Tag Archives: Trains

Geeking out with a speedometer on a train

(today = about two months ago)

My train from London was cancelled today so I had to catch the Swindon train and change. Out of Paddington I noticed we seemed to be hopping it something fierce. Twenty minutes, a new app, and a change at Reading later I had my answer – the first train was going at 120mph (class 125, train fans) and the usual Oxford service at 85mph (class 165).

For those who were never train spotters you might not have noticed that the Oxford-London fast train is served by a combination of 165s and 125s but the timetable is the same for both. Back of the envelope calculations suggest that there could be a 45 minute service into London during peak times (when they tend to use the longer 125s) – how convenient would that be, eh?