On Fri, 7 Aug 2015 23:14:07 +0000 (UTC), Recliner
wrote:

BevanPrice wrote:
On 07/08/2015 22:03, Roger Lynn wrote:
On 05/08/15 13:48, Recliner wrote:
As most people here must know, Chiltern runs one service a day,
M-F, to Paddington. It's run mainly for maintaining driver route
knowledge for the occasions when Chiltern services are diverted to
Paddington.

It's not quite a parly service, as it runs at a convenient time,
five days a week, but it's also not promoted and little used other
than by rail enthusiasts (the few passengers are all sole males
with cameras). And, yes, I was one of those this week, and here's
the evidence:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/reclin...57654494380303

But it got me wondering if Chiltern could or should run more
services into Paddington? Chiltern's services are growing
steadily, with 2 tph Oxford services being added soon. The
two-track route into Marylebone is congested, as are Marylebone's
six platforms. Would it be possible to run, say, 2 tph into
Paddington? There's obviously many constraints, including:

I had thought the plan was to divert a couple of the existing
services to Oxford. The xx48 from Marylebone would be an obvious
choice: it terminates at Bicester, rather than the more natural
Banbury, and doesn't connect with anything. However the matching xx18
service which would be the other one to send to Oxford does have a
connection at Bicester North and is also sometimes extended to
Banbury or Stratford (even though it would be better to extend the
xx48).

Having some trains going to Paddington and others to Marylebone would
be particularly awkward when travelling out from London as you could
go to one station only to find that the next train left from the
other.

Roger


Not a problem in Manchester, where trains to Liverpool depart from
Victoria, or from (Piccadilly + Oxford Road)

It's pretty standard in south London, as many stations are served by trains
from more than one of Waterloo, Victoria, Blackfriars and London Bridge.

Some of the stations are served in both directions as well (e.g.
Lewisham, Clapham Junction) by trains on loop routes although the
displayed destination tends to be changed during the journey thus
preventing unwanted journeys by the pretty route. North of the Thames,
trains leave Highbury and Islington (also Canonbury) for Clapham
Junction in opposite directions; some are at identical departure times
(so you can choose the wrong platform rather than the wrong station).