JamesRowden
Established Member
I have come up with an idea:
It is that once the HS2 route to Manchester and the northern WCML is open that the 2tph Crosscountry Paths between Reading and (1tph Bournemouth, 1tp2h Southampton) might be better transfered to Paddington to Bournemouth and/or Portsmouth services which would stop at Old Oak Common only between Paddington and Reading (running on the fast tracks [the service could be made an extension of the planned Reading-Twyford-Maidenhaed-Slough-Hayes&Harlington-EalingBroadway-Paddington service if there was not enough space on the fast tracks]) and then continue west with somethying similar to the present Crosscountry stopping pattern. I think that these services would create a much faster route to Birmingham and the North than the present Crosscountry services and it would reduce the number of people travelling to Waterloo and using the Northern Line between Waterloo and Euston because via Reading and changing at Old Oak Common should be a more attractive route.
I also wonder if it would be worth building Airtrack as an extension of the Heathrow express (with an additional stop at Old Oak Common) to run to Guildford via Woking to give the places along the route a direct service to Heathrow and Old Oak Common (route might also be usefull during engineering works).
It is that once the HS2 route to Manchester and the northern WCML is open that the 2tph Crosscountry Paths between Reading and (1tph Bournemouth, 1tp2h Southampton) might be better transfered to Paddington to Bournemouth and/or Portsmouth services which would stop at Old Oak Common only between Paddington and Reading (running on the fast tracks [the service could be made an extension of the planned Reading-Twyford-Maidenhaed-Slough-Hayes&Harlington-EalingBroadway-Paddington service if there was not enough space on the fast tracks]) and then continue west with somethying similar to the present Crosscountry stopping pattern. I think that these services would create a much faster route to Birmingham and the North than the present Crosscountry services and it would reduce the number of people travelling to Waterloo and using the Northern Line between Waterloo and Euston because via Reading and changing at Old Oak Common should be a more attractive route.
I also wonder if it would be worth building Airtrack as an extension of the Heathrow express (with an additional stop at Old Oak Common) to run to Guildford via Woking to give the places along the route a direct service to Heathrow and Old Oak Common (route might also be usefull during engineering works).
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