Completing Northern Powerhouse Rail
The Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two Connection To Manchester Airport Station
This OpenRailwayMap shows the rail connections that terminate at Manchester Airport station.
Note.
- The two runways are clearly shown.
- Manchester Airport station is indicated by the blue arrow near the top of the map.
- The orange tracks are rail lines.
- The green lines are Manchester Metrolink tracks.
- Rail and tram services approach the airport station from the East.
- The red dotted line is the current proposed path of Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two
- The black dotted line appears to be an extension of the tram line to the airport.
This second OpenRailwayMap shows the lines around the airport station to a larger scale.
Note.
- Manchester Airport station is indicated by the blue arrow at the bottom of the map.
- The orange tracks are rail lines.
- The green lines are Manchester Metrolink tracks.
- The red dotted line is the current proposed path of Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two.
- The Manchester Metrolink now makes a loop around the Airport.
I think the following will happen.
- A large proportion of passengers and staff travelling between Manchester Airport and Manchester City Centre will use Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two.
- Passengers and staff, who live locally will use the Manchester Metro loop.
- Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two will replace some of the current train services.
- Some services on the Castlefield Corridor will migrate to Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two.
There could be as many as twelve trains per hour (tph) between Manchester Airport and Manchester City Centre on Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two. But a new urban line like that, which was mostly in a tunnel could probably handle 20 tph.
Manchester Airport And Crewe
This OpenRailwayMap shows the railways between Manchester Airport and Crewe stations.
Note.
- Manchester Airport station is indicated by the blue arrow at the top of the map.
- The orange tracks are rail lines.
- The red track going down the left hand side of the map is the West Coast Main Line.
- The green lines are Manchester Metrolink tracks.
- The red dotted line is the current proposed path of Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two.
- Crewe station is at the bottom of the map in the middle.
There could be as many as 12 tph between Manchester Airport and Crewe.
Manchester Airport And Manchester Piccadilly
This OpenRailwayMap shows the railways between Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly stations.
Note.
- Manchester Airport station is in the South-West corner of the map.
- The orange tracks are existing rail lines.
- The green lines are Manchester Metrolink tracks.
- The red dotted line going up the middle of the map is the current proposed path of Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two.
- Manchester Piccadilly station is at the Northern end of Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the City Centre between Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria stations.
Note.
- Manchester Piccadilly station is in the South-East corner of the map.
- The red dotted lines creeping into the map is the current proposed path of Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two.
- All the platforms in Manchester Piccadilly station can be picked out, with the Castlefield Corridor breaking away to the West.
- The current plans will need demolition of buildings to the North of Manchester Piccadilly station.
- Manchester Victoria station is in the North-West corner of the map.
- The green line of the Manchester Metrolink route picks out the walking route between Manchester’s two main stations.
- About halfway between Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria stations is the open space of Piccadilly Gardens.
This Google Map shows Piccadilly Gardens.
Note.
- The Manchester Metrolink running through.
- There are two Metrolink stops ; Market Street and Piccadilly Gardens, in the area.
- It appears any stop on the Manchester Metrolink can be reached with no more than a single change from one of these two stops.
Looking at the map showing Victoria and Piccadilly stations, I wonder, if a Lizzie Line of the North could be built under Manchester City Centre.
- There would be underground platforms at Piccadilly station, with two through platforms and two to terminate trains from the South.
- Local services from Piccadilly station could continue as now, although services to Manchester Airport could be simplified.
- There would be an underground station at Piccadilly Gardens with two through platforms , to connect with an expanded Manchester Metrolink, buses and walking routes.
- There would be underground platforms at Victoria station, with two through platforms and two to terminate trains from the East.
- Local services from Victoria could continue as now.
- There could be as many as 12 tph between Manchester Victoria, Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport.
Just as the Lizzie Line was slotted into London, with the minimum of disruption, I am fairly certain, a similar but smaller construction process could be carried out in Manchester City Centre.
- Manchester doesn’t have an Underground to avoid.
