"Graeme Wall" wrote

The question is then, how feasible will it be to take the West Curve out
of
commission for an extended period? If you had to reverse all the
container
trains in the station it would be an operating nightmare, even using the
freight avoiding line at the back of the station.

It would probably be possible to develop a temporary route from Basingstoke
via Woking, Byfleet (flying junction), Chertsey, Staines, Fekltham, Kew
Junctions, Acton Wells, the spur at Neasden, and the Chiltern Line to
Banbury. Good job Chiltern have doubled Princes Risborough to Aynho.
Presumably we are talking about one path per hour each way, with the
possibility of barring peak hours. May need to reinstate a loop somewhere
between Neasden and Princes Risborough.

Peter