The Anonymous Widower

Extending The Elizabeth Line – Could Open Access Services Use The Elizabeth Line?

In the February 2024 Edition of Modern Railways, there is an article which is entitled First Bid For Sheffield To King’s Cross Paths.

The article is mainly about FirstGroup’s proposal for a new Sheffield and London service, running under the Hull Trains brand.

But, this is the last paragraph.

Modern Railways understands First is working on a number of proposals for additional open access services, and this is an early statement of intent. Other existing open access proposals include Grand Union Trains’ plans for London to Stirling and Cardiff to Edinburgh services, along with an already approved London to Carmarthen service, and the recently submitted Wrexham, Shropshire and Midland Railway application for a London to Wrexham service. It is understood other organisations, including MTR and Virgin, are also working up plans for new open access services.

The respected Modern Railways magazine seem to think, that we’ll be seeing more open access services on UK railways.

These are my thoughts.

A Simple Example – London Crosslink

In Extending The Elizabeth Line – London Crosslink, I said this.

In the Wikipedia entry for the London Crosslink, this is the introduction.

London Crosslink was a passenger train service operated by Anglia Railways between Norwich and Basingstoke, using the North London Line to bypass central London. Class 170 Turbostar diesel multiple units were used, and the service operated between 22 May 2000 and 28 September 2002, supported by funding from the Strategic Rail Authority through its Rail Passenger Partnership fund.

As it was discontinued and it doesn’t seem to be sadly missed, I’m not advocating its reinstatement, but just looking how it might be run after the full opening of the Elizabeth Line.

But surely, there were good reasons, why the service was run in the first place and there might be a need in the future.

These are some characteristics of the service.

• There were about half-a-dozen services in both directions every day.
• At its full length it ran between  Norwich and Basingstoke.
• Stops included Diss, Stowmarket, Ipswich, Colchester, Witham, Chelmsford, Ingatestone, Romford, Stratford, Highbury & Islington, Camden Road, West Hampstead, Brentford, Feltham, Staines, Woking and Farnborough (Main).
• Each service seemed to have a different stopping pattern.
• The timetable wasn’t very regular.
• The route wasn’t fully electrified.

It appears that it may have been a difficult service to timetable.

I lived North of Ipswich for some years.

I never used the London CrossLink service, as I had moved away before the service started in 2000.

• I would have found the change to the Central Line at Stratford station useful.
• I would have found the change to the Victoria Line at Highbury & Islington station useful.
• I would have found the change to Thameslink at West Hampstead station useful.
• Basingstoke would have given access to Greater South-West England.
• I could have got a bus to Heathrow from Feltham.

But getting to Marylebone, Paddington and Waterloo would have still been tedious.

Could a replacement for the London CrossLink be routed via the Elizabeth Line?

• The service would use the Elizabeth Line between Stratford and Reading.
• The service would use the Reading and Basingstoke Line between Reading and Basingstoke.

The route has some advantages over the original route.

• Except for the 13.6 miles between Southcote Junction and Basingstoke, the route is fully-electrified.
• Whitechapel will give access to London Overground services.
• Farringdon will give access to Thameslink services.
• There will be a lot of connections at Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street.
• Paddington and Reading will give access to Heathrow, Oxford and West of England services.
• Basingstoke will give access to Greater South-West England.

It is certainly an as-useful route as the original, if not more so.

The Trains

In Extending The Elizabeth Line – Will There Be A Need For Long Distance Class 345 Train?, I set out how a standard Class 345 train could be updated with faster running and a more appropriate interior.

As the Elizabeth Line is likely to need some more trains if High Speed Two is delayed, perhaps some extra trains should be ordered fairly soon.

The Routes

Consider.

• A terminal station  would probably need to be electrified to the Elizabeth Line route.
• It would need the infrastructure to turn the trains.

These stations could probably be used as terminal stations.

• Basingstoke
• Bristol
• Cardiff
• Colchester
• Faversham
• Hoo – See Extending The Elizabeth Line – A Branch To The Isle Of Grain.
• Ipswich
• Northfleet – For European services at Ebbsfleet International.
• Norwich
• Oxford
• Rochester
• Southampton
• Southend Victoria

There will certainly be others.

Why Use Open Access?

Suppose an operator wants to run a service between Bristol Parkway and Northfleet to give the West Country access to European services.

• The operator takes all the risk and Network Rail get track access charges.
• Do Transport for London get track access charges for the Elizabeth Line tunnels?
• If they get their predictions and sums wrong, they lose the money.

But if they get it right, they probably sell it to an infrastructure company at a profit.

Conclusion

I think open access operation might work through the Elizabeth Line Tunnels.

 

January 28, 2024 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Basingstoke Station, Class 345 Train, Elizabeth Line, Extending The Elizabeth Line, FirstGroup, FirstGroup's Proposed Sheffield Service, High Speed Two, Hull Trains, King's Cross Station, London Crosslink, Open Access Operators, Reading Station, Sheffield Station