I've just remembered something, with regard to the recent discussion about
the Great Central Trackbed. It's generally agreed, that this still exists,
from Calvert/Quainton Road area through to Rugby, and more-or-less to
Leicester. Indeed British Rail suggested re-instating this route, as part of
Inter-City 250, which failed to gain support. How did B.R. plan to link the
route to the lines from Euston, and how could they "miss out" stations like
Milton Keynes? Would it have been electrified?
The main point is, a new route is needed as Railtrack, in partnership with
Virgin, are restricting the fast-lines to tilting-trains. All
Regional/Network SouthEast, and goods trains are therefore restricted to the
slow-lines, at 90 mph [after the upgrade]. This will inevitably affect the
ability to provide freight services by rail [e.g. Royal Mail, which is
dependant on fast-line access] and their availability. I hope that Tom
Winsor [the new Rail Regulator] lives up to his reputation, and forces
Railtrack to abandon this partnership, which sounds as if it is illegal.
If he cannot, Railtrack would have to consider 2 things. Either re-instate
the G.C. route, or extend the West-Coast route, so that there are even more
parallel lines. Alternatively, they could grant a safety-case for the
Regional TOC's, like Central Trains, to re-instate the Class 370 APT, which
currently languishes at Crewe. Neither of these are very likely.
Richard Marshall,
Lincolnshire - Part of the East Midlands Region.
[log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
Phone: 08707/401509
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|