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31
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Journey by Journey / Cross Country services / Re: Cardiff to Edinburgh - open access proposal
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on: October 24, 2023, 21:04:09
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From Railway GazetteGrand Union has begun industry consultation over a proposal to operate five open access services a day between Cardiff and Edinburgh, and separately is looking at rolling stock options for its planned London – Carmarthen and London – Stirling services.
Grand Union Managing Director Ian Yeowart has told Rail Business UK▸ that the issue of connectivity between Cardiff and Edinburgh had come up many times during discussions with stakeholders in Wales and Scotland.
The proposed services would call at Cardiff, Newport, Severn Tunnel Junction, Gloucester, Birmingham New Street, Derby, Sheffield, Doncaster, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh. The target start date is December 2025, using Class 22x trainsets. To me, Cross Country feels like it provides for the medium distance traveller along the South West to Scotland axis, but for the long distance passengers the product feels expensive and lacking in confort, marred by lots of people getting on and off at dozens of stops along the way. A Cardiff to Edinburgh product deigned for the long distance market is worth a look. Considering its siblings, perhaps a Carmarthen to Stirling product, though I get the Capital Connection focus of the headlines. How would this possibly pass a revenue abstraction test? And isn’t it the northern ECML▸ between York and Newcastle where TPE▸ have just been binned because of track capacity issues? What happens if the franchised operator reinstates the hourly all day Reading - Newcastle service? Paul |
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32
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Plessey Viaduct parapet collapse 8/10/2023
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on: October 17, 2023, 14:20:38
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I’m sure there must be a reason for this, but I can’t think what it might be…  The current TPR▸ lists the mandatory timing points for LN694 BENTON NORTH JUNCTION TO MORPETH NORTH JUNCTION VIA BEDLINGTON as Newsham LC▸ , Bedlington North LC, and Hepscott Junction - as for several years. But it adds the note: "Until Northumberland line Infrastructure improvements go live". So have the improvements "gone live", in some sense? Otherwise, what's hard to explain is the use of the station codes NWH and BEJ, which looks premature, and dropping the existing mandatory points. I guess there could have been a change - there may be a newer TPR somewhere. Of course even if the timing point at Newsham LC is no longer mandatory, it would be called for as the Alcan trains reverse there. But it's all rather confusing - so much so that Charlwood House (LiveRail) think BEJ at this point is Bristol East Junction! And perhaps confusing enough that train planners are getting mixed up. Good point that it might be a transitional thing. A freight service doing the through route as reported by RTT» , (ie Benton North to Lynemouth), appears to pass through 3 newly named junctions that are not yet operational, according to the most recent sectional appendix amendment. The names being Holywell Junction, Seghill Junction and Redhouse Farm Junction. The first two are the ends of the new passing loop, the latter is the southward extension of the existing double track at Newsham. I believe when the whole thing is finished the Alcan trains will be running round in the sidings at Bedlington, which are being reactivated for the purpose. Paul |
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33
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Plessey Viaduct parapet collapse 8/10/2023
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on: October 14, 2023, 17:56:00
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Intrigued by why I couldn’t find the Alcan freight services on realtime trains, so I had another look. I discovered the alumina trains are not timed at Bedlington, but at Bedlington North LC▸ (level crossing). So they don’t appear if, (like I did first time round), you just look for passing traffic at Bedlington. At the same time a Lynemouth power station train passing through the same location doesn’t get timed at the level crossing, but at the currently closed station. The timing points are a few yards apart. I’m sure there must be a reason for this, but I can’t think what it might be… Paul |
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34
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Plessey Viaduct parapet collapse 8/10/2023
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on: October 10, 2023, 09:23:26
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I wonder if they can divert northbound services on the freight line network via Bedlington or it is more convenient to install a pair of points and implement single line working while effecting the needed repair.
