FANTASY: Which services would you give night-time running to?

[Berneylegs]

Some of mine:

Cleethorpes - Sheffield - Manchester Airport
London Kings Cross - Edinburgh via Leeds
London Euston - Birmingham New Street - Holyhead

 

[gazthomas]

Runs down the coast to Holyhead would be great and a real blast from the past

 

[Berneylegs]

Runs down the coast to Holyhead would be great and a real blast from the past

Class 37s

Also give connections in and out of ferries which have long gone.

I remember there use to be an 0330 Saturday Morning to London Euston! Non-stop Bangor to Chester!

 

[jj1314]

All intercity routes out from London to major cities. With flexible working and the "Millennial" preference for experience over material possessions, there may be a captive market for later services allowing late shifts and more socialising (concerts/gigs, sporting events).

 

[Y Ddraig Coch]

Runs down the coast to Holyhead would be great and a real blast from the past

Absolutely this!! The last train in the Chester direction from Holyhead is a shocking 20.32 where as the last arrival into Holyhead is a much better 02.15.

Last train from Llandudno is 21.45 which is still very early to be the last train of the night out of Wales.

 

[318266]

Heysham to Lancaster. That one late night ferry.

 

[RichJF]

London - Dover to connect foot passengers with small hours ferries.

 

[nw1]

More important than all-night or depth-of-night running I think is later trains to certain destinations. On busy routes the standard last departure should be around or just after midnight to meet the pub closing time market; for instance there are NO direct trains from Portsmouth to Southampton after 2240 though there is an indirect one with change around 2330. On busy routes out of London and other large cities I'd run them a bit later e.g. 0205 rather than 0105 for the last London-Southampton, and I'd make Sunday morning services earlier to allow people to get out for the day during the winter when there's restricted daylight.

 

[underbank]

All routes to/from Manchester Airport. Crazy that the existing services don't get you there in time for the morning peak and can't get you home for the last flights in around midnight.

 

[underbank]

Heysham to Lancaster. That one late night ferry.

Have to agree with that. No logic in having the service for the lunchtime ferry but not having the service for the often busier mid-night one. Foot passengers arriving on the night ferry are basically stuck at Heysham and usually have to beg lifts from car passengers to get them to civilisation.

 

[xotGD]

Can I suggest digging out a 1985 (or thereabouts) All-Line Timetable and use that as a starting point.

 

[Merseysider]

All routes to/from Manchester Airport. Crazy that the existing services don't get you there in time for the morning peak and can't get you home for the last flights in around midnight.

This.

 

[route101]

Glasgow to Edinburgh

 

[JOHNR150]

I would go back to the days of a productive rail system and operate mail via the late hours. Considering the rail network pays no fuel duty compared to road transport quite sad this traffic can not operate during the late hours at a rate that is commerically viable.

 

[CMS]

I'm not too keen on 24 hour operation as vital engineering works need to have the gap in service, but I have thought that given Southend Airport's new Ryanair hub and more late arrivals that there should be at least a 1am Southend-Liverpool Street (possibly connecting at Shenfield with the last train on the northbound GEML).

Perhaps a 24hr Stansted Express, but I think it would be unlikely/weaker business case as the coach route does well.

 

[700007]

GWR:
London Paddington - Reading 2tph
London Paddington - Oxford 1tph^^
London Paddington - Newbury 1tph^

^Calls at Slough, Maidenhead, Reading and all major stops to respective destination
^^Calls at Slough, Maidenhead, Reading, Tilehurst and all major stops to respective destination

TfL Rail:
London Paddington - Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 1tph
Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 - Heathrow Terminal 4 2tph
London Liverpool Street - Gidea Park (TfL Rail) 2tph

LNWR:
London Euston - Milton Keynes Central 2tph

London Overground:
London Euston - Watford Junction 2tph
Richmond - Stratford 2tph
Clapham Junction - Stratford 2tph
London Liverpool Street - Chingford 2tph
London Liverpool Street - Cheshunt via Seven Sisters 1tph
London Liverpool Street - Enfield Town 1tph

Greater Anglia:
London Liverpool Street - Southend Victoria (Greater Anglia) 2tph*
London Liverpool Street - Chelmsford (Greater Anglia) 2tph
London Liverpool Street - Bishops Stortford via Stratford and Tottenham Hale all stations 2tph

*Calls at Stratford, Romford, Gidea Park, Harold Wood, Brentwood, Shenfield and all stations to Southend Vic

South Western Railway:
London Waterloo - Guildford via Weybridge (2tph)
London Waterloo - Farnham via Richmond and Ascot (2tph)
London Waterloo - Woking via Hounslow (2tph)
London Waterloo - Basingstoke (semi-fast) (2tph)

Southeastern:
London St Pancras - Dover Priory** (1tph)
London St Pancras - Canterbury West (1tph)
London St Pancras - Ashford International (1tph)
**All HS1 fares at night would be not be charged at premium rate.

 

[DanTrain]

Some of mine:

Cleethorpes - Sheffield - Manchester Airport

This already has a slightly randon 3 something departure from Sheffield (that requires opening the station for one service), although I agree it should run overnight.

