How could a SE - NW XC service work?

[Mgameing123]

Is the tube that chaotic though? Never find it much of an issue and certainly not enough to put me off the journey.

I could see more people doing leisure journeys when they have a direct train to somewhere that usually feels like hell to get to. Reading to Sheffield. Yes its just 2 changes but its not really as relaxing as a direct journey to Sheffield.

 

[Topological]

I could see more people doing leisure journeys when they have a direct train to somewhere that usually feels like hell to get to. Reading to Sheffield. Yes its just 2 changes but its not really as relaxing as a direct journey to Sheffield.

There is a direct train from Reading.

Aside from the present cancellations due to crew shortages, Cross Country have an X of:

Manchester - Bristol
Manchester - Bournemouth (via Reading)
Scotland/NE - Plymouth/Penzance (via Bristol)
Newcastle - Reading

Routing gives some small quirks like the Newcastle-Reading not serving Leeds, but generally speaking that X provides for a lot of direct journeys.

It is only the very South East that does not have any CrossCountry since the Brighton trains stopped. Howver, the geography means that London would be on the shortest route anyway

 

[A S Leib]

It is only the very South East that does not have any CrossCountry since the Brighton trains stopped. Howver, the geography means that London would be on the shortest route anyway

Most of East Anglia as well. Norwich etc. probably doesn't need CrossCountry services; I'm not sure which connections one would offer which the EMR Liverpool service doesn't apart from Birmingham (changing at Grantham for Leeds or York isn't particularly a difficult connection), and East Anglia – South West would probably be quicker via London even if EWR to Cambridge gets built.

 

[YorkRailFan]

Most of East Anglia as well. Norwich etc. probably doesn't need CrossCountry services; I'm not sure which connections one would offer which the EMR Liverpool service doesn't apart from Birmingham (changing at Grantham for Leeds or York isn't particularly a difficult connection), and East Anglia – South West would probably be quicker via London even if EWR to Cambridge gets built.

Change at Peterborough or Nottingham for Birmingham isn't a major inconvenience.

 

[Topological]

Most of East Anglia as well. Norwich etc. probably doesn't need CrossCountry services; I'm not sure which connections one would offer which the EMR Liverpool service doesn't apart from Birmingham (changing at Grantham for Leeds or York isn't particularly a difficult connection), and East Anglia – South West would probably be quicker via London even if EWR to Cambridge gets built.

I suppose the Stansted counts for some of East Anglia, and offers connections for many more.

The North West has been the other big loser since the X was simplified, but trains from all over the North West into Manchester/Birmingham are plentiful.

 

[BlueLeanie]

Are you trying to avoid London, or simply wanting to avoid changing in London?

Technically there's nothing to stop one of the units that shuttles back and forth between Cambridge and Brighton to operate a service between Skipton in the North West and Brighton.

 

[A S Leib]

Technically there's nothing to stop one of the units that shuttles back and forth between Cambridge and Brighton to operate a service between Skipton in the North West and Brighton.

Not a technical issue, but I suspect having a speed limit 25 mph below 800s etc. would make pathing between Peterborough and at least Doncaster inconvenient.

 

[YorkRailFan]

Perhaps a topic for a new thread, but this thread raises the question "Should the UK's railways move away from point to point services and more to hub and spoke with high frequency services?" Obviously this means XC would still exist to get people in/out of Birmingham, but they wouldn't offer direct Aberdeen-Penzance services for instance.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

It was also much easier to path longer distance services via Kensington Olympia when that route wasn't used intensively by the Overground. All things considered, having the Overground offers far more benefit than a few long distance trains each day.

If these services still ran, I'd probably use them twice a year, thrice at best. Even if there are 10,000 others (a very liberal guesstimate) that would do the same that's only 30,000 journeys per year or around 86 per day.