My ideas for new train services.

[alwaystouchout]

How about a Barton-on-Humber to Colne service, via Brigg, Gainsborough Central, Sheffield, Barnsley, Huddersfield, Stalybridge, Stockport (rev), Manchester Picc, Bolton and Blackburn? I think there's a real gap in the market for end to end travel on that route.

 

[ValleyLines142]

I personally would like to see the daily Cardiff to Manchester service extended to and from Swansea. Or have some Voyagers on the South Wales Main Line.

 

[1s06pilot]

East Coast should re route the daily Lincoln to Kings Cross down the GN/GE joint line. Then they colud offer a direct service to London from Sleaford and Spalding.
Platform length shouldnt be a problem at Sleaford not sure about Spalding these days .

 

[FQ]

East Coast should re route the daily Lincoln to Kings Cross down the GN/GE joint line. Then they colud offer a direct service to London from Sleaford and Spalding.
Platform length shouldnt be a problem at Sleaford not sure about Spalding these days .

Yes,
that would definetly improve services between Lincoln and Peterborough and also it would improve (a bit) of capacity on the ECML between Newark and Peterborough.

Also I think that East Coast should make the Lincoln-Kings Cross as a shuttle so keep running the HST up and down the line.

 

[Tomnick]

Does the Lincoln HST pick up a lot of demand from Newark and Grantham too though, thus relieving other Up trains in the morning peak? The plan was also to run the Newark turnbacks through to Lincoln during the day, but (contrary to seemingly popular belief) they don't have enough HSTs.

 

[swt_passenger]

Does the Lincoln HST pick up a lot of demand from Newark and Grantham too though, thus relieving other Up trains in the morning peak? The plan was also to run the Newark turnbacks through to Lincoln during the day, but (contrary to seemingly popular belief) they don't have enough HSTs.

But then the previous TOC did have 5 x 180s taken on lease specifically to run the Lincoln service all day. Under DOR it was allowed to abandon the plans and give the stock back to the ROSCOS, from where it ended up with FGW. So it looks as though DfT must have agreed Lincoln wasn't a good idea after all...

 

[Bald Rick]

How about a Barton-on-Humber to Colne service, via Brigg, Gainsborough Central, Sheffield, Barnsley, Huddersfield, Stalybridge, Stockport (rev), Manchester Picc, Bolton and Blackburn? I think there's a real gap in the market for end to end travel on that route.

A real visionary would extend this from Colne to Hull via Skipton and Leeds. Might need a new bit of railway, but as we know it's only the politicians and accountants that are stopping this.

 

[FQ]

XC could run an HST from Weymouth-Aberdeen calling at Weymouth, Poole, Bournemouth, Southampton Central, Basingstoke, Reading, Oxford, Banbury, Leamington Spa, Coventry, Birmingham New Street, Wolverhampton, Stoke-On-Trent, Stockport, Huddersfield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Durham, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Haymarket, Dundee and Aberdeen.

 

[Kenni]

An hourly express Leeds to Fleetwood calling at Leeds, Bradford, Hebden Bridge, Rochdale, Manchester Victoria, Bolton, Buckshaw Parkway, Preston, Poulton-Le-Fylde, Fleetwood. (Once the line back to Fleetwood is back up and running of course )

 

[northwichcat]

I reckon Newton-le-Willows should have better connections to the WCML, so I'd like to extend some of the LM London - Crewe service to Preston (or even to Blackpool) via Hartford, Warrington, Winwick Junc, Earlestown, Newton-le-Willows, Golborne Junc and Wigan.

Central Cheshire could really do with direct rail links to Warrington and the infrastructure is already there for that to happen.

 

[Qwerty133]

My suggestion would be an extra train every hour from Cambridge to Birmingham, calling only at Ely, Peterborough, Leicester, Narborough, Nuneaton & Birmingham with extra calls at peak times, to relieve the Birmingham to Stansted services of overcrowding and to speed up journey times on the East Anglia - Midlands corridor.

corrected that for you

 

[alwaystouchout]

I reckon Newton-le-Willows should have better connections to the WCML, so I'd like to extend some of the LM London - Crewe service to Preston (or even to Blackpool) via Hartford, Warrington, Winwick Junc, Earlestown, Newton-le-Willows, Golborne Junc and Wigan.

I think Earlestown or Newton-le-Willows is best served with a fast service between Liverpool and Manchester rather than eating up space on the WCML.

 

[dannypye9999]

There already is a Manchester Picc to Manchester Airport Northern stopper so why not combine it with the Manchester to Stoke service to make a Stoke-on-Trent to Manchester Airport hourly stopper.