Equally, I'd like to see a basic (say 2-hourly) service on all prinicpal routes to London / to other regional airports. Say St Pancras to Notts/ Sheffield, Kings Cross to Leeds / Newcastle (not a lot of point up to Edinburgh, take the sleeper), Euston to Brirmingham/ Manchester/ Liverpool, Paddington to Bristol / Cardiff, Waterloo to Portsmouth/ Southampton. Equally, most TPE services from Manchester Airport should run also every 2 hours overnight (not that many more services), perhaps hourly to Leeds and Liverpool.

Ideally, HS2 would have an overnight service to Old Oak Common and Euston, allowing access to Heathrow and London, perhaps replacing the need for such a service on some conventional lines, but that's for the 2030s!

 

[bussnapperwm]

New street - International all stations

 

[higthomas]

I'd say 1tph stopping at all stations with fast and slow line platforms on 4 track railways out of London. I.e. Euston-Rugby, Kings cross-Peterbrough, Waterloo-Basingstoke, Victoria-Three Bridges, Liverpool Street-Shenfield, Paddington-Didcot, St. Pancras-Bedford.

Also 1tp2h On major cross country routes, but only calling at those stations where there are spare routes between/4 tracks.
E.G. Euston-MKC-Rugby-Coventry- New Street-Wolverhampton- Stafford-Crewe-Manchester. Or Liverpool-Manchester-Huddersfield-Leeds-York

 

[urpert]

Victoria - Orpington and Charing Cross - Hayes. We aren’t served at all by the Night Tube/Overground in these parts.

 

[SwindonBert]

Paddington to Cardiff, say hourly, calling Reading, Swindon, Chippenham*, Bath Spa, Bristol TM, Bristol PW, Newport*, Cardiff Central

* These 2 are optional, but as the train would be passing, why not

If/when we get the Western approach to Heathrow, go via there

 

[London Trains]

London Bridge - Norwood Jct - West Croydon - all stations to Epsom - Ashtead - Leatherhead - Dorking. Departures from London Bridge at 11:25, 11:55, 12:25, 1:25, 2:25, 3:25, 4:25, 5:25 in keeping with the daytime service.

 

[yorksrob]

London to Wakefield.

Preferably some sort of a mail train arrangement with a couple of mk 1/2/3's slung on the back (even better if compartment).
Comfortable and would save the cost of overnighting in London.

 

[Confused147]

I think all the main English cities should be connected with a night service.
You only have to look at the GB passenger timetables from the 1980s to see a variety of overnight trains from London.

Maybe in this day could launch a 22:30 London Euston to Glasgow calling at

Watford Junction
Coventry
Birmingham New Street
Wolverhampton
Stoke-on-Trent
Crewe
Manchester Piccadilly
Liverpool Lime Street
Wigan North Western
Preston
Blackpool North
Carlisle
Glasgow Central


Also Launch a 22:30 St.Pancras to Edinburgh, calling at

Nottingham
Leicester
Sheffield
Leeds
York
Newcastle
Edinburgh

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Batley to Nottingham, non-stop via Whitehall curve. Operated with a luxury refitted unit with bedroom and en-suite bathroom. A 153 will do, I'm not greedy!

 

[Esker-pades]

Victoria - Orpington and Charing Cross - Hayes. We aren’t served at all by the Night Tube/Overground in these parts.

Night buses exist from both those .And night buses are rather slick in London.

 

[London Trains]

Maybe in this day could launch a 22:30 London Euston to Glasgow calling at

Watford Junction
Coventry
Birmingham New Street
Wolverhampton
Stoke-on-Trent
Crewe
Manchester Piccadilly
Liverpool Lime Street
Wigan North Western
Preston
Blackpool North
Carlisle
Glasgow Central

Good Idea but Add a Milton Keynes stop, and take out Liverpool and Blackpool as they are unviable and would make the service too long. Start the service at 12:00 so it is after the last train.

 

[urpert]

Night buses exist from both those .And night buses are rather slick in London.

Frequencies on both the N3 and N199 (ex N47) have been cut recently, and it is a very long and unpleasant ride on both.

 

[Aictos]

Non London Overground Metro routes serving London ought to be 2tph between 11pm and 5am, this would be routes such as Moorgate to Hertford North and Welwyn Garden City, Waterloo to Woking, Victoria to Victoria via the Sutton/Wimbledon Loop etc

This would be extended to other metro systems across the UK to gradually introduce 24/7 running where viable regardless of train, train or underground.

As to non Metro routes, 1tph ought to suffice from London to destinations such as Bristol, Southampton, Newcastle, Preston, Birmingham, Norwich calling at major stations en route or if that was not viable to have the last train depart London at 2am.

 

[Esker-pades]

Frequencies on both the N3 and N199 (ex N47) have been cut recently, and it is a very long and unpleasant ride on both.

They still run minimum every 30 minutes, and the night train service would in the best case scenario be that frequent.
I have done both the N199 and N3 full length (N199 about thrice now), and don't see the unpleasentness of the ride. The N199 has a bit of an odd route between Greenwich and Canada Water, but it honestly isn't bad.