On Sat, 10 Jan 2004, Mark Brader wrote:

Tom Anderson writes:

How come metropolitan trains feel so much bigger than circles (as
big as real trains), when they use the same track? Are they bigger...?

Yes, slightly.

Also, having paid attention while on board, i notice that the circle
trains have more handholds; vertical pillars at the ends of runs of seats,
and a double rail hanging from a bulge in the ceiling. Met trains don't
have these (but do have luggage racks!), and so feel more spacious. I
suppose it's because they're for low-density long-haul trips in from the
far suburbs, whereas the circle is for high-density short-haul trips
between major NR termini and around town.

But clearances have changed over the years, and today main line trains
are generally a bit larger than Underground subsurface trains, so if
such through services were reinstated, they would probably have to use
the latter size of train.

On a semi-related note, i saw that continental freight trains are a bit
bigger than ours, and so can't run on our network, making the chunnel a
bit useless for freight services; eurotunnel are planning to build a
freight terminus somewhere in Kent or something to tempt them though.

In general the reason that these most of these services were withdrawn
or never begun is that it was found more efficient to operate the lines
the way they now are.

But transport requirements change!

Long routes that are partly shared with other trains are more subject to
delays.

Fair enough.

Although (and please excuse my continued frenzied flogging of this
particular expired equine - it's almost over now) merging the Met and the
West Anglia suburban services (using the circle-to-surface interconnect at
Liverpool Street which currently exists only in my mind - modelled after
Oblivion at Alton Towers, i think) wouldn't create any new services, so
conflict shouldn't increase too much (i suppose you would then get delays
in one part affecting the other, which you don't at present).

(Similarly, some people feel that the Circle Line should be withdrawn to
allow the tracks to be used more efficiently by the lines they are
shared with, and so on.)

Yikes! That would be pretty radical.

tom

--
eviscerated by obfuscation