Isn’t that route mostly shut/unavailable due to the upgrades to bring it back into passenger service? There have been some relatively short closures for track relaying and doubling, but it’s not been under a full block, a coal train to/from Lynemouth runs now and again, eg yesterday, and the Alcan aluminium uses the route from Blyth to Morpeth North reversing at Newsham. Can’t find the last time that ran. Paul |
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Plessey Viaduct parapet collapse 8/10/2023
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on: October 09, 2023, 18:01:22
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I wonder if they can divert northbound services on the freight line network via Bedlington or it is more convenient to install a pair of points and implement single line working while effecting the needed repair.
The failure is on the up line, it would be better to divert southbound trains via Bedlington, but they’d then still have to skip Morpeth. Posts elsewhere suggest route knowledge has not been maintained, and IETs▸ are not yet cleared. There is simplified bidirectional signalling though, the problem is the southbound facing crossover is between the platforms at Morpeth, and trains using it cannot then stop at Morpeth, except the local DMUs▸ - and they’ve mostly been binned. I think the next crossover to the north (former Butterwell opencast mine), would make the single line working section significantly longer, increasing the time taken. Paul |
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38
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Journey by Journey / Plymouth and Cornwall / Re: Devon and Cornwall resignalling
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on: September 05, 2023, 15:25:46
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Am I reading this correctly!
Cornwall (well, parts) will be worked from Exeter, whilst Plymouth to Totnes will be worked from Plymouth.
Surely more effective for Cornwall to be worked from Plymouth, unless, of course, the future plan is for Exeter to control all West.
I think it was last Christmas, (or maybe the year before), that saw the sudden renaming of the existing IECC▸ to Tyneside ROC▸ , previously expected to be re-controlled to York. Turned out the plan to have one location covering the entire stretch from Kings Cross to the border was now significantly changed. I predict another mini-ROC at either Exeter or Plymouth, but probably not both? Paul |
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Journey by Journey / To Oxford, Didcot and Reading from West / Re: Services to Oxford, Didcot and Reading from Swindon and further west
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on: August 20, 2023, 18:48:11
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Thanks for this. I was confused at what *had* been built there.
Mark
The two new platforms on the east side of the station are on something of a rising gradient, compared to the original platforms, and they were provided so that trains between Birmingham via Water Orton and Hinckley/Leicester could operate completely independently over a refurbished existing bridge just north of the station. There was also a new route provided for freight from the east to head over the same bridge then down a ramp towards the WCML▸ down slow. I believe there are “local aspirations” to reinstate a direct Coventry to Leicester route, with an underpass south of the station, but then that would probably mean not stopping at Nuneaton. So that would mean additional services to maintain Nuneaton’s connections. It’s all a bit unlikely, IMHO▸ … |
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Journey by Journey / To Oxford, Didcot and Reading from West / Re: Services to Oxford, Didcot and Reading from Swindon and further west
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on: August 19, 2023, 10:12:48
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That opens another can of worms, as at the current time there's plenty of latent demand for passenger services between Oxford, Leicester and Nottingham, the introduction of which has been stalled by track capacity issues. (Raises hat to Leamington - Coventry and also a junction conflict at Nuneaton, the latter may have been resolved)
Mark
The current Nuneaton track layout doesn’t allow for through trains from Coventry to Leicester. It can only be done by reversing on the Birmingham lines north of the station, and running through the platforms twice. Paul |
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All across the Great Western territory / The Wider Picture in the United Kingdom / Re: Southern - west coastway proposed changes
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on: August 17, 2023, 21:53:04
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One unintended consequence of this may be daytrippers leaving the IoW ferry at Portsmouth Harbour and getting on the painfully slow Victoria train to London rather than the direct Waterloo one. Unless the differing journey times are clearly shown on journey screens it would be easy to be misled if you're not familiar with railway geography.
Incidentally, is the current operation of the Victoria trains terminating at/starting from Portsmouth & Southsea rather than the Harbour a recent thing? Sure I've often seen - and nearly caught without thinking - trains to Victoria when I've come off the ferry myself.
I think they cut back to Southsea sometime within the last couple of years, supposedly to increase the turnround time. Regarding the times, I’d think it’s more of an issue to accidentally get on the Waterloo train that goes via Eastleigh and Basingstoke, I’d assume if you had arrived from Waterloo you’d be looking to go back to Waterloo? |
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