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  1. 3

    Direct Bromley North to London Cannon Street services on 17th May 2026

    The 23.16 from London Bridge to Bromley North is quite well loaded. The 12.15 Bromley North to London Bridge was fairly lightly loaded, but it had the Rail 200 unit on. As a Bromley north local, this service was quite a treat, and it’s a shame it can’t be done in normal service - acknowledging...
  2. 3

    Rollercoaster rides - Has ride quality declined?

    Apologies if this is an old thread, but I’m on a Pendolino to Manchester and between Stafford and Stoke, and especially around Stone, the ride quality seems a lot worse than the last time I was on this train. Constant bouncing, hunting, and having to hold onto my coffee to stop it falling off...
  3. 3

    HS2 Class 895s (Hitachi Alstom High-Speed)

    One thing I’ve noticed is that the number of seats proposed in the unit seems to keep going down. It started at 550 per 8 coach 200m unit, then down to 528 seats, and now it’s down to 504 seats according to photos from the greatest gathering -...
  4. 3

    Increasingly sad state of London Underground trains - graffiti and disrepair

    Yes, because the state of the trains is quite frankly, a disgrace. I suspect LUL management may want to bury their head in the sand about it, but it needs to be frequently discussed - hopefully eventually it will become embarrassing enough to do something about. I personally avoid the Bakerloo...
  5. 3

    Euston overcrowding

    Slightly off topic, but having spent a couple of hours catching up with a friend in the Signal Box pub terrace, I’ve concluded they really need to do something about the inanely excessive announcements at Euston. There is barely 30 seconds of quiet before the next announcement. They all blend...
  6. 3

    Towns or Cities where you were born or lived that have declined or improved over the years

    Whilst I do understand concerns about the blandness (seriously architects, other materials than glass and steel are available), the fact is we are in a very grim housing crisis. Manchester is one of the few places really doing something about it, with huge amounts of new apartments being built...
  7. 3

    Towns or Cities where you were born or lived that have declined or improved over the years

    Manchester as a city has improved hugely in the last 20 years or so, it’s now a real boom city with tonnes of new apartments and office blocks being built, an extensive tram network, and a really good nightlife scene. It really feels like a proper second city, and in some ways actually better...
  8. 3

    Ideas to make the Bromley North line more useful

    Bromley North is my local station, and the main annoyance is that the Bromley North trains do not always connect up well with the trains to/from Grove Park. The off peak 2tph branch line service connects well with the Charing Cross trains going into London, but the 3tph peak time service is...
  9. 3

    Southeastern metro fleet replacement/improvement

    Are southeastern having an issue maintaining the networkers in service then judging by the thread? Anecdotally I am noticing a lot more short formations on south eastern these days. 4 car trains on the Victoria to Orpington service seems to becoming very common now. Today, the 13.00 via Denmark...
  10. 3

    Euston overcrowding

    I used the station today, there were some notable changes. The space where the WH Smith bookshop was, is now open as circulation space and people were using it to wait - it meant less people waiting for a train on the low platforms blocked the corridor. My train to Manchester was called with 20...
  11. 3

    Restarting HS2a

    as There is a team working on it, but don’t expect to hear anything before late spring or early summer. The first priority will be drawing up the new proposed train service specification, given the one in the current business case has been torn apart by events. Then it’s a case of working out...
  12. 3

    HS2 Euston - Development, design and construction news (not speculation, please)

    No, that will use the new class 805 bi-modes, operating solely via the classic WCML.
  13. 3

    HS2 Euston - Development, design and construction news (not speculation, please)

    It is basically the current Avanti WCML service pattern but moved onto on the high speed platforms. 3 tph each for Birmingham and Manchester, 2 tph Liverpool, 1tph Glasgow and 1 tph Preston/Carlisle. A total of 7 trains/hour through Handsacre and Colwich, which is probably the most possible...
  14. 3

    Restarting HS2a

    A lot of ground investigation works and enabling works, such as utilities diversions. Also, a lot of environmental mitigation sites had already been built.
  15. 3

    Restarting HS2a

    Whilst it would be good to actually build 2a and Crewe in full, there should also be a think about what small interventions can get the biggest bang for the buck. 400m platforms at Crewe, Preston, Carlisle and Manchester Piccadilly deliver a lot of the benefit of phase 2 without that much spend...
  16. 3

    Restarting HS2a

    The message that came out very strongly last Thursday at the Transport Select Committee, is “Get Phase One fixed, reset the programme in terms of cost certainty and schedule, then we can think about phase two” But until phase one is sorted, and whilst the PR is still bad, no politician will...
  17. 3

    HS2 Compulsory Reservations

    I think there are two issues, which can get conflated but are actually separate. Will you be forced to get a reservation to travel, and will the railway be advance purchases only with the off peak return fare scrapped? I’d be okay with mandatory reservations, providing you can reserve a seat up...
  18. 3

    Building HS2 to Euston and Crewe could pay for itself, analysis finds

    Comprehensive Spending Review. My understanding is that the government will present a 10 year infrastructure plan in the Spring, detailing the road-map of UK infrastructure investment planned over the next 10 years, and this should give us some clarity on what will happen to Phase 2 and NPR. It...
  19. 3

    Increasingly sad state of London Underground trains - graffiti and disrepair

    I'm not sure if this is the correct thread for this, but the budget provided a reasonable capital settlement for TFL - "£485 million for Transport for London (TFL)’s capital renewals programme in 2025-26. This includes funding for rolling stock on the Piccadilly and Elizabeth Lines." - will this...
  20. 3

    Building HS2 to Euston and Crewe could pay for itself, analysis finds

    They’ve denied that phase 2 “as is” will be revived. A fully integrated North West to Midlands rail link that happens to use the phase 2a trackbed and powers, and also integrate with NPR, being delivered by another government arms length body via Private Sector design and build consortium, is of...

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