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Surely some kind of connection between the line to Wakefield Westgate would be better, thus providing an electrified link from the Airedale line branch to Bradford (and on to London) without having to go via Leeds? Not sure this would be possible though, looking at google maps.

IIRC the original reason they couldn't operate north of York was due to gauging/power supply issues - would these have not been sorted out after the introduction of the new IEP trains? Seems madness scrapping these trains which are only halfway through their service life. Would they not make...

Whatever happened to the plans to refurbish Crewe station? It seems to have missed out on the current round of station funding. I was there the other day and the roof is leaky and in need of re-glazing, the paintwork is peeling everywhere, and the facilities are dire. Does anyone have any...

Its hard to know what they could have used to imitate the old Euston. Perhaps Preston, as it has a similar pitched roof? Or maybe Carlisle or Glasgow Central? All three are electrified, however. I suppose Marylebone would have been a good substitute, given it has no wires (but Network...

Newcastle-under-Lyme (75,000)? I have no idea why this station/branch isn't re-opened as the trackbed seems to be mostly still intact. Or else, there's Gosport (85,000). Ashby-de-la-Zouch (13,000) is another one I can think of with no station, but the line trundles through. Madness that they...

In case there is interest, the Swindon-Kemble redoubling has now been completed: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/news/2014/aug/Swindon-Kemble-line-upgrade-complete/

Planning to make a trip from the South-West up to the Midlands in a few weeks, I had a look at real-time trains to see where the train would go, and I was amazed at how wasteful Cross-Country trains are with their timetables. Look, for example, at this...

What they really need to do is restore the roof, which will keep away the elements from everyone on all platforms. Sadly the crusade against station roofs across the British railway network continues, with London Bridge following the recent path of Blackburn and Rugby in having its wonderful...

I'm afraid my sympathy with fare dodgers increases exponentially each year when I have to renew my season ticket, or buy a ticket to any destination on an inter-city train for that matter. The railways are rapidly becoming a rich man's toy, to the detriment of their role as a public service...

And the maximum on the fast lines is only 90mph from Severn Tunnel Junction to Cardiff (and lower thereafter), IIRC. Presumably linespeeds will increase after the current resignalling work is complete?

I can't see the thinking behind not covering the slow lines as well as part of the electrification project. Can all the intercity and local services use the fast lines? If that's the case it seems that NR are cutting some serious corners on this job.

Does anyone know anything about when the Severn Tunnel is going to be wired (or even whether they will use wires) as part of the Great Western project? I'd imagine its not until after the Golden Valley redoubling, but there has been very little news on that of late either. It seems strange...

There also seem to be some alterations to the usual route out of Glasgow. Compare these: http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y81716/2014/08/30/advanced and http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/Y81656/2014/08/30/advanced (normal route via Motherwell) Anyone know why?

Why does it need to be a 'concession' or 'franchise' run by someone else's state owned railway company?! Why can't it just be run by TFL?! More madness from the DafT, itching to privatise something.

What I cannot understand about East Midlands Parkway is why an earth they built it in Ratcliffe-on-soar? If it was built a few miles to the south, near Kegworth and the campus of Nottingham Uni, surely it would get a much greater footfall? It seems bizarre that they built it in the middle of...

Why don't EC hire the NOL 373 sets from SNCF (as GNER did) when their lease expires, and run them to York as before?

The only problem with that is that (because of Schengen?) the tracks leading into St. Pancras aren't linked – there's no access from the MML side to HS1, which might preclude using the Javelins. As much as I like St. Pancras, the sacrificing of platform space for shopping does seem like a...

Looking at that map it appears that Camden Town has some over-bridges, or some kind of place where platforms used to be (rather like Leamington Spa does) – could these not be used to alleviate capacity? I do think that the walk from Euston to St. Pancras, short though it is, prevents some...

The last time I travelled this direction (last week) there were hundreds of stanchions in a heap east of Didcot, seemingly ready to go. There were also quite a few which had been erected east of Reading, towards Twyford (significantly more than when I last looked).

Hello, new here. Considering a large amount of money was spent (presumably) connecting the WCML to HS1 via the north london line, why are there no Virgin services to Stratford, Ebbsfleet or Ashford? Are there any operational or infrastructure pinch-points inhibiting this? You would have...