Well all those making calls for Crossrail to Reading need to be aware that their trains will have relatively less seats than the Thameslink 700s, no toilets, and they'll be 10 mph slower. (As currently specified.)
Paul
But Crossrail trains are specified for the same top speed as the lines they run on. The
GWML▸ Relief lines are the fastest section of track they'll run on, so 90mph is the maximum they will need. It gives the best possible trade off between top speed and acceleration.
So if there are 450 seats per 10 car train, how much of the route will passenger be standing. If is was all the way then no one would get on at the inner sub=urban stations.
Well the same fact sheet gives an overall capacity of 1500, so I assume the majority will always be standing. I'm sure
TfL» are planning this on a similar basis to the tube generally, I don't think national rail norms will apply at all. Another reason it is the wrong train for Reading.
Paul
I don't see why they're the wrong train for Reading. All they're going to replace is Turbos, which hardly offer luxurious standards of comfort. Crossrail in effect replaces the current relief line service, except it doesn't because it terminates at Maidenhead. So it means that a half-hourly shuttle is needed between Slough and Reading. If you extend Crossrail through to Reading you remove the need for that shuttle. Extending Crossrail to Reading is only going to lead to marginally longer journeys on the trains, but any passengers using to Crossrail to Reading or Twyford may well be saved the need to change trains. Even if, hopefully, Crossrail extends to Reading it's never going to become the main Reading-London option. At most you'll be extending Maidenhead-Central London journeys to Twyford-Central London journeys, but I'm sure you wouldn't find Twyford passengers complaining about their new through trains to destinations across Central London.
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