Big L wrote: ↑Sat Mar 20, 2021 19:25Has a line ever been electrified that was designed from the outset to be electrified? I would hope it would be substantially cheaper than normal schemes. Bridges shouldn't need to be rebuilt because of lack of clearance. Signals, fencing etc wouldn't need updating.
Very sensible. However, when Walsall to Rugeley was electrified a couple of years ago, there were loud complaints from some about the old trains that were put on. Trains that were about 15 years old at the time. I'm sure I heard similar complaints about the old Thameslink trains sent up to Liverpool/Manchester. I can't see the folk of Oxford/Cambridge being too chuffed at getting second hand trains on their shiny new railway.
Yes, I'm sure that electrifying a line that has been built with passive provision for electrification will be easier than one that hasn't, but it is still going to be more expensive, disruptive and time-consuming than doing it all at the start.
Hard luck. People need to understand that not everyone can have brand new trains all the time. Give them a decent refurbishment and most passengers wouldn't be any much the wiser. While there were
some complaints about the old Thameslink trains going up to Manchester and Liverpool, a lot of that was because they
didn't get a decent refurbishment, they still have the same horrible seating arrangements they had before. But that said, slightly old and tired as they were, they were still a huge step up on the Pacers and Sprinters that were running most of those services before. The key thing is that the trains provide a comfortable journey – both the Class 350s and 365s are good trains that, with a half-decent refurb, would be perfectly up to the job of giving a good service on a regional route like this.
New/reopened lines usually don't get new trains.
When the Robin Hood Line reopened between Nottingham and Worksop in the 1990s, it was run by 10 year old Class 156s.
When the Ribble Valley Line reopened between Clitheroe and Blackburn in the 1990s, it was run by 10 year old Pacers and Sprinters.
When the Alloa branch line reopened between Stirling and Alloa in 2009, it was run by 30 year old Class 158s.
When the Airdrie to Bathgate line was reopened in 2011, it was run by 10 year old Class 334s.
When the Waverley Line reopened between Edinburgh and Tweedbank in 2015, it was run by 35 year old Class 158s.