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Recent content by 350401

  1. 3

    Avanti West Coast Cancellations

    As mentioned upthread, having gone to Manchester and back to London this weekend to see friends, this agreement is very welcome and already seems to be making a difference. There were few cancellations on the Euston-Manchester route this weekend, and trains seemed to run on time. The staff...
  2. 3

    Avanti West Coast Cancellations

    The new day working agreement seems to making a real difference today. There are significantly fewer cancellations today compared to previous Saturdays. I’m currently on a fairly lightly loaded Euston to Manchester service, with the loadings being lighter as having a proper 3tph service is...
  3. 3

    HS2 Manchester leg scrapped: what should happen now?

    That is for the Curzon Street to OOC. Via Handsacre services will follow approximately 18-24 months later. Thanks to the delays incurred by the various rephasings, Handsacre Civils is a fair bit behind compared to the rest of the programme.
  4. 3

    HS2 Manchester leg scrapped: what should happen now?

    Haha yes I think that’s quite likely. The line won’t open till 2029-33 to Curzon St, with via Handsacre services following a couple of years after services to Curzon Street start. That is a lot of time to discuss what services will actually happen. Politics will inevitably change hugely between...
  5. 3

    HS2 Manchester leg scrapped: what should happen now?

    It was looked at, and discounted - the BCR is too low. By 2030, the units will be 30 years old and in theory only have 10-15 years left. It’s better to have new high speed capable stock, that also works well on the conventional network. The (too) short length aside, that’s what the new rolling...
  6. 3

    HS2 Manchester leg scrapped: what should happen now?

    The current plan I’ve seen is to still run 3tph from Manchester to London via HS2; and keeping 1/hour classic service via WCML Trent valley stations. The big issue is that the trains are currently planned as 200m 528 seat trains, which are shorter and lower capacity than the current 11 car...
  7. 3

    June 2024 Timetable Change

    I think it’s been touched on before, but the changes to the peak time Bromley North shuttle service are awful. It changes a useful service into one that a lot of people will ignore in favour of the bus. The morning peak has the 3tph service reduced from 7am to 10am, to just 7-8am. This removes...
  8. 3

    Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party.

    You’d hope so, but my experience of the LGBTories is they are Tory first, LGBT second. They have maintained a radio silence on the refusal of the current leadership to ban conversion therapy, they did not criticise the ejection of Andrew Boff, their patron, from the Conservative conference when...
  9. 3

    Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party.

    As someone who is LGBT, this is a genuine fear - that the Tories will begin to advocate for a rollback of hard won rights and freedoms. The Trans right issue is one that should be done with a level head and compassion, as it’s a debate about how the rights of one group should be weighted and...
  10. 3

    How to add 400m platforms to Manchester Piccadilly

    That’s pretty much what would happen if the HS2 rolling stock is lengthened to 10 coaches. Currently it is proposed to seat 528 over 8 coaches. Assuming 84 seats per standard carriage, you get to 696 seated, in a 250m train - and that’s keeping first class and the buffet. Back on topic...
  11. 3

    DfT Considering removing first class seats on the HS2 train spec to increase capacity

    There is also the issue of having 2 separate sub fleets to maintain, and having to ensure that units stick to their diagrammed routes. It’s not insurmountable but is a problem. If I were the DFT, I’d definitely look at it as a solution. The options for rolling stock are probably reasonably...
  12. 3

    DfT Considering removing first class seats on the HS2 train spec to increase capacity

    I don't believe that this is possible, as I think there is a requirement for the train to be able to split in half - similar to the Eurostar units. This is for redundancy, safety and evacuation reasons - in the event of an incident, people can evacuate to the front or rear 4 coaches. It would be...
  13. 3

    DfT Considering removing first class seats on the HS2 train spec to increase capacity

    Currently, the plan for NPR is identical to what was proposed for phase 2b; the scheme reuses the Airport station, airport tunnel and Piccadilly station, connecting it either side with a new stretch of high speed track. The Hybrid Bill for 2b is in the process of being repurposed for NPR. This...
  14. 3

    DfT Considering removing first class seats on the HS2 train spec to increase capacity

    Lumo trains manage to fit 402 seats into a 130m unit; so I suspect that if the HS2 trains were so specified, you could fit more than the 610 seats in an 11 car pendolino. My understanding of the proposed service specification is that 1tph “classic” service from Euston to Manchester via Milton...
  15. 3

    "HS2 Back on Track" - front page of Sunday Express - private sector plan to build Birmingham to Manchester

    A lot of planning was done; it resulted in the report linked earlier on phase 2a alternatives and the conclusion that the solution to Colwich was phase 2A. Now that’s officially canned, the DFT sponsor team, together with NR and HS2 are having to look again at what can be done. The outputs from...

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