The Anonymous Widower

Northern Launches New Yorkshire Flyer Fast Service Between Leeds And Sheffield

The title of this post is the same as that of this news item from Northern Trains.

This is the sub-heading.

Northern is running a new fast service which allows customers to travel between Leeds and Sheffield in 47 minutes.

These three introductory paragraphs add more detail.

Known as the Yorkshire Flyer, as it provides a quick and convenient connection between the White Rose county’s two biggest cities, the service was officially launched during an event at Leeds station earlier today.

Cutting journey times and providing more than 30,000 extra seats a week, the service will support economic growth by making it easier for people to get to work and reach new opportunities.

It used to take all Northern customers around an hour or longer to make the journey, with trains calling at various stops along the way.

These further details come from Real Time Trains.

1. The trains used appear to be two-car Class 158 trains.
2. The total distance is 38.7 miles.
3. Between Leeds station and South Kirkby junction is electrified and a distance of 20.6 miles.
4. Trains appear to leave Leeds station at xx45.
5. CrossCountry services Leeds station for Sheffield at xx15 and make a similar intermediate stop at Wakefield Westgate.
6. Leeds trains for Sheffield seem to leave from Platform 12 or 12A.
7. Trains appear to leave  Sheffield station at xx52.
8. CrossCountry services leave Sheffield station for Leeds at xx22 and make a similar intermediate stop at Wakefield Westgate.
9. Sheffield trains for Leeds don’t seem to have such a regular platform, as those in the other direction. But I suppose that will be improved.

Effectively, Northern and CrossCountry have paired up two services to give a two trains per hour, fast service between Leeds and Sheffield with one stop at Wakefield Westgate.

I have some further thoughts.

The Route Could Be Run By Battery-Electric Trains

Consider.

• The only part of the route that is not electrified is the 18.1 miles between South Kirkby junction and Sheffield station.
• From talking to engineers, who are working on developing battery-electric trains, a three-car train with a battery range of fifty miles is already a possibility.
• In 2015, I actually rode on a four-car battery-electric Class 379 train, that ran reliably on the Harwich branch for three months.
• Merseyrail’s battery-electric Class 777 trains probably have the performance and are working reliably on Merseyside. But they are probably a bit slow.

I believe that any number of train manufacturers would be very pleased to provide new battery-electric trains for the route.

But Siemens must be in the prime position.

• The German company has built a £200 million train factory at Goole in East Yorkshire, which is currently building London’s Piccadilly Line trains, which have batteries.
• Siemens have already delivered trains in Germany using the technology, they would use in the UK.
• The battery charging technology they would use for other routes in the UK, is described in Technology Behind Siemens Mobility’s British Battery Trains Hits The Tracks.
• Sheffield and Leeds, would make a superb test and demonstration route for battery-electric trains, as 50% of the route is fully-electrified with 25 KVAC.
• The Sheffield and Leeds route is just down the track from the Goole factory.
• I wouldn’t be very surprised, if Siemens were very keen to get a few orders close to their factory, as they would surely be easy to support.

But the clincher must be Juergen Maier, who used to be CEO of Siemens UK, and is now Chair of Great British Energy. Maier holds both British and Austrian citizenship, and was educated in Leeds and Nottingham, so hopefully, he can give this clanger-prone government some excellent advice where they need it, from his position in Great British Energy.

Could A Stop Be Made At Meadowbank Station?

This would give access to other rail routes and the Sheffield Supertram, but most of this access could also be performed at Sheffield.

Looking at the timetable of the route, I feel that there is enough slack to fit in a stop at Meadowhall, but it would need for the route to be electrified, so that the trains had faster acceleration and deceleration.

However, battery-electric trains may have the required performance.

What Maximum Speed Would The Trains Need?

Consider.

• The current Class 158 diesel trains used between Sheffield and Leeds and in many places in the UK are 90 mph trains.
• There are also a large number of Class 170 trains in the UK, that will need to be replaced and these are 100 mph trains.
• The Sheffield and Leeds route has some sections of 85 mph running.
• Train speeds are all accurately computer-controlled.

As a Control Engineer for safety and route availability reasons, I believe the trains will have a 100 mph maximum speed, but train speed will be computer controlled.

Will The Trains Be Driver-Only Operated?

I asked Google AI if Hitachi IET trains are driver only operated (DOO) and received this reply.

Hitachi Intercity Express Trains (IETs, Class 800/802) are designed for versatile operation, capable of Driver-Only Operation (DOO) using in-cab CCTV monitors for door safety checks. While they can operate without a guard, many services, particularly on GWR, still retain a guard on board for passenger service duties, even if the driver controls the doors.

So Hitachi trains can be driver-only operated and these will surely share the tracks with the trains that work the Northern Flyer.

I asked Google AI if Thameslink trains are driver only operated (DOO) and received this reply.

Yes, all Thameslink train services are Driver Only Operated (DOO). This means the driver is solely responsible for operating the doors and ensuring the safe dispatch of the train, without a guard or conductor on board to manage the doors. Through the central London core, these trains often use Automatic Train Operation (ATO).

As I believe that Siemens would be likely to win the battery-electric train order, because of proven technology, factory location and influence of Juergen Maier, Siemens certainly have the ability to produce trains, that are driver-only operated.

I believe that, whoever builds the trains, they will be capable of driver-only operation.

But if driver-only operation is to be used will be down to politics.

• Because of the situation on East West Rail, Heidi Alexander will probably be in favour.
• The Tories and Liberal Democrats will also be in favour.
• The rail unions, the left wing of the Labour Party and the Greens will be strongly against.
• Farage and Reform UK will take a very hard line to enforce driver-only operation everywhere.

The average citizen on the Northern Flyer and all the other trains in the UK, will just want a reliable train service.

Conclusion

• This would make a superb route for a battery electric train.
• No chargers or extra electrification would need to be installed.
• There wouldn’t be much work needed to be done to the platforms or the signalling.
• The trains would use standard 25 KVAC overhead electrification for charging.
• The trains would be running close to where they were built.

I believe the new service will give a large boost to the Yorkshire economy. Even before the arrival of battery-electric trains.

 

 

 

February 10, 2026 - Posted by AnonW | Design, Transport/Travel | Battery-Electric Trains, Class 158 Train, Class 379 Train, Class 777 Train, CrossCountry Trains, Driver Only Operation, Great British Energy, Juergen Maier, Leeds Station, Northern Trains, Piccadilly Line, Politics, Sheffield Station, Sheffield Supertram, Siemens, Yorkshire Flyer