Search results

Something I don't think we've discussed before - whilst there have been plenty of comments that high speed trains should be put on lower speed lines... 125mph Voyagers/ Meridians on the 90mph Waterloo - Exeter service 125mph 180s on the 90 mph Cardiff - Holyhead service 125mph HSTs on the...

If you accept that we are going to have private companies running franchises on fixed terms (we've had the BR/ nationalisation argument plenty times; I don't need to have it again), what is the best way for the DfT/ Government to deal with tendering for new franchises? AIUI the current...

Back in the good old days of roller blinds being common place I used to enjoy watching the driver scroll through them at termini and spotting "odd" destinations. There were a few that companies speculatively put on blinds - either in the hope of winning tendered work or as "mind games"...

I don't think we've had this one before (?) - what are the largest British places with no terminating services? I was thinking about Rotherham (which sees services to Scunthorpe, Lincoln, Leeds etc, but none actually terminate there), Halifax (services to Manchester, Blackpool, York etc but...

What is the youngest bus to carry Stagecoach's MagicBus branding (either in today's terms or at the time)?

With various electrifications planned (or strongly hinted at!), the service pattern on many lines is bound to change, with potentially fewer through London trains to unelectrified branches (given the cost of bi-mode, will it be worth paying the extra money for a bi-mode unit just to provide a...

Pretend for a moment that each TOC gained ten new coaches* for free (of an existing type, compatible with current stock, with no need for maintenance etc). Based on the current situation (ignoring planned electrification etc), what would you use them on? Capacity or new routes? East...

Whilst I've seen threads on "local" bus forums regarding vehicles that are going to London for Olympic work (and various loans to cover these "missing" buses/ old buses brought back onto fleet to cover), I've not seen any national discussion. So, would a thread on here regarding all the...

(note, I'm not talking about *withdrawing* stock, just being replaced on a specific route) What is the youngest stock to be replaced on a particular route by other trains (whether replaced by younger or replaced by older stock)? For example the 170s doing Hull - London can only have been a...

To avoid disrupting the other thread into semantics about the boundaries of towns (and whether a political administrative area is the same as a town etc)... ...I though we could have a similar debate based on Westminster parliamentary constituencies (since the 2010 boundaries are clearly...

There are always rumours doing the rounds about bus companies buying/selling operations, but in the past couple of weeks we've had confirmation of First selling out to Stagecoach in Devon and First selling a London garage to Go Ahead. After years of consolidation there have been other changes...

The 10:50 FGW service from Great Malvern to Brighton is shown as terminating at Hove today. At first I thought it was like the trick of showing the Leeds - Harrogate - York services as being for Poppleton or Burley Park (to avoid longer distance passengers going the slow way between the two...

Clearly at the moment Northern Rail operate no Class 170s. But electrification of other lines over the rest of this decade (EGIP, TPE North...) as well as potential upgrades to other routes suggests that some 170s may be freed up in the next few years. Where would you use them though? You'd...

I was rightly picked up by Greenback on a recent thread for my habit of dismissing the need for every town/village/station to have a direct link to London. Fair enough, I thought, I do mention this a bit :lol::oops: ...but it got me thinking, what habits do everyone else have? For example...

How many are there? I'll start the ball rolling with the Stagecoach X62 from Hull to Leeds via the M62. First Calderline used to have an M62 from Leeds to Halifax via the same motorway. I presume we can't get everything from 1 to 99?

In the NXEA thread, Arriva's lack of "investment" in new trains was mentioned. They haven't ordered any new trains for ATW or XC (though they have reintroduced HSTs and refurbished some DMUs etc). They didn't order the 333s which they ran on ATN (I can't remember whether Arriva took over MTL...

There's mention of "diesel islands" on a few threads (e.g. the Thames Valley branches, if they aren't wired when the GWML is)... ...but have there ever been any "electric islands"? At the moment I think a dual voltage EMU could get from Helensburgh to the Chanel Tunnel, or from Norwich to...

The announcement that FGW are getting their 180s back and a handful of additional 150 carriages means that the post-172 cascade has almost been completed. Who were the biggest winners/ losers? London Overground: Got a brand new DMU fleet, with the 172s replacing the 150s. They seem to have...

Due to modern healthy/ safety/ restrictions, what current infrastructure couldn't be built today? Platform on too much of a gradient, too curvy, too many steps etc...

One thing I've never found online is a national collection of bus service changes. There are dozens of places to go for "local" information, but I've never seen one source that covers changes all over the country. Dunno if this will work, but (as somewhere to start) here are the changes for...