Coastal Connect idea

[LilLoaf]

I was think the other day why all new company seem to start finish the journey's in London, like GC, W&S. So i thought why have a company called Coastal connect running trains from the Midlands to the coast to somewhere like Clacton on the Sea. They would run from Birmingham - Rugby - Watford - onto the NLL - Stratford - Colchester - Clacton.

BIRMINGHAM NEW STREET 1026
RUGBY 1050
WATFORD JUNCTION 1127
STRATFORD 1240
COLCHESTER 1333
CLACTON 1350

CLACTON 0925
COLCHESTER 0955
STRATFORD 1046
WATFORD JUNCTION 1155
RUGBY 1217
BIRMINGHAM NEW STREET 1245

Thats the times i came up with for the morning runs.

EMT really dont need all their HST's so the stock would come from there.

Any thoughts anyone.

 

[yorkie]

If you run this using VP185 HSTs from MML and the price isn't too high, I'll travel on it as often as I can (though as I live in York it wouldn't be that often), and I think Nick W and Metrocammel would do too.

You might struggle to get from Watford to Rugby in 22 minutes, but Stratford to Watford has ample pathing time so you can adjust the times accordingly.

When does the application go to ORR?

 

[theblackwatch]

Back in the real world...

 

[MCR247]

Maybe having an early morning to Clactn and a late evening back, but not too late, so you can still get connections to other places around Birmingham. Maybe you could extend this to serve the East Midlands, ie Nottingham, Derby

 

[Pumbaa]

I was think the other day why all new company seem to start finish the journey's in London, like GC, W&S. So i thought why have a company called Coastal connect running trains from the Midlands to the coast to somewhere like Clacton on the Sea. They would run from Birmingham - Rugby - Watford - onto the NLL - Stratford - Colchester - Clacton.

I think I can count on one hand the number of people living in the Midlands that want to go to Clacton.

EMT really dont need all their HST's so the stock would come from there.

So they're wasting money for the hell of it then at the moment?

Plus, the stock isn't EPS so would probably get chucked via Northampton and on the slows to Watford. Virgin would throw a fit at the proposal, and well, frankly, it's a stupid idea.

 

[MCR247]

I dont think he was being too serious

 

[yorkie]

I dont think he was being too serious

Erm, I think he was! But he probably wants someone else to run it, which aint gonna happen! Mind you, he could start up a railtour company now - after all, everyone else is (Flamboyant Trains, Northern Charters, Joint Line all copying Retro Railtours into the market )

 

[theblackwatch]

Erm, I think he was! But he probably wants someone else to run it, which aint gonna happen! Mind you, he could start up a railtour company now - after all, everyone else is (Flamboyant Trains, Northern Charters, Joint Line all copying Retro Railtours into the market )

Or the other way round, bearing in mind Flamboyant's first tour ran last year before Retro ran one!

 

[merlodlliw]

I was think the other day why all new company seem to start finish the journey's in London, like GC, W&S.

I know this is light hearted and fun. & good for you

But W/S it could be argued start and finish in Wrexham IE 0512 up with the last down finishing at WRX mid night. on the other hand you may be correct,
After all London is the capital of the world, so I'm led to believe.

 

[37401]

I know your not serious but its a good idea and it has some legs, all you need to do with a Open Access company is find a route that people want and wel do it, e.g Birmingham-London Paddington, Blackpool-Euston. routes that TOCs have taken away are a great place to start as you have the passengers already!

 

[westcoaster]

how strange i was thinking about this the other day, not that route mind, i was thinking of a london-brighton/southcoast open acess operator, passenger loading would be high, plus if you were to set a decent price undercutting the competitiors, people would come flooding in.

now i know there might be problems with which stations you can or can not serve, depending on the competition, getting track acess on an already busy line, finding suitable stock,staff,depot's.

Sations you can or cannot stop at- not aware of any on the brighton mainline were this would be denied(unlike W&S at birmingham new street being unable to call because of virgin), if this were to be a problem you could go to one of many london termini waterloo, cannon street etc.

Track acess could be a problem on already busy lines, but im sure more could be found.

Suitable stock- at the time of thinking there were spare 442's but not no more, so you would have to find suitable DC stock that can run at 90mph+, none available at present but heard grumblings that cl460's will be coming of the gat ex (rumour i heard), reconfigure during a refurb with 2+2 seating, 8 units available, half hourly service possible.

staff- plenty about, drivers guards, csa's, managers, md, maintinance.

depots- none available but im sure you could come to an agreement with an other toc i.e southern at selhurst/lovers walk, swt- wimbledon park, stewarts lane.

just my thinking, would open acess operators be allowed on such an oversubscribed route?

 

[MCR247]

, e.g Birmingham-London Paddington

Yes, as Euston and Paddington are so far apart, and its worth the extra time, in which you could get back to Birmingham, if you did it by 390

 

[87015]

Yes, as Euston and Paddington are so far apart, and its worth the extra time, in which you could get back to Birmingham, if you did it by 390

Might as well tell Chiltern not to run to Brum because everyone wants to go WCML then?

 

[MCR247]

Well, no as that serves places on the way, that dont have a service to London. Which extra stations that dont have a service to London would the paddington train serve then?

 

[Mintona]

Liverpool Lime Street > Liverpool South Parkway > Runcorn > Crewe > Shrewsbury > Hereford > Newport > Bristol Temple Meads.

