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1M views 8K replies 321 participants last post by  Jon10 
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#1 ·
Noticing that a bit has been said in often passionate debates about how much London subsidies the rest of the UK. This type of discussion has usually come about via talk of how the North would cope if it was given more power/funding/etc.

Seems only fair to ask what would London do over the course of time if it could keep all of it's money (transport wise of course).

As a Northerner looking in I could think of these as a decent shopping list:

1) re-building Euston back onto Euston Square with grandesque roof
2) new line from Euston to Birmingham
3) connecting up the ELL, SLL, WLL & NLL to form an inner circular service
4) Crossrail 1/Superlink
5) Crossrail 2
6) Crossrail 3
7) Thameslink 3000 (sorry - couldn't resist)
8) Outer London Ring Rail
9) South Heathrow link
10) Thames Estuary Airport
11) upgrading of the Gospel Oak-Barking line
12) new line from Paddington to Reading
13) six tracking the Kings Cross-Finsbury Park line
14) rebuilding Kings Cross
15) four tracking the Liverpool Street-Stansted line
16) a tram network
 
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#22 ·
Regional Express Railway
Well, if you look up the word express in the dictionary you find:

• (of a train or other vehicle of public transportation) making few intermediate stops and so reaching its destination quickly : an express train bound for Innsbruck | express bus service | an express elevator. Compare with local .

It doesn't fit with how the word express is used on the rest of the network; which is the way the dictionary describes it > skipping stops like the Stansted, Gatwick, Heathrow express, and express buses.
 
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#23 ·
Crazy idea but could you imagine what it would be line if the vast majority of the UK population all lived around London?!

Or perhaps on a more graspable footing...what would it be like if the vast majority of the UK's population lived in the main city regions?

By that I mean London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle and Glasgow.

Sorry for leaving other cities out.
 
#24 ·
Would "national rail that goes in a tunnel under the centre of london and then goes back onto national rail a tan approximatly opposit station" fit on a roundel? Or NRTGIATUTCOLATGBONRAAAOS - for short?

Names are tricky, I don't think crossrail is great, but it does work, as did Thameslink (RIP). First Capital Connect, First Great Western Link etc. are good examples of what not to do.
 
#26 ·
Regional Express Railway
Well actually it's Réseau Express Régional, "Regional Express Network". Railway begins with an F in French.

And it's really beside the point isn't it? What does the name matter? It's like go-faster-stripes on cars - it doesn't actually affect velocity in any way. Anyway, I thought Thameslink was now FirstCapitalConnmntmnzzzzzz......
 
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#27 ·
Well actually it's Réseau Express Régional, "Regional Express Network". Railway begins with an F in French.
Yeah I know, I was merely offering an English take on the name as they were proposing for the West Midlands/Birmingham.

How do railways begin with an F in French?

I always thought it was 'chemin de fer' or something like that?
 
#28 ·
Yeah I know, I was merely offering an English take on the name as they were proposing for the West Midlands/Birmingham.

How do railways begin with an F in French?

I always thought it was 'chemin de fer' or something like that?
SNCF: Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer

For what it's worth, I quite like Crossrail as a name. We don't use too many acronyms in London transport at the moment so I think a logical word-name is probably a good idea. Of course it would help if it was built at some point!
 
#30 ·
SNCF: Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer

For what it's worth, I quite like Crossrail as a name. We don't use too many acronyms in London transport at the moment so I think a logical word-name is probably a good idea. Of course it would help if it was built at some point!
Yeah I like 'Crossrail' too. 'Superlink' sounds like a product that you'd find in PC world.
 
#34 ·
Yes, at least crossrail sounds like a train, as you say superlink sounds like some sort of expencive scart lead.

Whats in a name? Lot's I'd say (but then I am in marcoms). You could build a great network of trains, but if no one understands them they won't get used. If they don't get public affection they won't get money. These things do matter - just look at the Gatwick Express, nothing but a name.

If you get it really wrong the 'public' (evening standard more likely) will come up with it's own, which you might not like (such as the Bakerloo example, or the drain, or the Misery Line).

