To be fair, geese can take down an aircraft: see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Airways_Flight_1549

 
How does the new GBR livery work on units with odd numbers of vehicles as stripy triangular pointy bit faces the nearest end.  Which way will it point on middle vehicle ?

Clearly there are 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 vehicle units around network

 

I seem to recall XC have expressed an interest in those six sets, but it’s sitting with the DfT?

Get those on XC routes ASAP, then the two Grand Central ones in 2028 (and also the boost of however many sets are currently undergoing refurbishment at a time) and you’ll have enough to make a very noticeable impact and perhaps get you through to a replacement order for the Voyagers (and the XC 170 fleet) in the late 2030s.

An option that just might get the ok from the treasury?

 

Here it is - in comparison to a couple of others - a few minutes ago.







None of the passengers seem outwardly concerned at the colour of their train, nor asking if this is the new public railway.  Doesn't feel much different.

P.S. I joined the Gatwick Express train.   It's not going to Gatwick and neither am I.  I understand that I do not have to pay a premium "Gatwick Express" fare.

 
Start the process of ordering a new fleet of 9 car bi-mode trains now for delivery at the slowest possible viable rate. As they slowly enter service use any displaced Voyagers to double up other services. Given the usual delays new trains gave in entering service, by the time you’ve doubled up everything (and coped with the growth arising from the journey experience becoming something to enjoy rather than endure), those 15 years will be nearly up.

 

It's about 15 miles that are unelectrified Newbury-Bedwyn.
Of course a battery EMU could do it as extension (but aren't any yet)

Of course an IET is overkill, and totally wasteful hauling diesel engines around for that distance, when so many other lines could benefit from bimodes to replace pure diesels.  But if it really need a 120-130mph electric commuter train, instead of 110mph one is different question.

So is electrification sensible, wouldn't need new power supplies (one has already been added near Reading West).  Although would really need to continue to Frome / Bruton area if serious about electric freight.

As for practicality, some over bridges might need raising, I think there are
3 over bridges Newbury - Hungerford
3 over bridges Hungerford - Bedwyn
1 between Bedwyn station and reversing siding
Even if assume worst and all need doing (unlikely) then not impossible in practical terms.   Although never going to be in logical queue ahead of other extensions like Didcot - Oxford

 

Yes, currently sets 101-106

Grand Central still has a pair too (units 142, 143), but has nine 5car tri-mode (class 820 ?) IETs on order, so shouldn't need them once these new trains arrive, as won't need so many spares.

Really it would be economically wasteful to scrap all the voyagers (likely to be in service about another 13-16 years), but there is a strong case for using just the intermediate cars and lengthening sets to 6cars.   Fewer vehicles to refurbish, and get a pool of spare parts, engines, bogies, seats, cab fittings etc.

I am not sure if having 4 or 5 or 6 car sets is best.   
4car on their own are too short and crowded (except at fringes of route).  5car sets get far too crowded in the Midlands and less than ideal too.  6car would be better and less of a problem when run on their own.
But if start having doubled up sets of 10, 11, 12 cars do they become overkill, or cause problems at stations where platforms are under 285m (935 feet) long.  An 11car voyager is similar length to 2x5car IETs

 

In theory, yes.

In practice the Voyager fleet has around 10-15 years of life left in them and it would be very hard to make the sums work for a £1bn+ full replacement of them for a few years yet, as it would be difficult to find a home for them.

A small additional fleet of new trains to bolster the current fleet?  Maybe.

 
The primary gripes of most users are smelly trains, unusable wi-fi/blocked mobile signal, overcrowding and high fares.

Most of that could be fixed by replacing existing stock with well-furnished 10-car and 5-car variants of 80x stock. This could bring the offering closer to a TGV/AVE/ICE-standard whilst with more capacity, tickets could be reduced so the per-mile price is closer to the network average.

As mentioned previously, much the core network is now electrified (with more in prospect), and at the very least a bi-mode fleet would offer better performance under the wires and the ability to catch up schedules, but also improve the business case for gaps like Derby to Birmingham and Bromsgrove to Bristol to be filled. Reliability is inevitably going to be difficult on complex and long routes, but I don't think it's the main gripe for most people.

An additional problem is that long-distance "Intercity" passengers doing multi-hour journeys are are mixed with those doing short commuter hops of as little as 10 minutes (e.g. Bristol TM to Bristol Parkway). This is to a certain extent being mitigated by new commuter services like TfWM's planned Birmingham to Bristol/Cardiff, but XC could also bring in "reservation only" carriages. 

 
Are there any ex-Avanti 221s still in storage?

 
I despise the Voyager train, there is something about the interior feeling cramped and chaos at every station that I avoid at all costs

Ironically I just had a weekend in Teignmouth and the cheapest trains by a long shot were using Cross Country.
I was due to travel with a friend, but she was unwell and pushed me to go on my own.