 

[generalvegitable]

good luck on the route, virgin will use their competition moderation to kick you off "their" route

 

[bluenoxid]

Or the other way round, bearing in mind Flamboyant's first tour ran last year before Retro ran one!

A lot of people keep forgetting that.

 

[87015]

A lot of people keep forgetting that.

Hows that important, don't really see how the order of running tours makes a huge difference. Having run one railtour (albeit having caped a few more advertised ones) hardly makes them a railtour powerhouse! All much of a muchness with the many 3/4 tours a year outfits.

 

[The Planner]

Liverpool Lime Street > Liverpool South Parkway > Runcorn > Crewe > Shrewsbury > Hereford > Newport > Bristol Temple Meads.

You need to keep going with that, Weston Super Mare, Taunton, Exeter and either on to Paignton or as far as Newquay. North West to South West via the Marches is a hugely untapped market.

 

[Mintona]

You need to keep going with that, Weston Super Mare, Taunton, Exeter and either on to Paignton or as far as Newquay. North West to South West via the Marches is a hugely untapped market.

Newquay might be a bit far. Maybe onto Paignton though, that could work.

 

[LilLoaf]

I wasn't being too serious about the whole thing, though i might send an application to the DFT just to see what (if any) reply i get. I just got bored the other day at work and it came into my mind.

I've also worked out some more service times for it.

1307 Birmingham
1336 Rugby
1415 Watford
1525 Stratford
1620 Colchester
1656 Clacton

1746 Birmingham
1818 Rugby
1910 Watford
2018 Stratford
2120 Colchester
2155 Clacton

1430 Clacton
1450 Colchester
1545 Stratford
1715 Watford
1803 Rugby
1840 Birmingham

1830 Clacton
1856 Colchester
1945 Stratford
2055 Watford
2130 Rugby
2200 Birmingham


Some services are faster than others on purpose to take into account NLL services aswell as freights.

In total 2 HST's would be needed a third for spair. 1 Overnight Clacton, another at Birmingham, main depot would be Birmingham.

I've also came up with other Coastal connect routes.

Birmingham - Cheltenham (pick up only) Kemble, Stonehouse, Swindon, Bassingstoke, Southapton, Bournemouth, Poole, Dorchester, Weymouth.

I've missed out Reading on purpose, its an a nightmare carn't find any easy paths into hte station.

 

[MCR247]

Why would you want to go to Clacton from Brum at 10 at night?

 

[37401]

Might as well tell Chiltern not to run to Brum because everyone wants to go WCML then?

and my Brum-Paddington would go along the line of BHM>BHX>COV>Lemington spa>Oxford>Reading>Paddington (but they wont all be calling points)

 

[yorkie]

Hmm I think I know what response the DfT will give you!!!!

On the other hand if you got a big financial backer with loads of cash to fund this, and asked the ORR, you may get somewhere.

 

[tbtc]

Yet another "list two random places" and start a service between them thread...

Some interesting ideas there, but the truth is that running "around" London doesn't seem to work on the railways, there's not a rail version of the M25.

Anglia tried their Norwich to Basingstoke service, but that was no faster than Norwich to Stratford/ Underground to Waterloo and SWT to Basingstoke.

Thameslink works. Crossrail will work. But any route from one side of London to another side will never be as popular as a direct train into the capital and a direct train out of the capital (e.g. in this case a Birmingham - Euston and a Liverpool Street - Clacton service).

 

[The Planner]

I've also worked out some more service times for it.

1307 Birmingham
1336 Rugby
1415 Watford
1525 Stratford
1620 Colchester
1656 Clacton

Rugby to Brum in 29 for an HST is tight and I dont think you could do it

In total 2 HST's would be needed a third for spair. 1 Overnight Clacton, another at Birmingham, main depot would be Birmingham.

Where in Brum ?? Tyseley ?? There is nowhere else you could hide it, unless you asked LM nicely to go into Soho or the planned Duddeston depot.

Birmingham - Cheltenham (pick up only) Kemble, Stonehouse, Swindon, Bassingstoke, Southapton, Bournemouth, Poole, Dorchester, Weymouth.

I've missed out Reading on purpose, its an a nightmare carn't find any easy paths into hte station.

You'd struggle to get any paths from Didcot to be honest, unless you sat behind a local stopper on the reliefs.

 

[90019]

In total 2 HST's would be needed a third for spair. 1 Overnight Clacton, another at Birmingham, main depot would be Birmingham.

You'd need more than that, unless you plan to have a train leave before it arrives.

 

[bluenoxid]

Hows that important, don't really see how the order of running tours makes a huge difference. Having run one railtour (albeit having caped a few more advertised ones) hardly makes them a railtour powerhouse! All much of a muchness with the many 3/4 tours a year outfits.

Woah, put your dog on your leash.

I was just reinforcing the point that yorkie had made in error. I wasn't going on about recent performance or anything else.

 

[djw1981]

Are there paths on NLL?
A service to Harwich for the ferry might be more popular, Clacton is in Essex and thus a bad place

 

[LilLoaf]

Are there paths on NLL?
A service to Harwich for the ferry might be more popular, Clacton is in Essex and thus a bad place

Harwich was my original idea but i like Clacton, why is it a bad place? Its great i'm going next week. I say one more thing on the whole Clacton and Essex idea, you may draw your own conclusions. Essex lasses.

There are paths on the NLL as long as its tucked nicely up behind a stopper service.

Yeah think i'll allow 45mins Rugby to Birmingham. Birmingham is an obstical course at the best of times.