The Anonymous Widower

Could East Midland Railway’s Leicester And Lincoln Service Be Extended To Burton On Trent?

After my trip to Lincoln and Cleethorpes earlier this week, I got to thinking about how train services could be improved in the area.

Cleethorpes As A Battery-Electric Train Hub Station

In Cleethorpes Station – 28th June 2023, this was my last sentence.

Cleethorpes station could be at the centre of its own battery-electric train network, with all trains powered by just 3.3 miles of single-track electrification.

Services running to Cleethorpes station could be.

• East Midlands Railway – Barton-on-Humber and Cleethorpes via Barrow Haven, New Holland, Goxhill, Thornton Abbey, Ulceby, Habrough, Stallingborough, Healing, Great Coates, Grimsby Town, Grimsby Docks and New Clee, which currently runs two-hourly, but probably should run hourly. Barton-on-Humber and Grimsby Town is not electrified and is 19.6 miles or 39.2 miles for a round trip.
• East Midlands Railway – Leicester and Cleethorpes via Syston, Sileby, Barrow-upon-Soar, Loughborough, East Midlands Parkway, Attenborough, Beeston, Nottingham, Newark Castle, Collingham, Swinderby, Hykeham, Lincoln, Market Rasen, Barnetby, Habrough and Grimsby Town which currently runs two-hourly, but probably should run hourly. Nottingham and Grimsby Town is not planned to be electrified and is 77.8 miles.
• LNER – London King’s Cross and Cleethorpes via Stevenage, Peterborough, Grantham, Newark Northgate, Lincoln, Market Rasen, Barnetby, Habrough and Grimsby Town, which would run at least two trains per day (tpd). Newark Northgate and Grimsby Town is not electrified and is 60.6 miles.
• TransPennine Express – Liverpool Lime Street and Cleethorpes via Liverpool South Parkway, Warrington Central, Birchwood, Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester Piccadilly, Stockport, Sheffield, Meadowhall, Doncaster, Scunthorpe, Barnetby, Habrough and Grimsby Town, which runs hourly. Hazel Grove and Grimsby Town is not electrified and is 101.4 miles.

Note.

1. All services to Cleethorpes could be run using a battery-electric train, with the range of a Stadler FLIRT Akku, which is 139 miles.
2. Cleethorpes station will soon have four terminal platforms. Could it be one platform for each service?
3. The 3.3 miles of single-track electrification would be between Cleethorpes and Grimsby stations.
4. I am assuming that all services should be at least hourly, except London King’s Cross.
5. If the frequency of services to London King’s Cross, were to be increased, the extra services would take-over paths of the East Midlands Railway services between Lincoln and Cleethorpes.
6. I am also assuming that the Midland Main Line electrification has been completed through Leicester to Nottingham, as is currently planned.

Cleethorpes will become a very well-connected station.

Collateral Benefits Of Cleethorpes As A Fossil Fuel-Free Station

If all services to Cleethorpes are run by battery-electric trains, then there will be collateral benefits.

• All passenger train services in North-East Lincolnshire will be zero-carbon.
• TransPennine Express’s Southern route between Liverpool Lime Street and Cleethorpes via Manchester, Sheffield and Doncaster will be zero-carbon.
• LNER’s services to London King’s Cross from Lincolnshire will be zero carbon.

Manchester and Sheffield will be linked by an hourly electric service, just as it was between 1953 and 1981.

The Ivanhoe Line

I wrote about the Ivanhoe Line in Reinstatement Of The Ivanhoe Line.

• There is a proposed reinstatement of passenger services between Leicester and Burton-on-Trent stations.
• I estimate it’s a distance of around 37 miles.
• There would be some new stations on the route.

In the Wikipedia entry for the Ivanhoe Line, there is a section called Future, where this is said.

The intermediate stations are capable of taking only a two-coach train, which has led to overcrowding on some services, especially now that the service is extended to Nottingham and Lincoln. The latest Route Utilisation Strategy for the East Midlands makes recommendations for platform lengthening.

East Midlands Parkway railway station has now been built on the route. The Borough of Charnwood’s local plan of 2004 anticipates a station at Thurmaston.

In 2022 the closed section of the line was one of nine schemes chosen to undergo a feasibility scrutiny by Network Rail as part of the government’s Restoring Your Railway programme. If approved, work could start in 2024 and the line reopened in 2026

Note.

1. The first paragraph refers to the existing section of the Ivanhoe Line, to the North of Leicester.
2. I went to Burton once for the football and it’s a difficult place to get to from North London by train.
3. Burton-on-Trent station was fully refurbished in 2011.
4. Burton-on-Trent station has hourly services from CrossCountry trains.

It seems that a creditable plan is emerging.

Service Frequency Between Burton-on-Trent And Leicester

As Burton-on-Trent station has hourly services, I suspect that this will be the initial frequency between Burton-on-Trent and Leicester.

But I could see this frequency being increased, if there were long waits during interchange at Burton-on-Trent.

Average Speed Of The Service And Estimate For A Time Between Cleethorpes And Burton-on-Trent

The current Grimsby Town and Leicester service is over a route of 105.3 miles and a direct service takes two hours and thirty-seven minutes.

This is an average speed of 40.24 mph.

I can now give an estimate for a Cleethorpes and Burton-on-Trent service.

The distance will be 105.3+3.3+37, which is 145.6 miles.

An estimate of the time using a speed of 40.24 mph is three hours and thirty-seven minutes.

But seeing that a good proportion of the route has a 110 mph operating speed, I suspect that a 100 mph train could do the trip faster.

Could Cleethorpes And Burton-on-Trent Be Worked By A Battery-Electric Train?

The route could be effectively four sections.

• Cleethorpes and Grimsby Town – 3.3 miles – Electrified
• Grimsby Town and Nottingham – 77.8 miles – Not Electrified
• Nottingham and Leicester – 27.5 miles – Being Electrified
• Leicester and Burton-on-Trent – 37 miles – Not Electrified

Note.

1. In a round trip, there are two sections of 77.8 miles and two consecutive sections of 37 miles.
2. Battery-electric trains would be charged on the electrified section of the route.

I am sure that a battery-electric train with a range of greater than 77.8 miles would handle the service.

July 1, 2023 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Battery-Electric Trains, Burton Station, Cleethorpes Station, CrossCountry Trains, East Midlands Railway, Ivanhoe Line, Leicester Station, Lincoln Station, Liverpool Lime Street Station, LNER, Midland Main Line, Nottingham Station, Restoring Your Railway Fund, Stadler FLIRT Akku, TransPennine Express