Why faster trains could run on the Great Central

I READ Geoff Jackson's letter on lifting speed limits on certain heritage lines with interest (Platform, issue 280).

This is something that would be quite achievable on some routes, and in particular the Great Central Railway springs to mind. With a double track main line and permission already in place to test trains at up to 75mph, this line will be an ideal candidate once reconnected to the GCR (Nottingham) and connected back with the National Rail network.

With plans already in hand to reopen Ruddington to Leicester with a commuter service already submitted to the DfT's Restoring Your Railway fund, speeds could be raised easily on this former main line. However, I think that it should be done based on the type of train and stock used.

For example, heritage steam or diesel trains hauling heritage stock with nonlocking doors and no safety devices installed in cabs or on the footplate should remain restricted to 25-35mph.

Anyway, those who travel on these trains want to saviour the experience; not get from A to B in no time at all.

However, stock off the main line with central locking for coaching stock, and cab or footplate safety systems such as AWS, should be allowed to run at higher speeds up to, say, 50mph. This could apply to units such as‘Pacers,'Mk.3 stock such as the HST to be used at the GCR (Nottingham), and all trains used on the national rail network, including freight, for example, to Hotchley Hill.

A regular commuter service with speeds of up to 50mph would provide an excellent alternative that's much needed, with a connection from Ruddington to the Nottingham tram system at Wilford that uses the old Great Central trackbed, with a regular service to Leicester Midland calling all stations including Hotchley Hill and East Leake. These trains should also serve Barrow, Syston and Sileby.

Plans have been put forward for a Loughborough High Level station as well. This could be served by a regular Ruddington to Leicester North all-stations service, providing services for schools and shopping traffic and bringing not only much-needed revenue but potential heritage and steam customers for the future. The GC would be the perfect route to establish a higher speed service. The line is already maintained to extremely high standards and is crying out to be used as a much-needed national asset for all uses in this East Midlands corridor.

Gareth Leslie, Eastbourne, East Sussex