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Stellar performance on the West Coast main line, which garnered an armful of Golden Whistles at our ceremony with the Institution of Railway Operators in January, continues to spark conversations around the industry. Enthusiastic application of ‘lean’ principles on London North Western is one explanation that has come my way, but then all Routes are going lean.
One senior player tugged on my sleeve at a do in late February and laid out the differences between West and East Coasts:
West Coast
■ Overhead line renewed, portal gantries;
■ Autotransformer power supply works well;
■ Four tracks south of Rugby and in Trent Valley;
■ Meaford crossing near Stone is most southerly level crossing;
■ Palisade fencing south of Rugby, minimising trespass and suicide;
■ After shaky start, axle counters now reliable;
■ No temporary speed restrictions (other than for planned renewals) south of Preston.
East Coast
■ Valiant efforts to improve overhead reliability showing results, but headspans vulnerable in winds;
■ Power supply needs updating;
■ Two-track bottleneck at Welwyn, less than 30 miles from London; Woodwalton quadrupling north of Huntingdon won’t be finished until end of 2020;
■ Level crossings on the fens;
■ Con…