- The stations could be very similar to each other and like Custom House station on the Lizzie Line, they could be built with giant concrete Lego.
- There would only be four stations to create.
- The tunnel would be about fifteen miles at most.
- The tunnel would not need to be electrified as the trains could run on batteries.
As a Manchester Rail Tunnel has been talked about for decades, I suspect there is a big knowledge base of ground conditions, which would help with the design and construction.
Between Manchester Victoria And Leeds
Consider.
- The electrification between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge stations has recently been switched on.
- Part of the electrification between Leeds and York stations has been switched on.
- Full electrification is being installed between Leeds and Manchester Victoria stations.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the Huddersfield Line between Manchester Victoria station and a few miles short of Huddersfield station.
Note.
- Manchester Victoria station is indicated by the blue arrow in the South-West corner of the map.
- Huddersfield station is just off the map in the North-East corner.
- Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge stations is fully electrified and shown in red.
- Stalybridge and Huddersfield stations is being electrified and is shown as black and red dotted.
- Electrification between Huddersfield and Leeds is underway under the TransPennine Upgrade.
This section will be completed, when the Manchester City Centre Rail Tunnel is connected to the Huddersfield Line.
Connecting The Manchester City Centre Rail Tunnel To The Huddersfield Line
This Google Map shows where the Huddersfield Line crosses the M60 Motorway to the West of Ashton-under-Lyme.
Note.
- The newly-electrified Huddersfield Line runs across the map.
- The M60 Motorway is on the left.
- There are facilities for athletics, cricket and football.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Eastern portal of the Manchester City Centre Rail Tunnel was in this area.
But looking at Google Maps between this site and Manchester Victoria, there are other sites.
Conclusion
I now feel that it is possible to create a Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two route using a tunnel under Manchester.
Obviously, there is more work to be done.
German court Rejects Deutsche Bahn’s Appeal To Share Stuttgart 21 Cost Overruns With Partners
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
These three paragraphs add more details.
A court has rejected Deutsche Bahn’s argument that the financial responsibility for cost overruns on the Stuttgart 21 project should be shared with its partners, which include the Land of Baden-Württemberg, the Stuttgart regional authority, Stuttgart city council and Stuttgart airport.
When launched in 2010, the project to remodel the local rail network, which includes 57 km of new line and a rebuilt Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof with underground platforms, was expected to cost €4·1bn.
It has since undergone steady cost increases, and is now projected to cost more than €11bn. It was originally expected to be completed in 2019, but has been continually delayed and partial opening is now to take place in December 2026 with full completion in 2027.
With a prospective increase in costs of nearly three times and being eight years late, it does seem that we’re not alone in getting large projects spectacularly wrong.
US Floating Wind Platform Developer Issues RFI To Fabricators Worldwide
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Aikido Technologies, which recently secured a spot at a Norwegian offshore demo site, has released an RFI for its 15 MW ‘AO60’ floating wind platform to offshore wind fabricators.
These are the first four paragraphs which add more details.
The California-based floating wind foundation developer said on social media that it had issued the RFI to more than ten “top-tier offshore wind fabricators from around the world”.
The RFI has been released in three separate packages, each tailored to a specific type of facility: one for standard offshore steel shops, one for tubular/jacket yards, and one for monopile/tower facilities.
“This is how we can build 1, 50 or 100 of these units with existing fabrication capabilities, with components that can be easily transported around the world for final assembly at a local port. No need for custom yards, custom vessels or custom ports”, Aikido Technologies said.
In May 2025, the company was allocated a slot for its AO60 platform at the Marine Energy Test Centre (METCentre) in Norway, where Aikido will deploy what it says is a first-of-its-kind 15 MW demonstration project.
As someone, who wrote project management computer systems for thirty years, I like Aikido’s plans and feel they would be well suited to the UK, where we have quite a few local ports, that would appear suitable for final assembly of the A060 platforms.
In Yarmouth Harbour To Be ‘Completed’ In £60m Project, I describe the expansion of the Port of Great Yarmouth.
These two paragraphs describe the work to be done.
