It's 25 mins to Reading, and 22 on a XC to Basingstoke from there, giving 47.
That's all diesel though. Might come down to 42-44 with wires on both stretches and better reliability through Reading.
I can find Basingstoke to Waterloo at 44 mins currently. So it wouldn't beat it to the City, or Canary Wharf for that matter due to Jubilee.
The only benefit might be if Crossrail ran trains on the fast lines which were non-stop Paddington to Reading and then to Basingstoke. Avoiding the tube/W&C and having a seat all the way might be worth it.
Cheers - I'm surprised that the times are so close (though I guess Waterloo would be better for more of central London - and Canary Wharf etc) - would be interesting to see which terminus people preferred (assuming no difference in comfort/ price etc).
Could we third rail Basingstoke to Reading and have a 1/2TPH slow train Basingstoke to Waterloo via reading instead of the current FGW shuttle?
I'm expecting Reading's track layout to need another redisign to achive this but the thought just floated past me.
I don't think that's part of the plan for the redesign of Reading, but it would be a neat solution (avoids crossing over the "main line" tracks, matches the frequency etc).
The trains you refer to are those reported in a document from the DfT; "The ten most overcrowded London and South East train services arriving at or departing from London during the morning and afternoon peaks".
There is no measure of the most overcrowded trains in the UK as yet. They may be the most crowded but who knows, certainly not the DfT. None of them compare to Underground crowding.
Thanks - I couldn't remember the report I was quoting but generally the Thameslink corridor and Thames Valley services were top of the list.
I've not read the RUS but wouldn't these new services have to take up new paths (possibly HeX paths, which I know the GW RUS wants for longer-distance services)? If this is the case then it would help overcrowding as I would expect the trains to be predominantly Reading-Paddington shuttles, with most Basingstoke commuters - except those who already travel via Reading - choosing to go direct to Waterloo. I think cle's timings are reasonable, though I would have used the stopping service rather than XC, as I would think this service would take its place. No chance of Crossrail reaching Basingstoke though!
I agree that Crossrail won't reach Basingstoke (a long way on a toiletless train).
With the plan for London - Bristol to be doubled to four trains an hour (with the additional services running via Bristol Parkway) - rumours of Cheltenham being increased to hourly - and Crossrail not really freeing up many FGW Paddington slots (due to it only running to Maidenhead, the current FGW stoppers will presumably continue in similar number to right now?), so I don't know how the HeX paths will be divvied up (assuming that HeX is replaced by Crossrail - which I would like to see but hasn't been confirmed).
Having shorter distance Reading "shuttles" would be one way of trying to free up seats for longer distance passengers, if you could time them right. At the moment there's nothing to stop Reading passengers dominating a service to Swansea/ Plymouth (which the Swansea/ Plymouth passengers have no alternative to).