The Anonymous Widower

Could High Speed Two Finish At Lichfield?

I wrote this post before Rishi Sunak made his speech.

I went to Manchester and Liverpool yesterday by train.

I took the 10:33 from Euston and this a summary of my journey.

• The train left Euston half a minute early.
• It arrived at Stafford (133.5 miles) at 11:50 and left at 11:52.
• It arrived at Crewe (158.0 miles) at 12:08 and left at 12.10.
• It arrived at Wilmslow (176.9 miles) at 12:25 and left at 12:27.
• It arrived at Stockport (183.0 miles) at 12:35 and left at 12:37.
• It arrived in Manchester Piccadilly (188.9 miles) at 12:46.
• It was two minutes late into Manchester and more or less on time at the other stops.

Note.

1. The route was via the Trent Valley Line and the train passed through Nuneaton, Tamworth, Lichfield Trent Valley, Colwich and Stafford.
2. Euston and Manchester had been timetabled at two hours and eleven minutes.
3. This is an average speed of 86.5 mph.
4. The Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two gives the fastest time before High Speed Two opens as one hour and fifty-four minutes.
5. This will be an average speed of 99.4 mph.

Coming home, I took the 18:48 from Liverpool Lime Street and this a summary of my journey.

• The train left Liverpool on time.
• It arrived at Runcorn (13.2 miles) at 18:58 and left at 19:02.
• It arrived at Crewe (35.8 miles) at 19:26 and left at 19:28.
• It arrived at Milton Keynes (143.8 miles) at 20:27 and left at 20:29.
• It arrived in Euston (183.6 miles) at 21:00.
• It was five minutes late into Crewe and two minutes early at Euston.

Note.

1. The route was via the Trent Valley Line and the train passed through Stafford, Colwich, Lichfield Trent Valley, Tamworth and Nuneaton.
2. Liverpool and Euston had been timetabled at two hours and twenty minutes.
3. This is an average speed of 78.7 mph.
4. The Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two gives the fastest time before High Speed Two opens as two hours and three minutes.
5. This will be an average speed of 89.6 mph.

This map clipped from the High Speed Two web site, shows the junction North of Lichfield, where High Speed Two connects to the Trent Valley Line through Stafford.

Note.

1. High Speed Two runs North-South across the map.
2. After the Junction by Fradley South, High Speed Two to Crewe and the North, is the branch to the East.
3. The other branch connects to the Trent Valley Line at Handsacre junction.
4. Trent Valley Line can be picked out North of Lichfield, where it passes through Lichfield Trent Valley station.

The Trent Valley Line is no Victorian double-track slow-speed bottleneck.

• The route between Rugby and Crewe is generally three or four tracks, with only one short stretch of double track, through Shugborough tunnel.
• The speed limit is generally 110 mph, with 90 mph at Shugborough.
• I wouldn’t be surprised to see Avanti West Coast’s Class 390 and Class 807 trains could be running at up to 140 mph on the route, if digital signalling were to be installed.
• This speed would probably be attained by High Speed Two trains.

London Euston and Stafford would only have under twenty miles of slower line and that could be 140 mph, so High Speed Two  times on the route could be very fast.

This second map clipped from the High Speed Two web site, shows between High Speed Two’s two Birmingham stations and Lichfield.

Note.

1. High Speed Two Phases 1 and 2a are shown in blue.
2. High Speed Two Phase 2b is shown in orange.
3. At the top of the map, can be seen the junction, where High Speed Two to the North splits, that was shown in the previous map.
4. The large blue dot in the West at the bottom of the map, is Birmingham Curzon Street station.
5. The other large blue dot is Birmingham International station.
6. The three sections of High Speed Two to London, Birmingham Curzon Street and the North meet at a triangular junction between the two Birmingham stations.
7. High Speed Two to the East Midlands, branches off to the East North of the triangular junction.

This third map clipped from the High Speed Two web site, shows between Lichfield and Crewe.

Note.

1. High Speed Two Phase 2a is shown in blue.
2. High Speed Two Phase 2b is shown in orange.
3. Crewe is in the North-West corner of the map, where at the South end of the orange section.
4. The junction at Lichfield is in the South-East corner of the map.
5. The lighter blue route to the East, between the Lichfield junction and Crewe is the new tracks of High Speed Two.
6. The darker blue route to the West, between the Lichfield junction and Crewe is the existing route of the Trent Valley Line and the West Coast Main Line.
7. The Trent Valley Line joins the West Coast Main Line at Stafford.

These are a few thoughts and questions.

How Will Trains Go Between Birmingham Curzon Street And London?

Trains will use the triangular junction shown in the second map to go between the two Birmingham stations and then head South,

How Will Trains Go Between Birmingham Curzon Street And The North?

Trains will use the triangular junction shown in the second map to turn North and then take one of the two routes to the North; High Speed Two or Trent Valley Line/West Coast Main Line.

How Will Trains Go Between Birmingham Curzon Street And The North If High Speed Two Between Birmingham And The North Is Scrapped?

If High Speed Two is scrapped from the Northern point of the triangular junction to the North, there will be no way that trains could go North from Birmingham Curzon Street.

