The Anonymous Widower

Electrification Between Clay Cross North Junction And Sheffield Station

Long term readers of this blog, will have noticed that I make regular references to this proposed electrification, that is part of High Speed Two’s proposals to connect Sheffield to the new high speed railway.

So I thought I would bring all my thoughts together in this post.

Connecting Sheffield To High Speed Two

Sheffield is to be accessed from a branch off the Main High Speed Two route to Leeds.

This map clipped from High Speed Two’s interactive map, shows the route of the Sheffield Branch, from where it branches North West from the main Eastern Leg of High Speed Two.

Note.

1. Orange indicates new High Speed Two track.
2. Blue indicates track that High Speed Two will share with other services.
3. The orange route goes North to Leeds, along the M1
4. The blue route goes North to Chesterfield and Sheffield, after skirting to the East of Clay Cross.
5. The orange route goes South to East Midlands Hub station.

This second map, shows where the Erewash Valley Line joins the Sheffield Branch near the village of Stonebroom.

Note.

1. Red is an embankment.
2. Yellow is a cutting.
3. The Sheffield Branch goes North-West to Clay Cross, Chesterfield and Sheffield
4. The Sheffield Branch goes South-East to East Midlands Hub station.
5. The Sheffield Branch goes through Doe Hill Country Park.
6. The Sheffield Branch runs alongside the existing Erewash Valley Line, which goes South to Langley Mill, Ilkeston and the Derby-Nottingham area.

The Sheffield Branch and the Erewash Valley Line appear to share a route, which continues round Clay Cross and is shown in this third map.

Note

1. Doe Hill Country Park is in the South-East corner of the map.
2. The dark line running North-South is the A61.
3. Running to the West of the A61 is the Midland Main Line, which currently joins the Erewash Valley Line at Clay Cross North junction.

High Speed Two and the Midland Main Line will share a route and/or tracks from Clay Cross North junction to Sheffield.

This fourth map, shows where the combined route joins the Hope Valley Line to Manchester to the South West of Sheffield.

Note.

1. Sheffield is to the North East.
2. Chesterfield is to the South East,
3. Totley junction is a large triangular junction, that connects to the Hope Valley Line.

These are some timings for various sections of the route.

• Clay Cross North Junction and Chesterfield (current) – 4 minutes
• Clay Cross North Junction and Sheffield (current) – 17 minutes
• Chesterfield and Sheffield (current) – 13 minutes
• Chesterfield and Sheffield (High Speed Two) – 13 minutes
• East Midlands Hub and Chesterfield (High Speed Two) – 16 minutes
• East Midlands Hub and Sheffield (High Speed Two) – 27 minutes

As Class Cross North Junction and Sheffield are 15.5 miles, this means the section is run at an average speed of 53 mph.

Can I draw any conclusions from the maps and timings?

• There would appear to be similar current and High Speed Two timings between Chesterfield and Sheffield.
• The various junctions appear to be built for speed.

The Midland Main Line will be electrified between Clay Cross North Junction and Sheffield, so that High Speed Two trains can use the route.

What will be the characteristics of the tracks between Clay Cross North Junction and Sheffield?

• Will it be just two tracks as it mainly is now or will it be a multi-track railway to separate the freight trains from the high speed trains?
• Will it have a high enough maximum speed, so that East Midland Railway’s new Class 810 trains can go at their maximum speed of 140 mph?
• Will it be capable of handling a frequency of 18 tph, which is the maximum frequency of High Speed Two?

Surely, it will be built to a full High Speed Two standard to future-proof the line.

Current Passenger Services Between Clay Cross North Junction And Sheffield Station

These trains use all or part of the route between Cross North Junction And Sheffield stations.

• CrossCountry – Plymouth and Edinburgh via Derby, Chesterfield, Sheffield and Leeds – 1 tph
• East Midlands Railway – London St. Pancras and Sheffield via Derby and Chesterfield – 2 tph
• East Midlands Railway – Liverpool Lime Street and Norwich via Stockport, The Hope Valley Line, Sheffield and Chesterfield – 1 tph
• Northern Trains – Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield via the Hope Valley Line – 1 tph
• Northern Trains – Leeds and Nottingham via Meadowhall, Sheffield and Chesterfield – 1 tph
• TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport and Cleethorpes via Stockport, the Hope Valley Line and Sheffield – 1 tph

Note.

1. tph is trains per hour.
2. High Speed Two is currently planning to run two tph to Sheffield, which will run between Cross North junction and Sheffield stations.
3. The services on the Hope Valley Line run on electrified tracks at the Manchester end.

These services can be aggregated to show the number of trains on each section of track.

• Hope Valley Line between Manchester and Totley junction – 3 tph
• Totley junction and Sheffield station – 7 tph
• Totley junction and Clay Cross North junction via Chesterfield – 4 tph

Adding in the High Speed Two services gives these numbers.

