I agree that the electrification of the N&C would make sense, both from an operational sense and to enable through running of diverted electric trains. It would not help the freights as most of these appear to start in Ayrshire, well off the electrified routes.
One down side would be the loss of atmosphere which the N&C has managed to retain, although with the loss of mechanical signalling much has been lost. The beatifully kept stations such as Hexham would be spoilt by overhead wiring, but I suppose that is progress!
L&Y Man wrote:
One caveat is that Dr B wanted to close the ECML north of Newcastle and send the trains to Edinburgh by Carlisle! However, it would be useful for diversions if it ever came to pass.
Beeching was not the only one who tried to close the ECML north of Newcastle, Thatcher tried to do it in the early '80s following the Serpill Report.
Living as I do, alongside the ECML, I regularly see diverted west coast trains; we often get the sleepers at weekends, the famous "Tesco" container trains and also occasional mail trains etc. We had some freights this evening. Following the Greyrigg derailment 3 years ago, we had dozens of extra trains past here each day.
How short sighted some people are to think that Britain could cope with only one cross border route, apart from the quite heavy and well used regular traffic, the importance of an alternative route for diverted trains must never be underestimated.
It would only take a Workington type incident at the Sark bridge at Gretna to bring all trains to a standstill.
