So i watched/listened to the latest stream, and Matt made a really interesting point regarding remastering old routes, in the context of Glasgow Cathcart remaster releasing this week. Matt essentially made the point that asking for a remaster of a route could in reality cover a wide variety of things, and if we wanted to suggest remastering of old routes for the future we could be a little more specific, such as scenery, timetable etc. so here i'm proposing a remaster of the East Coastway timetable, and nothing more. i'm not suggesting anything more here such as scenery, tod4, literally nothing except a timetable rework, in the hope that this could be achievable. Matt also made an excellent point about not asking for extensions, as the it is not a remastered route but rather an extended one (i'd love more than anything to see ECML extended from Doncaster to York for the record, but that's a whole other discussion!) so essentially what i'm suggesting here is a partial remaster, of the timetable only, of East Coastway. Firstly i would really like to see the missing Lewes - Eastbourne services, as those platforms at Lewes are barely used at all right now except for freight runs. This would be the biggest improvement for me secondly i'd like to see Brighton resemble what it does in BML, with full use of Gatwick Express AI and the like. also i travelled this route a few weeks ago, and noticed a fair few southern rail services between Eastbourne and Brighton were actually being operated using Gatwick Express 387 stock which was interesting, and could add some variety to services here on ECW Overally what i'm essentially asking for here is a reworking of the ECW timetable to reflect it's current real world usage, and to add the services missing from the original release, noticeably the driveable services missing between Lewes and Eastbourne (the London-Eastbourne&Ore services), and adding the AI available at Brighton, including Gatwick Express 387 and potentially Thameslink 700 too. I've heard comments before saying 'there's a timetable mod for that', however i'm on console (PS5) and i love being on console, i have 0 interest in moving to PC whatsoever, so remasters of this nature are how i (and many, many others on console) get their upgrades to routes i'm asking for this timetable remaster upgrade and NOTHING MORE, definitely 100% no route extensions as that is not a remaster, it is an extension.. i wanted to suggest something realistic and achievable, which a timetable upgrade only could possibly be here. thank you! Katia
Absolutely 110% agree with you Katia Lewes is far to underused and bloated with emptyness to see it busy like Cathcart circle be awesome
The old ECW Class 377 swapped out for the newer version with better sounds from BML would be a good call also.
Definitely agree! I always wondered why there was no London Victoria - Eastbourne/Ore services as this would add more trains to the route. And like you said, have them driveable between Lewes and Eastbourne. The use of of GX at Brighton is a nice idea too. Maybe, they could add some services between Brighton and Lewes that happen on Matchdays, where they only call at Falmer en route to the terminius. All in all, a really good suggestion
That makes it an extension which makes it full priced payware. That's outside the scope of a remaster
A remaster of East Coastway is long overdue, however, I would love to see it finished. It has never made any sense as to why it is limited between Eastbourne and Brighton and neglecting Eastbourne to Ore. If possible, they could add the Marshlink line so that class 171 can be fully implemented as opposed to being AI-driven between Hastings and Ashford to give the DLC extra variety. The line would see additional traffic and it would include rolling stock that the vast majority of the player base would likely have aside the 171. - 377 between Brighton and Ore - 375 (between Hastings and St Leonards Warrior Square before diverting to West St Leonards) - 313 between Brighton, Lewes and Seaford - 171 between Eastbourne and Ashford International would be the only additional train needed
again, remaster does not include any new track or trains. That would be an extension and a full price addon.
I do know what remastering entails and I outlined that at the start of my comment. I was merely using a contrastive transition with the word "however" to add a direction for East Coastway that I would like to see in the future... completed!
Not sure if the 170 or 171 runs in the area too, but that would be great to see added in. I think ECW would be my next remaster request
I travelled to Lewes every day from Hastings for 3 years between 2006 - 2009 and the 170 used to do Ashford International to Brighton. It had a problem with overcrowding as it was only a 2-coach service and Southern seemed to ignore customers who wanted more for this hourly service. Today, it runs only between Ashford International and Eastbourne and Southern has finally made it a 3-coach service. For it to be in the game, DTG will need to finish East Coastway and include the Marshlink line from Ore.
The 387s could become a more regular feature on Coastway when more of the class are cascaded from Great Northern. They're getting all 30 of the Class 379s, the number of 387s going to Southern hasn't been formally announced. The 387s are becoming as nomadic as the 317s were during their time.
I had a drive along East Coastway today from Eastbourne to Brighton for the first time in ages and it is indeed a good route, one of the better TSW1 routes. I think it would be an ideal candidate for the WSR treatment as I did notice some limitations due to its age and improvements to the quality and features of routes in the years since. For example, traffic not crossing level crossings. As you say, improvements to the timetable would really add something to the route as well.
Personally, if we make revamp of the route, an extension to Haywards Heath is on my list with also the addition of Newhaven Marine Aggregates plus timetable update would be much needed. It’s a fab route just is in need of a couple of additions
