How could London Marylebone capacity be increased?

[cle]

I would have thought Bicester (either) would be a goal. Oxford of course is well-served on the GWML. Banbury and beyond is probably more marginal, but the LHR and Crossrail connection I'd think popular.

Unless the idea is now to be fully metro - i.e. 4tph stopping to connect in with Crossrail.

 

[35B]

It may be true that the Midland Region management were biased against the ex GC route, but it is still the case that it wastefully duplicated the routes from St. Pancras and Euston. I remember British Rail's London advertising campaign: "If you want to go to Rugby, go to Euston". "If you want to go to Leicester (or Sheffield or Nottingham) go to St. Pancras." It also was less suitable for most freight traffic because accessing the line in London from the east was such a round-the-houses detour. The commercial reality was that B.R. had no real use for the route and were entirely right to close it..

And Gerard Fiennes, never an LMS man, wrote strongly in support of the closue in "I Tried to Run a Railway"