It might be an interesting comparison to make if anyone can get their hands on the figures or even a guesstimate but with the introduction of LHCS instead of DMUs in the west country and on the Fife Circle has passenger uptake increased.
I am pretty sure class 67 hauled MK 2 air cons are better than a pacer or sprinter in the West Country and even though Scotrail is running a decent fleet of dmu's I would think that the LHCS is still a better ride and more roomy for passengers.
If usage has gone up it would prove the point that if you improve service then more people will use the trains in question. Also does anybody have an idea how the new Holyhead/Cardiff premium service is doing?
I was just pondering the issues facing today's operators with overcrowding and I thought that there must be a case for running LHCS more frequently especially if the extra costs can be offset slightly by increased patronage. Examples include WSMR runs a three coach LHCS on a four hour trip and sees it as cost effective so the numbers must add up for them rather than run a DMU. DBS have a fleet of 125mph class 67's which are very underused especially for their primary purpose of running fast trains (since mail finished the only fast trains left are passenger). There are plenty of Mk2 and even some Mk3 stock left lying around as well as plenty of DVT's. Why not stick them together make XC take some and get a proper service on important inter-city routes rather than 4-car DMUs?
You cant tell me there isn't large suppressed latent demand on key XC routes via Birmingham and Bristol. Hey, you could even go wild and swap the 67's at BNS for some of those many stored class 90's DBS has and run them up the WCML.
I remember loco swaps in the 80's and it seemed to work. It seems patently obvious that when capacity is tight you use what is available.
Costs might be higher but an LHCS has to be more popular than 4 car Voyagers and I am sure demand and revenue will increase dramatically. There is also the issue that DBS will probably not charge the earth for what are basically idle locomotives some of which are in store.
The 4-car voyagers can be cascaded to other long distance routes currently suffering with overcrowded 2 car trains and again the improvements will see additional costs partly covered by increased capacity.
And when its all said and done if FGW are paid to run LHCS to help with overcrowding/shortage of units why shouldn't XC which has a chronic capacity issue?
I am pretty sure class 67 hauled MK 2 air cons are better than a pacer or sprinter in the West Country and even though Scotrail is running a decent fleet of dmu's I would think that the LHCS is still a better ride and more roomy for passengers.
If usage has gone up it would prove the point that if you improve service then more people will use the trains in question. Also does anybody have an idea how the new Holyhead/Cardiff premium service is doing?
I was just pondering the issues facing today's operators with overcrowding and I thought that there must be a case for running LHCS more frequently especially if the extra costs can be offset slightly by increased patronage. Examples include WSMR runs a three coach LHCS on a four hour trip and sees it as cost effective so the numbers must add up for them rather than run a DMU. DBS have a fleet of 125mph class 67's which are very underused especially for their primary purpose of running fast trains (since mail finished the only fast trains left are passenger). There are plenty of Mk2 and even some Mk3 stock left lying around as well as plenty of DVT's. Why not stick them together make XC take some and get a proper service on important inter-city routes rather than 4-car DMUs?
You cant tell me there isn't large suppressed latent demand on key XC routes via Birmingham and Bristol. Hey, you could even go wild and swap the 67's at BNS for some of those many stored class 90's DBS has and run them up the WCML.
I remember loco swaps in the 80's and it seemed to work. It seems patently obvious that when capacity is tight you use what is available.
Costs might be higher but an LHCS has to be more popular than 4 car Voyagers and I am sure demand and revenue will increase dramatically. There is also the issue that DBS will probably not charge the earth for what are basically idle locomotives some of which are in store.
The 4-car voyagers can be cascaded to other long distance routes currently suffering with overcrowded 2 car trains and again the improvements will see additional costs partly covered by increased capacity.
And when its all said and done if FGW are paid to run LHCS to help with overcrowding/shortage of units why shouldn't XC which has a chronic capacity issue?
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