• The overcrowded Birmingham New Street station will still be the link to the North of England and Scotland for Birmingham.
• How would trains connect to the future branch to East Midlands Parkway, which connects just North of the triangular junction?

I suspect that a short stub will be built North of the triangular junction to connect to the Trent Valley Line, which is currently, the main route of trains between London and the North through the West Midlands, for trains that don’t go through Birmingham.

Trains Between London And Stafford

Currently, Avanti West Coast trains take around one hour and seventeen minutes between London and Stafford.

The Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two gives these times between London and Stafford.

• Fastest time before High Speed Two – one hour and seventeen minutes.
• Time after Phase 2a of High Speed Two opens – fifty-five minutes.

Note.

That is a time saving of twenty-two minutes.

High Speed Two Trains will use the link between the junction at Lichfield and the Trent Valley Line.

How Many Avanti West Coast Services Use The Trent Valley Line?

These trains use the Trent Valley Line.

• London and Holyhead – 8 tpd
• London and Liverpool Lime Street – 1 tph, which is planned to increase to 2 tph
• London and Manchester Piccadilly – 2 tph
• London and Blackpool North – 1 tpd
• London and Glasgow – 1 tph

Note.

1. tpd is trains per day
2. tph is trains per hour

This is roughly six tph.

Would It Be Possible To Finish High Speed Two At The Lichfield Junction And Connect It To The Trent Valley Line?

This is a repeat of the first map.

Note.

1. High Speed Two runs North-South across the map.
2. After the Junction by Fradley South, High Speed Two to Crewe and the North, is the branch to the East.
3. The other branch connects to the Trent Valley Line at Handsacre junction.
4. Trent Valley Line can be picked out North of Lichfield, where it passes through Lichfield Trent Valley station.

If the Eastern branch North from the junction were to be scrapped, all trains between London and North would go via Stafford.

As all these tracks are planned and must be at an advanced stage, that is ready for construction, I feel the route would be feasible.

It would have these benefits.

• Birmingham Curzon Street services and the North-West of England and the West of Scotland would be possible.
• Services between London and Stafford will be twenty-two minutes faster, than they are now.
• Time savings will also apply to services from London to Liverpool, Macclesfield, Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent and all stations between Crewe and Glasgow.

The capacity of the Trent Valley Line would be the limiting factor.

Time Savings Between Crewe And Preston

According to the Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two, after Phase 2a of High Speed Two opens, these will be the fastest times to Crewe and Preston.

• Crewe – 0:56
• Preston 1:18

Note.

1. The fastest Preston service runs non-stop between Euston and Preston.
2. Crewe and Preston are 51 miles apart.

A time of 22 minutes between Crewe and Preston, means the average speed is 139 mph.

Does this mean that High Speed Two will improve between Crewe and Preston to allow 140 mph non-stop running?

But 22 minutes is certainly an improvement on the current time between Crewe and Preston for Scottish trains of 40 minutes.

Time Savings Between Crewe And Liverpool

The upgrading of the line between might save another couple of minutes between Crewe and Weaver junction.

What Times Would Be Possible Via High Speed Two And The Trent Valley Line?

These times are based on the following.

• The twenty-two minute saving to Stafford, as all High Speed Two services to the North-West of England and the West of Scotland will go via Phase 1 of High Speed Two and Stafford.
• A saving of eighteen minutes will be applied to Scottish services because of savings between Crewe and Preston.

This would give these times in hours:minutes.

• Blackpool – 2:10
• Carlisle – 2:35
• Chester – 1:28
• Crewe – 1:08
• Glasgow – 3:50
• Holyhead – 3:10
• Lancaster – 2:03
• Liverpool Lime Street – 1:41
• Llandudno Junction – 2:24
• Macclesfield – 1:30
• Manchester Piccadilly via Crewe – 1:52
• Oxenholme – 1:54
• Preston – 1:46
• Runcorn 1:31
• Stafford – 0:55
• Stockport – 1:35
• Stoke-on-Trent – 1:10
• Warrington – 1:22
• Wigan 1:33
• Wilmslow – 1:25

I have calculated extra services to Blackpool and North Wales.

Adding The Lichfield And Crewe Section

Consider.

• My calculations indicate that London and Crewe will take 1:08.
•  The Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two, after Phase 2a of High Speed Two opens, gives the fastest time to Crewe as 0:56.

This indicates that adding the section of High Speed Two between Lichfield and Crewe will save a further twelve minutes.

Conclusion

I strongly believe that an upgraded Trent Valley Line linked to a shortened High Speed Two at Lichfield could improve journey times between London, Birmingham and the North.

There are certainly savings to be made.

See Also

High Speed Two To Crewe

High Speed Two To Holyhead

High Speed Two To Lancaster

High Speed Two To Liverpool

High Speed Two To Manchester

High Speed Two To Wigan

October 4, 2023 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Birmingham Curzon Street Station, Birmingham International Station, Class 390 Train, Class 807 Train, Euston Station, Handsacre Junction, High Speed Two, High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains, High Speed Two Lite, Lichfield Trent Valley Station, Liverpool Lime Street Station, Manchester Piccadilly Station, Nuneaton Station, Trent Valley Line