HS2 - Birmingham to Manchester scrapped.

The plan to complete the second phase to Leeds and Manchester by 2033 was Always a political stunt. The arseholes who dreamt this project up will be long retired from government life with peerages and privilege when this crappy concept finally evaporates.I bet few of them truly believed this project would actually ever be fully completed. London and the South was always going to be the main beneficiary with new or revamped stations and infrastructure. Levelling out investment into the provinces…, let’s see the physical evidence and benefits now, not in 12 years time.
 
The Ashbury's-Phillips Park chord?

It seems like it could be put to a bit more use? I think the old Scotland to Harwich boat trains used to use that route until the late 1980s.

Pre-Covid there was also a once per week TPE service to Scarborough that used it, presumably so that drivers could retain route knowledge?
As I recall and it is a while ago! basically Ashbury's would have been totally removed and what is now the mainline would have hooked up and over a four tracked viaduct onto the whole thing being 4 tracked to Phillips Park and then down the hill to Victoria, one of the advantages being you would have the ability to avoid Stockport going to London(by agreement for the land ownership all trains passing through Stockport have to stop).

Not sure about the TPE once a week service, I left the railways in the UK before Privatization, but I know back when I worked for RRNW there was a once a week service we ran to Guide Bridge from Stockport and the reason for that was to maintain the GMPTE subsidy on the line, we only ever got railfans on those trains.... it was kind of a strange thing! So TPE might do something like that, as their depot is right there I would guess they run a bunch of stuff back and forth light anyway, so I wouldn't think its to maintain route knowledge, but then again its been a while and that's just a guess on my part. I haven't been on a train in the UK in 20 plus years
 
As I recall and it is a while ago! basically Ashbury's would have been totally removed and what is now the mainline would have hooked up and over a four tracked viaduct onto the whole thing being 4 tracked to Phillips Park and then down the hill to Victoria, one of the advantages being you would have the ability to avoid Stockport going to London(by agreement for the land ownership all trains passing through Stockport have to stop).

Not sure about the TPE once a week service, I left the railways in the UK before Privatization, but I know back when I worked for RRNW there was a once a week service we ran to Guide Bridge from Stockport and the reason for that was to maintain the GMPTE subsidy on the line, we only ever got railfans on those trains.... it was kind of a strange thing! So TPE might do something like that, as their depot is right there I would guess they run a bunch of stuff back and forth light anyway, so I wouldn't think its to maintain route knowledge, but then again its been a while and that's just a guess on my part. I haven't been on a train in the UK in 20 plus years

That plan for Victoria sounds interesting, I'll have to do some research on that. It's worth noting that the TPE trains are now nearly all going via Victoria rather than Piccadilly, partly due to congestion on the Piccadilly-Deansgate corridor.

The Stockport-Stalybridge "Parliamentary" service still runs. As you'd expect, those types of services attract people who come just to tick them off a list.

(2) Stockport to Stalybridge - Parliamentary Train - YouTube
 
That plan for Victoria sounds interesting, I'll have to do some research on that. It's worth noting that the TPE trains are now nearly all going via Victoria rather than Piccadilly, partly due to congestion on the Piccadilly-Deansgate corridor.

The Stockport-Stalybridge "Parliamentary" service still runs. As you'd expect, those types of services attract people who come just to tick them off a list.

(2) Stockport to Stalybridge - Parliamentary Train - YouTube
Good luck with the research, yes the Piccadilly-Deansgate corridor and the Windsor link have always been the achilles heel for Piccadilly. Thanks for the video, brings back old memories!
 
Yes, I was specifically thinking about those terraced houses in Mossley when I mentioned demolitions.

I agree the Hope Valley route also deserves a major upgrade. Isn't there some improvement work now underway at Dore/Totley junction?
Yeah there’s junction improvement work ongoing and some train detection mods to allow the electrification of the Midland Mainline to Sheffield.
 

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