The Anonymous Widower

Could Sheffield Station Become A Battery-Electric Train Hub?

Promised Improvements To Train Services At Sheffield

This news story from the Department of Transport is entitled Yorkshire And The Humber To Benefit From £19.8 billion Transport Investment.

Sheffield station gets several mentions of improvement to these routes.

Sheffield And Hull

This is said about train services between Sheffield and Hull.

The number of trains between Hull and Sheffield will be doubled, to 2 per hour, with capacity also doubled.

These points describe typical current services.

• The route is 59.4 miles long.
• Modern Class 170 trains take 78 minutes.
• There are stops at Meadowhall, Doncaster, Goole and Brough.
• The maximum speed of the line is mostly around 70 mph, with one short section of 100 mph.
• The average speed is 45.7 mph.
• The train continues to Scarborough after a six-minute stop at Hull.

I believe that if this route were to be electrified, that a time around an hour would be possible between Sheffield and Hull.

Sheffield and Scarborough takes two hours and 45 minutes. With electrification, this time could be less than two hours and 30 minutes.

But it would be around 113 miles of new double-track electrification.

I believe that Sheffield and Hull is a route that could be run by battery-electric trains, that would be charged at both ends of the route.

Sheffield And Leeds

This is said about train services between Sheffield and Leeds.

The line between Sheffield and Leeds will be electrified and upgraded, giving passengers a choice of 3 to 4 fast trains an hour, instead of 1, with journey times of 40 minutes. A new mainline station for Rotherham will also be added to the route, which could give the town its first direct service to London since the 1980s, boosting capacity by 300%.

These points describe typical current services.

• The route is 41.1 miles long.
• Modern Class 195 trains take 56 minutes.
• There is a few miles of electrification at the Leeds end.
• There are stops at Meadowhall, Barnsley and Wakefield Kirkgate.
• The maximum speed of the line is mostly around 60-70 mph.
• The average speed is 44 mph.

I believe that if this route were to be electrified, that a time around fifty minutes might be possible between Sheffield and Leeds.

That is not really good enough, but if they went through a new mainline station for Rotherham, the trains would be able to use 100 mph tracks all the way to Leeds. There would also be electrification between South Kirby junction and Leeds.

I suspect forty minutes should be possible with 100 mph running between Rotherham and Leeds.

I believe that Sheffield and Leeds is a route that could be run by battery-electric trains, that would be charged at both ends of the route.

Sheffield And Manchester

This is said about train services between Sheffield and Manchester.

The Hope Valley Line between Manchester and Sheffield will also be electrified and upgraded, with the aim of cutting journey times from 51 to 42 minutes and increasing the number of fast trains on the route from 2 to 3 per hour, doubling capacity.

In Electrification Of The Hope Valley Line, I talked about electrification of the line and how the services on the line could be run by battery-electric trains.

This was my conclusion in the linked post.

I believe that full electrification of the Hope Valley Line is not needed, if battery-electric trains are used.

I also believe that battery-electric trains and the current improvements being carried out on the Hope Valley Line will enable a forty minute time between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield.

I believe that the Hope Valley Line could be speeded up, by the use of intelligent engineering, rather than expensive and disruptive electrification.

Don Valley Line

This is said about the Don Valley Line.

Communities will be reconnected through the reopening of lines and stations closed under the Beeching reforms of the 1960s. This will include the restoration of the Don Valley Line between Stocksbridge and Sheffield Victoria, and new stations at Haxby Station, near York, Waverley, near Rotherham, and the Don Valley Line from Sheffield to Stocksbridge.

I’ve talked about the Don Valley Line before in Reopening The Don Valley Section Of The Former Woodhead Line Between Stocksbridge and Sheffield Victoria To Passenger Services.

The Don Valley Line has a comprehensive Wikipedia entry, which is well worth a read.

Could the Don Valley Line be worked by battery-electric trains?

It would appear that these promised improvements to and from Sheffield could be worked by battery-electric trains.

Now that battery-electric trains are being developed, it could also have services, using these trains.

Could Battery-Electric Trains Improve Other Services At Sheffield?

These are some possibilities.

Chesterfield And Sheffield Victoria

This news story from the Department of Transport is entitled East Midlands To Benefit From £9.6 billion Transport Investment.

This news story also talks about the Stocksbridge Line and Sheffield Victoria, where this is said.

Funding will also be provided for the Barrow Hill Line between Chesterfield and Sheffield Victoria, with a new station at Staveley in Derbyshire.

I wrote about the Barrow Hill Line in Reinstatement Of The Barrow Hill Line Between Sheffield And Chesterfield.

In the related post, this was my conclusion.

This looks to be a very sensible project.

• It could be run with either trains or tram-trams.
• It should be electrified, so it could be zero-carbon.
• Tram-trains could be used to make stations simpler.
• It could give an alternative route for electric trains to Sheffield station.
• The track is already there and regularly used.

But surely the biggest reason to built it, is that it appears to open up a lot of South and South-East Sheffield and North-East Chesterfield for development.

Now that battery-electric trains are being developed, Chesterfield and Sheffield could also have services, using these trains.

Sheffield And Adwick

Nothing is said in the news story about train services between Sheffield and Adwick.

Consider.

• Sheffield and Adwick is 22.7 miles.
• Journeys take fifty minutes.
• There are seven intermediate stations.
• This is an average speed of 27.2 mph.
• Adwick and Doncaster is 4.4 miles and electrified.
• There are generous turn-round times at both ends of the route.
• There are rather unusual reversing arrangements at Adwick.

