Tales Of Woe And Opportunity On The West Of England
The title of this post, is the same as that of the Railtalk editorial in the September 2027 Edition of Modern Railways.
These is the opening four paragraphs.
The West of England Line from London Waterloo to Exeter was once an important main line, the London & South Western Railway’s great rival to Brunel’s ‘billiard’ table, but its role is much diminished since the glory days.
Largely singled west of Salisbury in the 1960s, and with many of its coastal branches closed, a casual onlooker might conclude it has rather lost its purpose.
Yet recent journeys on the route suggest otherwise. Travelling from Waterloo on the way West one late afternoon was instructive.
On a baking hot day in London, the six-car South Western Railway Class 159 departed on time, full and standing. More passengers joined at Clapham Junction, and Woking.
The two problems of the line are mentioned in the text from the article.
- The singling of the West of England Line, to the West of Salisbury was typical of many short-sighted acts of vandalism inflicted by the Treasury on British Rail.
- The Class 159 diesel trains date from the early 1990s and probably need replacing.
This OpenRailwayMap shows middle part of the route between Basingstoke and Salisbury.
Note.
- Tracks shown in black are not electrified.
- Tracks shown in red are electrified with 25 KVAC overhead,
- Tracks shown in dashed red and black are proposed to be electrified.
- Tracks shown in mauve are electrified with 750 VDC third rail.
- Reading station is in the North-East corner of the map.
- The Reading and Basingstoke Line runs South from Reading station and is shown dashed.
- Basingstoke station is on the third-rail electrified South West Main Line between London Waterloo and Southampton.
- Salisbury station is indicated by the blue arrow.
- Linking Basingstoke and Salisbury is the unelectrified West of England Main Line between London Waterloo and Exeter.
- The branch line going North from the West of England Main Line to the East of Salisbury is used by the Army to move tanks.
- Ludgershall Town Council want passenger trains on the branch line to support housing at Tidworth with trains to Andover on the West of England Main Line.
- I wrote about this branch line in A Branch Line For Ludgershall
- Across the top of the map is the Reading and Taunton Line, which is electrified as far as Newbury.
I will now look at replacing the Class 159 trains.
Consider.
- Between Exeter St. David’s and Basingstoke stations is not electrified and is 124.3 miles.
- I believe that both Hitachi and CAF have the capability to produce a zero-carbon train with a range of 125 miles.
- The Office of Rail and Road will not allow any more third-rail electrification.
- Trains could have a generous turnround time at Exeter St. David’s which could allow trains to be charged, before returning to London.
- Basingstoke and Salisbury is only 35.8 miles, so a train terminating at Salisbury from London, should be able to return to London.
- Trains could be charged using short length of overhead electrification.
- Five-car trains, which could run in pairs might be ideal.
- I believe several manufacturers could make trains capable of running the route.
I also believe that once the charging strategy is known and any infrastructure has been installed, the new trains can be introduced into service to run alongside the Class 159 trains.
This would hopefully avoid, the current problems of the Class 820 trains on the Midland Main Line.
We tried Lumo’s New Train Offering Direct Route From London To A historic UK City For Less Than £30
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on GB News.
This is the sub-heading.
GB News boarded Lumo’s brand-new route between London Euston and Stirling
These are the first two paragraphs.
Lumo’s new direct service between London Euston and Stirling launched just months ago, and it is already regularly selling out services.
We stepped on board one of the recently refurbished trains to see what the six-hour journey to the historic Scottish city was like.
Three things surprised me about the review.
- It is very upbeat, which surprised me, as GB News is often very critical.
- It didn’t mention Lumo’s misbehaving toilets.
- But it did say that the trolley came around regularly for anyone getting on at a later stop or needing a second coffee.
It also said, that the route is already proving incredibly popular.
But you’d hope that would be the case, if they’d chosen the route with care.
I have some thoughts about the route.
Stirling Station Is Well Connected
The Wikipedia entry for Stirling station lists these services.
Trains operate north to Dunblane (three trains per hour), to Perth, Dundee and Aberdeen (hourly), Inverness (four trains per day), south west to Glasgow Queen Street (three trains per hour), and east to Edinburgh Waverley (half-hourly). The service to Alloa and Dunfermline was withdrawn in October 1968, but the reopening of the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine rail link partially restored that service with an hourly service from Glasgow to Alloa as an extension of the Croy Line services. This utilises the existing DMU from Glasgow, which previously spent considerable time in one of the bay platforms at Stirling with engines idling, but now utilises the layover time to make the return trip to & from Alloa.
