Is This Why Purists Say The Midland Main Line Must Be Electrified?
In How Far Will A Class 897 Train Travel Without Using The Electrification?, I showed that the Class 897 train, can go for 120 miles on its internal power sources.
I also showed that the Hitachi Class 80X trains with batteries can do the same.
But if you look at distance on the Midland Main Line, some are greater than 120 miles.
- St. Pancras and Chesterfield – 146.1 miles
- St. Pancras and Derby – 128.3 miles
- St. Pancras and Doncaster – 157.3 miles
- St. Pancras and Leeds – 187.2 miles
- St. Pancras and Nottingham – 126.4 miles
- St. Pancras and Sheffield – 160.0 miles
So to get all the way to Chesterfield, Derby, Doncaster, Leeds, Nottingham or Sheffield from St. Pancras, a train with a longer range is needed.
Conservative thinking means electrification, as we know it works.
You might also say, that the electrification on the Midland Main Line, just sort of peters out South of Leicester.
But thinking about it!
- The electrification on the East Coast Main Line doesn’t cross the Forth Bridge.
- The electrification on the West Coast Main Line finishes at Dunblane.
- The electrification on the South Wales Main Line finishes at Cardiff.
- Few branch lines in East Anglia are electrified.
- The East-West Line is not to be electrified.
Did the accountants prune too hard?
They may have done!
- But we do need a a zero-carbon train for routes longer than 120 miles.
- And so do many other routes across the world.
- The more you turn it round in your mind, the more you need a zero-carbon fuel with all the flexibility, range and ease of refuelling of diesel.
In my mind the only fuel that can do this is hydrogen.
Conclusion
If we want to run zero-carbon services over very long distances, we will need to use hydrogen power.
I also think, that my logic here, will apply to buses and coaches, so any needing a range over a certain size will need hydrogen.
As the purists won’t have hydrogen at any price, this means they won’t accept anything other than full electrification or battery-electric.
But bigger batteries are heavier and self-defeating, so electrification is the only way.
The Anonymous Widower 
Hydrogen is hellishly inefficient unless youve got free energy. Then youve got UK loading gauge forcing everything to the underframe with not much space if your going down the 810 route. It feels more viable with a locomotive and although some may say its retrograde even a tender with hydrogen storage would give long duration although for flexibility a twin unit would be better so a freight solution is viable. MML needs wiring but using discontinuous wiring to deal with likes of Leicester stn and avoid wiring up complex areas just install batts in place of GUs.
Comment by Nicholas Lewis | April 19, 2026 |
The new methods of producing hydrogen are more efficient. HiiROC appears to be five times more so. I also think CERES, who like HiiROC are in bed with Centrica. I also think that all the work being done by Wrightbus, Mercedes and others to make long-distance hydrogen coaches wth a 1,000 km range will improve the storage.
It should be remembered that in the 1960s ICI moved the largest trucks off the day up and down the motorways with a large trailer brim-full of hydrogen and I’ve never heard an accident reported.
Calculations show that the maximum range of a Hitachi five-car train, with three batteries is probably 117 miles. And Sheffield is 160 miles.
Hydrogen also gives you the flexibility, when the wires come down, as they did yesterday.
Comment by AnonW | April 19, 2026 |