Peel Ports said it would invest between £50m and £60m in Great Yarmouth’s Outer Harbour by developing the southern terminal, creating a roll-on roll-off (RORO) lift ramp and a large storage area.
Port director Richard Goffin said the construction work, which is set to begin in 2026, would “complete” the port as laid out in a business case in the early 2000s.
This image from Peel Ports Group shows how the Port of Great Yarmouth will look after the the proposed development.
As the Port of Great Yarmouth has a depth of ten metres it could be an ideal base for the assembly and maintenance of floating wind turbines.
Hull Trains Allows Delay Compensation To Be Donated To Charity
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Rail Advent.
These four paragraphs fill in the details.
Customers of Hull Trains who claim compensation for train delays can now choose to donate their Delay Repay funds to charity.
Hull Trains’ new official charity partner for 2025 is P.A.U.L For Brain Recovery, which supports people across the Humber region affected by acquired brain injury. P.A.U.L For Brain Recovery is based in Hull, and has recently expanded its support to cover communities in north and northeast Lincolnshire, and has ambitions to support people further afield.
The new scheme will allow customers to opt for the delay compensation to be sent directly to the charity. Hull Trains operates trains between Hull and London King’s Cross, stopping at Grantham in Lincolnshire, and serving other stations on the East Coast route, including Doncaster and Beverley.
The founder and CEO of P.A.U.L For Brain Recovery is Paul Spence. In 2012, Paul suffered a brain haemorrhage when he was the victim of an unprovoked attack. After he was discharged from a high dependency unit, he and his family faced a long and challenging road to recovery, and quickly realised that support available in the community was sadly lacking.
I think it’s rather a good idea.
An Interesting Comment From Lord Peter Hendy
This article on Modern Railways is entitled Chiltern FINALLY Signs Mk 5 Deal.
This extract from the article describes the deal.
An agreement for Chiltern Railways to lease the Mk 5A coaches previously operated by TransPennine Express and owned by Beacon Rail Leasing has been signed – and the trains are due to replace the current Mk 3 stock in phases from 2026. A 10-year lease has been agreed for the vehicles.
Chiltern will take on all 13 five-car sets as well as the spare Driving Trailer and the dedicated pool of 14 Class 68 locomotives.
The article also, has this excellent quote from Lord Peter Hendy, who is the Rail Minister at the end.
This government is putting passengers back at the heart of the 21st century railway by investing to make journeys easier, greener, and more comfortable.
“We are continuing to support Chiltern as they develop a plan to introduce additional services into their timetable, giving people more opportunities to work, live, and socialise.
I agree with much of what Lord Peter Hendy says, but could we see some actions to back up the words.
I have a few thoughts.
Lumo To Glasgow
I wrote about this new service in Lumo Will Extend Its King’s Cross And Edinburgh Service To Glasgow.
Given the opposition of the Transport Minister to open access services, I didn’t think this innovative service would be approved.
- But it does add an affordable passenger-friendly service to London and Glasgow routes.
- It will certainly be an easier route to London for some in Scotland.
- It also adds some much-needed direct services between Newcastle and Glasgow.
Did Lord Peter Hendy have words to help Lumo get its approval?
As I wrote in Could London And Central Scotland Air Passengers Be Persuaded To Use The Trains?, I also believe that this new Lumo service could persuade more air passengers to take the train to Scotland.
Lumo To Stirling
I wrote about this service in ORR: Open Access Services Given Green Light Between London And Stirling.
- First Group has taken over Grand Union Trains and the service will now be run by Lumo, who will use diesel Class 222 trains.
- But Lumo will have the option of running their electric Class 803 trains on the route, as it is fully electrified, when their fleet receives more trains.
This was another service, that I didn’t think would be approved, as no other services on the West Coast Main Line were approved, as Network Rail objected.
But it certainly meets the words in Lord Peter Hendy’s statement.
Like Lumo’s service to Glasgow, when the Stirling service gets electric trains, it will surely cut carbon emissions of travellers to Central Scotland.
