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Conversation at the Golden Whistles turned to a favourite Home Counties byway of mine, the Gatwick to Reading route that threads the picturesque North Downs. Living where I do in the south east corner of the country, the line represents a handy outlet to the West.
The North Downs route represents a fabulous opportunity. Currently there are two short trains per hour (one semi-fast, one stopper – of two to three cars per train) on a 70mph railway. But this route connects economically important areas: the prosperous Thames Valley with London’s second airport. An upgrade to 90mph infrastructure and a doubling of service frequency (two stopping trains an hour between Reading and Redhill, with a couple of Reading – Guildford – Gatwick fasts each hour) would likely wash its face financially.
The line is an obvious candidate for EMUs rather than DMUs (and conventional EMUs would be better than the battery trains that have been suggested for the route in the next Great Western franchise). Just a little infill electrification would be required: much of the route already has third rail. Installing some conductor rail between Wokingham and Aldershot South Junction, along with Shalford Junction to Reigate,…
