London Banter - View Single Post - Crossrail link to Reading hangs in the balance

Paul Scott · December 28th 07, 09:38 PM posted to uk.transport.london

"Colin Rosenstiel" wrote in message
...
In article ,
(tim.....) wrote:

"Adrian Auer-Hudson, MIMIS" wrote in
message

...
On Dec 26, 5:42 am, (Adrian the Rock) wrote:

The other extension to Crossrail that seems fairly obvious to me is
to
extend the trains currently planned to terminate at Paddington up the
former GW&GC joint line. Bring the Old Oak - Northolt East line back
into proper use, rebuild the main line platforms at Greenford, making
this the first stop out of Padd, then run all-stations to Princes
Risboro and Aylesbury (some trains probably terminating at High
Wycombe). But this is clearly too extensive to be sensible to include
in the initial project.

There are two issues with this idea. Firstly it would mean an
expensive electrification of the route to Aylesbury by way of
Prices Risborough.

Provided it is done at the time that life expire stock is to be
replaced, electrification is usually a lower cost option over the
total life of the new stock, however expensive the actual
conversion.

Secondly, there is the Birmingham service to consider. It would
either have to remain a DMU operation with many miles under the
wire,

Well this wouldn't be the first time. Cross country runs "under
the wire" all the way from Birmingham to Manchester and York to
Edinburgh, which is much further than this piddly little bit of
track to PR.

How much longer though? Aren't some of those routes being handed over to
VWC?

Not the Manchester services, VWC have already taken over Birmingham to
Edinburgh/Glasgow via WCML, but are still using their 'pro rata' share of
theVoyagers, rather than Pendolinos [normally].

Birmingham to Man Picc stayed with (Arriva)XC. The next planned change, Dec
2008, is just to make the XC network more inflexible, with for example
nearly all Bournemouth trains heading for Manchester and all from Reading
heading for Newcastle...

Paul S