Chiltern’s Replacement Trains
Chiltern Railways are replacing this fleet of locomotive hauled trains.
- 8 Class 68 locomotives
- 25 Mark 3 coaches
- 6 Driving Van Trailers
As services between London Marylebone and Birmingham Moor Street stations consist of one locomotive, five coaches and one driving van trailer, that means there are two spare locomotives, one spare coach and one spare driving van trailer, if there are five rakes of coaches in service.
The new fleet will be.
- 14 Class 68 locomotives
- 52 Mark 5A coaches
- 14 Driving Van Trailers
If services between London Marylebone and Birmingham Moor Street stations consist of one locomotive, four coaches and one driving van trailer, that means there are one spare locomotive and one spare driving van trailer, which gives a possible thirteen rakes of coaches in service.
There are certainly enough to expand Chiltern’s services. The obvious destination would surely be Oxford. These pictures show the two North-pacing platforms at Oxford station.
The platforms would be shared with East-West Rail, but they are around 160 metres in length.
The Modern Railways article quote Arriva Group Managing Director UK Trains Amanda Furlong as saying this.
Upgrading our fleet is a vital next step in Chiltern’s modernisation plans and an important part of Arriva’s wider ambition to support the transition to more sustainable rail travel across the UK and Europe.
We are proud to support this important milestone for Chiltern Railways, which is a great example of what can be achieved through strong collaboration with Government to deliver practical improvements for passengers. We look forward to seeing these upgraded trains improve journeys and lower emissions across the network.
She certainly would agree on some issues with Lord Peter Hendy.
So will Chiltern Railways do something to reduce the carbon footprint of their fourteen Class 68 locomotives?
- The Class 68 locomotives don’t have too many miles on the clock.
- Chiltern have already run some their Class 68 locomotives on HVO, so this must be a possibility.
- In total there are thirty-four Class 68 locomotives in service all of which have Caterpillar engines, so a conversion to zero-carbon power could be worthwhile.
I asked Google for an AI Overview on How many diesel locomotives have caterpillar engines worldwide? I got this answer.
While a precise worldwide count of diesel locomotives powered by Caterpillar (CAT) engines is difficult to pinpoint, it’s estimated that hundreds, if not thousands, of locomotives are equipped with CAT engines. Caterpillar has a long history of supplying engines to the rail industry, with engines like the 3500 series powering both mainline and switcher locomotives. Additionally, CAT engines are also used in generator sets for Head End Power (HEP) in passenger locomotives.
Note.
- It appears that, Caterpillar might have given up making truck engines because of emission issues.
- London Marylebone and Oxford is 66.8 miles
- London Marylebone and Birmingham Snow Hill is 112.3 miles.
Perhaps one of the consultants like Ricardo could convert these locomotives to run on hydrogen.
Do Hitachi Battery Electric InterCity Trains Have Problems?
I asked Google the question in the title of this post and got this answer.
While Hitachi’s battery-powered intercity trains have shown promising results in trials, particularly regarding fuel savings and emissions reduction, there are some potential challenges and considerations. These include safety concerns related to lithium battery fires, especially in the event of a crash or derailment, as well as range limitations for longer journeys. However, the technology is continuously evolving, and Hitachi is actively working to address these issues.
That seems fairly positive.
There is also this article on the BBC, which everybody should read, which is entitled Will New Battery-Powered Trains Replace Diesel, And Are They Safe?.
In The Data Sheet For Hitachi Battery Electric Trains, I look at the data sheet, that Hitachi published in late 2023.
These were my conclusions about the data sheet.
These are my conclusions about Hitachi’s battery packs for Class 80x trains, which were written in November 2023.
- The battery pack has a capacity of 750 kWh.
- A five-car train needs three battery-packs to travel 100 miles.
- A nine-car train needs five battery-packs to travel 100 miles.
- The maximum range of a five-car train with three batteries is 117 miles.
- The maximum range of a nine-car train with five batteries is 121 miles.
