If you could create any direct services which currently don’t run which would you choose?

[Idon'tKnow]

{Chesterfield - Belper - Duffield} - Derby - Willington - Burton upon Trent - Lichfield TV - Lichfield City - Shenstone - Four Oaks - Sutton Coldfield - Wylde Green - Aston - Stechford - Marston Green - Birmingham International [- Tile Hill - Coventry - Kenilworth - Leamington Spa]
{<2 hourly extensions>}

 

[Table 52]

Corby - Kettering - Luton - St Panc - Farringdon - City T - Blackfriars - Bromley South - Tonbridge - Hastings

Because all these people deserve the seaside, and a fast one at that.

 

[Rhydgaled]

I think it is verging on criminal not to electrify Oxford-Bletchley while most of it is shut for East-West rail works. With that done, plus the postponed Didcot-Oxford and Chippenham-Bristol wiring you could have 387s running Bristol - Milton Keynes via Bath serving a load of new stations west of Swindon. It wouldn't be particularly direct (owing to going via Bath rather than Bristol Parkway), but would be a useful through service and add a stopper on parts of the route which are currently Intercity services only. Assuming an IPEMU would have sufficent range, Oxford-Bedford services could use the wires between Bletchley and Oxford to charge the batteries which would provide power between Bletchley and Bedford.

Number 1 for me though if we're allowed improved frequencies on current very infrequent routes is Cardiff - Carmarthen/Milford/Fishguard (avoiding the time-consuming detour via Swansea). East of Carmarthen, these would be hourly and call at only Llanelli and Port Talbot Parkway.

Finally, direct buses between Aberystwyth and Fishguard Harbour (not via New Quay) connecting with an enhanced train service (every 2-3 hours) at the latter.

 

[Berneylegs]

London Euston - Birmingham New Street - Crewe - Liverpool - New Rail Tunnel to Isle of Mann for Douglas - New Rail Tunnel splits in two Dublin / Belfast

 

[Iskra]

London Euston - Birmingham New Street - Crewe - Liverpool - New Rail Tunnel to Isle of Mann for Douglas - New Rail Tunnel splits in two Dublin / Belfast

You win.

 

[Berneylegs]

That working to Looe would be an interesting one: how many carriages are you proposing?

Short formation HST

 

[Berneylegs]

Some good ones there

Mine's another from King's Cross to the East Coast:

London King's Cross - Grantham - Retford - Doncaster (divide)
1 portion - Scunthorpe - Barnetby - Grimsby Town - Cleethorpes
1 portion - York - Malton - Seamer - Scarborough

Would like to see London Cleethorpes via Spalding

 

[Harbornite]

Seeing as this is basically a fantasy thread, I'd suggest:

York to Swansea via Bristol Parkway

Aberystwyth to Euston

Worcester Shrub Hill to Cardiff Central via either Hereford or Ashchurch

 

[Berneylegs]

Shall I save some time. The following will come up:

Carlisle > Nottingham
St Pancras > Glasgow via the S&C and perhaps Kilmarnock
Brighton back on XC
Insert random northern town name to Kings Cross via other random northern town names.



Can I ask why? I love Whitby but running a direct train from London is utterly pointless and a massive waste of resource. What would be of more use are a few more local services on the Esk Valley branch and some track work to support them.

Also why on earth would you use that route from London to Blackpool when you could walk to Euston and be in Blackpool in a fraction of the time.



Not sure about half hourly but that is about the most sensible suggestion on here! Can we also run a similar service along the Marston Vale

London - Whitby would be an attraction for when a lot of events are on including the Goth weekends, also give a direct change into NYMR.

London Blackpool would create ample journeys between midlands and north west avoiding Manchester and call at major cities with no direct links

 

[Berneylegs]

Corby - Kettering - Luton - St Panc - Farringdon - City T - Blackfriars - Bromley South - Tonbridge - Hastings

Because all these people deserve the seaside, and a fast one at that.

When Corby services get transferred over to GTR and call at all stops to St Albans

 

[Killingworth]

Bring back boat trains from Kings Cross to Newcastle, Tyne Commission Quay for Stavanger, Bergen, Oslo and Esbjerg. Shame, tracks now lifted and the boats have gone too. Apologies for blast of nostalgia. On summer Saturdays in the mid 1960s there might be as many as 4 boats sailing out across the North Sea for Scandinavia. Still a daily service to Amsterdam.

