Let's flesh out a few more details. It's already at least the pre-nationalisation network in terms of scale. The Channel Tunnel really did get built in the 1960s after all, and so Britain ended up in the Schengen Agreement. Today, trains from accross Europe regularly arrive in London, including some from as far away as Poland. Some British trains run right through to Europe as well, and the tunnel now sees such heavy use that there are plans to add more bores. Boat trains are another major feature. Although the Chunnel made major inroads into the Channel Packet market, there are still plenty of them, plus a few hovercraft and sea cats. On the domestic side, the continual competition between the Big Four still drives up standards. As well as speed, both Anglo-Scottish companies compete in terms of first class luxury. The Pullman Car Company is still in existance and as good as ever, although the LMS still does not see the need for it, because in-house catering is of equal or better standard. As a result, we see full meal service delivered on many of the fastest trains (rather like GNER in the real world, just better). Also, I like the idea from up the thread of compartments still being available.
Regional expresses are well and truly around. Rather than just a few coaches, many of them are the size of a major London express. They also tend to be loco-hauled rather than fixed-formation, which is quite convenient for adding parcels vans occasionally (more later). Many have full buffet service, and all run at considerable speeds (125 mph in most cases). Where they cross company boundaries, such as at Shrewsbury or Banbury, loco-exchanges can be seen. It is not uncommon to see mixed formations of coaches on such a service, sometimes representing three different companies.
With suburban trains, capacity is of the essance. The Southern's experiment with double-deckers did not work, so all lines did their level best to make platforms longer and increase the numbers of running lines. As suburban towns continued to grow, this ultimately turned out to be impossible. Trains are still overcrowded, but with the switch to containerised freight developing (later, since the idea could not develop from road freight) the idea of expanded loading gauges reappeared, and with it double-deckers.
Local passenger trains tend to be a mixture of DMUs, EMUs and push-pull shuttles. All can carry parcels and very light freight, with a maximum of two small vans or milk tankers coupled to one DMU. However, true mixed trains are often seen in places such as the West Highlands, where you might find six different wagons coupled to two coaches, led by a diesel loco. They run fairly frequently, with some trains "captive" to one route, others more variable. Through coaches from the main line are less common than they used to be, but still found in places such as Devon and Cornwall where loco-hauled expresses still run.
The mail and parcels business is thriving. Royal Mail owns a large fleet of EMUs based on current express passenger trains, plus a fleet of loco-hauled parcels vans which can run as part of a passenger formation if need be. Some of the longer-distance workings carry lightweight sorting machines, although the old practice of exchanging mailbags on the move is now no longer necessary. Stations can act as parcel collection points, and these often go in the guards' vans of passenger trains if need be. In general, if something is delivered to the parcels office at St Ives, it will be available for collection from Wick within 24 hours.
As well as mixed passenger trains, the pick-up goods train is still well-known. Distribution for wagonload traffic is necessarily fairly slow, but massive modern marshalling yards and automated hump shunting can be very efficient. The major concern for private owner wagons is maintenance, although standards have improved in the last 50 years. All vehicles are air-braked now, and brake vans are generally not used.
Full trainload traffic is impressive. Regular production of new freight locomotives continues to this day at Doncaster, Darlington, Crewe, Derby, Swindon and Eastleigh, plus several private firms. The latest LNER "DF-14" Co-Cos can generate 4,000 hp and get a mammoth 2,000 ton coal train up to 60 mph. An alternative "EDF-1" design uses electric power on main lines and diesel power when shunting or on non-electrified sections. Railways are a "common carrier", and have to make an effort to accept anything they can potentially fit through their loading gauge.
The EM-11s that haul the fastest passenger trains can sometimes be found hauling newspapers, milk, fish, livestock and even bananas (which require heated vans). This time-critical traffic is highly profitable and travels just as fast as passenger trains, mostly overnight, but sometimes in broad daylight.
Future prospects look excellent. Although there has been a downturn in traffic recently because of economic problems, there are suggestions that the government might do something different. The new Channel Tunnel well contain a Maglev, with the full line running to Paris and Brussels. There is already a plan for "Maglev 2" to Birmingham, with prospects for more lines to come.
As you can see, the railways are a thriving business, at the heart of the country's economy. Where would we be without them?
