Waverley125
Member
currently it takes nearly 2 hours to do the 120 miles between Liverpool Street and Norwich, which is a joke considered the ECML does the 212 miles to York in the same time.
Just thinking about how to solves this, and the various problems on the GEML, and how to solve them.
1) Four-track the line south of Ipswich tunnel. Ipswich is the first 'all trains stop' station on the GEML, and so being double track on the approach isn't too much of an issue, but it is elsewhere. The biggest challenge I can see would be the line through Chelsmford, where you'd have to widen the embankment to the east, build a new set of platforms and a second viaduct. This would, however, eliminate the Chelsmford bottleneck.
2) Introduce tilting trains. 11 car-pendolinos should be able to do 125 on the current line, allowing the Mk3s & Class 90s to be cascaded to other wired lines, the GW & MML for a start.
3) Rework stopping patterns. An hourly Norwich 'fast' of Stratford & Ipswich only, and an hourly 'semi' of Chelsmford, Colchester, Ipswich & Stowmarket would best use the lines capacity.
Just thinking about how to solves this, and the various problems on the GEML, and how to solve them.
1) Four-track the line south of Ipswich tunnel. Ipswich is the first 'all trains stop' station on the GEML, and so being double track on the approach isn't too much of an issue, but it is elsewhere. The biggest challenge I can see would be the line through Chelsmford, where you'd have to widen the embankment to the east, build a new set of platforms and a second viaduct. This would, however, eliminate the Chelsmford bottleneck.
2) Introduce tilting trains. 11 car-pendolinos should be able to do 125 on the current line, allowing the Mk3s & Class 90s to be cascaded to other wired lines, the GW & MML for a start.
3) Rework stopping patterns. An hourly Norwich 'fast' of Stratford & Ipswich only, and an hourly 'semi' of Chelsmford, Colchester, Ipswich & Stowmarket would best use the lines capacity.