What should we do with the Marshlink Railway Line? - The often neglected link across the marsh 

Great video, thank you for giving credit in my videos! Nice overview too

As a local to Doleham I would LOVE the possibility of an hourly 'stop-on-request' service! Although I think that much of this presentation is 'wishful thinking' it does have creditable suggestions and the first implemented should be the reinstatement of the Ashford-Rye shuttle. Thanks for the ideas.

1:42 - With such an idea, you would need significantly more capacity on trains, because one of the reasons that the service was withdrawn in the first place is because the trains in 2018 consisted of 2-car diesel trains, and this lead to overcrowding leading into Brighton. Therefore, you would either need longer trains (requiring more class 171s, as they are shared with the Uckfield branch of the Oxted line, which often runs coupled services at peak times), or maybe modifiy the class 171s so they can work with Class 377s in service, so you could do a 'detach and terminate at Hastings' move with the electric unit going into a siding before reaching the diesel line, and that way you would provide more capacity on the busiest section of the line into Brighton. Obviously though, this would only be a problem for as long as the line is a diesel line however. 2:11 - While that would be a good idea, it would cost a heck of a lot of money, given land acquisation would need to be done a lot, as quite a bit of that allignment has now been lifted I think and no longer in Network rail ownership, therefore maybe a little bit too ambitious of a scheme that is, at least at this point in time. They would also need a ridiculously good business case, but that would end up going up against other schemes in the country, many of which would cost less because of trackbeds being there already, and likely would deliver greater benefits to more people in the 21st century. That currently seems dead in the water after Rachel Reeves however. 2:50 - That would really not be much of an issue, because all Class 377 and Class 375 trains have the capability to be retrofitted as dual voltage units cabable of also taking power from overhead. Therefore, if you went with overhead, all that would need to be done is an agreed number of either of the aforementioned electrostar trains would simply need to have a pantagraph fitted, and they could work on the Marshlink line no problem, and the neccessity could be countered further, as many already have the capability fitted currently, and with southern's service being to Milton Keynes being cut back to terminate at Watford Junction, that is plenty of Class 377/2 or Class 377/7 units they could use, or they could lease in some Class 375/6 from Southeastern (maybe in exchange for some class 377 to cover losses) if needed. 4:59 - I would maybe include Winchelsea in that as well, given the passenger numbers are quite similar to those of Three Oaks. Ultimately, I like that idea though, as that would in turn encourage more people to use Doleham station particularly, as having 3 trains northbound and 5 trains southbound means most people in that hamlet I would suspect just drive, either to Three Oaks or Winchelsea, but more likely the whole way. The only thing I would say before demoting some stops to being on request though is whether the new hourly services at both Three Oaks and Winchelsea affect passenger numbers enough to the point that nearly all trains would have to stop at those stations anyway, which defeats the point of making them request stops in the first place, and just gives justification to book all services to stop there in the first place. In addition, the only station on the Marshlink which really does have a limited service really is just Doleham, all other stations now have hourly services all day. 5:50 - I don't really think that there is any urgent need to replace class 171s, as Ashford to Eastbourne is ultimately a regional express, and the majority of the route since the Brighton service ended is now unelectrified track. 06:27 - I don't think they [Southern] would order anything brand new for the electrification of the Marshlink line. If the line was electrified, by far the most likely replacement would likely just be electrostar trains from Southern's existing fleet (probably the 3-car 377/3s). They would simply need a few extra to cover the slightly increased demand, but that seems to be coming in the form of extra Class 387s thanks to Great Northern getting Class 379s, and even then if that failed, that would be such a small increase that ordering a small number of newly built electrostars (fully capable of working with existing ones) would very minimal in benefits. That would in turn mean the class 171s would probably end up increasing services on the Uckfield line until that too was electrified, but that is another story in its own right. To be fair though, much of this video is kinda wishful thinking, but they are quite good ideas

I've seen Electrostar trains going through Hampden Park equipped with pantographs recently whereas they previously just had the space to put them in. I like the idea of reopening the Dungeness Line. With the fact that Lydd Airport now somewhat risibly calls itself London Ashford Airport, there'd be a good case for getting funding for the line from the owner of the Airport for future scheduled flights from this base. Careful investment could result in an express train to Lydd Town and then possibly going on to Dungeness - maybe just at weekends in this case. A possible compromise could be to just have a passing loop installed around Winchelsea. I think electrification is a must and although I'd prefer a third rail system, we have to consider future-proofing investment to allow for high speed trains. Having been through Hastings in a car recently I've noticed that although a lot of investment has been made in the town centre, the suburban areas are looking very neglected with a huge amount of uninhabitable buildings and so the extra link would be essential to the future of Hastings.

I think that's a pretty ambitious upgrade programme, but it's good to aim high. Electrification seems like the most obvious infrastructure upgrade - this would provide greater capacity on Marshlink, and make through running beyond Ashford and Hastings a lot easier. There would also be the benefit of newer trains for Marshlink, and releasing the 171s for use elsewhere in the country.

Marshlink like the Tonbridge/Redhill line, is a missed opportunity, I agree with reinstating the Ashford to Brighton service, i also think there could be a London Victoria to Rye service, yes it’ll be diesel for the moment, but you could have a service calling at Clapham Jnc, East Croydon, Redhill, Edenbridge Town, Tonbridge, Ashford Intl, Ham Street, Appledore and Rye, reconfiguring HS1 at Ashford is very expensive so this would be a good alternative plus you’ll be linking Rye with London directly

Very insightful- it’s one of the few lines I’ve yet to travel on - you came up with some good options!

Really good video, went on it just after lockdown in 2020 and it felt so isolated icl

I would suggest a combination of - New 155 mph+ HS1 stock - Skip Stratford International and/or Ebbsfleet - Split trains at Ashford to maximise path utilisation - Upgrade to Hastings as recommended. By skipping Stratford International and flying through at 100 mph you could probably get to Ashford in ~25 mins. Bringing many places to London in 1hr.

The Javelins have third rail shoes so third rail DC electrification is fine. Just need to overturn the stupid ban which has led to the idiocy of the unreliable battery hybrid trains on Miseryrail, sorry Merseyrail.

You make some good points, but you have overlooked what research has shown. There are very few through passengers from Ashford to Brighton. The most popular destination is Eastbourne. There is not much of a case for re-opening the line to Dungeness as there would be too few passengers. As regards the Javelin, under all the rules and regulation of transport, the railways are not allowed to deliberately take passengers the long way around for the purpose of charging more. That means the fare on the Javelin Train from Hastings via Ashford to St Pancras could not cost more than to Victoria or Charing X. There is a safety restriction on the installation of new 3rd rail electrification, so it would have to be catenary which is more expensive and cannot be funded. Thanks for uploading.