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    XC SW-NE double voyagers - why 9 or 10 coaches?

    XC still run a few double Voyagers on the SW - NE axis which seem to be spread out through the day. This is very useful if you're a leisure traveller like me - you can look at the formation on RTT (not guaranteed but pretty accurate) and plan your day accordingly. However I have noticed that it...
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    Why was the 1967 Salisbury - Exeter line singling so poorly carried out?

    Whilst there has long been a debate about whether this line should have been singled at all, I'm curious as to why the singling itself seemed to be done so badly. Two general principles of singling routes seem to be: 1. It's better to have loops in stations if possible, so trains can set down...
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    Routes where the slow train is a better option than the fast train

    (Mods I wasn't sure if this is the right section - sorry and please move if appropriate.) After reading that XC HSTs will gone soon, I was mulling over the fact that there are now two routes out of Bristol where I may favour a slow train over a fast service. From Bristol - Cardiff, the options...
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    What work would be required for the Heart of Wessex to be able to run a reliable hourly service?

    It looks as though the Heart of Wessex line will get a consistent 2 hourly timetable with a few extras from May 2023. This seems like an improvement on the current inconsistent timetable e.g. the last 3 northbound trains leave Weymouth at 1455, 1730 and 2020 - hardly attractive to many...
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    Bristol - Manchester Friday 16 December

    I'm travelling from Bristol to Manchester on Friday 16 December and back on Sunday 18 December. Due to the strike on 16 December there are no direct trains to Birmingham, but I can travel to Reading and change there for a direct service. Whilst I assume this isn't normally a permitted route, I...
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    One set of Westcountry engineering works cancelled due to recent national events, but not the other

    It was intended that week-long engineering works take place next week between Bristol - Taunton, and Axminster - Exeter, from 18 / 19 - 23 September next week. However the Bristol to Taunton works have been cancelled as stated here: https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/299701.aspx...
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    Exeter - Weymouth via Castle Cary

    There is fairly regular talk of creating the Clifton Maybank curve at Yeovil to allow Exeter - Dorchester / Weymouth services, which would improve public transport between East Devon and South Dorset. At the moment, the primary options are train - bus train via Yeovil (although you can replace...
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    Best and Worst Major Interchange Stations

    Which major interchange stations do you find easiest and most difficult to use? Whilst there is a degree of 'if it quacks like a duck' with major interchanges I'd generally say they should a) have at least 4 platforms and b) are the most practical junction of 2 or more lines e.g. whilst St...
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    Changing definitions of Intercity services

    I found this website - http://www.projectmapping.co.uk/Reviews/britishrailbriti.html - recently full of railway maps including multiple Intercity maps from the 1980s and 1990s. It's intriguing seeing how the definition of Intercity kept changing in a short space of time...
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    (Trivia) Stations in a different county to the settlement they are named after

    How many stations are there which are situated in a different county to the one the settlement they purport to serve? I am aware there can be different definitions of county - either ceremonial or administrative is fine as long as the station is in a different one to the settlement. Those I...
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    Bleakest / loneliest mainline station

    What stations on mainlines do you find particularly bleak and isolated, despite the regular passage of trains, including stopping services? I'm going to define a mainline as requiring at least two tracks and platforms, 3tph each way throughout the day Monday-Saturday (which can include...
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    Network Rail West of England Line Study 2020

    Network Rail have published a study about the WoE line, particularly the Salisbury - Exeter section, which can be seen here: https://www.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/West-of-England-Study-Continuous-Modular-Strategic-Planning.pdf Whilst it's a long document, the first 9 pages...
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    Trivia: Lines which never closed with the most re-opened platforms

    A somewhat clunky title, but which lines have had the most station platforms reopened without the line itself ever having been closed to passengers? The Settle & Carlisle probably wins given eight stations with two platforms each closed in 1970 and reopened in 1986 (save that Ribblehead didn't...
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    (Trivia) Stations with 3 reversals or more per hour

    How many stations are there with 3 or more reversing services per (most but not necessarly all) hours? This affects both platform dwell time and overall track capacity (e.g. Paignton -Exmouth services at Exeter St Davids have to pass from the Up Paddington to the Up Waterloo crossing the down...
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    Heart of Wessex line improvements this spring

    https://www.networkrail.co.uk/news/passengers-to-get-faster-journeys-between-somerset-and-dorset-following-bridge-renewal-at-yetminster Whilst long closures are never ideal, this sounds good, and this section of the route is certainly busier in summer. I'm not sure how much scope there is for...
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    "The Proposed Elimination of Non-Essential Multiple Tracks" by BR in the 1980s - which lines?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calder_Valley_line#cite_note-1 The Wikipedia page for the Calder Valley line refers to a BR document of this name from their Corporate Plan for 1983-88. It seems to refer to the intention to de-quadrify some lines and single others where the timetable then in place...
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    Trivia: Competing routes where the younger route is now the senior route.

    In most cases where there are or were competing routes, the older route has always been the primary one, as generally it would take either the most favourable route, either geographically or serving the most settlements. For instance Birmingham - Euston is the prmary route rather than Birmingham...

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