You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Possible London to Stirling direct, avoiding Edinburgh business or Glasgow station walk...
Fingers crossed about how bike friendly it is -there is a contact form, so perhaps worth asking?
I also assume they are going to take slots of Avanti or CrossCountry for this?
They'll be using Voyagers (same train type as the majority of XC services) so don't expect much from the bike provision.
They aren't taking any paths from Avanti (there is limited XC on the WCML anyway), there are some paths out of Euston for these services.
Personally, I don't see why a direct service is required and think capacity would be better served by having the majority of WCML long distance services call at Motherwell and then have Scotrail run an EMU shuttle from Motherwell up to Stirling as an extension of the existing Cumbernaulds - this should only require 1 extra unit
Worth emailing them and asking them about plans for bikes though?
Personally, I don’t see why a direct service is required
As someone who lives in Dunblane and regularly goes to London and Winchester, this could knock time and faff off my journey and give an alternative to LNER.
I will never book onto a Avanti again...
They’ll be using Voyagers
Eventually, for now it's off lease Intercity sets until WCML electrical works are complete so bike provision may be okay for the moment.
Ah it appears their website neds updating. The original plan was to use 91s + MK4s however as the ORR delayed a decision the 91s & Mk4s have since been scrapped
Ah it appears their website neds updating. The original plan was to use 91s + MK4s however as the ORR delayed a decision the 91s & Mk4s have since been scrapped
the web-page says
"Electric or dual mode trains are planned in the longer term, but with current power supply being an issue on the WCML, the service is planned to start using off-lease Class 22x trains, which have a potential top speed of 125mph."
Personally, I don’t see why a direct service is required
personally I don’t see why they run any trains except the ones I would use! But I assume that the expense involved in this and the massive amount of data they must have on journeys people make that they have evaluated this as likely to be financially worthwhile. in addition, people in Stirlingshire this may make the train a better option than a flight.
This looks a great option. Can bribe a friend into dropping me and the bike at Preston, and then ride from Stirling.
Maybe people need to contact them to suggest that bikes could go in here....
A New Freight Service
Our passenger service could also transport light and urgent freight by utilising empty space in the non-passenger part of our trains where possible. We are continuing to evaluate this proposal.
Why do we need more service options, when the existing ones don't run as scheduled!
How about shifting 50% of the staff away from public facing roles and into Railtrack. Start fitting welded rail across the entire network and automatic signalling everywhere except the Highlands.
Demolish and rebuild all Victorian bridges and platforms and rebuild to modern standards.
That should keep us busy for the next 50 years.
Then the trains might run as advertised.
the service is planned to start using off-lease Class 22x trains, which have a potential top speed of 125mph.”
But if they are on the WCML, they’ll have a top speed of 110mph. Another privatisation joke that Network Rail/Railtrack pulled on the network. Only the Pendolinos (because they tilt) can go at 125 on the WCML. There was a chance during the WCML upgrade (98-09) when the track could be re-assessed, and /or made suitable for 125 running for all trains, but, Virgin, who were the Operator then, had no plans for 125mph, apart from their Pendolino fleet, so, Railtrack didnt bother doing anything about upgrading the speed, which would have benefitted other train Operators, so we’re now stuck with 110mph for very large sections of the WCML, when the GWML, and ECML have been 125mph since 1976/7. Even the MML has more 125mph running than the WCML (for standard trains).
Oh, the data for train running speed dates from 1964, yes really. Modelling and testing has shown trains can run faster safely on the current track, but no-one has implemented it, as no-one will pay for the running standards to be modified.
Demolish and rebuild all Victorian bridges and platforms and rebuild to modern standards.
They took away the Victorian bridge in Dunblane to use elsewhere (where accessibility is less of an issue).
Spent £3m on a new bridge.
8 years later they are back to spend £000,000s on repairing it again as it is rusting away and falling to bits!
They took away the Victorian bridge in Dunblane to use elsewhere
At least you have a bridge - Cornton, near Stirling, is still a foot crossing.
Plans for a new bridge took so long they built a new barrier crossing that cost £14 million and left the old foot crossing as the main route to the high school (and pub).
Only the Pendolinos (because they tilt) can go at 125 on the WCML.
<fullNerdMode>the 225s Mk4s with their SIG bogies and tapered bodywork were designed to be fully prepped for retrofitting with tilt equipment. They just lack the control systems and hydraulics, being in effect, APT-S vehicles. Then the 91s with their low slung transformers don’t really need to tilt. </fullNerdMode>
Why do we need more service options, when the existing ones don’t run as scheduled!
There's a whole host of reasons why that's entirely wrong headed.
How about shifting 50% of the staff away from public facing roles and into Railtrack. Start fitting welded rail across the entire network
I hate to break it to you but a vanishingly small proportion, if any, of those public facing workers will be track workers never mind qualified welders.
Railtrack hasn't existed for nearly a quarter of a century either.
How about leaving the civil engineering to people who actually know what they're talking about?
At least you have a bridge – Cornton, near Stirling, is still a foot crossing.
Which one? The prison end or the Causewayhead end at the dance studio? Assume you mean the former as its shiny and new.
West Coast was supposed to be 140mph by 2005. Wonder what happened to that ?
Oh yes... totally incompetence from Railtrack at the time to agree to that. Ended up (post Hatfield collapse of Railtrack) the tax payer handing several hundred million £££ to Richard Branson for compensation. Something he had always banked on (as it was a dead cert Railtrack then NR would fail to make WC a 140mph railway.
At least you have a bridge – Cornton, near Stirling, is still a foot crossing.
Which one? The prison end or the Causewayhead end at the dance studio? Assume you mean the former as its shiny and new.
Dance studio - linking to Easter Cornton Road.
Main route to the high school. Recently upgraded with new heavy gates that don't fully open - and currently blocked with plastic barriers.