As battery technology gets better, these distances will increase.
Hitachi have seen my figures.
They also told me, that they were in line with their figures, but new and better batteries would increase range.
125 mph trains with a 120 mile range on batteries, would revolutionise UK train travel.
LNER’s Class 897 Trains
In the Wikipedia entry for LNER, this is said about LNER’s new ten CAF tri-mode trains.
In November 2023, LNER placed an order for 10 ten-car tri-mode (electric, diesel and battery power) Civity trains from CAF. In August 2024, it was announced that the units will be designated Class 897 under TOPS.
According to their Wikipedia entry, it appears the Class 897 trains will be delivered from 2027.
Can I Build A Schedule For The Introduction Of New Trains, Services and Batteries?
I think that I can from the information that is out there.
- East Coast Main Line – December 2025 – Introduction of Lumo between London King’s Cross and Glasgow
- West Coast Main Line – Spring 2026 – Introduction of Lumo between London Euston and Stirling
- Midland Main Line – 2026-2027 – Introduction of EMR Class 810 trains between London St. Pancras and Leicester, Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield.
- East Coast Main Line – From 2027 – Introduction of LNER Class 897 trains between London King’s Cross and Yorkshire.
Note.
- The two Lumo services use trains already in service.
- The Class 810 trains for EMR are being debugged and introduced at the present time.
- The only new trains are the Class 897 trains for LNER.
- The introduction of the Class 897 trains will allow LNER to withdraw some trains for refurbishment and fitting of batteries.
This would mean that before the next general election, almost the full timetable between London and the North of England and Scotland would have been implemented using diesel-electric technology.
Is it a low-risk start to the full electrification of services to the North?
The second-phase would see battery-electric trains introduced.
I believe that Grand Central’s new trains would be brought into service first.
- The new trains are scheduled to be introduced in 2028.
- Grand Central will still have the diesel trains for backup.
- Their new trains would be similar to the other Hitachi trains.
- It looks like they could be doing some splitting and joining.
After the Grand Central trains had been introduced successfully, the trains for the other Hitachi operators would have batteries fitted.
I suspect short routes like Lincoln would be electrified with battery-electric trains first.
There would also need to be short lengths of electrification erected, so that trains could be charged to send them on their way.
Other routes could also be electrified in the same way.
- Basingstoke and Exeter
- Birmingham and Aberystwyth
- Bristol and Penzance
- Cardiff and Swansea
- Crewe and Holyhead
- Edinburgh and Aberdeen
- Edinburgh and Inverness
- Reading and Taunton
- Swindon and Gloucester
If this technique could work for main lines, surely a scaled down version with smaller trains would work for branch lines.
Conclusion
Consider.
- It looks to me, that someone has planned this thoroughly.
- It all fits together extremely well.
It could be the first phase of a cunning plan to use battery-electric trains to electrify the UK’s railways.
Passengers will also see benefits, from when Lumo runs its first train into Glasgow Queen Street station.
I don’t think Hitachi’s trains have any problems, but there is enough float in this plan to make sure, it can be implemented on time and on budget.
Major Milestone Marked As Half A Million Journeys Are Made On The Northumberland Line
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item on the Northumberland County Council web site.
These are the first four paragraphs.
500,000 passengers have now travelled on the Northumberland Line since it opened, train operator Northern has announced.
The operator has been running trains since the line opened in December 2024, with the milestone of half a million customer journeys achieved just eight months later.
Services call at Newcastle, Manors and at new stations in Seaton Delaval, Newsham and Ashington, with a journey along the entire route taking around 35 minutes and a single fare costing no more than £3.
Trains are proving to be particularly popular during school holidays and weekends.
This news release shows how successful and popular reopening disused railways can be and paints a similar picture to what happened in Deven on the Dartmoor Line to Okehampton, that I wrote about in Dartmoor Line Passes 250,000 Journeys On Its First Anniversary, As Rail Minister Visits To Mark Official Opening Of The Station Building.
We should be looking for more similar lines like the Dartmoor and Northumberland Lines to reopen.
