On Mon, 03 Apr 2017 20:25:45 +0100
Recliner wrote:
On Mon, 03 Apr 2017 18:52:02 +0200, Jarle Hammen Knudsen
Will there be more passenger trains on the GOBLin after
electrification? Isn't the current frequency due to paths taken up by
freight?

No there won't be a higher frequency on the electrified GOBLIN, just
longer trains. There will be the same number of EMUs (eight) as the
172s, but they'll have four, rather than two, carriages.

It would be the same on the Uckfield branch. Electric trains would be
a bit quicker, but there aren't enough paths through East Croydon to
allow a higher frequency (and if there were, they'd be better used for
the Brighton main line). Much more of the mainly singled branch would
also need to be redoubled to support a higher frequency.

Of course the irony there is that the line could have been used as a
secondary route to/from Brighton if that visionary Beeching hadn't caused it
to be ripped up back to Uckfield.

The article also points out that there are much better candidates for
infill electrification, such as the North Downs Line to Reading.

Hmm. I suspect there are a lot more people who would potentially commute
from Uckfield with a better service than there are who would be bouncing along
under the north downs. There are many similar sized towns to uckfield and
crowborough that are currently commuter towns, there is nothing special about
these 2 other than the abysmal train service.

--
Spud