Ahh, that's understandable.DC lines are too close to keep open whilst the Wembley North work is being carried out.
The blockades are to renew North Wembley Junction (which is on the AC lines)
What are the dates? The Network Rail site only mentions the August bank holiday.
Renewal only.Is it a straightforward renewal or are there any enhancements?
What happened to running double Voyagers on the Chiltern line at times like this?
Sounds like a good time for EMT to run some 10 car Meridians! Although if the line is closed at Stockport, where is the Sheffield - Manchester stuff going, is it all going via Marple?The alternatives advised for Manchester are Kings Cross to Leeds and change onto TPE - a long way round and good luck with TPE!
St. Pancras to Sheffield and change onto South TPE or EMT Liverpool - but STP to SHF service is halved due to the Derby blockade so those which run will carry double the usual loads.
What happened to running double Voyagers on the Chiltern line at times like this?
How far north does the OHLE segment extend from Wembley? Eg how far north do they need to isolate the power for that section?
Just wondering why they couldn't have run 350s to Watford and reversed at the junction just to the south? That would have given customers a chance to get to St Albans Branch, Watford Met and Tfl busses.
Sounds like a good time for EMT to run some 10 car Meridians! Although if the line is closed at Stockport, where is the Sheffield - Manchester stuff going, is it all going via Marple?
What happened to running double Voyagers on the Chiltern line at times like this?
Are all those stations geared up for a load of trains emptying out and filling up again? I suggest Tring certainly isnt and how do you turn trains back north?.MK can only deal with a certain amount of coaches and people. Coaches are running from Rugby to Kettering.Very, very poor attempt at a service (in my opinion) from Virgin. I don't know the precise limits of the possession but the 'proper' Glasgow to London trains are only running to Preston, where there is a lengthy wait for a train to Milton Keynes via Birmingham. Why could these trains not have run to somewhere like Milton Keynes? I doubt the line is so congested as to have required these services to cut short in Lancashire.
To give some context, the following stations are particularly helpful for this sort of problem:
- Leighton Buzzard for access to Luton.
- Bletchley for access to the Bedford line.
- Tring for Amersham, Aylesbury, Stanmore or Edgware.
- Hemel Hempstead for access to St Albans, Stanmore or Edgware.
- Northampton for access to Wellingborough.
- Rugby for access to Kettering.
So considering that Hemel Hempstead is receiving a half-hourly service from Northampton only, there is no reason why Virgin could not have operated to Tring at least half-hourly with buses to Edgware and the Northern line to Euston. There is then the fact you've got at least half-hourly possibility into Bletchley Platform 5 using the Relief lines from Denbigh Hall.
London Midland also, I assume, will not be using anywhere near as many drivers as normal and surely could have been offered some money as part of the Network Rail payment system for something longer than 48 hours as a possession to run extra services to Bedford (e.g. half-hourly with one service being a 'fast' one)? Or even the hiring of other traction for shuttle services?
So if you can run 2tph off Tring, 2tph off Bletchley and at least 2tph off Milton Keynes (P4 and P5 reversals) then there is no reason why you couldn't manage the hourly Scotland direct, hourly Scotland via Brum, hourly Manchester via Crewe, hourly Manchester via Stoke, hourly Liverpool, hourly Birmingham extra... You might even be able to squeeze in another one or two trains if desperate.
Definitely, however, a missed trick with the crap timetable they've put up.
Is it bad that my first thought was 'Of course, probably the ballast too.'? Keeping to topic, is it just a like-for-like renewal or are there any improvements included?Does it affect the sleepers?
Work on the West Coast Main Line upgrade resulted in weekend diversion of trains to St Pancras. Class 47 s hauled trains complete with their class 87 locomotives between Nuneaton and Bedford where they could run under the wires to St Pancras.
Sounds like a good time for EMT to run some 10 car Meridians! Although if the line is closed at Stockport, where is the Sheffield - Manchester stuff going, is it all going via Marple?
Are all those stations geared up for a load of trains emptying out and filling up again? I suggest Tring certainly isnt and how do you turn trains back north?.MK can only deal with a certain amount of coaches and people. Coaches are running from Rugby to Kettering.
Very, very poor attempt at a service (in my opinion) from Virgin. I don't know the precise limits of the possession but the 'proper' Glasgow to London trains are only running to Preston, where there is a lengthy wait for a train to Milton Keynes via Birmingham. Why could these trains not have run to somewhere like Milton Keynes? I doubt the line is so congested as to have required these services to cut short in Lancashire.
To give some context, the following stations are particularly helpful for this sort of problem:
- Leighton Buzzard for access to Luton.
- Bletchley for access to the Bedford line.
- Tring for Amersham, Aylesbury, Stanmore or Edgware.
- Hemel Hempstead for access to St Albans, Stanmore or Edgware.
- Northampton for access to Wellingborough.
- Rugby for access to Kettering.
So considering that Hemel Hempstead is receiving a half-hourly service from Northampton only, there is no reason why Virgin could not have operated to Tring at least half-hourly with buses to Edgware and the Northern line to Euston. There is then the fact you've got at least half-hourly possibility into Bletchley Platform 5 using the Relief lines from Denbigh Hall.
London Midland also, I assume, will not be using anywhere near as many drivers as normal and surely could have been offered some money as part of the Network Rail payment system for something longer than 48 hours as a possession to run extra services to Bedford (e.g. half-hourly with one service being a 'fast' one)? Or even the hiring of other traction for shuttle services?
So if you can run 2tph off Tring, 2tph off Bletchley and at least 2tph off Milton Keynes (P4 and P5 reversals) then there is no reason why you couldn't manage the hourly Scotland direct, hourly Scotland via Brum, hourly Manchester via Crewe, hourly Manchester via Stoke, hourly Liverpool, hourly Birmingham extra... You might even be able to squeeze in another one or two trains if desperate.
Definitely, however, a missed trick with the crap timetable they've put up.
Very, very poor attempt at a service (in my opinion) from Virgin. I don't know the precise limits of the possession but the 'proper' Glasgow to London trains are only running to Preston, where there is a lengthy wait for a train to Milton Keynes via Birmingham. Why could these trains not have run to somewhere like Milton Keynes? I doubt the line is so congested as to have required these services to cut short in Lancashire.
To give some context, the following stations are particularly helpful for this sort of problem:
- Leighton Buzzard for access to Luton.
- Bletchley for access to the Bedford line.
- Tring for Amersham, Aylesbury, Stanmore or Edgware.
- Hemel Hempstead for access to St Albans, Stanmore or Edgware.
- Northampton for access to Wellingborough.
- Rugby for access to Kettering.
So considering that Hemel Hempstead is receiving a half-hourly service from Northampton only, there is no reason why Virgin could not have operated to Tring at least half-hourly with buses to Edgware and the Northern line to Euston. There is then the fact you've got at least half-hourly possibility into Bletchley Platform 5 using the Relief lines from Denbigh Hall.
London Midland also, I assume, will not be using anywhere near as many drivers as normal and surely could have been offered some money as part of the Network Rail payment system for something longer than 48 hours as a possession to run extra services to Bedford (e.g. half-hourly with one service being a 'fast' one)? Or even the hiring of other traction for shuttle services?
So if you can run 2tph off Tring, 2tph off Bletchley and at least 2tph off Milton Keynes (P4 and P5 reversals) then there is no reason why you couldn't manage the hourly Scotland direct, hourly Scotland via Brum, hourly Manchester via Crewe, hourly Manchester via Stoke, hourly Liverpool, hourly Birmingham extra... You might even be able to squeeze in another one or two trains if desperate.
Definitely, however, a missed trick with the crap timetable they've put up.