East-West Rail in Westminster

[cle]

I think doubling up to AVP would be a reasonable, 'shovel ready' (!) start and building a second platform there too. I'd like other stations such as Claydon and Quainton Road too. With reasonable free car parking, they might act as rural railheads.

Extending the London via/Prince Risborough trains to terminate at AVP soon too would be the foundations of that link.

 

[Buttsy]

It is actually double to AVP at the moment as I recently did Quainton - Aylesbury, but I think it's worked as 2 separate single lines. AVP was built to allow a platform to be built on the through line in future, so there shouldn't be too much difficultly dealing with that.

 

[MK Tom]

It's not double all the way to AVP, just to the pedestrian crossing at Fairford Leys. The other line is a freight loop, and regular passenger services only use the down line.

 

[Buttsy]

Fair enough Tom, I bow to your superior knowledge, it just seemed like that when on the bubble car! Nice pace from there to Aylesbury I must say, like the old days out of Oxford on a stopper!

 

[cle]

I would hope that the PR-Aylesbury route will also get line speed improvements.

The new faster line to PR takes 35 mins with a stop at High Wycombe.
PR to Aylesbury currently takes 24 mins.

This is already the same for London - Aylesbury than via Amersham off peak. With some improvements on the slow stretch, it could become the premium Aylesbury London service.

Peak trains which skip all the tube stops do it in 50 mins however, and once the Met is resignalled, should be able to do better.

 

[The Planner]

It shows as 24 minutes (worse case, a lot are 21) as Chiltern put a PTT differential at the end. In Dec 11 the shuttles do it in 16-18 minutes. The only way you can really speed it up is to get rid of the level crossings, Marsh Lane in particular.

The branch itself is only 7 odd miles long, increasing the speed isn't going to get you much as you'll be stopping at Monks Risborough and Little Kimble.

 

[cle]

I guess so. Maybe not all trains to Milton Keynes would stop there.

Then again, if all trains went through to London, they might become more popular from those stations.

 

[twoag]

Sort of East West Rail related as its Evergreen 3 to Oxford but looks like Chiltern have a solution to the bats in the wolvercote tunnel.

http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/9415321.Bats_won_t_halt_rail_plans/

 

[Chafford1]

Sort of East West Rail related as its Evergreen 3 to Oxford but looks like Chiltern have a solution to the bats in the wolvercote tunnel.

http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/9415321.Bats_won_t_halt_rail_plans/

Good news but always inevitable. This of course will give East-West Rail a push in the right direction. The single track line from Aylesbury to Calvert will need a fair bit of work to get it up to the proposed 90mph line speed though!

 

[route:oxford]

Good news but always inevitable. This of course will give East-West Rail a push in the right direction. The single track line from Aylesbury to Calvert will need a fair bit of work to get it up to the proposed 90mph line speed though!

Erm, like ripping it up, stabilising, reballasting, preparing for future electrification (if not done at time) and relaying with dual tracks.

Perhaps some loops too for the military and southampton freight services.

 

[Tim B]

Erm, like ripping it up, stabilising, reballasting, preparing for future electrification (if not done at time) and relaying with dual tracks.

Perhaps some loops too for the military and southampton freight services.

We could make some space for the HS2 route as well while we're at it, as it follows the same corridor from Waddesdon to Calvert.