adrock1976
Established Member
In the TfW MkIV thread, a couple of posts had a slight sideways move to timetabling (see below).
This has got me thinking of a suggested service pattern for when the MkIVs are introduced, and moving towards post HS2 as well.
Manchester Pic (main shed) - Swansea/Abertawe
Every 60 minutes calling Stockport (if still routed that way), Wilmslow, Crewe, Shrewsbury, Hereford, Abergavenny, Newport (Gwent), Cardiff Central, Bridgend/Pen-y-Bont, Port Talbot Parkway, Neath/Castle-nedd, and Swansea/Abertawe. Traditional InterCity service with First Class, catering, and complementary refreshments.
Liverpool Lime Street - Bristol Temple Meads, Exeter St Davids, or Plymouth (post HS2)
Every 60 minutes calling South Parkway (for Merseyrail and CLC), Runcorn, Crewe, Shrewsbury, Hereford, Abergavenny, Severn Tunnel Junction, Bristol TM, Taunton, Tiverton Parkway, Exeter St Davids, Newton Abbot, Totnes, and Plymouth if running that far. Traditional InterCity service with First Class, catering, and complementary refreshments. Between Crewe and Abergavenny, this would run in the opposite half hour to the Manchester - Swansea.
Liverpool Lime Street - Cardiff Central via Halton Curve and Wrexham
Every 60 minutes calling South Parkway (for Merseyrail and CLC), Runcorn, Frodsham, Helsby (for Merseyrail if/when extended beyond Ellesmere Port), Chester, then all stations (maybe omitting Pontypool & New Inn and Cwmbran if a Newport or Ebbw Vale - Abergavenny local is introduced). Standard Class only. This would run in the opposite half hour to the Liverpool - Llandudno via Halton Curve, providing a 30 minute frequency between Liverpool and Chester.
Crewe - Shrewsbury local
One train every 2 hours calling all stations, with the opposite hour train omitting the request stops (similar to present day, but with tweaks to make it total clock face). No First Class or catering.
Shrewsbury (or Crewe) - Swansea/Abertawe via Llandovery (Heart of Wales)
Every 2 hours calling all stations. Standard Class with catering trolley. Departure time from Shrewsbury could be the opposite half hour (in every second hour) to the Liverpool - Cardiff via Halton Curve and Wrexham.
The above is what I have thought of as being specific to The Marches route post MkIV and post HS2.
It's certainly possible, indeed the first northbound HoW service continues on to Crewe as it stands. But with the low frequency of the HoW service, you're still going to need units to fill the rest of the gaps. Realistically the aforementioned service more of an operationally convenient move than anything else. Now, where have we heard/seen that before...
The Marches line TT is always going to be a compromise between different markets, a bit like the northern end of the ECML or the western end of the GWML and so on.
This has got me thinking of a suggested service pattern for when the MkIVs are introduced, and moving towards post HS2 as well.
Manchester Pic (main shed) - Swansea/Abertawe
Every 60 minutes calling Stockport (if still routed that way), Wilmslow, Crewe, Shrewsbury, Hereford, Abergavenny, Newport (Gwent), Cardiff Central, Bridgend/Pen-y-Bont, Port Talbot Parkway, Neath/Castle-nedd, and Swansea/Abertawe. Traditional InterCity service with First Class, catering, and complementary refreshments.
Liverpool Lime Street - Bristol Temple Meads, Exeter St Davids, or Plymouth (post HS2)
Every 60 minutes calling South Parkway (for Merseyrail and CLC), Runcorn, Crewe, Shrewsbury, Hereford, Abergavenny, Severn Tunnel Junction, Bristol TM, Taunton, Tiverton Parkway, Exeter St Davids, Newton Abbot, Totnes, and Plymouth if running that far. Traditional InterCity service with First Class, catering, and complementary refreshments. Between Crewe and Abergavenny, this would run in the opposite half hour to the Manchester - Swansea.
Liverpool Lime Street - Cardiff Central via Halton Curve and Wrexham
Every 60 minutes calling South Parkway (for Merseyrail and CLC), Runcorn, Frodsham, Helsby (for Merseyrail if/when extended beyond Ellesmere Port), Chester, then all stations (maybe omitting Pontypool & New Inn and Cwmbran if a Newport or Ebbw Vale - Abergavenny local is introduced). Standard Class only. This would run in the opposite half hour to the Liverpool - Llandudno via Halton Curve, providing a 30 minute frequency between Liverpool and Chester.
Crewe - Shrewsbury local
One train every 2 hours calling all stations, with the opposite hour train omitting the request stops (similar to present day, but with tweaks to make it total clock face). No First Class or catering.
Shrewsbury (or Crewe) - Swansea/Abertawe via Llandovery (Heart of Wales)
Every 2 hours calling all stations. Standard Class with catering trolley. Departure time from Shrewsbury could be the opposite half hour (in every second hour) to the Liverpool - Cardiff via Halton Curve and Wrexham.
The above is what I have thought of as being specific to The Marches route post MkIV and post HS2.
