First West Coast? - Page 11

Accura4Matalan · November 27th, 2012, 01:01 AM

AFAIK all trains on that route stop at Bolton. Roughly, there are 3 Northern services an hour to Victoria and 2 TPE services to Manchester Airport via Piccadilly (sometimes even more during the peak). In turn there are 2 Northern and 2 TPE services to Blackpool North/Barrow via Preston, as well as an hourly Northern service to Clitheroe via Blackburn. And on top of that, there is a 3tph service to Wigan Wallgate, which is about 2 minutes walk from Wigan North Western! Just because Bolton hasn't got a direct Intercity service to London, doesn't mean its poorly connected by rail. In an hour, Bolton has roughly 9 trains to 3 major WCML stations with at least hourly services to London Euston, both of which are roughly 20 minutes away. Considering that it isn't really a major destination, it doesn't do badly at all off that line. The major issue is the overcrowding, but electrification should help to alleviate this a little, and I doubt that the occasional direct Pendolino to London is going to make much of a difference to that.

Jon10 · January 6th, 2013, 01:37 PM

Sunday Telegraph:

"Rail inquiry demands bid change"

(Paddington for Scotland)

"A major review commissioned in the wake of the £55m West Coast Main Line fiasco will put forward proposals for a new, independent body to oversee multi-billion pound rail franchises.

... Rail franchising was absorbed into the DfT after the abolition of the unwieldy Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) in 2005.

It is now believed that the SRA’s predecessor, the smaller Office of Passenger Rail Franchising — or Opraf — was the more successful model. Opraf employed a highly-skilled team that was focused solely on letting major rail franchises."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...id-change.html

November 27th, 2012, 01:01 AM	#201
Accura4Matalan Registered User Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Preston, England/Colwyn Bay, North Wales Posts: 11,836 Likes (Received): 42	AFAIK all trains on that route stop at Bolton. Roughly, there are 3 Northern services an hour to Victoria and 2 TPE services to Manchester Airport via Piccadilly (sometimes even more during the peak). In turn there are 2 Northern and 2 TPE services to Blackpool North/Barrow via Preston, as well as an hourly Northern service to Clitheroe via Blackburn. And on top of that, there is a 3tph service to Wigan Wallgate, which is about 2 minutes walk from Wigan North Western! Just because Bolton hasn't got a direct Intercity service to London, doesn't mean its poorly connected by rail. In an hour, Bolton has roughly 9 trains to 3 major WCML stations with at least hourly services to London Euston, both of which are roughly 20 minutes away. Considering that it isn't really a major destination, it doesn't do badly at all off that line. The major issue is the overcrowding, but electrification should help to alleviate this a little, and I doubt that the occasional direct Pendolino to London is going to make much of a difference to that. __________________ Preston Projects List Updated 11th September 2010

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January 6th, 2013, 01:37 PM	#202
Jon10 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 1,287 Likes (Received): 31	*Sunday Telegraph:* "Rail inquiry demands bid change" (Paddington for Scotland) "A major review commissioned in the wake of the £55m West Coast Main Line fiasco will put forward proposals for a new, independent body to oversee multi-billion pound rail franchises. ... Rail franchising was absorbed into the DfT after the abolition of the unwieldy Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) in 2005. It is now believed that the SRA’s predecessor, the smaller Office of Passenger Rail Franchising — or Opraf — was the more successful model. Opraf employed a highly-skilled team that was focused solely on letting major rail franchises." *http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...id-change.html*