Great Western Coffee Shop

I agree that the Trent Valley stations should have a better service. From a non-experts view it seems a bit over-the-top to have an hourly Chester service throughout the day (occasionally continuing to either Bangor or Holyhead) which stops at Milton Keynes and Crewe only, operated by a Voyager. When I saw a lunchtime service at Milton Keynes the other month it was probably less than a third full - perhaps a stop at Nuneaton should be considered for these trains? I know pathing is tight, but Nuneaton now has a much worse service than it used to.

If a second hourly off-peak service was introduced for Liverpool (with Manchester and Birmingham now getting 3tph, you could argue 2tph to Liverpool would be suitable for a city of its size) then perhaps a stop at Nuneaton could indeed be added on an hourly basis. That could then allow an alternate stop at Tamworth and Lichfield on the Chester services to give a two-hourly fast London service from those stations too.

It's about getting a balance, and I think Virgin have swayed a little to far towards the 'fast train' side of the argument, as Btline has said, and have neglected certain mid-sized towns in the Trent Valley area. The population for Nuneaton, Tamworth and Lichfield combined is getting on for 200k and all three offer connectional opportunities onto local regional services. The changes I've outlined above would help to readdress the balance - without compromising the fast services now being enjoyed by the larger settlements.

Well, although Virgin are showing few signs of adopting my suggestion above, it does appear that Tamworth, Lichfield and Nuneaton (as well as a whole host of other stations) are possibly going to get a much better service through to London, with track access applications submitted from both Grand Central and Alliance Trains to stop at those stations from 2012/13.  Alliance trains using the new Chinese 'Polaris' units and Grand Central looking at Class 67's Mk 3's and a DVT (presumably scheduled for the DVT's maximum speed of 110mph?).

Also to note that the fastest London Midland journeys from Rugby to Euston are reduced from 84-89 minutes to 56. That competes very well with Virgin Trains' 50 minutes. And the London Midland service has an intermediate stop at Milton Keynes, the Virgin service is non-stop. The return from Euston on LM can be done in 55 minutes. Just a shame though that they've not been able to fit any of these fast journeys into the morning and evening peak.

Also to note that the fastest London Midland journeys from Rugby to Euston are reduced from 84-89 minutes to 56. That competes very well with Virgin Trains' 50 minutes. And the London Midland service has an intermediate stop at Milton Keynes, the Virgin service is non-stop. The return from Euston on LM can be done in 55 minutes. Just a shame though that they've not been able to fit any of these fast journeys into the morning and evening peak.