Blaenau Ffestiniog has been pretty static over the years.
Island Line? As I understand from the other thread this line hasn't seen any improvements since it was electrified by BR and the 38 Tube stock was introduced.
I suppose, in fairness, these are both lines with falling/static passenger numbers, so I can understand the lack of investment (though obviously this is usually the cue for someone to suggest that lines showing the least promise being the ones that need the most money spent on them!)
Cambrian Coast had through Class 158's to BHM and the same frequency 15 years ago.
You don't think that the Cambrian has seen improvements over the past fifteen years?
It must have one of the highest "infrastructure costs per passenger" in terms of the investment in redoubling?
Goole to Knottingley
Can not see why they can not run a 2 hourly shuttle that just runs Goole to Knottingley & Return.
Why though? What population is there between the two places?
(given that plenty of towns in Yorkshire are crying out for extra DMU resources)
I don't know whether you mean one of the three routes out of Barnsley, or all of them (?), but over the fifteen years that the OP suggested, Barnsley has seen it's service to Sheffield increased from three stoppers per hour to four services per hour (two stoppers, two only stopping at Meadowhall).
The service from Leeds has been
tripled (the tediously slow service via Castleford - that takes around fifty minutes to cover twenty miles as the crow flies - being enhanced by two semi-fast services that only take around half an hour).
Is that not a
slight improvement on Barnsley's lines?
I agree. I remember travelling from Retford to Lincoln a few times and even once to Cleethorpes at the very end of Arriva Trains Northern days (I would have been about 8 I think). I can remember looking at the timetable and seeing that trains to Sheffield left at 23 minute past the hour and trains to Lincoln left at 3 minutes past the hour. It's pretty much the same today and I don't know how long this pattern was true before this.
Add this to the fact that the same trains are still used- Pacers with the occasional 153 or 158- and I don't think the line has seen much improvement in the last 20 years.
The infrastructure has improved as most of it has been resignalled with Lincoln to Retford having had new LED signals installed controlled by a VDU based system, and the mechanical signal boxes at Worksop were replaced by a Power Signal Box in the 90's. LED signals can now be also found between Retford and Sheffield in many places and new track has been installed recently on some stretches as well. The stations have seen improvement as well to be fair with PIS systems installed at a few stations only recently.
However, as far as the trains and timetable are concerned, nothing has really changed in a long time.
I don't think that the Sheffield to Lincoln via Worksop is very clever.
That's the first thing that came to mind (an hourly Pacer or single 153 taking 1h20 to cover under fifty miles of flat countryside, no service before half one on Sunday lunchtime, stuck in a timewarp).
The best defence I can give is the extension to Meadowhall (which I think was in the fifteen year period quantified by the OP?) - obviously with through running to/from Huddersfield/ Adwick/ Scunthorpe at various times.
It will also see through running to Leeds, under the new Northern franchise (plus off-peak extras from Sheffield to Worksop/ Retford), plus through services to Leeds, though "future improvements" maybe aren't what this thread is about.
It's not great though.
Manchester Piccadilly - Glossop/Hadfield, was every 20 minutes, Mon-Fri, all day (peak and off-peak) when North Western Trains started in 1996, reduced to half-hourly under First North Western, and continues as such today.
I remember this happening - but don't remember whether the "spare" 323s were used for another service? Or was this just FNW cutting things back to the minimum specification to save staffing costs?
Doncaster - Leeds
Stock: same (322's = more of the same really, don't they?)
Service: same
Stations: Wakefield Westgate's changed a bit, Display screens, that's it.
Added to the refurbed units mentioned above, is there not now an additional service in the peaks? The Doncaster - Adwick shorts are a relatively recent innovation too.
Plus through services (from Adwick) to Meadowhall/ Sheffield?
The 322s have also ensured four coach EMUs run "all" services on the Leeds - Adwick - Doncaster diagrams - before they arrived, this was bottom of the Neville Hill EMU pecking order, so DMUs were frequently substituted - hence the nonsense of SYPTE paying for the fourth coaches of 333s that seldom visited South Yorkshire.
Also, I think that Doncaster - Leeds has seen an increase in the "Intercity" services during the OP's timeframe - I think it was generally hourly (with extras) under GNER fifteen years ago, slowly enhanced to half hourly (with gaps).
The northern end of the line (i.e. Wakefield - Leeds) has seen improvements in the past fifteen years, with the Cross Country service improved to hourly.
I would propose Crewe to Derby for this mark of distinction. Used to be Crewe to Nottingham (or at one time Skegness,a lot further) used to be 3-car classic DMUs then 2-car, now single 153s all day unless it's Uttoxeter races on a Saturday, weekdays no spare stock available. I used to go somewhere else or take leave on those days.
I agree Derby-Crewe is another one that has gone backwards with no real prospect of improvement.
If you'd both said "
Stoke to Derby then I'd have agreed (this route having also lost through services to Manchester Airport in the OP's timeframe).
However, you both mentioned
Crewe - whilst it'll be of no benefit to those in Derby, the western end of the Crewe - Derby line has been electrified in the OP's timeframe, has seen services doubled (with the introduction of a through London service) and has seen capacity more than quadrupled (with four coach 350s running alongside the existing 153s.
I'm not saying that every station along the line has seen equal improvements, but I think that the massive enhancements on the western end of the "Crewe - Derby" line mean that it's done reasonably well.