• Hope Valley Line between Manchester and Totley junction – 3 tph
• Totley junction and Sheffield station – 9 tph
• Totley junction and Clay Cross North junction via Chesterfield – 6 tph

This report on the Transport for the North web site, is entitled At A Glance – Northern Powerhouse Rail. It states that Transport for the North’s aspirations for Manchester and Sheffield are four tph with a journey time of forty minutes.

Adding in the extra train gives these numbers.

• Hope Valley Line between Manchester and Totley junction – 4 tph
• Totley junction and Sheffield station – 10 tph
• Totley junction and Clay Cross North junction via Chesterfield – 6 tph

This level of services can be accommodated on a twin-track railway designed to the right high speed standards.

Freight Services Between Clay Cross North Junction And Sheffield Station

The route is used by freight trains, with up to two tph on each of the three routes from Totley junction.

And these are likely to increase.

Tracks Between Clay Cross North Junction And Sheffield Station

I am absolutely certain, that two tracks between Clay Cross North junction And Sheffield station will not be enough, even if they are built to High Speed Two standards to allow at least 140 mph running under digital signalling.

Battery Electric Trains

The only battery-electric train with a partly-revealed specification is Hitachi’s Regional Battery Train, which is described in this Hitachi infographic.

Note.

1. The train is a 100 mph unit.
2. Ninety kilometres is fifty-six miles.

I would expect that battery-electric trains from other manufacturers like Alstom, CAF and Siemens would have similar performance on battery power.

In Thoughts On CAF’s Battery-Electric Class 331 Trains, I concluded CAF’s approach could give the following ranges.

• Three-car battery-electric train with one battery pack – 46.7 miles
• Four-car battery-electric train with one battery pack – 35 miles
• Four-car battery-electric train with two battery packs – 70 miles

I was impressed.

These are my thoughts on battery-electric trains on the routes from an electrified Sheffield.

Adwick

Sheffield  and Adwick is 22.7 miles without electrification

I am sure that battery-electric trains can handle this route.

If the battery range is sufficient, there may not need to be charging at Adwick.

Bridlington

Sheffield and Bridlington is 90.5 miles without electrification, except for a short section through Doncaster, where trains could top up batteries.

I am sure that battery-electric trains can handle this route.

But there would need to be a charging system at Hull, where the trains reverse.

An alternative would be to electrify Hull and Brough, which is just 10.4 miles and takes about twelve minutes.

Derby Via The Midland Main Line

Clay Cross North junction and Derby is 20.9 miles without electrification.

I am sure that battery-electric trains can handle this route.

Gainsborough Central

Sheffield  and Gainsborough Central is 33.6 miles without electrification

I am sure that battery-electric trains can handle this route.

But there will need to be a charging system at Gainsborough Central.

Huddersfield Via The Penistone Line

This is a distance of 36.4 miles with electrification at both ends, after the electrification between Huddersfield and Westtown is completed.

I am sure that battery-electric trains can handle this route.

Hull

Sheffield and Hull is 59.4 miles without electrification, except for a short section through Doncaster, where trains could top up batteries.

I am sure that battery-electric trains can handle this route.

But there will probably need to be a charging system at Hull.

An alternative would be to electrify Hull and Brough, which is just 10.4 miles and takes about twelve minutes.

Leeds Via The Hallam Or Wakefield Lines

This is a distance of 40-45 miles with electrification at both ends.

I am sure that battery-electric trains can handle this route.

Lincoln

Sheffield and Lincoln Central is 48.5 miles without electrification

I am sure that battery-electric trains can handle this route.

But there will probably need to be a charging system at Lincoln Central.

Manchester Via The Hope Valley Line

This is a distance of forty-two miles with electrification at both ends.

I am sure that battery-electric trains can handle this route.

Nottingham

Clay Cross North junction and Nottingham is 25.1 miles without electrification

I am sure that battery-electric trains can handle this route.

But there may need to be a charging system at Nottingham.

York

This is a distance of 46.4 miles with electrification at both ends.

I am sure that battery-electric trains can handle this route.

Is London St. Pancras And Sheffield Within Range Of Battery-Electric Trains?

In the previous section, I showed that it would be possible to easily reach Derby, as Clay Cross North junction and Derby is 20.9 miles without electrification.

• Current plans include electrifying the Midland Main Line as far North as Market Harborough.
• Market Harborough is 82.8 miles from London St. Pancras
• Derby is 128.3 miles from London St. Pancras

So what would be the best way to cover the 45.5 miles in the middle?

One of the best ways would surely be to electrify between Derby and East Midlands Parkway stations.

