Snippets and gleanings - missed connections

All abroad
Time Out reports that St Pancras International's train services could be expanding to new countries but the station will have to be expanded first. Rail operator HS1 is currently looking for a consultant who will explore growth options for the station. This is to keep up with future additional train services as well as Eurostar's expansion from 1,800 passengers an hour to 2,700 passengers an hour by 2025. Maybe they should keep tunelling until they reach Euston. After Sunak's HS2 cancellation there's plenty of spare capacity there.

Go figure
The irony of it! Brexit was supposed to have meant us taking back control, right? So how come eight years after flouncing out of the EU we're getting better connected by rail to Europe while our much-trumpeted new internal high-speed connection starts and ends in the middle of nowhere? Wormwood Scrubs to Handsacre anyone? Nah, mate, I'm off to Dortmund for the weekend. Auf wiedersehen!

What a bore
As reported in Railnews, "The tunnelling machine on HS2 has completed a 16km journey by breaking through at the North Portal of the Chiltern Tunnel. The journey of TBM [Tunnel Boring Machine] Florence has taken 2 years and 11 months, travelling at about 16 metres a day, but a train will travel through the tunnel in a few minutes when HS2 is open between London and Birmingham." Alternatively, it might make a great cycle track.

Ticket to bride
And finally, a couple who met on a train are due to marry on one today. Leah Anderson and Vince Smith approached Great Western Railway (GWR) to ask if the company could provide a centrepiece for their wedding, after the pair realised the significance of rail in their romance. They commuted by train when dating and even had their first kiss on one. The on-board.ceremony will be conducted by a rail chaplain and the wedding breakfast will be served in a Pullman dining car. Please keep the aisle free of luggage.


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