Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Isn't that just the old chicken and egg conundrum? Carlisle and Leeds (and York) are major Northern cities, not that far apart (not much longer than Liverpool to York), so really deserve a decent train service which would facilitate more commuters and travellers
Carlisle is not a "major" anything. It's a relatively small city of relatively low modern-day economic significance (much as it's a nice place and provided I could secure employment I really wouldn't mind to live there). The majority of demand from Leeds towards Carlisle is going to be onwards to Scotland, not *to* Carlisle, and it can just as easily go via the ECML instead.
The tourists really are the biggest potential market for the line - you could argue that they would do better with a "Glacier Express" style service than an InterCity type train if you were going to do that. (Like the West Highland Lines, it's a line I think isn't used to its tourist potential - dedicated trains with proper panoramic First Class would be money for old rope - you might almost get away with doing something like that using 68-hauled Mk3s due to the very large windows).