Trivia: Rare/Regular places where 'metro' trains use the fast lines?

[317663]

Take a class 142 or a 315 or 456.
Where do you/have you seen metro trains (mostly 75mph or less) use the fast lines?
I've seen a pacer passing Northallerton, many 315s on fast lines and occasionally 455\456s running fast from Norwood to London bridge.
Eg. 455s fast through Raynes park or Wimbledon, or Sydenham and new cross gate, or 315s not stopping at...? Perhaps Stratford?
Please post pictures that you've seen as well to interest us.
(Apologies for bad grammar, my keyboard is bad!)
Anywhere in the UK, Ireland or NI.

 

[gazthomas]

144 on West Coast line from Lancaster to Carnforth - scary rollercoaster ride!

 

[yorkie]

I've edited the thread title to comply with our Forum Rules regarding trivia:-

• If posting a thread requesting a list of examples of a specific, or combination of characteristics, you should start the thread title with "Trivia:".

NI is in the UK, so no need to mention NI separately


Anything for Ireland should go in International Transport, though.


When you say "use the fast lines", do you mean as opposed to slow lines, ie you are only asking for examples of 75mph units which are on 4-track (or more) sections and using the fast lines?

Do you include locations where lines are paired by use, rather than by speed, but where the lines to a particular destination are faster than those to the other destination? If so, Pacers on York-Sheffield services would count, as the tracks they generally use between York & Colton Jn are faster than the Leeds lines. However if the lines have to be called 'fast lines' then that example would not count.

 

[southern442]

Take a class 142 or a 315 or 456.
Where do you/have you seen metro trains (mostly 75mph or less) use the fast lines?
I've seen a pacer passing Northallerton, many 315s on fast lines and occasionally 455\456s running fast from Norwood to London bridge.
Eg. 455s fast through Raynes park or Wimbledon, or Sydenham and new cross gate, or 315s not stopping at...? Perhaps Stratford?
Please post pictures that you've seen as well to interest us.
(Apologies for bad grammar, my keyboard is bad!)
Anywhere in the UK, Ireland or NI.

A lot of 455's use the fasts on the BML in the peak, which can be good fun!
Also 465's/466's use the fasts between London Bridge and Hither Green on Sevenoaks trains.

 

[yorkie]

144 on West Coast line from Lancaster to Carnforth - scary rollercoaster ride!

The WCML only consists of 2 tracks for this section and doesn't have fast & slow lines.

 

[317663]

When you say "use the fast lines", do you mean as opposed to slow lines, ie you are only asking for examples of 75mph units which are on 4-track (or more) sections and using the fast lines?

Correct.
(Oops, messed up xD)

 

[yorksrob]

A lot of 455's use the fasts on the BML in the peak, which can be good fun!
Also 465's/466's use the fasts between London Bridge and Hither Green on Sevenoaks trains.

Some trains from Hayes take the curve to the fast lines at Lewisham. Similarly, some Dartford trains use the Nunhead flyover.

 

[iphone76]

GA's 315s often use the fast lines on sections of the mainline between Shenfield and Liverpool Street during times of disruption. I think last week it was due to disruptive passengers at Gidea Park during the morning rush hour. Of course, this means us on the mainline are delayed.

There are also a few early morning metro trains from Southend Vic to Liverpool Street which run fast from Shenfield to Stratford on the mainline.

 

[edwin_m]

Plenty of Pacers on the fast lines between Manchester and Stockport.

 

[455driver]

there are a few 455s booked to run fast line during the peaks.

 

[TEW]

Sunday mornings seems to be another good time to get 455s on the fast lines too. (On SWT at least.)

 

[91104]

I sometimes catch the 06.47 from Wickford to Liverpool Street which is booked a class 315 and runs fast from Shenfield to Stratford and there's usually plenty of seats as I'm pretty sure some of the more snobby commuters wait for the the next service to catch a "luxurious" 321 but I love a bit of 315 thrash especially when it goes full pelt over the points at Gidea Park.

 

[krus_aragon]

Sprinters running between Cardiff and Ebbw Vale use the main lines rather than the relief on the SWML, as Ebbw Jn leads off the main lines.

 

[Springs Branch]

Two examples on the WCML in Lancashire:-

1) Between Euxton Jn and Preston there are 4 tracks.
Pacers to/from the Chorley line use the fast lines, as can DMUs between Liverpool & Preston/Blackpool.

2) On the quadruple track section between Wigan North Western and Golborne Jn, there are two trains a day from Wigan to Liverpool Lime St via Earlestown, which are timed for Pacers in the WTT & use the Fast Line.
These trains operate in the Wigan to Liverpool direction only, there are no reverse workings from Liverpool to Wigan (via Earlestown), so maybe only the Up Fast gets used.

 

[jopsuk]

any 313s on the fasts on the ECML?

 

[SeanG]

142s on the EMCL from Newcastle - Morpeth
142s between Wakefield & Leeds (ECML)

 

[Islineclear3_1]

A lot of 455's use the fasts on the BML in the peak, which can be good fun!
Also 465's/466's use the fasts between London Bridge and Hither Green on Sevenoaks trains.

They (and 376s) also use the fasts between London Bridge and Hayes as far as the junction where the Hayes line diverges past St Johns (sorry don't know the name of this junction)

And yes, the off-peak London Bridge - Tattenham services use the fasts between London Bridge and Norwood Junction (as well as other peak services).

 

[Deerfold]

142s between Wakefield & Leeds (ECML)

Are there more than 2 tracks anywhere on this section?

 

[thenorthern]

Stoke-on-Trent where everything uses the same platforms form EMT 153s to Virgin 390s.

 

[asylumxl]

Depends how you define metro. It's not unusual for FCC Thameslink services to use the fast lines regularly, though usually they only stop at stations north of St Albans.

During engineering works it's not uncommon to only have one set of lines open and thus have all station services running on the fasts is not too rare.

 

[hedpe]

any 313s on the fasts on the ECML?

A handful of times i've been on a 313 on the ECML fast and it's surprisingly sturdier than a 317

 

[dannypye9999]

During the days of silverlink and before the WCML hi-frequency timetables the 'fast' platforms at Wolverton were sometimes used for Euston to Northampton local stoppers but only during late night, although not sure if they are still used today.

 

[A-driver]

any 313s on the fasts on the ECML?

A fair few. A couple in the morning which run letchworth, hitchin then fast line to stevanage before running fast to welwyn garden. A few in the evening peak fast line potters bar to Finsbury park and a handful of empties to welwyn which run fast line for part of the trip to overtake stoppers. Plus it's not unheard of for 313s to run Cambridge cruisers and stoppers.