On Fri, 14 Sep 2012 13:04:17 +0100, Paul Corfield
wrote:

On Fri, 14 Sep 2012 04:21:49 -0700 (PDT), 77002
wrote:

On Sep 14, 12:06*am, "Jack Taylor" wrote:
"allantracy" *wrote in message

...

He also informed me of something I had not realised, namely, that
there are no longer any day time fast trains on the Met to Amersham
(or Chesham), only during the peaks and, even then, small in number.

And only inbound in the morning peak and outbound in the evening peak.

Eventually TfL should withdraw services north of Moor Park. They are
clearly clueless with regard to the needs of suburban passengers.

You are 50-odd years too late. Had the Met been undergoing
modernisation now then you might have been looking at something on the
lines of OHLE in "the country" with dual-voltage stock on the lines of
cl.378s with suitable seating. ATM you are dealing with a done deed
and further rearrangement of services on the lines of limiting TfL to
its own territory is not something likely to happen unless there is
further serious rebuilding of the Met for some reason.

Should they? Do you really think people want to lose their direct
link into the City even if it is a tad slower than in the past?

Are you also advocating that the Croxley Rail Link should be scrapped
too as that will be operated by LU?

Both the DC lines and the Met historically involved some element of
joint working or stock ownership so stopping TfL's kingdom at the
county boundary would not inevitably preclude through-running so that
e.g. services from Aylesbury to/through the City of London could be
restored.

Ideally the Chiltern Route to Aylesbury should be electrified at
25kV. Chiltern would take over all Metropolitan services north of
Moor Park.

Ideal in whose terms? At present fares are relatively low as far as
Amersham due to TfL's farescale. They would rocket if they became the
sole responsibility of Chiltern. Would the good burghers of the
Chilterns really want to see their fares increase substantially?

In the longer term Chiltern's Aylesbury route should be extended to
Milton Keynes thru Granborough Rd, and Birmingham Snow Hill thru
Verney Junction and Banbury.

You might be smoking the wrong stuff again unless you have a cunning
plan to revive the countryside house-building involved in the creation
of Metroland.

That might take a tad more vision than
currently found in Westminster and Whitehall.

And just where is the demand for such a service in order to justify
the not insignificant investment that would have to paid from
Whitehall's coffers?

Let us see what, if anything, happens when EastWest Rail opens and
some rail services begin to be operated. You need to walk before you
can run.