Atomic Systems

The Mark IIs may require significant heavy cleaning, particularly if they've been in store for any length of time - which could get more expensive than the financial cost of not expanding the fleet until new stock becomes available. In the business-oriented world (particularly where the franchisee i...

Most decisions were made as part of the bidding process - Franchise Commitments - and are based around the Service Level Commitment ('SLC' - new name for the Passenger Service Requirement). The SLC is set by the Department for Transport, and is the 'base case' on which all bidders are compared. IThe...

Moonkid - I should have made clear that the core Trans-Pennine route (Liverpool-York) would have been electrified anyway, but Manchester-Preston via Chorley is another issue, resolvable by routing Glasgow trains via Golborne Jn. Traction supply is not an on-train issue - there would be no technical ...

OHLE has rarely been a visual intrusion in most built-up areas, and the Trans-Pennine route is pretty solidly built-up. There are things which OHLE engineers could do - perhaps something for the industrial designers to make an OLE mast which looks aesthetically pleasing yet remaining wholly function...

Platforms 11-13 are 295m long - plenty long enough to accommodate a 12-car Class 395 formation (approx 245m long). Low Level will be lettered A & B, and are over 240m long (designed for a 12-car formation of 20m stock, as planned for Thameslink Stages 1 & 2). City Thameslink is the other 12-car stat...

AlistairW has some very good points - faster running with electrification is a must - however I would not rule out a series of High Speed Lines being built. Not necessarily the type of line built for 186mph running over hundreds of miles, but built for, perhaps, 155mph running over tens of miles, wh...

I have to say I disagree with those decrying London Midland's livery. It seems modern, smart and sophisticated, unlike the 'graffiti' style of Arriva XC (and what's with the brown?), and the style-less corporatism of East Midlands, and light-years away from bland BR Blue. And LM's choice of font is ...

If we are talking about a TGV-style segregated high-speed line, then London to the West Midlands, following either the M1 or M40 corridors - M1 might be marginally better in revenue terms if the Milton Keynes area was served, but the potential cost savings of using the M40/Chiltern corridor ('Greeng...

I was wondering if anyone knew anymore information about these so called "Polaris trains" and where the hell they plan on running them at 140mph! Cheers. North of Peterborough is a section of track that can quite happily take trains at 140mph. Only for test runs, under very specific rules and with ...

The London & Southampton Railway (later London & South Western Railway) main line between Waterloo and Basingstoke is a prime inter-city main line built in the same mould as Brunel's Great Western Railway and the Great Northern Railway, consequently is flat, straight and fast. Main Fast Line speeds ...

The mesh of lines into London is partly due to the competition between the South Eastern and the London, Chatham & Dover companies in the formative years of Kent's railways. The one benefit is that the operators can run 'City' and 'West End' trains (SER: Cannon Street/Charing Cross, LCDR: Blackfriar...

The new platform will form the Down Fast line, the existing Down Fast will become a reversible platform road permitting some Fast Line trains to terminate at MKC and reverse without having to conflict with opposing traffic. It also will allow for a 'Cobbler' to be overtaken by a following Pendolino,...

From what i have been reading earlier on all the S stock trains should be identical in features / length. What I've heard is that the Met's sets will be 8-cars, whereas the Circle/District/H&C sets will be 7-car formations. Almost all of the District line can take 6*18m D78 Stock, so a 7*15m S-Stoc...

A60/A62 Stock is old, and that has to have an effect on operating costs and maintenance, not least as the manufacturer (Cravens Ltd) ceased to exist in 1964. Whilst they may be simple trains, when a new bit is needed (where there is no spare), someone has to actually make the part from scratch, whic...

Well, they could always electrify the Leeds - York part of the ECML, AND, they could run some of the HST Sets through the day - they dont need to go all the way to Inverness - Newcastle or Edinburgh would do really. I just dont see How Virgin get all these passengers every two hours onto northbound...