I wonder if electric trains on this route, would knock a few minutes off the journey time because of the better acceleration and deceleration of electric trains.

Could this route be another route from Sheffield suitable for battery-electric trains?

• The train could fully charge between Adwick and Doncaster and at Adwick.
• It is only a short route with a round trip under sixty miles.

I believe this route could be very suitable for battery-electric trains.

Sheffield And Huddersfield

Nothing is said in the news story about train services in the Penistone Line between Sheffield and Huddersfield.

Consider.

• Sheffield and Huddersfield is 36.4 miles.
• Journeys take one hour and nineteen minutes.
• There are fifteen intermediate stations.
• This is an average speed of 27.6 mph.
• Huddersfield is being electrified as part of the TransPennine Upgrade.

I wonder if electric trains on this route, would knock a few minutes off the journey time because of the better acceleration and deceleration of electric trains.

Could this route be another route from Sheffield suitable for battery-electric trains?

Sheffield And Lincoln

Nothing is said in the news story about train services between Sheffield and Lincoln.

Consider.

• Sheffield and Lincoln is 48.5 miles.
• All Sheffield and Lincoln services start in Leeds.
• Journeys take one hour and twenty-five minutes.
• There are nine intermediate stations.
• This is an average speed of 34.2 mph.
• There is no electrification.
• Turn-round time at Lincoln is 26 minutes.
• All trains terminate in Platform 5 at Lincoln.

I wonder if electric trains on this route, would knock a few minutes off the journey time because of the better acceleration and deceleration of electric trains.

Could this route be another route from Sheffield suitable for battery-electric trains?

• Platform 5 could be electrified at Lincoln.
• There may need to be a battery top-up at Sheffield and Leeds.

I believe this route could be very suitable for battery-electric trains.

Electrification Between Sheffield And London

Consider.

• The Midland Main Line electrification is creeping up from London.
• It should soon be installed between St. Pancras and Market Harborough.
• Sheffield and Market Harborough is 81.9 miles.
• The Class 810 trains that will run the Sheffield and London route can’t be far off entering service.

There might be scope for running battery-electric trains on the route, until the electrification is complete.

A Battery-Electric Train Hub At Sheffield

I believe that a fair proportion of services to and from Sheffield could be run using battery-electric trains or bog-standard electric trains.

This OpenRailwayMap shows the platforms at Sheffield.

Note.

1. The lilac tracks are those of the Sheffield Supertram.
2. The darker lines are the tracks in the station.
3. Tracks could be electrified as required.

Eventually, Sheffield will be a fully-electrified station, because of the Midland Main Line electrification.

But why not do it sooner rather than later, so that by running new or refurbished battery-electric trains to places like Huddersfield, Hull, Leeds, Lincoln, London and Manchester?

• Services would be speeded up by around a minute or two for each stop.
• Faster journeys may attract more passengers.
• Routes would be creating less carbon emission and pollution.
• In some cases, routes would be zero carbon.

Some routes would need electrification at the terminal to charge the trains, but Leeds, London St. Pancras and Manchester are already fully electrified.

Charging Long Distance Battery-Electric Trains When They Stop In Sheffield

These long distance services stop in Sheffield.

• CrossCountry – Plymouth and Edinburgh
• CrossCountry – Reading and Newcastle
• East Midland Railway – London and Leeds
• East Midland Railway – Liverpool Lime Street and Norwich
• Northern – Leeds and Lincoln
• Northern – Leeds and Nottingham
• Northern – Sheffield and Cleethorpes
• TransPennine Express – Liverpool Lime Street and Cleethorpes

battery-electric trains could be given a top-up, as they pass through.

I am assuming that CrossCountry, East Midland Railway, Northern and TransPennine Express will be running suitable battery-electric trains.

Battery-Electric Train Hubs

To be a battery-electric train hub, a station probably needs to have all or nearly all of its platforms electrified.

• It should be able to fully-charge any battery-electric trains terminating in the station, provided that the turn-round time is long enough.
• It should be able to give a through battery-electric train a boost if required, so that it gets to the final destination.

It would appear that there are already several battery-electric train hubs in the England, Scotland and Wales.

This map from OpenRailwayMap shows Liverpool Lime Street station, with electrified tracks shown in red.

It would appear that the station is fully electrified and is an excellent battery-electric train hub.

This map from OpenRailwayMap shows Manchester Piccadilly station, with electrified tracks shown in red.

It would appear that the station is fully electrified, except for the Northernmost platform, and is an excellent battery-electric train hub.

This map from OpenRailwayMap shows Leeds station, with electrified tracks shown in red.

It would appear that the station is fully electrified and is an excellent battery-electric train hub, with twelve electrified bay platforms.

Conclusion

I can see a very comprehensive scheme being developed for Sheffield, based on a hub for battery-electric trains at Sheffield station.

October 17, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Battery-Electric Trains, CrossCountry Trains, East Midlands Railway, Hope Valley Line, Hull Station, Leeds Station, Manchester Piccadilly Station, Market Harborough Station, Midland Main Line, Midland Main Line Electrification, Penistone Line, Rotherham, Scarborough tation, Sheffield Station, Spending High Speed Two Money, TransPennine Express, TransPennine Upgrade | 1 Comment