LNW-GW Joint
Veteran Member
To me the Birmingham services seem less busy than the other ones, as the frequency is so good and there are LNWR and Chiltern alternatives as well. I assume this route gets many of the 9 car trains?
The trouble is that the hourly Scotland service messes up the local balance in the West Midlands, as it has a long journey time with different peaks and can get very crowded, carrying overspill from the direct services.
Sometimes it also carries a Shrewsbury Voyager portion.
But generally the theory was the 11-car would be prioritised on the hourly routes (Scotland, Liverpool).
In the last few years Virgin also changed the seating in the 9-car trains to increase the amount of standard seating at the expense of 1st.
A 9-car now has 6 standard cars and 3 1st, while an 11-car has 7 standard and 4 1st.