If you break it down - First Capital Connect. First makes me feel late, ripped off and ancious but the capital connect bit makes sense, it connects me to the capital, fine.

Thameslink on the otherhand, links things either side of the Thames. People will remember that, and are more likely to use it for its intended purpose. Non-enthusiasts (or normals as we can call them) take some of the most bizarre routes around London, because they don't understand the services, but they are also not interested in making any effort.

The maps, signage, design, livery and name - all part of marketing.
 
#35 ·
Broken bridge will disrupt Feltham trains until new year
Nov 17 2009 By Ed Saunt

1 2 3 next

The crumbling railway bridge over the River Crane

TRAINS from Feltham to central London will be suspended until next week but a full service is unlikely to resume on the line until next year.

A rail bridge across the River Crane collapsed on Sunday following heavy rain, causing chaos for commuters using the London Waterloo line.

Buses are replacing trains in both directions between Feltham and Twickenham but South West Trains said warned commuters it would add at least 45 minutes to their journeys and many have complained about long queues at both stations.

Network Rail hopes to have some service running from Feltham by next week but work to repair the bridge fully is expected to take several weeks – causing delays until 2010.

A rail engineer who works on London Underground and has seen the damage to the bridge over the River Crane said: "This sort of severe structural damage is not something you can just prop up and hope for the best. That bridge looks very dangerous to me and it could easily be four to six weeks to make it properly safe."

The 100-year-old bridge on the southern edge of Hounslow Heath was damaged after heavy rainfall caused the river to swell. The increased speed and turbulence of the river washed away some of the foundations bridge, damaging the main arch, and causing sections to collapse into the river.

A spokesman for Network Rail said: "The line which runs through Feltham is a particularly busy part of London’s railway network so it is important to get trains running as quickly as possible.

"We are working on a temporary solution to enable trains to start running again which we hope to have in place next week. Work to repair the original structure will then take place and is expected to take a number of weeks to complete."
 
#36 ·
Thousands hit by Central Line Tube signal failure

17 November 2009
THOUSANDS of commuters have been hit in East London this-morning by a signal failure on the London Underground.

Train services into the City were suspended during the morning rush-hour on the Central Line between Leyton and Liverpool Street and remained at a standstill at 10.15am.

It was caused by a signal failure at Bethnal Green, London Underground confirmed.

Westbound services resumed at 10.25am. But London Underground warned of "severe delays" on the Central for some time yet.
 
#37 ·
Broken bridge will disrupt Feltham trains until new year
Nov 17 2009 By Ed Saunt

1 2 3 next

The crumbling railway bridge over the River Crane

TRAINS from Feltham to central London will be suspended until next week but a full service is unlikely to resume on the line until next year.

A rail bridge across the River Crane collapsed on Sunday following heavy rain, causing chaos for commuters using the London Waterloo line.

Buses are replacing trains in both directions between Feltham and Twickenham but South West Trains said warned commuters it would add at least 45 minutes to their journeys and many have complained about long queues at both stations.

Network Rail hopes to have some service running from Feltham by next week but work to repair the bridge fully is expected to take several weeks – causing delays until 2010.

A rail engineer who works on London Underground and has seen the damage to the bridge over the River Crane said: "This sort of severe structural damage is not something you can just prop up and hope for the best. That bridge looks very dangerous to me and it could easily be four to six weeks to make it properly safe."

The 100-year-old bridge on the southern edge of Hounslow Heath was damaged after heavy rainfall caused the river to swell. The increased speed and turbulence of the river washed away some of the foundations bridge, damaging the main arch, and causing sections to collapse into the river.

A spokesman for Network Rail said: "The line which runs through Feltham is a particularly busy part of London’s railway network so it is important to get trains running as quickly as possible.

"We are working on a temporary solution to enable trains to start running again which we hope to have in place next week. Work to repair the original structure will then take place and is expected to take a number of weeks to complete."
Bloody good thing it didn't collapse with a train on top.... Could have been a major disaster
 
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