please empty your brain below |
So, in summary, the only way to achieve Norwich in 90 or quicker is to miss out stops. The only way to further improve the service is to dual the railway lines and bring in faster trains, I guess.
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Great write up, just one nitpick ... the Norwich Class 745 Flirts will have first class when they go into service (they’re the only ones that still will)
dg writes: Rewritten, thanks. Still don’t see the point of the Norwich in 90 though, political point scoring more than anything else. I bet it’ll quietly get dropped ... “we’ve decided to call at Diss to improve their service” or other such Doublespeak. |
Norwich in 95? That’s the pick of the week, that is, but it hesitated and deviated (another train).
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Inexorably! :-D
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I feel like this could be a Bus Stop M variant. At the end of the month, i will be in need of weekly graphs showing how many times it hit the 90 minutes, or not.
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Also, if you click through to the 'Political' link, I don't think i've ever seen a page with someone referencing themselves in the third person so many times. Eighteen "Chloes". impressive.
(i don't know why i felt the need to comment three times this morning, sorry) |
A major gripe for travellers on this hymn to hopeless private enterprise is the regular replacement of weekend trains by coaches - another bout is coming and will push journey times up to 165 minutes. The real problem, despite claims to the contrary, is that profits are taken, dividends are awarded, but investment is minimal, hence the ancient rolling stock, poor stations and concentration on 'shopping opportunities'.
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I can assure you in the late sixties/early seventies the Norwich trains could it in 1hr 45 minutes quite easily doing just Colchester, Ipswich, 10 mk1 carriages (inc two composites) and a dodgy old Gresley buffet. Leave Liverpool Street v. late & arrive on time. Haulage class 47. And people get cracked up about a electric doing it in 90 minutes? lol!
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It's the government that owns Network Rail who decides when there will be weekend engineering work and replacement coaches.
It's the government that decides which franchises get new rolling stock, and in fact Greater Anglia will be replacing *every single train* with a brand new one in the next year or two. And then we can all have a moan about how the old trains were better. Something to look forward to. |
Those with even longer memories than me will be able to recall the time (early 1950s) when Norwich had the fastest train service to London from any provincial city.
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Great write up, just one nitpick …
Standard Class not Second Class |
I remember when the fast trains used to only stop at Ipswich (presumably rush hours only) and I seem to recall that, before electrification, there used to be one of the fast through trains from Great Yarmouth that only stopped at Ipswich (many rush hour trains to / from Yarmouth by-passed Norwich when the curve at Crown Point depot was signalled for passenger trains. In the M-F off-peak patten, I think one of the hourly trains used to run non stop between Ipswich and Norwich in both directions.
After electrification and the faster journey time this brought in, more frequent stops at Stowmarket / Diss have been added, plus Stratford stops and so the overall journey time is not as fast as it could have been. I used to travel regularly between Yarmouth and London and used to enjoy the full breakfast. As the dining car was in 1st class and 2nd class ticket holders could have their meal there. You weren’t normally kicked out afterwards (at least in off-peak travelling) and so it was also a cheap way of travelling 1st class between Liverpool St and Yarmouth :-) Bus replacements are a nuisance for various reasons and I will always try to avoid travelling whenever there are works going on. At least when the electrification was taking place between on the mainline to Norwich, they ran special (additional) through trains from Liverpool St to Norwich via Cambridge. |
In 1993 there was one fast Norwich/Ipswich/London train at 0755, taking 96 minutes, and one back the other way at 1700 taking 94.
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This morning's tally...
• London in 85 • Norwich in 88 |
I did the restaurant car trick many times.
One Sunday evening, coming back from Exeter to Paddington, there was a Cabinet minister doing the same sort of thing. I think it was this guy but it was a long time ago. |
rogmi - Yes I remember those too. It varied a bit. Some weekends it was by DMUs to Cambridge where one changed for Liverpool Street - even after electrification Anglia used its new DMUs to Liverpool Street via Cambridge when engineering took place on the Haughley routes.
DG - the fast peak hours train lasted for years. It was extant in the seventies, eighties too, times varied though. |
Roger's blogged about his ride on yesterday morning's Norwich in 90 here.
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This evening's tally...
• London in 94 • Norwich in 97 (the former again held up just before Liverpool Street, and the latter again stuck behind a delayed train at Diss) |
Wednesday's tally...
• London in 88 • Norwich in 112 • London in 90 • Norwich in 97 |
And Thursday...
• London in 86 • Norwich in 91 • London in 91 • Norwich in 90 |
And Friday...
• London in 87 • Norwich in 91 • London in 91 • Norwich in 92 The first day with three 'fails', though still damned good. |
The changes to the evening peak to accommodate the 1700 and 1900 have not gone down well with Essex commuters, longer journey times 7-9 mins for Clacton line passengers and the abandonment of regular intervals. Proves you can’t get owt for nought without to pips squeaking! No mixed metaphors there then.
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