London Northwestern Railway announces "Destination Manchester"

[JonathanH]

I would definitely use this, Avanti are far too expensive now.

It won't be Avanti for long. There have been previous indications that the LNR bit of West Midlands Railway could be merged with the Intercity West Coast operation in due course.

Starting on 15 October 2023, Avanti West Coast’s new National Rail Contract will have a core term of 3 years and a maximum possible term of 9 years. After 3 years, the Transport Secretary can terminate the contract at any point with 3 months’ notice.

According to that, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/...after-significant-improvements-for-passengers, and expected government policy, Avanti should finish by February 2027.

 

[Efini92]

They have SDO though. Wouldn't be the only station where SDO is used at the origin/terminus.

True. However I was thinking more about the position of the train when it reverses at Victoria. The west end signal on platform 3 is before the end of the platform.

 

[mvm03]

Could run it onwards to Stalybridge if its a 5 car
Edit: Just seen someones already suggested that

 

[Topological]

This would be good news for those who use the TfW Manchester to the Marches since there would no longer be the LNWR cheap tickets on board. It still baffles me that these cheap tickets use the TfW rather than the Northern from Crewe.

 

[Russel]

I hope the Trent valley locals are happy with their already rammed service becoming even more so!

The extra capacity gained by using 10 car 730s in lieu of 8 car 350s will be eaten up by a cheap Manchester service, bringing us back to where we currently are with the current non-extended service.

As much as I like the idea of a direct service to Manchester, your post summed up my initial thoughts, as you say, Trent Valley services are already rammed at times.

I'm also concerned about what it will do to reliability, especially if the posts above regarding splitting and joining at Crewe are correct.

 

[yorksrob]

120m so a 10 car would be 240m. I believe only platform 3 (255m) would be long enough.

Well, it did use to be the longest platform in the world afterall !

 

[Efini92]

Well, it did use to be the longest platform in the world afterall !

I think the claim was longest platform in Europe.