London Banter - View Single Post

Ben Nunn · October 9th 03, 09:42 AM posted to uk.transport.london

Unless I'm very much mistaken, it was Paul Corfield
), in message
who said:

I understand your proposition and in some ways support it. However
there are a few issues.

1. Intercity services are not the same as suburban or even regional
ones. Completely different timings, rolling stock performance and
design. Far more people with luggage who all want a seat. Not exactly
compatible with people cramming on at Tottenham Court Rd to get to
Ilford or the modern day equivalent - people from Coventry or
Wolverhampton cramming into Virgin West Coast or Cross Country
services
to commute to Birmingham - absolute hell.

I guess I'm coming at this from a different perspective - trying to get
through London (e.g. from a place on one side to a place on the other side)
is a nightmare.

Paying for two seperate intercity journeys and a tube is expensive, and the
most frustrating bit is the wait in London.

The other day I made an Ipswich to Preston journey.

Time between my approach into Liverpool Street, and my departure out of
Euston? 65 minutes.

I don't think a 'lost hour' in London is atypical for such a journey. When I
first saw the crossrail proposals, I thought that this was intended to
remove such a ridiculous anomaly, in the same way that Thameslink has with
routes such as Brighton to Bedford.

I think what could be better would be a properly structured set of
Inter City services running from terminal stations (which by rights
should
have more capacity post Crossrail) but with strategic stops at
Crossrail interchanges. This provides the option for interchange to a
whole range
of destinations and modes and could me made to work properly with some
signalling and platform investment at key locations.

I think this would work better with Orbirail, if that ever gets off the
ground, thereby avoiding the need to waste time in Central London.

BTN