"Non-Pointless Journeys"

[Ivo]

Unfortunately the two Waterloo-Reading services per hour via the Hounslow loop, weren't abolished, but were instead diverted to Weybridge via Chertsey, so there may not be any additional paths east of Virginia Water for an additional service to Clapham Junction. (Prior to 2004? stations from Virginia Water to Weybridge was served by a half hourly shuttle off peak with through services to Waterloo only at peak times. As you rightly say back then there were four services per hour to Reading from Waterloo, two of which ran via Hounslow.)

I seem to recall these having the number "37" in the timetable? And the present ones having "38"? Am I right to believe that these called at Ashford but were fast west of Wokingham? (And what were those for anyway?)

As for a service from Reading to Kent, and this is quite optimistic, are there any paths available on the GWML for an hourly service? This would call only at Slough on the GWML, before following the old XC route to Kensington (Olympia) and then as proposed from Clapham Junction? Alternatively, in a move mainly aimed at criticising DafT and XC, it could skip Clapham Junction and run fast through Wandsworth Road...

 

[TheExmoorBeast]

wouldn't the below be another way since this way it would all be 3rd rail?

Bournemouth - Southampton - (west coastway) - Hove - Redhill (Rev) - Tonbridge - Dover

or

Bournemouth - Southampton - (west coastway) - Horsham - Three Bridges - Redhill (Rev) - Tonbridge - Dover

No capacity on the sections highlighted in red, there's capacity over the NDL, it only has a 30 minute interval service.
(That's if the GW RUS is to be believed!)

 

[starlightEXPRESS]

I seem to recall these having the number "37" in the timetable? And the present ones having "38"? Am I right to believe that these called at Ashford but were fast west of Wokingham? (And what were those for anyway?)

Yes that's right, the services from Waterloo to Reading via Hounslow ran fast from Wokingham to Reading. Presumably this was an attempt to compensate for the fact that the route via Hounslow is slower than the route via Richmond and skipping Earley and the Winnershes gave a more even spread of departures from Reading.

Back in the early days of privatisation when TOCs were young and green, SWT might have thought that they'd be able to poach passengers for London off the GWML. Unfortunately against a journey time of 25 mins RDG-PAD by HST, 80 mins in a Juniper to WAT never looked an attractive alternative...

 

[Greenback]

Despite the longer journey times, there were quite a few customers at Reading who wanted to go on the Waterloo trains. If they were heading to the suburbs of South and South East London it was cheaper and often no longer than going via Central London.

When there was 4 trains per hour Reading - Clapham jct, it could, at times be quicker to get to Gatwick via Clapham J than wait for the next train on the North Downs. RJIS used to throw this up quite regularly for a while in 2000.

Croydon was another popular destination where many chose to go via the Waterloo service.

 

[tbtc]

Its a bit chicken and egg I suppose. I could see an "orbital" service working well around London but it'd need to be pretty frequent to attract people away from the "into the centre/ tube/ out of the centre" alternatives, and nobody is going to commit that many paths/ units to a service like that

 

[Greenback]

There were actually calls for that in the early 1990's in Modern Railways, probably in response to the M25 congestion!

 

[Ivo]

There were actually calls for that in the early 1990's in Modern Railways, probably in response to the M25 congestion!

What better way to solve a jammed car park than a rail alternative?

(Haven't we discussed this before? - "" means yes)