eastwestdivide
Established Member
Digging out my 1978 all-line timetable for another thread led me to think about comparing the top expresses from 1978 to today's nearest equivalents.
ECML to Edinburgh
1978
1000 KX-Edinburgh arrive 1452 (one stop, Newcastle) Flying Scotsman
2016
1000 KX-Edinburgh arrive 1420 (York, Darlington, Newcastle, Berwick)
32 mins faster with 3 more stops
WCML to Glasgow
1978
1045 Euston-Glasgow arrive 1545 (one stop, Preston) Royal Scot
2016
1030 Euston-Glasgow arrive 1501 (Warrington, Wigan, Preston, Penrith, Carlisle, Motherwell)
29 mins faster with 5 more stops
Midland to Sheffield
1978
1720 St Pancras-Sheffield arrive 1950 (Leicester, Alfreton, Chesterfield) Master Cutler
2016
1657 St Pancras-Sheffield arrive 1900 (Leicester, Derby, Chesterfield)
27 mins faster with the same no of stops, but a different route
GW to Cardiff
1978
1715 Padd-Cardiff arrive 1901 (Bristol Parkway, Newport)
2016
1715 Padd-Cardiff arrice 1925 (Reading, Didcot, Swindon, Bristol P, Newport)
24 mins slower with 3 more stops.
To be fair, the current 1745 Padd-Cardiff is faster than the 1715, but still 18 mins slower than 1978.
SW to Bournemouth
1978
1630 Waterloo-Bournemouth arrive 1810 (Southampton C)
2016
1635 Waterloo-Bournemouth arrive 1824 (Woking, Winchester, So'ton Airport, So'ton C, Brockenhurst)
9 mins slower with 4 more stops
So what can we add, and does this tell us anything?
1. The GW had already had a major upgrade (HSTs), and hasn't yet seen those trains replaced, whereas the first three of those routes still had substantial upgrades to come (ECML incremental improvements and electrification, WCML Pendolinos and associated upgrades, MML more powerful trains and latterly 125mph running).
2. More stops on most routes - maybe the days of the one or two per day very limited stop services are over, in favour of a more frequent, regular pattern.
3. ...over to you
ECML to Edinburgh
1978
1000 KX-Edinburgh arrive 1452 (one stop, Newcastle) Flying Scotsman
2016
1000 KX-Edinburgh arrive 1420 (York, Darlington, Newcastle, Berwick)
32 mins faster with 3 more stops
WCML to Glasgow
1978
1045 Euston-Glasgow arrive 1545 (one stop, Preston) Royal Scot
2016
1030 Euston-Glasgow arrive 1501 (Warrington, Wigan, Preston, Penrith, Carlisle, Motherwell)
29 mins faster with 5 more stops
Midland to Sheffield
1978
1720 St Pancras-Sheffield arrive 1950 (Leicester, Alfreton, Chesterfield) Master Cutler
2016
1657 St Pancras-Sheffield arrive 1900 (Leicester, Derby, Chesterfield)
27 mins faster with the same no of stops, but a different route
GW to Cardiff
1978
1715 Padd-Cardiff arrive 1901 (Bristol Parkway, Newport)
2016
1715 Padd-Cardiff arrice 1925 (Reading, Didcot, Swindon, Bristol P, Newport)
24 mins slower with 3 more stops.
To be fair, the current 1745 Padd-Cardiff is faster than the 1715, but still 18 mins slower than 1978.
SW to Bournemouth
1978
1630 Waterloo-Bournemouth arrive 1810 (Southampton C)
2016
1635 Waterloo-Bournemouth arrive 1824 (Woking, Winchester, So'ton Airport, So'ton C, Brockenhurst)
9 mins slower with 4 more stops
So what can we add, and does this tell us anything?
1. The GW had already had a major upgrade (HSTs), and hasn't yet seen those trains replaced, whereas the first three of those routes still had substantial upgrades to come (ECML incremental improvements and electrification, WCML Pendolinos and associated upgrades, MML more powerful trains and latterly 125mph running).
2. More stops on most routes - maybe the days of the one or two per day very limited stop services are over, in favour of a more frequent, regular pattern.
3. ...over to you