The Anonymous Widower

Capacity Crunch At Chester – HS2

The Capacity Crunch At Chester article in the July 2017 Edition of Modern Railways didn’t say much about HS2.

This is said about HS2 services and North Wales.

There are aspirations in North Wales for additional services to Crewe by 2027, when HS2 is due to begin operating between London and Crewe.

This is said about Liverpool and Chester and HS2.

Liverpool City Region’s rail strategy envisages Chester-Crewe electrification enabling Merseyrail services to Crewe, connecting East Wirral and Ellesmere Port to HS2.

And then there is The Constellation Partnership.

This is a massive project to take advantage of the opportunities of Crewe being just 55 minutes away from London.

This is their mission statement.

This is a boundary breaking partnership between two Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP) and seven Local Authorities, with strong Ministerial backing from Government, and a unified fast-track approach to plan-led economic development, making it all the more powerful an investment proposition.

These partners share a single vision – a single economic footprint creating a coherent investment market boosted by the international investment magnet of High Speed Rail connectivity. This is an unbeatable growth opportunity for investors.

With powerful Government backing, the partnership’s ambition is to deliver 100,000 new homes and 120,000 new jobs by 2040.

The partners range from Stafford in the South to Warrington in the North and from Stoke-on-Trent in the East to Chester in the West.

Liverpool To Crewe Via Chester

Merseyrail’s new Stadler FLIRTs are being designed, so that they can eventually run on both 750 VDC third-rail and 25 KVAC overhead electrification, so if Crewe to Chester is electrified, Liverpool will get its wish of direct services from East Wirral and Ellesmere Port to Crewe.

Chester To Crewe

If the line is electrified, which I feel will happen, Chester to Crewe probably needs a service of four trains per hour (tph), to take passengers to HS2.

Two of these services will probably go to Liverpool and the other two to North Wales.

But because of the connectivity at Chester, services could also come from Shrewsbury or Wrexham.

Conclusion

Don’t underestimate the effects HS2 will have on trains in the Mersey Dee area.

July 17, 2017 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Capacity Crunch At Chester, Chester, High Speed Two