 

[anthony263]

I personally would like to see the daily Cardiff to Manchester service extended to and from Swansea. Or have some Voyagers on the South Wales Main Line.

I am not sure whether or not it would be popular especially since ATW have a direct service to Manchester already. Now if it was returned to its original destination of York or Newcastle then a direct service west of Cardiff would be very useful and popular.

 

[Batman]

Here's an idea for a Birmingham outer arch service I had a while ago, once stations have been built of course. Suggesting and LM 170 service running hourly.

Shrewsbury, Wellington, Telford Central, Wolverhampton, Willenhall, Darlaston James Bridge, Pleck, Walsall, Aldridge, Streetly, Sutton Town, Walmley, Water Orton, Coleshill Parkway, Stockingford, Nuneaton, Bermuda Park, Bedworth, Coventry Arena, Coventry, Kenilworth, Leamington Spa.

 

[southern442]

Doubling FGW Brighton-Great Malvern services and diverting 2 to Swansea and 2 to Birmingham.

XC to Blackpool - I got this idea from the first post about Paddington-Blackpool.

Extending the XC Newcastle-Southampton services to Sailsbury and Guildford-Portsmouth.

Victoria-Uckfield.

Extending the West London service to Birmingham and Gatwick.

Victoria-Redhill-Dorking-Guildford-Reading-Didcot.

These are just a few of my ideas, note that these are mainly from my imagination and some will probably not benefit anyone I just picked the most sensible ones.

 

[Batman]

On a more serious note, I think 1 XC Plymouth to Edinburgh service per day could be extended along the Highland Mainline to Inverness, in place of a Scotrail service. This would give the Highlands a daily direct connection to West Yorkshire, the Midlands and the South West of England, as well as it's existing daily service to London.

They could also increase XC's Aberdeen services from 1 to 2/3 per day.

 

[Anvil1984]

I am not sure whether or not it would be popular especially since ATW have a direct service to Manchester already. Now if it was returned to its original destination of York or Newcastle then a direct service west of Cardiff would be very useful and popular.

Can't see it being that popular as it runs via Temple Meads. You can get a train 25 mins later from Cardiff to Parkway and catch same service

 

[Batman]

Doubling FGW Brighton-Great Malvern services and diverting 2 to Swansea and 2 to Birmingham.

.

That sounds like a sensible idea. Would those trains run fast from Cheltenham to New Street calling only at Ashchurch and University, or would you have them going via Worcester and calling at Droitwich and Bromsgrove?

 

[Manchester77]

Victoria-Uckfield.

Can only happen if the Uckfield line is electrified because Victoria doesn't have adequate ventilation for DMUs hence why when the DEMUs were withdrawn services ran from London Bridge

 

[southern442]

That sounds like a sensible idea. Would those trains run fast from Cheltenham to New Street calling only at Ashchurch and University, or would you have them going via Worcester and calling at Droitwich and Bromsgrove?

Probably via Worcester as it is a fairly major town.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Can only happen if the Uckfield line is electrified because Victoria doesn't have adequate ventilation for DMUs hence why when the DEMUs were withdrawn services ran from London Bridge

What about platforms 1-7?

 

[FQ]

How about extending the Crewe-Chester shuttle to Wrexham or make 2 shuttles between Crewe and Wrexham crossing at Chester.

Also a Scarborough to Skegness would be pretty good calling at Scarborough, Seamer, Malton ,York, Doncaster, Gainsborough Lea Road, Saxilby, Lincoln, Metheringham, Ruskington, Sleaford, Heckington, Swineshead, Hubberts Bridge, Boston, Thorpe Culvert, Wainfleet, Havenhouse and Skegness.

 

[Batman]

Now that Virgin have reduced their service between Birmingham and Glasgow to 1tph, there might now be enough capacity between Birmingham and Wolves for Northern to extend their hourly Manchester - Stoke stopping service to New Street with stops at Stone, Stafford, Penkridge (peak time only), Wolverhampton and Sandwell and Dudley.

LM's hourly Euston - Liverpool service would need to run on the fast lines between Stafford and Crewe, by-passing Stoke, and Northern's hourly Manchester - Crewe stopping service could be extended onto Stoke via Kidsgrove to continue a 2tph service between Crewe and Stoke.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Probably via Worcester as it is a fairly major town.

I'm only asking because in all likelihood the New Street - Worcester service will become half hourly when the new franchise starts in 2017, and with the line between Browmgrove and Droitwich being single track, there won't be room for any extra services.

