They won't be either unless Virgin ask for them to be altered. The 08.54 Euston Blackpool could probably make a stop at Crewe as its pathed out behind the LNWR Liverpool and follows it. The 10.36 Euston Blackpool cannot due to platforming at Crewe. The 10.54 Blackpool Euston cannot as it would clash at Rugby with a New St to Euston. The 1303 and 1502 cannot due to the same issues at Rugby, it would be caught up. You would also have 3 Virgin trains to Euston in around 11-12 minutes if you did that too.
In the 1990 GBTT only the 10:25 'Royal Scot' did that. The only other service not to stop at Crewe s the 16:25 which ran fast from Watford Jcn to Warrington BQ. The service was hourly with basically every other service going forward to Glasgow.
There would be more connections at Crewe though as there is the London North Western services as well to Crewe but only 1tph to Preston (which is often full), also more stations would have connections on to the Blackpool services that are not service by the Virgin services.
I can agree that stations like Nuneaton and Tamworth would be good to have the service call at but places like Rugeley and Lichfield would not have enough usage for this service (except maybe towards London) and Crewe has many more interchange possibilities than Stafford.
Indeed. The up goes down (as it were) on the furthest line from the APT
Journey times between London and Warrington are remarkably poor on these Blackpool North services.
They tend to use the slow lines in the Trent Valley & can sit waiting time at Rugby.
Was it the case that, once the independent lines were built at the turn of the century, the through lines were largely un-needed?
