I was trying to be focus only on the most immediate obstacles. Increasing capacity on other lines is irrelevant if Acton Bank isn't wired - there's no run up in the world long enough for that charge.
I can barely even begin to fathom a Brighton - St Pancras - Acton and beyond. Christ.
Its a real shame no one has ever sent a 378 that way with a run up and a clear line. Perhaps the next time a 387 returns to GWR from Ilford could be an opportunity to try out coasting down the back at Acton.Yeah but on the way down
Useful perhaps, but on a two track railway with very few passing places, practically impossible.
Not really. Especially with no call at either Eastleigh or Southampton.
Everything stops because running fast simply catches up the stopper in front quicker. People are happier to be on a train that stops frequently to let people use it than one that stops because the signal is red.
The only wires are from Filton Diamond to Cardiff, it could be a 3rd rail Bi-Mode rather than dual-voltage tri-mode.
This service would not be loco-hauled. turning it round at Brighton would be next to impossible.
Does the Brighton-Portsmouth line have the signalling for opposite track running? It appears that the section has 5 trains in a direction each hour so it's probably impossible to hit into the timetable but this is the Speculation Forum and Timetables are reviewed.
No it doesn't, and even if it did you wouldn't use it to overtake in normal running because the other track would have trains coming the other way on it!
You need MU acceleration between Brighton and Southampton. Push-Pull is a good option for trains with long consists and well-spaced stops travelling at consistent speeds, but it won't be much use in Sussex I'm afraid.
755s are DC so would only need the fitment of shoe gear.
Just a thought would this be a line to implement Moving Block signalling on early due to it's 2 track nature? That seems like it could increase capacity a but and allow for a fast to set off later.
On it's own, none. If you chucked in Willesden West london Jn to Acton Wells and London Gateway reception roads you'd have a flow to Wentloog.
Yes it would, but there's 2 problems - number 1 is that Moving Block signalling has so far only been deployed on self-contained metro lines with few or no junctions and a consistent service pattern. Number 2 is that it doesn't make the train in front of you any less substantial, so you still need to address the problem of catching up the stopper. FWIW moving block signalling isn't likely to be a significant advancement over ETCS L2 with short blocks, when it comes down to it.
Those 2 get taken up with terminating trains.
The big issue is the section from Barnham to Chichester. It's a fast track but has several stations and there's nowhere to Pass. Barnham's Loop could be used but only if it's not got a Bognor train in it.
I saw a strategy paper at one point that proposed 4-tracking through Worthing. That gave us a good laugh!
Could a Fishbourne to Nutbourne avoiding Bosham work. It looks the most countryside in that section and Bosham is only on the Coast side of the line?
What do you mean avoiding? It certainly can't go round the back of it. If you mean skip-stopping, maybe but it depends on travel patterns. I suspect that the potential traffic for your proposed train isn't high enough to start fiddling with stopping patterns.
It was maybe add a passing loop there as it looks more countryside than the built up towns the line goes through either side.
There isn't the room to put a loop in at Bosham, you'd be taking out the two houses north of the line. The only station you might get a loop in is Emsworth, but a loop is only any value if it's in the right place, and I haven't done the analysis to see where a stopping train would actually get caught up.
Pretty much no trains use the platform loop at Worthing. What makes it not very useful is that you can only loop trains in the up direction there.
Ah I must have got it confused with the middle siding at West Worthing.
Pretty much no trains use that either now (although more than the loop at Worthing).
It does get used during engineering works when there are diversions on.
Thinking about this it probably would take a larger scale timetable change to implement but the passing at Barnham could be used on the Brighton to Southampton portion if it was lined up correctly especially as it is already on the Down side. I tried some basic timetabling and thought there was a 12 minute difference between a Stopper and a Fast between Brighton and Arundel Junction.
Having done formal timetable analysis of the West Coastway for NR, you'd need to do more than Basic timetabling to work it out. You might be able to do it in Excel (just), but really this level of Analysis needs an actual train planning package.
