Waverley125
Member
Ok, first response to the silly things said already on this thread.
'Why Leeds?'
Well, it's a city of a million people, major interchange for a Greater Leeds Region of three million and on the UK's most important business centres. Despite the fact it's often not thought of this way, Leeds is just as big as Manchester. You'd run a service to Leeds for exactly the same reason ICWC will be operating to Manchester. There's no need for Leeds services to 'go on' somewhere else, Leeds is a big enough and viable enough destination.
Also, going to Birmimgham or Manchester would be stupid, as going via the East Coast rather than the west coast takes about an hour longer via Leeds than via Preston.
Secondly, what stock would we use?
Admittedly, don't know-but potentially the HSTs cascaded off the GWML in a few years time, which will still be good to run.
Thirdly-but there's already an hourly service to Aberdeen from Edinburgh.
Yes, there is-and it's a three car 170 which is usually full to the gunnels, and also calls at places like Laurencekirk, Portlethen, Carnoustie and Cupar.
The East Coast is urgently in need of a long-form express service to Aberdeen, with full catering facilities and much better passenger environment than the ill-suited turbostars. This is why SR services which depart close to an EC service are often less crowded, while the EC services are packed.
Running Haymarket, Inverkeithing, Kirkcaldy, Leuchars, Dundee, Arbroath, Montrose, Stonehaven on an hourly long-form allows two things
1) for the existing SR service to be slowed down to stop more regularly at other places (i.e. Portlethen, Laurencekirk, Carnoustie, Monifieth, Broughty Ferry, Cupar, Markinch)
giving them better northward & southward connections
2) Shorter overall journey times to Edinburgh in a better environment which can cater for Growth, unlike the current service.
Win all round.
As to why this ought to go south of the border-for the very simple reason that the North is well served by southbound Newcastle services but not northbound. Adding another service north (I imagine calling York, Darlington, Newcastle, Berwick, Dunbar, Edinburgh) vastly improves their services (i.e. Darlington 3tph into Newcastle, Berwick & Dunbar get hourly services beyond Edinburgh)
and also allows the Edinburgh-LKX service to be slowed to call at Darlington, Durham, Newcastle, Morpeth, Alnmouth, Berwick & Dunbar)
as well as the Newcastle service to call at Northallerton hourly.
You then fill in the need for a 'fast' with the LKX-Aberdeen (Peterborough, York, Newcastle, Edinburgh) or HS2.
'Why Leeds?'
Well, it's a city of a million people, major interchange for a Greater Leeds Region of three million and on the UK's most important business centres. Despite the fact it's often not thought of this way, Leeds is just as big as Manchester. You'd run a service to Leeds for exactly the same reason ICWC will be operating to Manchester. There's no need for Leeds services to 'go on' somewhere else, Leeds is a big enough and viable enough destination.
Also, going to Birmimgham or Manchester would be stupid, as going via the East Coast rather than the west coast takes about an hour longer via Leeds than via Preston.
Secondly, what stock would we use?
Admittedly, don't know-but potentially the HSTs cascaded off the GWML in a few years time, which will still be good to run.
Thirdly-but there's already an hourly service to Aberdeen from Edinburgh.
Yes, there is-and it's a three car 170 which is usually full to the gunnels, and also calls at places like Laurencekirk, Portlethen, Carnoustie and Cupar.
The East Coast is urgently in need of a long-form express service to Aberdeen, with full catering facilities and much better passenger environment than the ill-suited turbostars. This is why SR services which depart close to an EC service are often less crowded, while the EC services are packed.
Running Haymarket, Inverkeithing, Kirkcaldy, Leuchars, Dundee, Arbroath, Montrose, Stonehaven on an hourly long-form allows two things
1) for the existing SR service to be slowed down to stop more regularly at other places (i.e. Portlethen, Laurencekirk, Carnoustie, Monifieth, Broughty Ferry, Cupar, Markinch)
giving them better northward & southward connections
2) Shorter overall journey times to Edinburgh in a better environment which can cater for Growth, unlike the current service.
Win all round.
As to why this ought to go south of the border-for the very simple reason that the North is well served by southbound Newcastle services but not northbound. Adding another service north (I imagine calling York, Darlington, Newcastle, Berwick, Dunbar, Edinburgh) vastly improves their services (i.e. Darlington 3tph into Newcastle, Berwick & Dunbar get hourly services beyond Edinburgh)
and also allows the Edinburgh-LKX service to be slowed to call at Darlington, Durham, Newcastle, Morpeth, Alnmouth, Berwick & Dunbar)
as well as the Newcastle service to call at Northallerton hourly.
You then fill in the need for a 'fast' with the LKX-Aberdeen (Peterborough, York, Newcastle, Edinburgh) or HS2.
It's bad enough that we'll have to endure five carriage IEP units when they replace the HSTs! Also it would be perfectly possible to operate a splitting service with these five carriage IEPs if they so wished, so there's no need for East Coast to take on Voyagers. And as I say, it would be simpler to just extend an existing Crosscountry service than setting up an entirely new service run by East Coast which would incur additional track access and rolling stock (Fuel, maintenance, leasing, etc) costs.
