Recent content by al green

I flushed the following info out from NR during the TWAO inquiry in 2019. Q3. What is the cost of replacing those existing bridges between Bicester and Bletchley that would need to be replaced/subject to some works to enable electrification but which are not currently proposed to be replaced...

Mayor Tom was talking his usual bollocks. He claimed there was no liaison by EWR with parish councils. I live about 5 miles from the line and I'm on a EWR parish council liaison group.

On the instruction of DfT.

From a WMT newsletter on Monday: "We are making good progress on our train crew training programmes as we look to reinstate the full timetable on the Marston Vale Line. We expect to reinstate the full timetable by the end of January and will make an announcement regarding the precise date as...

During the EWR TWAO public inquiry I asked a couple of questions about this. Questions and responses from NR below. From Inquiry Doc NR 211 3. The cost of replacing those existing bridges between Bicester and Bletchley that would need to be replaced/subject to some works to enable...

No Longer true. Almost all LNR now run as 8 car - see latest TT which has no of cars for each train. Of the few that are 12 car none of them start or terminate at Bletchley, which was when they used to use P5. Even if a 12 car did use P5 it would only block the crossover for a few minutes

It doesn't need to wait for a N-E chord at Bletchley. Trains can reverse in P5 at Bletchley and go from Marston vale to WCML and vv. This would add about 5 mins to journey time, compared to a chord, but improve connectivity. This facility was built some years ago for MV stoppers to be extended...

There was proposal to run the XC S'ton-Manc service via EWR and WCML to avoid delays in Birmingham area. However this was scuppered by the 3 track section of WCML north of Rugby. There was an hourly path for a southbound XC but no path for northbound.

I was on one of the new units yesterday. Thankfully that isn't the new livery! Nicely done inside and out but you can't disguise the fact that its a 38 year old train.

I expect that extra change at Oxford won't be required because EWR will go on to Didcot, replacing the OXf-DID shuttle. That also eases platform capacity issues at Oxford. Post HS2 more fast trains on WCML will call at MKC.

My understanding is that it is HS2 who have to finish off the missing embankments for EWR either side of the HS2 bridge. Then EWR Ltd can lay tracks on them.

Except it isn't dealt with there; it says "The four-track section of the MML that runs through Bedford has been identified by as one of currently five congested infrastructure sections of the network." The report deliberately (?) confuses congestion within and to south of Bedford station with...

EEH has just launched a consultation on Nton-MK-Bucks corridor transport connectivity. This is your opportunity to make the case for the EWR MK-Ayl service, with, I suggest, extensions to Nton and OOC. https://www.englandseconomicheartland.com/our-work/connectivity-studies/

I was on a Zoom call about MV with LNR last week. I raised the issue of 153s in storage and why they are not being used on MV. I was told that 153s in storage are not PRM compliant and so would require upgrading before they could be used, which would take time (probably longer than waiting for...

It was a franchise commitment for LM to extend the Marston Vale service to MKC. That could only happen once Bletchley resignalling was completed and Bletchley relief 2 was created from one of the old goods loops. When that did eventually happen LM said it was too close to the end of their...