New Met Line Timetable

That's one way of looking at it. However, why reduce services to those destinations because they are less well served than Amersham/Chesham/Watford? Why not up the Uxbridge service instead? The reason is capacity and service provision. Despite the relatively low usage, anything less than 2tph to Chesham would not provide an exceptable service to this area which forms part of LU.

Chiltern do want to project some of their trains to MK and also to Oxford but that is a little way off. However, when complete, it could see the use of loco hauled services down the former Met&GC joint line through harrow!

Are there many spare mk3 coaches spare?

Better services will not happen until the track and signals have all been upgraded.

There is absolutely no point in spending millions on trains and then having nowhere to use them. The Met is the main service provider.

Also metioned elsewhere in RAIL that LM services to Milton Keynes in the evening peaks are some of the most overcrowded, (not helped by much less heavily-loaded Virgin services calling there only to pick up!) so passengers, particularly those with better access to Marylebone rather than Euston, may well migrate to a Chiltern service even if it is not quite as quick as LM's.

First things first; hand the fast tracks and infrastructure north of Ricky to Chiltern. That might actually allow some upgrading to be done quicker than LUL seem willing/able to do.

A problem lies in Rickmansworths platform lengths. Its a pity LUL can't be forced to entend them for Chiltern somehow if they wish to cut the provisions of their own service.
Maybe a fast platform for Northwood? Ooh. If only!

I'm pretty sure all the 67's are now being put to regular work. However, even though very reliable, they are actually now a slightly 'dated' loco and their high gearing for 125mph means their acceleration from a stand to about 50 mph isn't anything like it should be for a 3200hp loco. We see them as 'new' because the rest of our passenger locos are so old and falling apart. I believe Chiltern are already looking to the future and will be running lean, green but potent 'class 68' Eurolight loco's in the near future. If reports are anything to go by, these are like the proverbial 'poop off a shovel' when it comes to acceleration.

As for Mk3's I believe most are currently in operation? Didn't Irish Rail offer around 100 mk3s with plug doors but no one took up the offer? They would have been 5ft gauge I guess.

Ohmslaw you may well be right, I've already suggested that it could be for the greater good that LuL give up the Moor Park - Amersham section (of which they are currently providing a half hearted service) and chiltern give it a proper main line service of which it deserves.

As has been brought up several times before, the obvious answer is removing some of those services from Marylebone. The obvious one to me is projecting Crossrail from OOC to Northolt junction thence up to High Wycombe.

The original plan had HS2 taking over the NR line between Old Oak West and Northolt Junction,then running to the north of the existing line taking out what was Days,now Ramada Hotel,the car park at West Ruislip and the old peoples home among other things.

The last I heard is that they still take out Old Oak to Northolt Jn but go into tunnel north of Northolt and come out the other side of W Ruislip.

This saves the buildings being taken out and means that all the money Chiltern spent on the realignments at South Ruislip won't be wasted.

I asked at the local presentation how FGW felt about losing the Greenford loop (used to turn one or more HSTs a day) and was told they weren't worried!

Andy

Indeed. Having witnessed the success of Ruislip's campaigning, Ealing are now pushing for the remaining surface section to stay in tunnel as aside from the usual nimbyisms, it would remove the need to rebuild the several overbridges along the route, most prominent of which being the Hanger Lane gyratory.

Last I read was that having spoken to the powers that be, Ealing were cautiously optimistic their campaign would succeed.

How much would it cost to build the whole thing under ground?



Try coming south of the river - many lines have 2tph (SWT's Chessington, and Shepperton lines Thameslink's Wimbledon loop, etc)

When will Chiltern return to 70mph though?

Well at least I found out what the fast lines are used for off peak! Dawdling away from Harrow towards Northwick Park we were overtaken at speed by a an empty / not in service train for Neasden Depot. Not having travelled since Christmas I missed the preceding Chiltern and had forgotten how tedious all stations is.

I did notice a fast train to Baker Street coming down the fast lines around 1:30

It's fairly regular for late running trains to be made fast services to make up time in both directions.

From my point of view when making a train fast for late running, what's the point of stopping it at Wembley, which will just reduce the amount of minutes the train can catch up.

This is a point I made earlier. 'Fast' trains into London have tended to slow down, stop, slow down, stop, let that all stations that left at the same time from Harrow get ahead of them at Wembley. Maybe its LuL's way of saying we don't want to do this anymore?

Yet empty stock workings rush up and down the fast lines like they are trying to break the land speed record.