It makes the city a good base for exploring Scotland.
Stirling Station Is Surrounded By Hotels
This Google Map shows the station and a few hotels.
Note.
- There are nine hotels on this map.
- There is a Premier Inn and a Travelodge for £38 per night.
- There is also a Vue cinema.
It reinforces, what I said earlier about the city being a good base for exploring Scotland.
Lumo Has Increased The Number of Direct Services To London From One To Five!
Prior to Lumo commencing services a few weeks ago, Stirling only had one train per day (tpd) to and from London.
Now there are five!
That surely can only have positive effects for Stirling.
Will Lumo Have Any Impact On The Economy Of Stirling?
I asked Google AI, the question in the title of this section and received this reply.
Lumo’s direct, low-cost rail service connecting Stirling to London Euston, which launched on May 25, 2026, is boosting the local economy by increasing tourism, encouraging business investment, and offering four daily return trips with fares starting at £29.90.
Economic Benefits
Tourism Growth: Affordable ticket prices from Lumo make it easier and cheaper for visitors from England to travel directly to historical sites like Stirling Castle.
Business and Investment: Four daily return trains improve connectivity for local companies, supporting inward investment and commercial links with London.
Job Creation: The route expansion has added around 100 new roles within the rail and supply chain sectors.
Sustainable Travel: Providing a budget-friendly rail alternative helps shift travelers away from higher-emission car and air journeys.
It looks like Lumo will be good for Stirling.
Larbert, Greenfaulds And Whifflet Get Direct Services To London And England
These three stations to the East of Glasgow will get four directtpd to and from London and intermediate stations.
These services will be the first direct services to the capital for these three stations.
Motherwell and Lockerbie Get Four Extra Direct Services To London And England
Motherwell has eleven tpd to London, but Lockerbie has only two, with one on Sundays.
Lumo’s extra four tpd will probably more important at Lockerbie, than Motherwell.
Calls At English Stations
These are the number of calls at English stations.
- Carlisle – 4 tpd
- Preston – 4 tpd
- Crewe – 2 tpd, 4 tpd on Saturday
- Nuneaton – 4 tpd
- Milton Keynes Central – 4 tpd
Note.
- Effectively, 4 tpd seem to stop at all stations, with two not stopping at Crewe.
- As 4 tpd stop at all Scottish stations, this could be a useful direct service for many.
- When the unions sort out their differences, Milton Keynes Central could be a useful interchange to the East-West Rail for Oxford, Universal Studios Bedford, Bedford and Cambridge.
- Nuneaton could be a useful interchange for CrossCountry for Birmingham, Leicester, Peterborough, Ely, Cambridge and Stansted Airport.
- Crewe and Preston could be a useful interchanges for Liverpool, Manchester and Blackpool.
- Carlisle could be a useful interchange for the Northernmost parts of England.
It is a very well connected service.
Nearly Three Million Teslas Recalled In China Over Hidden Door Handles
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
Minimalistic door handles became a signature feature of electric vehicles (EVs), but the controversial designs are now at the centre of China’s biggest car recall, affecting more than 4 million vehicles.
These three paragraphs add some more details.
The recall, which includes 2.98 million Chinese-made Teslas, follows safety concerns that the hidden door handles are difficult to locate and open in emergency situations.
Other brands affected by the recall include Chinese carmakers XPeng, Xiaomi and Geely.
The recalled vehicles will have a warning label stuck on the interior door and receive a software update to automatically lower the windows in a crash.
I remember reading a story in Flight International.
- An engineer, who worked in airliner interior design was in a Boeing 737 (?), that made a heavy landing.
- He was also sitting by the emergency exit.
- The emergency exit worked as it should and he was able to climb out on to the wing.
- He then helped other passengers get out the way he had.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the magazine any more. But he felt that it might result in better design.
The principles that aircraft designers work to would appear to be much higher than those of Tesla’s car designers.
I find the idea of a hidden door handle completely stupid.
The Anonymous Widower 