W/S staff learning the North Wales Coast Line

[Greenback]

People don't want good connection, they want direct. If a good connection was good enough then Hull trains, Grand Central and WSRC would no longer be needed. To get to Hull you could have a good connection at Doncaster, For Wrexham you could have a good connection at Wolves. Only Hartlepool on the existing open access routes doesn't have a good connection to a mainline.

The trouble with good connections is that if the mainline is late you can have a long wait so people don't trust them. If you make the connection more robust (say 20 minutes) people will just drive to the mainline station as the journey time doesn't compete.

You could argue that the Euston path could be better utilised than going to Holyhead, but if it was to go then a direct replacement would be required to stop an increase in people driving to somewhere that does have one!

Some people want direct trains, some people prefer a more regular service with good connections. What no one wants is an irregular service with poor conenctions!

Where the open access operators have been very successful is offering some through trains with more traditional levels of comfort. The opportunity to enjoy a meal, have seats that line up with windows, and a more personal level of service overall, is one that seems to have been ignored by most companies since privatisation.