I got on the train at Weston to find people in my reserved seat - first two on the right in the carriage.
The quickly moved on request, but then an elderly lady sat in one of my reserved seats saying it was hers.
Her husband was sat in front of her, and had to move a lady into another seat.

Once I realised they were travelling together I explained they were both my seats and that they could sit there so they could travel together, so I sat in the seat in front.
As soon as I got comfortable a lady in the window seat said her sister had been sat there and was now on the left side, so I offered her sister my seat and sat in my third seat, even before the train had got to the main line

The thing about this, it wasn't just where I was sat there were people moving people from reserved seats all through the carriage and was absolute chaos.

I don't understand why people find the reservation system so difficult to read or take notice of.
The other problem, is why they are only ever 4 car sets, with one being an underused first class.

How 3 carriages has ever been deemed suitable for long distance is incredible.

The ironic end to this, I actually travelled back on Saturday night
The train I was booked on ended up being cancelled

 

Bedwyn and Pewsey are both in the same constituency. With railways being nationalised, there's likely to be more political influence so you could have a word with your MP to help ensure the groundwork for a good outcome for all. In my previous times, Claire Perry was a great ally.

 
The first thing I would do is run a comprehensive analysis of the ticketing data to establish how much of the loading of each service is split between shorter (e.g. Plymouth > Totnes or Newton Abbot) and longer (e.g. South West > Birmingham) journeys.
On the basis of the results I would then make sectors with a preponderance of longer journeys reservation only, preferably aided by a new 'smart' reservation app which, once the origin station has been specified, only displays selected destinations so that the 'swamping' of services by short distance travellers is significantly reduced.

Where such restrictions were implemented I would amend the timetable(s), if necessary, to ensure that an appropriate 'local' service was available to short distance passengers.

The aforementioned ticketing data could also be used to determine, on a 'train-by-train' basis, the number of carriages required for each service; present experience quite clearly shows that 4 or 5 coach trains frequently don't cut the mustard.

The new LNER timetable might show a different way forward; using their Azumas there are now only four 10-car trains each weekday with a corresponding increase in a half-hourly 5-car train service.

 

Owner must have changed permissions as this now works for me

 
Derailed on Sunday, I think?

From Chris Dale on X


Lasted 7 hours before being manually rerailed.

 
The other potential risk of extending the Bedwyn trains to Westbury (calling at Pewsey and Devizes Parkway) is that they could end up becoming Westbury to Newbury shuttles with 165's so Pewsey would lose it's direct IET trains to Reading and Paddington.

 
I’ve used cross country a few times in the last month.
Each time I’ve had a refurbished train. I think the refurbished trains are pleasant enough.
The train managers have been very friendly.
No issue finding a seat.

But, and a big but, on each occasion it’s been a Sunday. They’ve terminated at Plymouth instead of continuing on to Penzance

 
An article by Nick Feast.

 

The cruise ship issue is a significant and awkward one. AI result from Google:


and it's notable that 8 out of 10 of those by train from Southampton are naturally Cross Country journeys.

Lisa and I have been cruisers from Southampton for a number of years, and taking with other guests on the ships we have chosen I believe there's a bias (when population density considered) towards passengers on them from the north and the Scottish lowlands. 

At Southampton Central Station, there are distinct crowds of people arriving / departing by rail and that's in spite of the cruise companies offering coach transfer and parking deals, and in spite of it needing taxis to and from the station.  We use bus -> Bath from outside our home. Across the road (normally) in Bath for the direct train to Southampton, and coming from Bristol that can be pretty busy too.  There's a strong South Wales cruising contingent too, on the same train.

If the cruise companies / industry were to promote rail far more than they do, they could make for a real change - but not sure that XC would cope, nor that they would want the very peaky loads that could be generated.

Under GBR, there is a case for their being a nationwide TOC pool of go-anywhere longer distance trains to meet major peaks such as cruise high days, Cheltenham Gold Cup, Glastonbury, FA Cup final, bog snorkelling at Llanwrtwd, Great North Run, etc.   ... geography might suggest that Reading work be a logical base.

 
I have shared this log on my local social media account - lots of "likes" there.  A couple of comments / discussions that I'm going to quote here as they help fill in the story by answering points that weren't addressed even in the very full text:

How long did it take you to write that? And isn't there a perfectly good bus service?


Is there any particular reason that the 271/272/273 do not stop at the station? It seems a logical step as they pass outside

 

That link worked for me: thanks! 

 

Still nope.

 

That'd be the end of Coventry - Bournemouth then. And University - South West.

No, longer trains, more limited stop, I reckon. Run the 221s as doubles & get 8xx stock for one side of the 'X' or the other as a step-change replacement. But the local stops need service spec in place of the removed stops.