So it's 4tph from Cambridge to Kings Cross and 2tph Cambridge to Liverpool Street. How many paths are there over the Double Tracked sections? Looking at the current timetable it appears to be 14tph for both the distance services as well as the stoppers.
Pre COVID I used to do London to Manchester a fair bit and never saw a quiet train - suggesting that the price was about right. The days of cheap parking in central Manchester are dying out as well so there's scope for the train market to grow.
There is a lot wrong with that list. Clearly you are not very familiar with the ECML.
Personally, I would say that it depends on where you are travelling too and whether there is connections by train, bus or taxi that can take you to your destination at a reasonable cost. If that cost is no different than paying the parking, then what have you saved?
That was a move designed in the 1970s for 2 car DMUs, and much lower traffic on the ECML. I can't recall it being done with anything longer than 4 car trains, except in the period when the wires were energised to Huntingdon but not Peterborough. Doing that with a 12 car class 700 would block the fast lines for too long.
Potentially time and productivity if you can work or relax on the train. We've done this one to death though.
Yes, of course they do, which is why they get the service they do. But by "intermediate traffic" I meant flows between the intermediate stations, which are pretty small.
I'd say that depends on the route. Using Huddersfield as the example, I used Megabus several years ago to go to London from there. The southbound journey left at the unsociable time of 4am, but was a very comfortable double-deck coach which I was able to get a few hours sleep on. The routing was odd, going Huddersfield, Halifax, Bradford, Leeds, Meadowhall and London and arriving at around 0830. By comparison the National Express journey back to Huddersfield took six hours after a slow crawl through the suburbs of Sheffield from Chesterfield, and was on a rather tired coach that reminded me of the creaking wrecks we used to get on school trips.
Sounds very much like Megabus are the Ryanair of the coach industry!
In some ways, sure... but by comparison NatEx were far worse!
I've never got the coach anywhere (Stagecoach X5 excepted), but whenever I've flown with Ryanair I've never felt concerned over the condition of the plane. Basic definitely and the seats are hardly comfortable for my 6'1" frame but not unclean or dangerous.
I just meant from a comfort perspective. Still head and shoulders above the 3+2 school bus that I had during the recent Batley blockade, mind!
As I understand it, something like that was one of the models proposed before privatisation. But I think the concern around operators not taking on the socially necessary services led towards the franchise model where those services are bundled with the profitable ones.
London-Bristol and South Wales: GWR Only
Depends how indirect a route you want.
Go via Reading, GWR & XC.
Go via Birmingham you can avoid EMR. For Sheffield you could go LNER and Northern changing at Doncaster
Huh? The post you're replying to already mentions the alternative options for the WCML.
This one I don't see an obvious alternative, but are these really major intercity destinations?
Doesn't southern do Southampton as well from London
Yes, but possibly not for much longer if an article in the current edition of Modern Railways is to be believed.
Ipswich hasn't had options since Anglia and Great Eastern were merged into Greater Anglia.
It will probably be down to freight and pathing just like the grand central Sunderland services can’t serve Doncaster
Really, I just thought they didn't serve cause the west riding trains served Doncaster instead
It may also be due to the revenue abstraction rules.
The Preston-Carlisle section is a complete timetabling exercise because you have big speed differentials, trains longer than some of the loops and a couple of branches.
Shame cause it'd be more fun to get home
