Accelerated Time-tables.

While experiments are being conducted by the Home lines in the way of introducing high-speed streamliners, the need for a general acceleration of passenger trains is not being over-looked. Normally, this season does not see any very important accelerations, but actually the winter time-tables show marked speeding-up throughout all the four group systems.

On the L.M. & S. Railway, for example, no fewer than 1,146 passenger trains have been accelerated this winter. The “Royal Scot” throughout run from Glasgow to London (Euston) has been cut to 7 hours 25 minutes, the fastest booking ever recorded. The “Irish Mail” (Holyhead-Euston) has been speeded up, reducing by as much as 25 minutes the journey times between Dublin and many important cities.

A noticeable feature of the winter time-tables is the greatly improved Sunday services on many routes, and the bettered interchange arrangements between the four groups. Week-end travel has grown by leaps and bounds of late, and it is essential the railways should cater suitably for this demand, and not allow so valuable a source of revenue to go untapped.