Javelins and the like

[paul1609]

Must’ve been a very rare moment for me then when the Javelin we were following very closely behind was held at SFA to let us pass!

However, we probably managed to pass them in their dwell

It would be very rare and you wouldn't pass a Javelin in its dwell time as the line limit is 230 kmh reducing to 200 at kp 6 in London Tunnel 1 so there's no speed differential between a Javelin and Eurostar. Most Eurostars are regulated between the Tunnel and Ashford so there is no conflict between services.
A late running Javelin can only pull back around 40 secs by Stratford against the timetabled norm. It helps that the line was designed with capacity for 8 Eurostars per hour whereas you're lucky if there's 1 most hours.

 

[ABB125]

A late running Javelin can only pull back around 40 secs by Stratford against the timetabled norm. It helps that the line was designed with capacity for 8 Eurostars per hour whereas you're lucky if there's 1 most hours.

Was HS1 originally designed exclusively for Eurostar services, or were "classic" services (Javelins) always planned from the start? Do you know what the maximum line capacity is (if it's more than 8 Eurostars)?

(8 Eurostars per hour - I know there were grand plans when the tunnel opened, but this does seem a little excessive! I really can't imagine anything more than half-hourly to both Paris and Brussels ever happening, even if we rejoin the EU, join Schengen, short haul flights are banned etc...)

 

[Bald Rick]

Was HS1 originally designed exclusively for Eurostar services, or were "classic" services (Javelins) always planned from the start? Do you know what the maximum line capacity is (if it's more than 8 Eurostars)?

Classic services were always planned from when the route was decided.

‘Maximum line capacity‘ is a slightly complicated matter due to differing stopping patterns and of course train speeds from Ebsfleet to Ashford. Even more so with the occasional freight. But there’s certainly space for 12 an hour each way London - Ebbsfleet, and that level of service has been run in the past at peak times.

 

[ThisIsSurbiton]

They only get looped if running ECS or they may get held at Ebbsfleet / Stratford station to let a Eurostar through.

We went up the normal down line from Ashford towards London once to be overtaken by a Eurostar 'on the inside' once, that was fun. That's the only such event I can remember from years of travelling on them

140 mph running is still the norm - not 125 mph as when the service started.

It's a shame that the timetable seems to have grown by a minute or two, despite that, over the years. And that they are no longer at a consistent minutes past the hour from the coast

 

[Austriantrain]

The whole operation is quite interesting - it's the equivalent of running a local service on HS2 with 91+Mk4, which I guess shows how much slack they have in their system!

The continuous heavy delays at Deutsche Bahn and their very low reliability rather show they have much too little slack in the system.

Admittedly, the problem are not the new HSL, but rather the rail network in and around major cities as well as many mixed-use classic lines which have not yet been relieved by HSL.

 

[notadriver]

We went up the normal down line from Ashford towards London once to be overtaken by a Eurostar 'on the inside' once, that was fun. That's the only such event I can remember from years of travelling on them


It's a shame that the timetable seems to have grown by a minute or two, despite that, over the years. And that they are no longer at a consistent minutes past the hour from the coast

There should be some improvements notably along the Canterbury West branch which has line speed improvements to increase the maximum to 80 mph. Hopefully this will also happen on the section beyond to Ramsgate.