The Anonymous Widower

High Speed Two To Blackpool

There has been a lot of speculation about the Northern end of High Speed Two, so I might as well add sort out a few facts and add a bit of  speculation of my own.

The Current Blackpool Service

I shall look at the 05:35 train on the 5th October 2023.

• It was a pair of Voyagers or Class 221 trains.
• Euston and Blackpool North are 226.5 miles apart.
• The train called at Preston, Wigan North Western, Warrington Bank Quay, Crewe and Stafford
• The train should have arrived at Preston at 05:56 and left at 0600.
• The train should have arrived at Wigan North Western at 06:11 and left at 06:12.
• The train should have arrived at Warrington Bank Quay at 06:22 and left at 06:24.
• The train should have arrived at Crewe at 06:46 and left at 06:55.
• The train should have arrived at Stafford at 07:13 and left at 07:14.
• The train should have arrived at London Euston at 08:35
• The journey took three hours.
• The average speed was 75.5 mph.
• The Crewe and Blackpool North section is 68.5 miles and the train is scheduled to take one hour and eleven minutes.
• The average speed between Crewe and Blackpool North is 57.9 mph.
• There are three trains per day (tpd).

Note.

1. Other services between London Euston and Blackpool North  are run by eleven-car Class 390 trains or Pendolinos.
2. Blackpool North is fully electrified to London.

This means that London Euston and Blackpool North could be run using High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains.

I have a few questions.

What Time Would Be Possible At The Present Time?

Consider.

• According to the Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two, one hour and seventeen minutes is the fastest time between London Euston and Stafford.
• The 05:35 is timed to take one hour and thirteen minutes with the four stops, between Blackpool North and Stafford.

This would give a London Euston and Blackpool North time of two hours and thirty minutes.

What Time Would Be Possible When High Speed Two Lite Opens To Handsacre Junction?

Consider.

• According to the Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two, fifty-five minutes will be the fastest time between London Euston and Stafford, after High Speed Two opens to Handsacre junction.
• The 05:35 is timed to take one hour and thirteen minutes with the four stops, between Blackpool North and Stafford.

This would give a London Euston and Blackpool North time of two hours and eight minutes.

What Frequency Would Be Needed?

LNER seem to run their secondary services to places like Harrogate and Lincoln using a frequency of one train per two hours (tp2h).

That could be an ideal frequency.

Would There Be A Path For The Train To And From London Euston?

This graphic shows High Speed Two services after Phase 2b is completed.

Note.

1. Services shown in blue are run by High Speed Two Full Size trains.
2. Services shown in yellow are run by High Speed Two Classic-Compatible  trains.
3. Each of these trains will have a frequency of one tph.
4. The nine paths to the right of the vertical black line will not be needed for some time. If ever!
5. It looks like a maximum of only eleven paths will be needed to the South of Birmingham.
6. It looks like a maximum of only fourteen paths will be needed to the North of Birmingham.

In Will High Speed Two Lite Make Stafford An Important Station?, I totted up all the services through Stafford after High Speed Two Lite opened to Handsacre junction and got these figures.

• Through Stafford station, there are totals of 11 tpd and 14 tph.
• Along the Trent Valley Line, there are totals of 11 tpd and 12 tph.
• North of Stafford on the West Coast Main Line, there are totals of 9 tpd and 12 tph.
• South of Stafford on the West Coast Main Line, there are totals of 2 tpd and 2 tph.
• Between Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent, there are totals of 2 tph.

I accounted for services moving from the West Coast Main Line to High Speed Two.

Consider.

• A large proportion of the route between Preston and Handsacre junction, where the route would join High Speed Two Light has two dedicated high speed tracks and two tracks for freight and local services.
• Digital signalling on High Speed Two has been designed to handle eighteen trains per hour (tph) at 225 mph.
• Surely, the two dedicated high speed tracks, if fitted with High Speed Two digital signalling could handle say 16 tph at 140 mph.
• Network Rail are good at juggling trains to squeeze in more services.
• Extra paths could be created by splitting and joining trains at Crewe or Preston.

My Control Engineering training and practice tells me that it should be possible to add perhaps two tph between Preston and Euston.

Conclusion

I believe that High Speed Two Classic-Compatible  trains could be close to two hours between Blackpool and London Euston, when High Speed Two Lite opens from Handsacre junction.

October 8, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Blackpool North Station, Class 221 Train, Class 390 Train, Digital Signalling, Handsacre Junction, High Speed Two, High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains, High Speed Two Lite, Preston Station | 1 Comment