East-West Rail Link 2031

[jvassie]

Was bored at work and did some digging around, came up with this rather interesting looking route map projection for 2031. Looks to give quite an interesting service pattern in places like Bletchley, and with Oxford expanding to 5 platforms etc. Thoughts?

EWRailLink2031.png (87.38 KiB) Viewed 384 times

[Geo Ghost]

It's a good idea but I would really like to see the East-Coast connected to the East-West (Or connected to just the west to be exact)
Between London and Cambridge/Peterborough there's practically nothing going across the country so it's a pig to get around by train if you're doing that.

Would be good if there was a rail link that split off from Welwyn Garden City (going south) and joined just above St Albans. Since there is not much in the way and that's where the tracks are closest too.
Then we could run services between the two main lines easier and even have ones running right through down through London on the Themes Link route.

But that's what I think and I guess that there are reasons that hasn't been done. Perhaps not cost effective.

[Kevo00]

Would be nice, but its hard to see this happening in a hurry.

[Dave]

There's a lot here that doesn't currently exist. More than 20 years work, I'd say. The Bicester-Oxford connection is being sorted, but Chiltern are running services from Oxford at the minute anyway (to Birmingham for the time being).

It'd also involve restoring services beyond Aylesbury (and Quainton Road), which was the scene of a two trains in same section incident about two years ago when the heritage stuff that Chiltern run in conjunction with the Buckinghamshire Rail Centre (or whatever it is) on Bank Holidays managed to be cleared into the one train in steam section that a bin train was already in.

[Ameecher]

Well this proposal has more future than the whole line through to Cambridge. At least here the whole trackbed still exists, although ironically the fact that rails still exist makes the whole project more expensive because the knackered rails have to be removed before stabilisation of the embankments can take place and new tracks laid. I can certainly see it happening to remove freight from busy sections of the NLL, if it was all electrified too to coincide with the Thames Valley Lines electrification and potential MML electrification it'd be very wise.

[audigex]

if it was all electrified too to coincide with the Thames Valley Lines electrification and potential MML electrification it'd be very wise.

In that case, it's pretty much guaranteed not to happen. Since when did the government have any sense?

[Kevo00]

Almost certain not to happen until the money and political will appear from somewhere. Milton Keynes is pretty much Tory central mind, so you never know! But if it does happen it will be closer to 2031 than 2011. Also, I'd like to see something done about the poor public transport in the MK area, ridiculously bad for a 'city' this ambitious!

[Bilzioan]

Looks good
might try bulid that on loco now???