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I didn't get a photo of it with the 375s but I managed to get a video of the two power cars coming up the Marshlink. Admittedly a long way from being the best footage in the world but here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_gF-yBRPbI.

I was on the road and went past Chartham at about 1 PM and I hadn't heard what happened. There still looked to be plenty of staff and police around. Horrible story and I hope the driver and others involved are okay.

Thanks for that. Interesting stuff. I guess it all comes down to one of the distinct failings of the Channel Tunnel to boost rail freight. Admittedly there are some flows which come from Dollands Moor having been through the tunnel such as the regular working to and from Scunthorpe and the one a...

Whilst I always think one should hold significant caution before making comparisons with other countries, I do sometimes wonder why we cannot be shifting freight to the sort of degree that Germany does. When you consider how much freight they move on boats as well, it makes it all the more...

Taking a ride on the Severn Beach line a few weeks back, it appeared to be quite a tough one. Stations a few minutes apart and seemingly most people buying their tickets on the train makes for non-stop activity for the guard.

Whilst I agree that it probably is just a set, it does remind me quite a bit of the Siemens Thameslink Class 700 mockup that was on display at the ExCel exhibition centre last year although the toilet was in a different layout.

I for one most certainly appreciate a guard being present. Those who say that the door responsibilities take up too much time are simply wrong. I was getting a first class upgrade on a SWT service while we were approaching Clapham Junction recently. The guard had to go and sort out the doors but...

Has that been altered recently then? I know most services between 09:35 and 14:05 ex-Ashford was scheduled to be 4 coaches in the Dec timetable (exceptions being 10:05 8 car, 12:05 3 car, 12:35 8 car and 13:35 8 car). Certainly almost all 8 car at weekends though.

First time I'm aware of an incident like this happening (i.e. a fatality on the high speed section). There seems to have been an additional train to and from London this afternoon, the 13:00 Ashford to Charing Cross and the 14:30 return. The return trip took just precisely an hour! Shows what...

Which always makes me laugh because Bickley is very much an affluent and desirable area. I can't say I've experienced much anti-social behaviour on trains in my area. Ashford-Tonbridge always seems comfortable. That said the latest I've travelled is about 9 PM on a Saturday though and...

Seeing as everybody's answers are going to be different to varying degrees, I may as well have a go answering myself. I would add firstly that "spotting" as such isn't my first interest. I place more interest in trying to understand the railway in all its ways. I also enjoy the photography...

Just to be a complete and utter pedant, it's seven trains a day Monday to Friday (05:58, 17:21 and 21:46 to Ashford, 06:46 and 07:55 to Brighton and 09:26 and 23:05 to Hastings), four on Saturdays (05:32 and 21:46 to Ashford, 07:01 to Brighton and 23:05 to Hastings) and three on Sundays (07:33...

I did hear once that the Southeastern platforms had to be closed on one occasion because the fumes from a fault EMT train had got trapped and made the place unbearable. I don't know if this is true but I can imagine it getting bad in exceptional circumstances.

I think you just hit the nail on the head there! :D I think one of two things will happen after the election at this point; either a Labour and SNP supply and confidence agreement or a Labour minority. In the case that the latter remains the only viable option, I imagine that (as Michael...

Thanks to Archive.org I managed to find the last timetable prior to the major overhaul in December 2009. Taking 11:00 - 12:00 from Charing Cross it looked like this: 11:00 calling at Waterloo East, London Bridge, Petts Wood, Orpington, Sevenoaks, Hildenborough, Tonbridge, Paddock Wood...

I live less than 600 feet away from the Marshlink and the adjacent A2070. I can rarely ever hear the railway except when it's summer and the windows are open. Even then it's a quiet 'whoosh' as the train passes or a bit of a louder affair when the flasks go by! What I can hear a lot more...

I may have to head out early to Tonbridge to get that at some point this month. Tempting to do it while I can! I've thought about that. Downside would probably be that Tunbridge Wells wouldn't have taken the two slow paths and would thus have fewer trains per hour to and from Charing Cross...

I don't think 4 coaches for a fast Tonbridge-Ashford would be too much of a problem. I'd anticipate enough traffic to comfortably fill most seats but I don't think there would be any overcrowding off-peak. Ashford-Dover stopping services are 4 coaches for most of the day anyway.

To clarify, I don't want to start criticising HS1. Ashford-London in 30-38 minutes just simply wouldn't be possible by any alternative route. It's allowed for vastly easier connections from Kent to the Docklands, various parts of London, East Anglia, the East Midlands, the East Coast and even...

Ashford - Tonbridge is a 100 mph main line that today sees little but the two all stations trains per hour off-peak which run to Charing Cross. The service along this line was greatly altered with the commencement of domestic high speed services to St Pancras in 2009. I can understand the...