Reinstating lost services

[387star]

Does anyone think there might be a chance we could see the following reinstated:

Portsmouth-Liverpool
Portsmouth-Penzance
Brighton-West Country/Reading
Brighton-Cardiff/Milford Haven
Brighton-Bournemouth
Brighton-Birmingham
London Paddington-Stratford-Upon-Avon
Portsmouth-Birmingham


I imagine the XC services are most unlikely to make a come back but could we see open access services stepping in... I understand the Brighton Mesain Line is at capacity and that Southern have snapped up paths so does this stop the other services coming back?

Do you think these services are necessary or were you happy to see the back of them?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Brighton-Reading maybe. I don't any of the rest would happen, indeed, I doubt there is any real need for the rest to happen.

 

[317666]

Paddington - Stratford seems unlikely, as Chiltern run a Marylebone - Stratford service (well, at least a few trains a day isn't it?).

 

[ushawk]

Brighton to Reading would be good, run that and you wouldnt really need to run the Birmingham services either (as they would run via Reading anyway).

Trouble is who would run it ?

 

[transmanche]

Brighton to Reading would be good, run that and you wouldnt really need to run the Birmingham services either (as they would run via Reading anyway).

Brighton-Birmingham would be possible by (re-)extending the Milton Keynes-East Croydon service to Brighton and running on from MKC to Birmingham. Could be a joint Southern/LM service. (But I expect there are no paths south of East Croydon or north of Rugby.)

 

[anthony263]

Portsmouth - Penzance could happen if there are paths and stock available perhaps running attached to the Cardiff service to Westbury then running via Taunton & Plymouth

 

[Class172]

I did plan a Brighton-Birmingham service once.

 

[swt_passenger]

Brighton-Reading would be possible by (re-)extending the Milton Keynes-East Croydon service to Brighton and running on from MKC to Birmingham. Could be a joint Southern/LM service. (But I expect there are no paths south of East Croydon or north of Rugby.)

trouble is, these sort of questions are pretty non-specific.

Did ml mean SWT's Brighton - Reading, XC's Brighton - Reading via Guildford, or XC's Brighton - Reading via Kensington Olympia.

There's three different answers to that lot, before bringing your perfectly reasonable alternative into the mix...

 

[transmanche]

trouble is, these sort of questions are pretty non-specific.

Did ml mean SWT's Brighton - Reading, XC's Brighton - Reading via Guildford, or XC's Brighton - Reading via Kensington Olympia.

There's three different answers to that lot, before bringing your perfectly reasonable alternative into the mix...

Sorry, typo alert! I meant Birmingham, not Reading in my earlier post - which I have now corrected.

 

[ushawk]

Brighton-Birmingham would be possible by (re-)extending the Milton Keynes-East Croydon service to Brighton and running on from MKC to Birmingham. Could be a joint Southern/LM service. (But I expect there are no paths south of East Croydon or north of Rugby.)

Possibly, but additional dual-voltage stock would be needed. This could happen once the 377/5's transfer to Southern, but i dont think a 377 is suited to a journey which would take that long. It could even possibly be ran the opposite half hour to the current MKC service. It will also depend if there is a platform space at BHM.

Also think the calling pattern would be revised to Brighton, Haywards Heath, Three Bridges, Gatwick Airport, Redhill, East Croydon, Clapham Jct, West Brompton, Kensington Olympia, Shepherds Bush, Harrow and Wealdstone, Watford Jct, Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted, Tring, Leighton Buzzard, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Rugby, Birmingham Intl and Birmingham New St.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

All those stops across London and in the home counties, then miss Coventry (pop 315k) for what reason?

 

[starrymarkb]

is it worth reinstating once a day services? Would it not be better to overhaul interchanges to make the relevant connections as smooth and as easy as possible?

 

[Liam]

Liverpool-Edinburgh/Glasgow

 

[dvboy]

is it worth reinstating once a day services? Would it not be better to overhaul interchanges to make the relevant connections as smooth and as easy as possible?

I agree. You could spend forever and a day looking at potential direct services, which in practice I think few would use right through more than they do with current connections. Likewise you could spend forever and a day trying to smooth out those connections but the changes you make in one place might be to the detriment of others.

Personally, I don't see a direct Birmingham-Brighton service necessary for three reasons:
1) average passenger currently changing at Watford Jn and Clapham Jn is probably happy to do so already because the ticket is cheaper and avoids London underground
2) would increase journey times by going via Northampton
3) from Wolves or Sandwell & Dudley would create a change at New St instead.

 

[ushawk]

All those stops across London and in the home counties, then miss Coventry (pop 315k) for what reason?

Because i totally forgot Coventry That would of course be a stop too

 

[Eire Sprinter]

Would like to see Liverpool - Cardiff reinstated.

I think it was ATW-operated and withdrawn in the early 2000s.

Interestingly National Express have several coach routes which provide through services on a once a day basis only. Having used one between South Wales and Birmingham last year it was quite well supported.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Holyhead - Manchester Piccadilly - Leeds....this would link two major commercial centres to a ferry port with services to Eire.

 

[martinsh]

Denver - Boulder - Loveland - Fort Collins - Cheyenee


[ nobody said anything about the lost services having to be in the UK !]

 

[tbtc]

The OP raises a number of links between Brighton/Portsmouth and the Midlands etc.

Is there scope for a third service an hour between Reading and Birmingham? Or for portion working of XC services (so that a Brighton service attaches to a Bournemouth service at Reading and they run to Crewe then split into Manchester/Liverpool portions)?

But then for that to work really you'd need the gaps wired (Basingstoke - Reading - Guilford - Redhill) - would be nice if it happened.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Liverpool-Edinburgh/Glasgow

Reccomended in the West Coast RUS - attached to the Manchester airport to Scotland , and possibly detached at Carstairs - post electrification of Liverpool to Wigan of course.

Has decent passenger volume forecasts. A good idea - maybe 2 hourly.

 

[gary47]

I would start the cannock chase route in stafford again. A lot of people complained when it got changed to Rugeley,also bring back Liverpool to bristol and bournemouth services