Could Norfolk be better connected?

[cle]

I did read somewhere of another Cambridge to Liverpool Street fast service planned, possibly just Tottenham Hale and one of Bishops Stortford/Harlow only.

If it could get under an hour, it might prove competitive. And maybe send that one to Kings Lynn - and the other KX fast is free to go to Norwich (in a world of wires!)

 

[Bald Rick]

I did read somewhere of another Cambridge to Liverpool Street fast service planned, possibly just Tottenham Hale and one of Bishops Stortford/Harlow only.

If it could get under an hour, it might prove competitive. And maybe send that one to Kings Lynn - and the other KX fast is free to go to Norwich (in a world of wires!)

First stop Audley End last I heard. But it won't be under the hour.

 

[eastdyke]

I did read somewhere of another Cambridge to Liverpool Street fast service planned, possibly just Tottenham Hale and one of Bishops Stortford/Harlow only.

If it could get under an hour, it might prove competitive. And maybe send that one to Kings Lynn - and the other KX fast is free to go to Norwich (in a world of wires!)

The lowest journey time for commuters to a London terminal does not always mean that terminal will be selected.
After Crossrail more Cambridge commuters are likely to travel to Liverpool Street, eg. Crossrail will allow direct route (ie no changes) to Canary Wharf with a journey time of just 6 minutes.
You won't get close to that from Kings Cross!

 

[306024]

http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news...terminated-at-weekends-until-easter-1-5328479

News saying that the GEML will be closed at the London end on weekends from after Christmas until Easter, that direct connection to Kings X would be helpful then.

Trains terminating at Inagtestone or Witham then bus to Newbury Park for Central Line. Not possible to run trains also on the section closer to Liverpool St like they used to to avoid central line?

Not as the work is at Gidea Park, amongst other places. Only Shenfield and Stratford have platforms long enough to accommodate an InterCity set. Ingatestone has a large car park to cope with the replacement coaches, Shenfield doesn’t, and access to the A12 is easier from Ingatestone too.

 

[Alfie1014]

Travelling from near Colchester to the NE today and avoiding London due to the engineering works I think this thread could be better described as how East Anglia could be better connected. Journey planners show all the my journey opportunities as taking around three hours to Peterborough (for around 100 miles) so around 33 mph average. For comparison by road (dual carriageway almost door to door) is around 2 hours at a modest 50 mph. Travelling over the route beyond Haughley Junction and especially between Ely and Pboro you realise just how constraining the existing infrastructure is. That said going in the other direction was an almost continuous procession of liners heading for Felixstowe, (some presumably diverted due the GEML blockade), but even so Network Rail were today getting their monies worth in respect of access charges for trains we are told are more valuable to the Nation’s economy than the mostly 2 car sprinters that ply that way on passenger services. The state of some of the bridges across the Fens is especially telling!

 

[Class 170101]

If I won the lottery.....big time of course.....i'd set up to run services between Bury St Edmunds and Kings Cross joining a Norwich-Kings Cross unit at Cambridge. Big markets to be had in Bury and Newmarket for a direct service, also I believe along the breckland.

Well the assumption is that Cambridge wouldn't need two fast services to Kings Cross so there's your path, borrowed from GN

Assumption wrong unfortunately. They are wedged at peak time, and pretty busy off peak.

Loss in journey time beats no journey at all, consider it a balance. As for the enhancements to the service, if you're not running the fast ones that's an extra unit to tack on the back of any remaining 8 coach trains, operations permitting of course. Perhaps even attach the Lynn unit to the back on the Bury/Norwich units, form a 12 car south.

In theory it would be possible for a four car unit to attach to each 'fast' Cambridge to Kings Cross service as I believe only eight carriages maximum are planned to run between Cambridge and Ely / Kings Lynn. However routes to Norwich and Bury St Edmunds are not wired and also they are in different franchises.

 

[Groningen]

Well yesterday the Queen and King arrived by train as normal passengers in Norfolk a few days ago. OK, she has done it several times already.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

I believe the London services will be increased to every 20 minutes which I find surprising, given far bigger cities have a lower frequency (e.g. Liverpool, Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Bristol, Cardiff).

Roads aren't great though unless you're heading towards Cambridge, Stansted and London. Getting to the the North is a pain, and even to Ipswich.

I think Liverpool deserves a second train per hour in the peaks! Norwich I’m less sure about - but I suppose the WCML is at capacity and Norwich trains also link Ipswich and Colchester.