The Anonymous Widower

Between Liverpool Lime Street And Chester Stations

Currently, using Merseyrail‘s Wirral Line, a journey between Liverpool Lime Street and Chester stations takes around forty-five minutes.

This time will improve by several minutes, when the new Class 777 trains come into service in a couple of years.

In Slow Trains Outside The South-East, I calculated that this time could be as low as 35 minutes.

Using The Halton Curve

But how fast could a train go between Liverpool Lime Street and Chester stations, using the Halton Curve, when that comes into use in December 2018?

Consider.

  • West Midlands Trains take nineteen minutes to go between Liverpool Lime Street and Runcorn stations with a stop at Liverpool South Parkway station.
  • The current parliamentary train takes twenty-one minutes between Chester and Runcorn stations using the Halton Curve.
  • Transport for Wales will run the route with their new 100 mph CAF trains.

It should be possible for the direct trains to do the trip between Liverpool Lime Street and Chester in under forty minutes, with stops at Liverpool South Parkway, Runcorn, Frodsham and Helsby stations.

As to the frequency of the service between Liverpool Lime Street and Chester stations via the Halton Curve, under Improvements in the Wikipedia entry for KeolisAmey Wales, these services are listed.

  • Introduction of a new hourly Liverpool to Chester service from December 2018
  • Introduction of a new hourly Liverpool to Llandudno and Shrewsbury service from December 2022
  • Introduction of a new two-hourly Liverpool to Cardiff service from December 2022

So it looks like there will be at least a train every half-hour between Liverpool Lime Street and Chester.

Liverpool Airport

One advantage of using the Halton Curve, is that as trains can call at Liverpool South Parkway station, it would be possible to provide a direct link to Liverpool Airport.

Merseyrail are looking into the possibility of using tram-trains on this route.

Direct Services Between Liverpool Lime Street And North Wales

Consider.

  • Virgin Trains take forty-eight minutes between Chester and Llandudno Junction stations.
  • Virgin Trains take ninety-nine minutes between Chester and Holyhead stations.
  • Currently, Liverpool to Llandudno takes between 110-120 minutes with a change at Chester station.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see timings of direct trains between Llandudno and Liverpool Lime Street stations in the order of an hour-and-a half.

Electrification

Electrification is the big question, hanging over railways in this area.

Merseyrail already runs electrified services to Chester on the Wirral Line and the following routes have been earmarked for electrification.

  • Chester to Crewe
  • Chester to Manchester

If the latter were to be electrified, then only the relatively short Halton Curve would need to be electrified to create another all-electric route between Liverpool and Chester.

Bi-Mode Trains For KeolisAmey Wales

If Chester station, were to be electrified, this will have possible consequences for KeolisAmey Wales, as all their services Eastwards from Chester to Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester would be running on fully-electrified routes.

So will KeolisAmey Wales order some  of new CAF trains with a bi-mode capability.

This capability could also be useful in South Wales.

 

 

July 23, 2018 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , | 1 Comment

A Day Out From Liverpool

I was staying at the Premier Inn close to Moorfields station in Liverpool and decided to go to Blaenau Ffestiniog for the day, with hopefully, a ride from there on the Ffestiniog Railway to Porthmadog on the coast.

The following sections describe the route I took.

Moorfields To Chester

After buying a Day Return from Liverpool Stations to Blaunau Ffestiniog with my Senior Railcard for £20.40, I took one of Merseyrail‘s four trains per hour (tph) from Moorfields station, that goes direct to Chester station.

The train was one of Merseyrail’s Class 508 trains, which are nearly forty years old. Although, they were refurbished a few years ago and get much better TLC. I’ve yet to see a Merseyrail train, that has suffered from spray painters!

It always surprises me, how many people I’ve met, who’ve been for a weekend to Liverpool and haven’t used the Merseyrail system, that has four stations in the City Centre and connects to attractions in the North, South and on the Wirral.

Over the next few years, it will be getting larger and better.

  • New Class 777 trains will replace the current ones.
  • The new trains will have a battery capability to extend routes.
  • The network will be expanded to Skelmerdale and possibly Preston and Wrexham.
  • A connection to Liverpool Airport is a possibility.
  • New stations will be added.

It should also be noted, that after the extensive works at the main Liverpool Lime Street station, that extra direct main line services will be introduced.

  • Chester, Lladudno and Shrewsbury via the Halton Curve.
  • Edinburgh and Glasgow via the West Coast Main Line.

If I was going between Liverpool and Llandudno from next year, I will have two routes.

Chester Station

I think it is truthful to say that Chester station needs improvement.

According to Transport for Wales, improvement is coming by 2028.

It certainly needs it!

  • Chester is one of England’s historic cities.
  • Many residents of Chester commute to Liverpool and Manchester.
  • Chester station is a main railway interchange between North Wales and Birmingham, Liverpool, London and Manchester.
  • The station doesn’t have enough staff or a decent passenger information system.

As the station is managed from Cardiff, does it suffer from being out of sight and out of mind?

Chester To Llandudno Junction

From Chester to Llandudno Junction station took about an hour in a Class 175 train, along the North Wales Coast Line.

The scenery is mixed as these pictures show.

The line has an operating speed of ninety mph, but the train didn’t seem to travel at much over seventy.

The signalling is being improved and it strikes me, that the section of the line to the East of Llandudno could become a route, where Virgin’s Class 221 trains and the new Welsh diesel multiple units to be built in Newport, could really crack on and improve timings.

Up The Conwy Valley Line

Blaenau Ffestiniog has an altitude of 215 metres, and Llandudno Junction has an altitude of perhaps less than ten metres.

The Class 150 train was fairly well loaded, but it managed the climb on the Conwy Valley Line easily.

.As you can see the single-track route starts alongside the estuary of the River Conwy, then continues up to the summit in the 3.5 km long Ffestiniog Tunnel. The summit is 240 metres, so the line descends into Blaenau Ffestiniog station.

Transport for Wales intend to run Class 230 trains on this line.

I wrote about this in Class 230 Trains On The Conwy Valley Line.

Conclusion

The trip with its three changes took around three hours, but this time will get a bit shorter, once direct trains between Liverpool and Llandudno Junction stations via the Halton Curve will be faster and there will be no need to change trains at Chester station.

I looked at the effects of the Halton Curve in Between Liverpool Lime Street And Chester Stations.

I came to this conclusion on timings.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see timings of direct trains between Llandudno and Liverpool Lime Street stations in the order of an hour-and-a half.

I suspect the direct train and the improved journey time will attract more passengers to the route.

 

 

 

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July 23, 2018 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , | Leave a comment