that is closed, it's a lot more direct to go into Euston, compared to...

It seems likely that any GBR livery would use the blue/red/white colours from the flag - but I hope this isn't the case. The variety of train liveries we have now across the different private operators shows the alternative colours etc that work well. Since Chiltern updated their branding, none...

This is an active proposal, not my own suggestion. I think it's part of the reopening of the Camp Hill Line.

Not sure if this is the place place to put this as more of a speculative post. But I think there may be a case to fully split up the CrossCountry franchise - so that services can operate more reliably and better scheduled with connecting local routes. One of the main problems is that given the...

In addition to improving services to Milton Keynes, Birmingham etc, I think the more local stations out of Euston could do with a more frequent (turn up and go) service. Bushey and Harrow are both very well used, and while Harrow now has 4tph off-peak, this does mean slowing down services going...

Are 387s still used on any Mon-Fri services to Bristol/Cardiff?

An orbital railway around London, roughly following the M25, with interchange stations added with each existing rail route. Would be useful for shorter distance journeys between destinations in outer London or the home counties - or for longer distance journeys to avoid Central London.

Slightly off-topic, but regarding Heathrow I think there was a missed opportunity with Crossrail to have a Heathrow Parkway station. This would be located between Hayes & Harlington and West Drayton, with certain intercity services stopping for access to Heathrow to/from the west - offering a...

Would the numbers add up to simplify further to a fully 168 and 175 fleet? 168s can work on the Amersham route if there are enough.

Since WMR gained some more 172s from Chiltern (which wouldn't have been part of the original fleet plan at the start of the franchise) - would there not be 1-2 spares now that could be used on the Marston Vale line?

Rather than new trains, could newer casacded fleet be an option, such as 175s or 185s?

Looked up a particular journey from London (including tube connection to Paddington) to Kingswear. On Train Split, this worked out as about £130 - but with no split ticketing involved, just one super off peak return. Meanwhile the same ticket booked direct on GWR worked out at about £190.

Unlike other comments here, journeys to Kingswear do seem to be showing on National Rail - including from stations beyond the GWR network. Also on some other websites such as SplitTicketing, but not on the trainline. Noticed that some prices on split ticketing (only involving one ticket though)...

I think in some cases, it's not just down to the seat itself but the type of fabric applied on top - for example comparing the blue SWR seat covers with the SWT's more comfortable red moquette. And as others have mentioned, it's a shame many perfectly good seats from withdrawn trains are being...

Obviously this does allow more fleet flexibility, with many routes requiring 2-car trains. Although the Exmouth-Paignton route makes up the majority of 2+2 150 workings. In the longer term, I could see cascaded 166s from the Thames Valley fully taking over here - resulting in the remaining 150...

Would there be enough if the 158s were only used on the Cardiff-Portsmouth route, with Turbos used elsewhere?