Recent content by BayPaul

One other major difference between Reading and Milton Keynes is that passengers from various small stations (eg Mortimer and Earley) need to change there to get to Paddington. Your proposal would also force them onto the dedicated reading services. The current system is much better, the...

As many have said, this really isn't needed. If you did do this, then there would be no capacity at reading for people to get on trains heading west. If people have to stand for 30 mins heading west on a long journey, then get a seat after reading, is it really that much of an issue, especially...

I suppose in such an ideal world, the logical situation would be for Portsmouth to Ryde, Southsea to Ryde and Southampton to West Cowes to be part of (let's call it) TfGB, whilst the three car routes should be part of Highways England, as they are effectively trunk roads

I don't think even a recast would help. As I understand it, the main line pattern is pretty much optimal, with every path being used, and no extra space. The HEX paths allow for the semi fasts to drop back a path, which in turn also allows for a Slough call on an 80x path. Removing the HEX paths...

Nice as all these thoughts on flirts and electrification are, surely if the award included significant numbers of new trains, they would have worded it rather differently. I think the diesel rolling stock replacement they are talking about is the D train trial, great in its own way, but a little...

Sealink was massively held back on international routes by being in the public sector, as investment was minimal due to plans for the Channel tunnel. The Isle of Wight didn't do too badly under Sealink, in fact in recent years Wightlink really hasn't impressed. However Red Funnel has always been...

That could probably eliminate all the 150s and Castles- battery trains for the short branches, 158s for Cardiff - Penzance, Barnstaple and Newquay, 16x for Devon Metro.

In the South West, a pass that covered the main lines and scenic branch lines, West Somerset Railway, Dartmouth Steam Railway, South Devon Railway, Bodmin and Wenford Railway, and perhaps some connecting boat trips and buses (Dartmouth - Totnes, Plymouth - Calstock, Starcross - Exmouth boats for...

Perhaps by working together on joint marketing? We are unique in the number and variety of lines in the UK, so promoting that you could visit say 3 or 4 very different lines in a single holiday to a region, perhaps with some kind of joint ticketing could be interesting. Switzerland has a similar...

Even better - though surely a ticket to Dartmouth via Kingswear would be more logical. The station's signboards say "Kingswear for Dartmouth" so it isn't immediately apparent that the ferry is included.

Very good news, though it seems strange that they haven't included Dartmouth as a station as well, since most tickets sold on the steam railway include the ferry to Dartmouth. The steam railway isn't calling in Churston or Goodrington at present, so that's presumably why those stations weren't...

That approach would be similar to Gourock to Dunoon, which has never struck me as a great model for how to do things. Scrabster isn't all that accessible, being 1.5 miles from Thurso Station. And Scapa pier is a similar distance from Kirkwall - both walkable, but would need a bus for those who...

When the ferries were sealink, rail connected travel was the main business, with half a dozen large passenger ferries running on the Ryde Pier route at peak times. That's a thing of the past, and not coming back. Freight and cars are the important business, and the two main routes are Portsmouth...

Yep, I'd agree with that. I really struggle to understand how the Scottish government justifies subsidising Scrabster - Stromness, especially since the fuel consumption is massively higher than Pentland Ferries

If anything I'd say GWR is a candidate for most improved capacity and frequency. Especially if you add in 387s replacing 16xs on Thames Valley services, and the capacity increases of the 80x fleet compared to the HSTs.