4tph to bristol, how?

[Zoe]

Not sure about joining/splitting at Swindon as you'd have to have a fairly short train for Bristol to allow it to work in multiple (e.g. nothing like the HST length that Bristol passengers currently enjoy)

Maybe but don't forget there will be twice as many trains from Temple Meads.

 

[The Planner]

Id still run some fast to Parkway and ignore Reading and Swindon.

 

[Zoe]

Id still run some fast to Parkway and ignore Reading and Swindon.

Swindon maybe but isn't Reading too important to ignore these days due the connections and Heathrow? Around 2004-2006 almost all the services that didn't stop at Reading had calls added.

 

[anthony263]

Id still run some fast to Parkway and ignore Reading and Swindon.

I can see the Swansea - London services missing out Didcot & Swindon and run non stop Reading - Bristol Parkway in order to do London - Swansea in 2 hours 45 minutes.

I know they want a full hourly London - Cheltenham service instead of the serrvice level at present.

The only way I can see all of this happening is if the Heathrow express service is withdrawn something I am in favour of once crossrail is fully up and running.

 

[The Planner]

Reading isn't going to collapse if you knock out one service an hour.

 

[tbtc]

So would all fast services need to be non stop to reading to increase line capacity?

Ideally you'd have everything running at the same speed to squeeze the most capacity out of the lines.

At the moment there are four trains an hour from Paddington to Reading that stop at a decent number of local stations (two of these extend to Oxford), plus various Intercity services call at Slough.

If Crossrail is only running to Maidenhead then these links will need retaining somehow (even if you let Crossrail take some of the stops east of Maidenhead).

 

[Zoe]

If Crossrail is only running to Maidenhead then these links will need retaining somehow (even if you let Crossrail take some of the stops east of Maidenhead).

I believe the plan was for a 2 tph service from Paddington to Reading and a 2 tph shuttle from Slough to Reading. Both of these would be run by FGW or the company that wins the new franchise. The Crossrail website however only lists 2 tph Crossrail and 2 tph non-Crossrail at Maidenhead though so it may be that the shuttle will no longer run.