Crossrail Of The North
Is it farther between Liverpool and Hull or from London to Norwich?
Actually, they are about the same being around two hundred kilometres for both.
But compare the train times between the two city pairs.
Liverpool to Hull takes three and a quarter hours, with at least one change, whereas London to Norwich takes five minutes under two hours.
Actually, the London to Norwich service hasn’t improved much since the 1960s, as British Rail’s aspiration then had the catchy phrase of a two-hour, two-stop service.
Since then the line has been electrified and a typical train stops up to six times on the route, with eight coach services running twice every hour.
You might think, that being that the line runs across the flat East Anglian countryside that it is a railway on which high speeds of the order of two hundred kilometres per hour are possible.
But you’d be wrong, as the line isn’t straight and the maximum speed is only a hundred and sixty!
Even so, plans are afoot to do the London to Norwich trip in ninety minutes, probably using the current trains, albeit with perhaps some new locomotives.
All this shows what a disgrace the rail routes across the North of England are.
Few are electrified and trains are often scrapyard specials. There are some new trains, but these are seriously overcrowded.
Politicians should hang their heads in shame.
At least George Osborne seems to be thinking about it, judging by reports on the BBC this morning.
The North of England needs a high frequency and high capacity, world-class railway linking the main cities together. As with London to Norwich, Liverpool to Hull should be at least twice an hour in ninety minutes or less. It should all be possible with good 1980s, let alone the best modern, technology.
The Anonymous Widower 
I haven’t tried it recently, to Manchester to Liverpool used to be pretty bad – and living in Stockport we had to go via Manchester and cross to Victoria! This might have changed, as rarely use trains after accident, especially when Liverpool is less than an hour in the car.
Comment by nosnikrapzil | June 23, 2014 |
You have one direct train an hour from Stockport to Liverpool. A sensible minimum on a route like that is two direct trains an hour, as you get from Norwich or Ipswich to London. It takes just over the hour. The frequency is the biggest problem, as you’re really buggered if you just miss it.
Funnily enough the direct trains from Stockport to Liverpool start in Norwich.
I think this proves that George Osborne is on the right track. Stockport to Liverpool should probably be four trains an hour with a journey time of about 45 minutes.
Hopefully, in a couple of years, when Liverpool and Manchester routes are electrified and Manchester Victoria is connected directly to Stockport, all this or something like it should happen.
As I said in the main post, the politicians should hang their heads in shame.
Comment by AnonW | June 23, 2014 |
Yes, part of the problem is that Manchester Vic isn’t connected to Stockport. The other thing with having two stations in the city which aren’t connected is that every time I organised conferences I had to make quite sure that if people got chatting and decided to share a cab back to the station, to make sure it was the same station! To be honest, I always recommended Stockport instead of Manchester for those coming that way.
Comment by nosnikrapzil | June 23, 2014 |
It will be when they build the Ordsall Curve. There was a plan in the 1960s to build the Picc Vic tunnel, which would have solved the problem once and for all. But Wilson’s government funded the tunnel in Liverpool instead. Piccadilly is an absolute pain, as I use it often on my way to places like Huddersfield, Burnley or Blackburn. The station was designed by a sadist and rates with Euston as one that should be demolished totally.
Comment by AnonW | June 23, 2014 |
I no longer go, I can’t walk up or down the ramp; it would be a sensible place to have a shop mobility outpost. Although if you book in advance and tell them what train you are on, they will collect you with a scooter. But scooters not allowed on trams.
Comment by nosnikrapzil | June 23, 2014 |
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