• Derby and East Midlands Parkway stations are just 10.2 miles apart.
• Current services take around twelve-fourteen minutes to travel between the two stations, so it would be more than enough time to charge a battery-electric train.
• Power for the electrification should not be a problem, as Radcliffe-on-Soar power station is by East Midlands Parkway station. Although the coal-fired power station will soon be closed, it must have a high class connection to the electricity grid.
• The East Midlands Hub station of High Speed Two will be built at Toton between Derby and Nottingham and will have connections to the Midland Main Line.
• An electrified spur could connect to Nottingham station.

I have flown my virtual helicopter along the route and found the following.

• Three overbridges that are not modern and built for large containers and electrification.
• Two level crossings.
• One short tunnel.
• Two intermediate stations.
• Perhaps half-a-dozen modern footbridges designed to clear electrification.

I’ve certainly seen routes that would be much more challenging to electrify.

I wonder if gauge clearance has already been performed on this key section of the Midland Main Line.

If this section were to be electrified, the sections of the Midland Main Line between London St. Pancras and Sheffield would be as follows.

• London St. Pancras and Market Harborough – Electrified – 82.8 miles
• Market Harborough and East Midlands Parkway – Not Electrified – 35.3 miles
• East Midlands Parkway and Derby – Electrified – 10.2 miles
• Derby and Clay Cross North junction – Not Electrified – 20.9 miles
• Clay Cross North junction and Sheffield – Electrified – 15.5 miles

Note.

1. The World Heritage Site of the Derwent Valley Mills is not electrified, which could ease the planning.
2. Leicester station with its low bridge, which could be difficult to electrify, has not been electrified.
3. Under thirty miles of electrification will allow battery-electric trains to run between London St. Pancras and Sheffield, provided they had a range on batteries of around forty miles.

Probably, the best way to electrify between East Midlands Parkway and Derby might be to develop a joint project with High Speed Two, that combines all the power and other early works for East Midlands Hub station, with the electrification between the two stations.

Will The Class 810 Trains Be Converted To Battery-Electric Operation?

Hitachi’s Class 8xx trains tend to be different, when it comes to power. These figures relate to five-car trains.

• Class 800 train – 3 x 560 kW diesel engines
• Class 801 train – 1 x 560 kW diesel engine
• Class 802 train – 3 x 700 kW diesel engines
• Class 803 train – All electric – No diesel and an emergency battery
• Class 805 train – 3 x 700 kW diesel engines (?)
• Class 807 train – All electric – No diesel or emergency battery
• Class 810 train – 4 x 700 kW diesel engines (?)

Note.

1. These figures relate to five-car trains.
2. Class 807 train are seven-car trains.
3. Where there is a question mark (?), the power has not been disclosed.
4. Hitachi use two sizes of diesel engine; 560 kW and 700 kW.

It was generally thought with the Class 810 train to be used on the Midland Main Line, will be fitted with four engines to be able to run at 125 mph on diesel.

But are they 560 kW or 700 kW engines?

• A Class 802 train has an operating speed of 110 mph on diesel, with 2100 kW of installed power.
• To increase speed, the power will probably be related to something like the square of the speed.

So crudely the power required for 125 mph would be 2100*125*125/110/110, which works out at 2712 kW.

Could this explain why four engines are fitted? And why they are 700 kW versions?

Interestingly, I suspect, Hitachi’s five-car trains have two more or less identical driver cars, except for the passenger interiors, for the efficiency of manufacturing and servicing.

So does that mean, that a fifth engine could be fitted if required?

There probably wouldn’t be a need for five diesel engines, but as I also believe that the Hyperdrive Innovation battery packs for these trains are plug-compatible with the diesel engines, does that mean that Hitachi’s trains can be fitted with five batteries?

Suppose you wanted to run a Class 810 train at 125 mph to clear an electrification gap of forty miles would mean the following.

• It would take 0.32 hours or 19.2 minutes to cross the gap.
• In that time 2800 kW of diesel engines would generate 896 kWh.
• So to do the same on batteries would need a total battery capacity of 896 kWh.
• If all diesel engines were replaced, each battery would need to be 224 kWh

A battery of this size is not impractical and probably weighs less than the at least four tonnes of the diesel engine it replaces.

Conclusions

Electrification between Clay Cross North Junction and Sheffield station is an important project that enables the following.

• A high proportion of diesel services to and from Sheffield to be converted to battery-electric power.
• With electrification between Derby and East Midlands Parkway, it enables 125 mph battery-electric trains to run between London St. Pancras and Sheffield.
• It prepares Sheffield for High Speed Two.

It should be carried out as soon as possible.

September 5, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Alstom, At A Glance – Northern Powerhouse Rail, CAF, Chesterfield Station, Clay Cross North Junction, Clay Cross North Junction And Sheffield Electrification, CrossCountry Trains, East Midlands Hub Station, East Midlands Railway, Electrification, High Speed Two, Hope Valley Line, Midland Main Line, Northern Rail, Sheffield Station, TransPennine Express, TransPennine Upgrade | 2 Comments