Running them fast north of Cheltenham will leave 2 hour gaps in the service to Worcester as is currently the case and there maybe capacity issues on the approach to New Street. Might be best to leave these these trains terminating at Worcester.

Ashchurch desperately needs a stop on XC's Cardiff-Nottingham service to give it a direct service to Birmingham.

 

[Manchester77]

What about platforms 1-7?

They're the southeastern side platforms which don't have any diesel services from anyway

 

[dannypye9999]

Now that Virgin have reduced their service between Birmingham and Glasgow to 1tph, there might now be enough capacity between Birmingham and Wolves for Northern to extend their hourly Manchester - Stoke stopping service to New Street with stops at Stone, Stafford, Penkridge (peak time only), Wolverhampton and Sandwell and Dudley.




.

Not sure but I think this one was considered by Northern but it got refused by the big boys in suits

 

[43074]

My suggestion would be an extra train every hour from Cambridge to Birmingham, calling only at Ely, Peterborough, Leicester, Narborough, Nuneaton & Birmingham with extra calls at peak times, to relieve the Birmingham to Stansted services of overcrowding and to speed up journey times on the East Anglia - Midlands corridor.

corrected that for you

Ah yes, that important City we all know as Narborough which *obviously* needs fast, direct services to all points of the compass in recognition of it's national strategic importance, excellent rail connectivity and rapidly growing population

Seriously though, I think I'd be more inclined to suggest having a 2tph Leicester to Birmingham local service and improve onward connections at both Nuneaton and Leicester to improve things at South Wigston, Narborough & Hinkley.

 

[Qwerty133]

Ah yes, that important City we all know as Narborough which *obviously* needs fast, direct services to all points of the compass in recognition of it's national strategic importance, excellent rail connectivity and rapidly growing population

Seriously though, I think I'd be more inclined to suggest 2tph Leicester to Birmingham local service to half hourly and improve onward connections at both Nuneaton and Leicester to improve things South Wigston, Narborough & Hinkley.

I'll admit that that post was not fully serious, personally I'd like to see 3TPH between Birmingham and Leicester with one continuing to Peterborough (eventually Norwich) and another to Stansted with the following calling pattern
Eastbound
XX:42 from BHM calling at Water Orton (WTO), Coleshill (CEH), Nuneaton (NUN), Hinckley (HNK), Narborough (NBR), South Wigston (SWS) and terminating around XX:40 on Platform 1 at LEI
XX:02 from BHM calling at NUN, LEI, Peterborough (PBO), then the same calls as the current Stansted.
XX:22 from BHM calling CEH, NUN, HNK, NBR, LEI, all stations to PBO.
Westbound
XX:05 from LEI, calling SWS, NBR, HNK, NUN, CEH, WTO and BHM
XX:25 from LEI, from SSA, Calls as now to PBO, LEI, NUN and BHM
xx:45 from LEI, from PBO, all stations to LEI, NBR, HNK, NUN, CEH and BHM

 

[class26]

Does the Lincoln HST pick up a lot of demand from Newark and Grantham too though, thus relieving other Up trains in the morning peak? The plan was also to run the Newark turnbacks through to Lincoln during the day, but (contrary to seemingly popular belief) they don't have enough HSTs.

The Lincoln morning HST doesn`t stop at Grantham but it does pick up a very large number of pax at Newark. I have travelled on the service from Lincolns about 10 times and on average I would say it loads one full mk 3 coach on leaving Lincoln but it is well known that many still drive to Newark or Doncaster . One service a day is no use at all. Many need to be in London by 09.00 and the return is a little too late at 19.06 or not late enough for others so Newark usually wins out. A regular, all through the day service will get these passengers using Lincoln. If Chester (similar sized city and also tourist destination) can make it work so can Lincoln.

 

[59CosG95]

First Great Western extend some of their Weymouth to Bristol trains to Birmingham N St via Worcester.

I think XC could, if the line was redoubled, make it work much better with a Voyager/HST. It could be a dividing service if Voyagers were used, as a second Scotland-SW train, coupled with the existing one:

The Weymouth portion would split at Temple Meads, and call at Bath, Westbury, Yeovil PM, and Weymouth. It could also split at Waverley, north of the border; one portion going to Aberdeen, the other to Inverness. Am I completely cuckoo?

 

[12CSVT]

Yeovil Junction to Pen Mill shuttle.

Some of the Weymouth services would probably need to be adjusted by a few minutes so it could connect with SWT services at Junction at xx29 and xx39 past the hour.