KingDaveRa
Member
I just wish they'd stop buffering about and get East-West Rail going!
with the Wembley Stadium station retained solely for special trains to/from Baker Street when there are events at Wembley Stadium.
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Carlisle International!
You might take the view that a 'responsible government' would try and promote rail use, rather than the endless slow-motion punch in the face which is pretending that increasing private vehicle use is a good thing. But then expecting this government to take a responsible attitude to transport or any other policy is like expecting people who post on rail forums not to be in favour of destroying the railways, including in their own parts of the country
IBM in a nutshell. There is absolutely nothing there other than a few crumbling buildings that used to be a factory.
Is it possible to leave the station confines? If not what can one do there to while away the time whilst awaiting the next train to "rescue" one.
If it were up to me, I'd consider closing Stratford International. I see no reason why this station should exist in the first place really since it's served only four times an hour in each direction. For an international station, it is certainly not one given how Eurostar doesn't show any interest in stopping there. The fact future operators might want to isn't really much cause for keeping it if you ask me. Aside from use during the Olympic shuttles I've not seen much purpose for it since the trains to and from Liverpool Street take the same amount of time.
If it were up to me, I'd consider closing Stratford International. I see no reason why this station should exist in the first place really since it's served only four times an hour in each direction. For an international station, it is certainly not one given how Eurostar doesn't show any interest in stopping there. The fact future operators might want to isn't really much cause for keeping it if you ask me. Aside from use during the Olympic shuttles I've not seen much purpose for it since the trains to and from Liverpool Street take the same amount of time.
Wymington on the MML. When the fast-slow (as opposed to passenger-freight) track division is extended beyond Bedford, stopping services will have to slow down anyway for a loop at Wymington built to reduce the gradient for heavy freight trains, so it won't be too much of an inconvenience for them to stop. It could serve the southern parts of Rushden, ideally with another station at Irchester to serve the western parts & car journeys from the north & east.
I am not in favour of closing railways, but merely pointing out that many routes are a financial drain on the government, and as the UK becomes increasingly impoverished post Brexit, it will have to reduce subsidies on uneconomic activities. The worst franchises in terms of subsidies are Northern Fail and Wales & Borders. The WAG will find it politically difficult to close lines, but the Westminster administration doesn't rely on votes from northern England and Northern Fail are currently shooting themselves in the foot. Therefore, the lines on which their services run are at particular risk. The Windermere branch has already been closed for the immediate future as a franchise-operated route - will it ever re-open as a part of the national rail network? Services on the Colne branch, the Ormskirk-Preston route and the Blackpool South branch have also been slashed as part of the "temporary" timetable and are at particular risk. The Heysham boat train has also been suspended. None of these routes serve metropolitan areas where rail has a role in reducing traffic congestion.
Well that sounds like a brilliant way of promoting economic development outside the parts of the country which vote Tory. I can think of quite a few uneconomic activities which receive public subsidy which I would shut down before the Ormskirk-Preston line. Or maybe we could elect a government which wasn't so drastically incompetent.
Also, if you think these services have no role to play in reducing congestion, you should try driving round Windermere during the holiday season, or into Preston from the west any weekday morning
Although in BR days didn't they reduce service to some stations as an economic measure?
(I'm thinking about the local stations north of Newcastle which only see two trains a day)
Close East Midlands Parkway, and replace it with Toton, with direct links by tram to Nottingham, Derby and the airport.
I don't think you'll get both, but I think one of them will be increasingly demanded once the electric service to Corby is up and running. I suggested a 'Rushden Parkway' up-thread (and in earlier threads). Perhaps a Wymington would be better, but from when I knew the area, the road at Wymington was fairly narrow and did not have good access from anywhere but the south of Rushden. It may have all changed now, and probably has.
Or just close it without replacement; or at least the fast platforms. It's by far the least used "Intercity" station on the entire MML and gets 2tph fast + 1tph slow in each direction. It serves fewer passengers than Mansfield Town or Skegness for crying out loud. It's in the same legue as Redcar Central, Congleton or Prestayn.
It's an utter disgrace that it gets a better service (by virtue of the better spaced timetable of services) than Loughborough, which is the busiest EMT-only station on the entire network with over 4x as many passengers. Why they can't just declare it the obvious failure it is and give it a more appropriate service level I don't know... Probably because it's the flagship project of the TOC it's named after (seriously; who signed off on that idea? Shall we open "Virgin Trains Central" or "Transpenine Express Junction" next?) and who continues to pump unjustified amounts of money into promoting it.