Adrian Auer-Hudson wrote:
Clive D. W. Feather wrote:
Adrian Auer-Hudson writes
1. Turning crossrail trains back @ Paddington is just crazy when there
is a lack of capacity in the mainline station.

Capacity in the mainline station won't be involved. The trains will "tip
out" at the new Crossrail island platform, run forward to a siding
between the tracks around Royal Oak, then back into service on the other
side of the same island platform. They never go near (except vertically)
the main terminus.

I'm told that the sidings will be authorised for passenger use so that
there's no need to search the terminating trains by hand. This is
necessary to provide the capacity.

The point I endeavor to make is: Paddington mainline is at capacity.
So, why are we not planning to extend all crossrail trains out into the
western suburbs? In doing so, crossrail trains replace current
terminating paths on the GW relief lines. By which method maximum
capacity is freed up in the terminus.

The short answer is because they're incompetent. They won't even consider
taking over the WCML slow lines to Northampton/Milton Keynes, despite it
being the route with the greatest potential.

However, just taking over some of the paths on the GW releif lines should
solve the Paddington capacity problem, at least in the short term.