AIUI the underbridge is still there, and I presume the gradients were manageable in the past.
Not that I know of, and certainly not in the 1958 timetable. There was only a handful of Leicester trains from Nuneaton TV anyway, as the ex MR Abbey St was still open, and none used the direct spur from Coventry.
I don't know if there was an historic direct service, but it doesn't really matter - cities, populations and travel patterns have developed out of all recognition since the 1960s (or before).
Was the train service you travelled on between Leicester and Coventry:
Looking at old OS maps, it seems that the original chord was built to go under the WCML. I don't know the lie of the land there, but since the old trackbed is still available, I can't imagine that any other configuration would be easier.
The original chord under the WCML used to regularly flood which might cause some issues given the river Anker is almost next to it!
That is why the service was introduced , to reduce the time between leicester & The South Coast
Oh dear. That's unfortunate! And a modern bridge will require more clearance than previously to give space for W12 loading guage and possible future electrification. But no doubt Midland Connect thought of all that and their plans include flood defences too .....
Thanks. What year were you doing this?
1993. Arley tunnel closure.
Whereupon the proposed service is going to have to knock some stops out I suspect. Leicester Nuneaton all shacks is 26 minutes now, Nuneaton Coventry is 19, already at the 45 minute mark.
This NLS OS map suggests double track, but already disconnected at the Coventry end of the chord by the early 1920s
But that would add 20 minutes to journey times between the population centres. We'll just have to see how the business case develops.
It would be pretty poor for the new service to travel through the largest town in Warwickshire without stopping.
Not sure that would work, people would just wait until the next train that goes to Nuneaton from Coventry itself and not use the Leicester train. I wouldn't want to hang around Bermuda Park any longer than necessary anyway!
For most it would probably depend on the connection times and what their itinerary shows, but for example I have many times arrived into Nuneaton from Leicester and literally had to run from Platform 6 to Platform 1 to connect to the Coventry train to get to Arena. I know which I'd prefer.
Since there's no way of trains overtaking each other between Nuneaton and Coventry, anyone heading from Coventry to Nuneaton on a Leicester train and changing at Bermuda Park will just board the same train they could have boarded if they'd waited a bit longer at Coventry. In the other direction they would just arrive later. The only benefit is for people going between the other intermediate stops and stations east of Nuneaton, who are likely to be few.
You cannot cross on the flat. There is no way of getting from P1 or 2 at Nuneaton across the job and P1 and 2 at Nuneaton are the only ones accessible from Cov. The only platform that can get to/from Leicester on the WCML is P5.
I never suggested that anyone would want to board at Coventry then change at Bermuda. Clearly that would be pointless. And yes, by definition, adding intermediate stops generally just benefits passengers using intermediate stations. My point remains that I think it would add to the business case to stop at Bermuda Park.
There are a series of educational establishments between Coventry and Nottingham which I would have thought are relevant - dependant on whether the industry want's to go after young people travelling to and from. It would also be beneficial to have a good local bus service linking the Unis, Colleges and Polys to the statons.
