Should the government be deciding stopping patterns of Intercity service groups?

[Wilts Wanderer]

Moderator note: Split from

Edinburgh-London rail journeys "to be cut to 4 hours"

Many rail journeys between Edinburgh and London are expected to be cut to around four hours from next December in a long-awaited move that will accelerate the shift from plane to train, London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has told Scotland on Sunday. A final decision to speed up the east coast...

www.railforums.co.uk

It'll be interesting to see if it's approved or not. As a greater London resident it's great for the fast Edinburghs to get faster - but with opposition like this (and I know Darlington's politicians are unhappy about them losing the fast London-Edin too), I wonder if the government will continue their habit of just caving and u-turning, and we just end up with a load of stops added and not much real improvement.

Call me old-fashioned, but the government should not be deciding stopping patterns of intercity service groups.

If there is any commercial nous left in the industry at all, LNER should be able to determine which is the most commercially viable strategy and it will maximise the revenue business.