"Kevin Bean" wrote in message
. ..
If there were fewer Chiltern services from Amersham/Chesham to
Harrow-on-the-Hill, then London Underground would have to run more trains,
which would just slow the Chiltern Trains. (I am assuming that peak hour
trains every 30 minutes would be unacceptable?)

Considering London Underground's track-record (?!) surely it would be
better
to hand over this branch to Chiltern and allow them to run trains
according
to their timetable, some could be all-stoppers and some express etc.

I entirely agree, I was (once) quite looking forward to Crossrail. If CRCL
had sole operation of the fast lines north of Harrow-on-the-Hill, with LUL
concentrating on the Uxbridge and Watford branches, then the whole service
could be run in a more professional and satisfactory manner, IMHO!

Another solution, which would benefit flexibility (as CR services are
frequently delayed by late running all stations Met services from the City
to Amersham) would be to reinstate the down avoiding line at Chorleywood, to
enable semi-fast CR services to pass late running Met services. It is not
uncommon for a Chiltern service from Marylebone, first stop Great Missenden
or Amersham, to be stuck behind a stopping Met service all the way from
Harrow to Amersham, resulting in a right-time departure from Marylebone
becoming a 15 or 20-minute late arrival at Aylesbury. Sometimes this is
entirely down to the bloody-minded intransigence of Harrow box, who
*deliberately* bring the CR service to a stand at Harrow and let the LUL
stopper out in front of the CR service - I've lost count of the number of
times that that has happened to me over the past ten years.