The obvious example is the Greenford branch, which used to have through services to Paddington but now terminates at West Ealing – and has seen passenger numbers crash as a result. If HEx was removed then those trains may be able to run through to Paddington again. Alternatively (or both) increase the frequency of Crossrail trains to Heathrow to replace the lost HEx services, making a more consistent service and with better connectivity.
Highly unlikely a half hourly 2 coach DMU will be allowed out onto the relief lines alongside the Elizabeth line services. Any paths freed up by removing Heathrow Express will be on the mains.
They aren't built to run at 125mph as they don't have suitable crumple zones, pointy noses etc.
A 387 is two minutes slower to Reading on a non-stop service - 25 minutes versus 23 minutes, although IETs were once timed at 22 minutes rather than 23 minutes. As far as Airport Junction it doesn't really make a difference.
In addition, 125 doesn't start until Ealing Broadway (src: OpenRailwayMap), so you only have 5.5 miles of the additional 25mph (Ealing Broadway is 5m56ch, Airport Junction (DM) 11m15ch, src: http://www.railwaycodes.org.uk/elrs/_mileages/m/mln1.shtm)
Heathrow to relief platforms at OOC will always (except Sundays) be Elizabeth line, and to main platforms will always be HEx. I hope HEx won’t be reimbursed for Sunday passengers paying lower fares.
The GWR and Heathrow Expresses class 387s are timed at 110mph rather than 100mph so the difference is even smaller.
Although will the relief and main platforms be behind separate gate lines, as that would make many interchanges unnecesarily cumbersome - especially considering these platforms will be adjacent, I would expect a way of getting between them without going through a gateline.
5.5 miles @ 100mph = 3 mins 18 secs
5% allowance?
May not be 5%, but the allowance above raw runtime that's included in SRT calculations.
Shouldn't be any (unless its the wacky Southern way of incorporating box time), any rounding should cater for being cautious.
On RTT, looking at a handful of mid-morning Down Main running times planned on Tuesday 23/04 from a standing start at Paddington, they all pass Heathrow Airport Junction between 8.5 and 9.5 minutes after departure, with the lower figure representing the best 80x times. The difference is around the margin between planning and technical signalling headways, so the lower top speed doesn't seem to practically affect pathing capacity much if at all over this fairly short stretch as long as the Electrostar turns off there or shortly afterward at Dolphin Junction onto the Reliefs. Even by Reading, the difference in timing for a non-stop run on the DM throughout is only two minutes, 23(80x) vs 25(387) minutes. I expect the Electrostars are a little more sprightly in acceleration in the lower speed ranges, being a lighter train geared more for stopping service, but the Hitachis will keep on accelerating for longer clearly. In practice I expect a Hitachi driver might ease off the throttle and coast a little if they see a double yellow a few signals ahead while still having plenty of time to react if they have to brake for a stop, but under normal conditions that restrictive aspect will quickly step up to green once the HEX has cleared the junction and ARS has reacted promptly to move the points and set the straight route. Now the driver will see only a series of greens ahead and can throttle up accordingly as necessary. Any time lost would be a few seconds at most.5.5 miles @ 100mph = 3 mins 18 secs
5.5 miles @ 110mph = 3 mins 00 secs
5.5 miles @ 125mph = 2 mins 39 secs
For completeness
HEX contract extended. I was surprised but probably shouldn't have been.
Heathrow Express access rights extended
UK: Heathrow Express announced on June 24 that it had secured a track access agreement covering its non-stop services between London Paddington and the airport terminals until June 2028. UK: Open access operator Heathrow Express announced on June 24 that it had secured a track access agreement...www.railwaygazette.com
Who else has made an application to use the Heathrow Express paths or platforms at Paddington? Did anyone else contend the Heathrow Express application?
Not disputing your overall point, but why does the vehicle-km jump by a factor of ten between 2019 and 2024, is this simply displacement of the decimal point?
I guess that it was granted but probably more because of the sentiment of discussions in this thread.
I don't think that's how the relationship between franchise owners and open access operators ever worked. Now the DfT are in charge, they don't seek more services on any line.
Could the switch from using single 332s to pairs of 387s have anything to do with it?
No, but any interested party could put forward comments on why allocation of the paths affects their plans.
That isn't true. There have been a number of recent recasts of DfT specified services which have led to different use of paths.
Thanks for pointing out, copied it wrongly, have corrected it
