• Our new ticketing site is now live! Using either this or the original site (both powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Recent content by AlastairFraser

  1. AlastairFraser

    If you could open 10 stations in Scotland...

    I agree that they should build a rail/light rail link to Glasgow Airport (probably that Clyde Metro plan via Renfrew and Braehead), but I'm not sure the airport has a future as an airport, and Scotland will probably continue to have a decently high rate of population growth, so more housing will...
  2. AlastairFraser

    If you could open 10 stations in Scotland...

    Edinburgh is congested though. I'm not saying that Prestwick is perfect, but it does have a lot of potential with pre-existing facilities it has.
  3. AlastairFraser

    Could you convert part of the Manchester Metrolink into an Underground?

    That's what I was thinking of. Sounds like a great plan for a smaller NA city, Seattle outgrew it IMHO.
  4. AlastairFraser

    If you could open 10 stations in Scotland...

    It may be convenient, but Prestwick does have the runway and preexisting public transport connection advantage, and there's a fair bit of deprivation on that part of the Ayrshire coast. It would definitely need an express link and some minor road improvements to make Prestwick viable.
  5. AlastairFraser

    Could you convert part of the Manchester Metrolink into an Underground?

    I can imagine so! I think it works well in a North American city (I believe Seattle used to have one) because buses can effectively serve low density suburbs without the demand and population for a light rail branch, alongside the light rail lines serving dense areas.
  6. AlastairFraser

    Silverstone rail link - spur off of HS2?

    It's not necessarily so ridiculous when you realise there's 17,000 people in Brackley who would use a connection to the national rail network at Banbury regularly. The former railway alignment is largely clear until the western outskirts of Brackley from Banbury, so you minimise costs. A...
  7. AlastairFraser

    Could you convert part of the Manchester Metrolink into an Underground?

    The kind of Stadtbahn/pre-metro style tunnel is exactly what Andy Burnham and TfGM are proposing east west under central Manchester, although I don't think it will permit bus access too (you'd need a wider loading gauge and there would be additional costs associated with maintaining and...
  8. AlastairFraser

    If you could open 10 stations in Scotland...

    I've suggested before (perhaps here or somewhere else) to close Glasgow (Abbotsinch) for redevelopment as a new town, and make Prestwick the main airport for western Scotland. In that scenario, I'd envisage heavy rail upgrades to 1) provide an express Glasgow to Prestwick Airport taking 30 mins...
  9. AlastairFraser

    Silverstone rail link - spur off of HS2?

    Perhaps they may apply for planning permission to expand soon and improved transport links could be made a condition of approval.
  10. AlastairFraser

    Do you think that the UK switching to electric vehicles is realistic?

    Indeed it seems your situation suits a cheap runabout that can do a bit more on occasion. I do think that a EV suiting your use case and budget will be around within the next decade 1752102010 Yes, it will be interesting to see how well EV adoption goes in places like Leigh Park. I reckon that...
  11. AlastairFraser

    Do you think that the UK switching to electric vehicles is realistic?

    I don't see charging capacity or speed being an issue, I agree, but purchase price for EVs and the price of charging using a public charger will have to reduce to something much closer to the home charging price, before EVs are adopted by a majority of the population.
  12. AlastairFraser

    Silverstone rail link - spur off of HS2?

    If Silverstone or F1 were willing to bankroll it, a rail branch or unguided busway on the trackbed of the former rail alignment from Banbury to a parkway station on the western outskirts of Brackley may make sense, running shuttle buses (or continued buses from the busway) towards Silverstone...
  13. AlastairFraser

    If you could open 10 stations in Scotland...

    Yes, I did mean Beith North, apologies. Maybe an extra stop wouldn't be worth it, maybe some line speed improvements could be made to compensate. Interesting about Lochwinnoch station, I wonder why they chose to reopen as it isn't a massive settlement.

Top