 

[DenmarkRail]

Manchester to Penzance, calling at:
Wilmslow
Stockport
Crewe
Stafford
Wolverhampton
Birmingham New Street
Cheltenham Spa
Bristol Parkway
Bristol Temple Meads
Newton Abbot
Taunton
Exeter St Davids
Plymouth
St Germans
St Austal
Truro
Redruth
Camborne
Hayle
St Erth
and Penzance

For any customers intending to board this service, please board it now, as it is ready to leave.

 

[4141]

Manchester to Penzance, calling at:
Wilmslow
Stockport
Crewe
Stafford
Wolverhampton
Birmingham New Street
Cheltenham Spa
Bristol Parkway
Bristol Temple Meads
Newton Abbot
Taunton
Exeter St Davids
Plymouth
St Germans
St Austal
Truro
Redruth
Camborne
Hayle
St Erth
and Penzance

For any customers intending to board this service, please board it now, as it is ready to leave.

That would be a little bit of a long journey, running non stop from Bristol to Newton Abbot, then back to Taunton, thence to Exeter...

 

[Kite159]

How about:
Euston - Bletchley - Fenny Stratford - Bedford - Leicester - Sheffield - York - Darlington

First Class only with the most wonderful of food available included in the price

 

[Jurg]

HS2 -> HS1 -> Mainland Europe.

 

[CMS]

Half hourly St Albans Abbey to London Euston.

I agree, particularly if it called at Bushey, Harrow & Wealdstone, Wembley Central and Queen's Park too, speeding up WCML Inners and truncating the Southern WLL to Tring, eliminating Tring stoppers.

There used to be token early-morning services which stopped on the WCML platforms at Queen's Park, but are there any more? I don't believe there are but I'd be curious to see timings of such a service.

 

[Iskra]

How about:
Euston - Bletchley - Fenny Stratford - Bedford - Leicester - Sheffield - York - Darlington

Not much of a market for that one I don’t think If it runs it should be formed of a WCRC 08 and a brake van- provided with WiFi for access to RUK’s crayonista threads.

 

[4141]

Short formation HST

Slip coach off the Night Riviera?

 

[agbrs_Jack]

More than 5 services per day from Congleton to <insert any station here> on Sundays.

 

[JBuchananGB]

Southend Victoria to Colchester (reversing at Shenfield)

 

[Daz28]

Strood to Rainham via Sidcup, Grove Park and Swanley.

 

[westv]

Hull to Liverpool Street non stop.

 

[underbank]

As a former resident, I’m not sure you can class Lancaster as a large regional city. Even including Morecambe there are towns with bigger populations.

Granted, but Lancaster is a regional "hub" for South Lakeland, including Kendal and the Southern Cumbrian coast so it does have a fairly decent sized "travel to" population. I was thinking more along the lines of easier access from the West Coast to the East Coast using the Bentham line, for workers commuting to Leeds/York financial services industry etc which is a tortuous commute at the moment.

When I was job hunting years ago, I had to discount lots of opportunities in the Leeds/York areas due to commuting time and ended up restricted to the Lancaster/Preston/Manchester corridor. Whilst distances from Lancaster to Leeds as opposed to Manchester are similar, the commuting times are massively different - at least double.

 

[318266]

All stops Wick to Penzance.

 

[gazthomas]

That working to Looe would be an interesting one: how many carriages are you proposing?

Slip coaches

 

[agbrs_Jack]

More than 5 services per day from Congleton to <insert any station here> on Sundays.

Maybe Blackpool?

 

[DenmarkRail]

That would be a little bit of a long journey, running non stop from Bristol to Newton Abbot, then back to Taunton, thence to Exeter...

I possibly just mixed the stations up... No reverse is intended

 

[Parallel]

Cardiff Central - Bournemouth (some services via Weymouth, some Via Southampton)
Birmingham Moor Street - Swindon/Salisbury
Plymouth - Portsmouth

 

[Kieran1990]

I’ll have a go as I can’t stand having to change on my daily commute at Leeds

Harrogate-Horsforth-Headingley/BurleyPk-Leeds-Huddersfield-Manchester Victoria

Then just for Absoute giggle
Leeds-Brighton/Guildford- Westgate-Stevenage-Finsbury Pk-TL core- London Bridge- Redhill (Divide)
1st portion-Gatwick Apt- Brighton
2nd Reigate-Dorking Deepdeane- Guildford

 

[Berneylegs]

All stops Wick to Penzance.

Name them!