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*was *were They are generally pretty grotty inside now with stained, threadbare seat covers the rule, rather than the exception. Yes, this is actually a major pain-point for 22x, as it also hammers battery life (and the on-train WiFi is dreadful) Agree with this sentiment, Did Birmingham -...

On initial inspection, it looks like Marston Vale has in particular been descoped, with only 3tph on the route (2 fast, 1 stopper), with less improvement to line speed. Lower train frequency and lower line speed then enables the retention of level crossings on the route. Six-tracking north of...

This is a shame because although it mightn't make a huge difference, the timetable seems quite fragile. If - for example - a 360 connect service incurs any delay then the following Sheffield service is likely to catch it somewhere around Wellingborough, creating a knock on delay for the...

Agree, however laws are changed all the time. Until recently everybody was expecting new primary legislation for GBR that presumably would have changed quite a few bits of the Railways Act 1993. This - I think EMR can shift a lot of more price-sensitive travel from Kettering (and it's only...

... remembering that a 5x810 has 12 more standard class seats than a 7x222 and 60 more than a 5x222, so with the exception of where a 5x810 replaces a 7x222, passengers are going to see a significant capacity increase (although of course the thinning out of the EMR intercity fleet means some of...

The expectation of Eversholt's 222s looking for new homes from perhaps late-2024 may also have spurred some movement in pricing. I think 222s would also be cheaper to run than 221s as they are quite a bit lighter (saving both fuel and variable track access charges)

By the time the 60 minute train has been done up, the 45 minute train will probably be a cracking* new Hitachi unit. I think the reality is that Kettering travelers may self segment into those that travel slowly and split tickets and those that don't. A sensible railway would make this...

Rail engineer Gareth Dennis is quoting the following figures on revenue (not ridership) on Twitter this morning. TOTAL REVENUE RECOVERY: 93% BY SECTOR London & SE: 94% Long distance: 88% Regional: 97% BY PURPOSE Commute: 86% Leisure: 117% Business: 38% Intra-London: 105% It's not...

Even if they don't have all the same employers, it is possible (not saying "easy", but "possible") to set up alliance structures that can create more of a single team. Even when people work for the same organisation, that doesn't mean they're all one happy family with perfectly aligned...

The slows are very slow between Wellingborough and Bedford. Pre 2019 there was an EMT train that crossed to the slow line at Harrowden junction, then called at Wellingborough P3 and then through Sharnbrook Tunnel. I think it took 10-15 minutes longer. Very strong preserved railway vibes as the...

There's quite an interesting piece on London Reconnections that I've linked below titled "Slow Death of Heathrow Express" which argues that 2028 looks like when a decision will need to be made about its future, as it seems the article is saying both track access and train leases are up for...

I'm not sure what this would achieve. The Sheffield & Nottingham trains are flighted together leaving St Pancras at XX02/32 to Sheffield and XX05/35 to Nottingham. So you can sort-of imagine that they are joined, just by a coupling that's about 3 minutes long! As a reasonably regular...

Particularly if that's a typical load factor between St Pancras and the Airport... Just as the car industry sells the dream of traffic-free roads, trains are never busy in the adverts! I think the "no stress" claim is going to be the hard bit for EMR to back up with their service, because they...

There is new wiring mounted on insulators in Harborough. It's mounted high up on the steelwork and starts at the heavyweight portal next to Bellfields Lane and heads South. So, the pictures you showed were the proposed HS2 grid supply point, and I'm not sure I've ever seen evidence that this...

Agreed, and if/when HS2 is open, then this ought to create capacity on the Trent Valley to do this as well as accelerating London services. It's possible to agree that Northampton isn't well served by rail without saying that this is the answer, but this pressure group seems to have trouble...

A couple of options have been bounced around as part of a wider Wigston-Syston capacity upgrade. First option is a Platform 0 adjacent to the car park, second a new island Platform P5/6 on what are currently sidings. There's a document called something like "Leicester Area Strategic Advice"...

I don't think you're the first on here to say this, although in practical terms there difference is pretty small. I don't think the timetable performance would change noticeably if somebody was able to conjure 27 or more additional Class 180s from somewhere and bin the 222s. LNER only finished...

My instinct without consulting Ordnance Survey is you'd need to stick to the Northampton - MH alignment as far as the North side of Kelmarsh tunnel, (Adds budget for bridging the A14 and bringing Kelmarsh tunnels up to standard) Then head East along the Ise valley South of Desborough and...

No sane commercial contractor could commit to projects of the scale of the HS2 main works packages on a fixed-fee basis. It's not about whether or not they "back themselves". Fixed fee is really only likely to work when the scope is well defined and the contractor can absorb the foreseeable...

I think this is rather unfair to the Leicester Mercury (I find myself surprised to be standing up for local journalism as what I see is rarely much good) My commute at the time was affected by the rebuild at Sutton Bonington. Network Rail were clear with media and stakeholders at the time that...