Withdrawn/old rail services that could be useful today

[JamesRowden]

Then there was the Reading to Charring Cross services via Guildford. Not certain if that would be useful now. Perhaps as a connection to East Croydon it might be. Again infrastructure probably wouldn't allow

Electrifying the North Downs Line (or possibly using battery trains) would make merging the Reading-Redhill stopper and a Reigate-London service feasible.

 

[southern442]

Long time ago now - they were hugely restricted by the Moderation of Competition clause in Virgins Access agreement - so they unable to pick up / set down at obvious stations.

Think they did something like Man Air / Wilmslow / Sandbach / Tamworth and Watford Junction.

Very poor paths and lots of stand time / pathing time in the schedules.

Seems eerily similar to Southern's Brighton services now

 

[swt_passenger]

I am sure there was a Brighton to Reading service via Fareham & Basingstoke, not so long ago.

This doesn't get discussed quite as often as XC to Brighton, but it does crop up regularly. The main point I would make is that the replacement Southern service to Southampton runs hourly throughout the day, that provides a much better service as far as Fareham, and a very much used extension towards Southampton.

The previous SWT service had some gaps in the peaks where the paths were used for additional services between Basingstoke and Portsmouth Harbour instead of Brighton. Nearly all these peak services still run to deal with the commuter flows on the Basingstoke to Fareham/Portsmouthsection. Also there were some other gaps such as short workings to/from Fareham bay to allow the FGW service to Brighton to take up the Brighton paths.

The actual extensions to Reading were nominally 3 hourly, but as far as Brighton was concerned there were less than you'd expect.

All in all they have replaced a random discontinuous service with a clock face Southern service to somewhere people actually want to go, and SWT have retained a peak service on their patch.

 

[backontrack]

Given the reported overcrowding on HS1, how about a fast service from Charing Cross to the Kent Coast calling at Tonbridge only. Perhaps they could also insert a stop at New Cross to provide an interchange for trendy east London !

Perhaps it could combine at Tonbridge with an express from Hastings.

I think you'd need to stop at Ashford too.

 

[yorksrob]

I think you'd need to stop at Ashford too.

Ah yes - good point

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Is this just another thread where we get a list of an individual posters favoured services that might help them

I'll trump that by suggesting something I've often thought would be useful: a "Somerset Link" service from Taunton to Yeovil Junction with calls at reopened Langport and Somerton stations along with Castle Cary and Pen Mill. Obviously it wouldn't be able to use the original route used by services between the two towns, nor via Ilminster and Chard.

 

[syorksdeano]

Wolverhampton to Walsall.

Pleeaase!

Getting to Walsall from the North is such a pain.

Oh I agree on this one. The bus is a lot quicker even in rush hour

Sent from my HUAWEI Y560-L01 using Tapatalk

 

[LAX54]

Splitting and attaching at Westerfield hock: You're not an advisor to one of the bid teams trying to win the East Anglia franchise by any chance? That's the sort of idea they come up with

Let's just say it is impractical for a host of commercial and operating reasons.

Not to mention a major resignalling project, to move the points to a new location, and new interlocking / signals to allow attaching etc
The time taken to do the same, would also have a big impact on freight paths, so I would have thought the FOC's would say No for starters.

 

[childwallblues]

Aintree to Bootle. The track and pointwork at each end are all still in place and could easily be incorporated in to the Merseyrail network.

 

[Martin_1981]

Then that really is difficult. If the WCML Upgrade hadn't been de-specced, then there would have been the underpass route at Nuneaton which would have allowed through running from Leicester to Coventry, and you could have got out of the south end of Coventry to Leamington, whence Oxford, Didcot West Curve, and Swindon to the West. But that would have needed some significant work at Coventry, almost certainly.

The alternative is one of those nice might-have-beens. If the Midland line from Leicester to Rugby hadn't been closed, then there would have been a very fast route south to Rugby (where additional work would have been needed during the re-building of the station). The real might-have-been bit is south of Rugby. If the railway north from Banbury had been built as planned to Rugby rather than taking a left turn and heading to Leamington ...

Oh, and one other. Build the BR-proposed Whetstone Curve, restore the GC as far as Woodford and then restore the link to Banbury.

But given where we are, I think the only real possibility would be an East Midlands route between Doncaster and Birmingham alongside the present one, using the ECML, a new curve at Newark, and the route via Nuneaton, all upgraded where necessary, of course.

When the East/West Rail Oxford to Bedford line is complete, this could provide a direct route from Nottingham and Leicester to the South and South West avoiding Birmingham, though to get to Bristol and beyond would probably be slower than via Birmingham. Therefore, having say one train a day in each direction between Nottingham and Plymouth via Leicester and Birmingham would probably be the best way of achieving this. Surely this could be done at present with XC using Voyagers, with only a slight amendment to the existing timetable.

 

[Clansman]

Surprised my namesake has not been mentioned. I always thought the Clansman, although surpassed by the Highland Chieftain, was successful in providing a direct link from the Highlands to the West Midlands which paved the way to Wales. I'm sure there would still be demand for it although I can't see a Voyager coming to Perth on my watch any time soon, excluding the odd XC diverts

 

[Heartland]

Wolverhampton to Walsall,

In the 1980's Walsall people asked for reinstatement of the Walsall to Wolverhampton service via Pleck and Portobello Junction.

Historically links between the two towns included a change at Dudley Port, a service via Princess End, the service via Pleck and the Midland Route via Wednesfield. These all ceased and road transport became the norm with trolley buses and later buses plying between the two places. In the distant past even the canal carriers preferred to cart to Wolverhampton to meet the fly boats there.

Then Central Trains introduced the Walsall- Wolverhampton service, which at times included a service to Wellington. Had this service been more frequent, it may have been used, but that was not the case. I suppose it could again if there was a service Wolverhampton- Walsall- Lichfield- Burton. If this by some miracle did happen those new bridges built on the Lichfield line will receive their first trains

Another service in this area that might be useful is a shuttle Stourbridge Junction to Brierley Hill for the shopping centre.