These must be candidates.
- The Ivanhoe Line in Leicestershire.
- The Fleetwood Line in Lancashire.
- The Wisbech Line in Cambridgeshire.
At least the government is reopening the Portishead Line in Somerset.
Could London And Central Scotland Air Passengers Be Persuaded To Use The Trains?
How Many Passengers Fly Between London And Edinburgh?
Wikipedia gives these figures for 2024 for passengers from Edinburgh to London
- London City – 334,873
- London Gatwick – 476,152
- London Heathrow – 1,148,634
- London Luton – 338, 729
- London Stansted – 693,953
This gives a total of 2,992,341.
As Wikipedia doesn’t give complete figures for from London to Edinburgh, for the purpose of this analysis, I’ll assume they are the same.
How Many Passengers Fly Between London And Glasgow?
Wikipedia gives these figures for 2024 for passengers from Glasgow to London
- London City – 208,405
- London Gatwick – 456,002
- London Heathrow – 954,027
- London Luton – 255,095
- London Stansted – 225,110
This gives a total of 2,098,639.
As Wikipedia doesn’t give complete figures for from London to Glasgow, for the purpose of this analysis, I’ll assume they are the same.
How Many Passengers Fly Between London And Scotland’s Central Belt?
Adding the two figures gives 5,090,980. in both directions.
Which is an average of 97,903 per week or 13,948 per day.
How Many Train Seats Run Between London And Scotland’s Central Belt?
These figures are for Friday the 1st of August.
- Aventi West Coast – London Euston and Glasgow Central – 5 x 9-car Class 390 train – 2,345 seats
- Aventi West Coast – London Euston and Glasgow Central – 16 x 11-car Class 390 train – 6,677 seats
- LNER – London King’s Cross and Edinburgh – 26 x 9-car Class 801 train – 15,886 seats
- Lumo – London King’s Cross and Edinburgh – 5 x 5-car Class 803 train – 2,010 seats
Note.
- All services are all-electric.
- All services are fairly new or have recently been refurbished,
This gives a total of 26,918 train seats.
Adding Lumo’s Service To Glasgow
In Lumo Will Extend Its King’s Cross And Edinburgh Service To Glasgow, I suggested that the Glasgow service would be run as follows from December 2025.
- Two existing Lumo services will leave London as pairs of five-car trains.
- The pairs will split at Edinburgh.
- The leading train will go on to Glasgow Queen Street calling at Edinburgh Haymarket and Falkirk High stations.
- The trailing train will return to London King’s Cross.
- At the end of the day, the two trains in Glasgow will do a fast run back to London King’s Cross as a pair of 5-car trains.
This will add 804 seats per day between London and Glasgow Queen Street in both directions.
The daily total would now total 27,722 train seats, which compares with a daily average of 13,948 passengers per day, who travel by air.
Adding Lumo’s Service To Stirling
In Lumo To Expand Scotland’s Rail Network With New London-Stirling Rail Route From Spring 2026, I talk about Lumo’s new service to Stirling.
- There will be five trains per day (tpd) in each direction.
- Lumo’s new route will link London Euston directly to Stirling, also calling at Milton Keynes, Nuneaton, Crewe, Preston, Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell, Whifflet (serving Coatbridge), Greenfaulds (serving Cumbernauld) and Larbert.
- The service will use 6-car Class 222 trains, which in the linked post, I estimate will have a similar one-class capacity to the Class 803 trains between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh.
- If the capacity of the two train types is similar, this should give operational advantages and allow some more Class 803 trains to run the Euston and Stirling route.
This second Scottish route will add 2010 train seats per day between London Euston and Stirling in both directions.
The daily total would now total 29,732 train seats, which compares with a daily average of 13,948 passengers per day, who travel by air.
Could More Capacity Be Added Between London And Scotland’s Central Belt?
I believe some of the Lumo services between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh could be doubled up to a pair of trains.
There would have to be no platform length issues at London King’s Cross, Stevenage, Newcastle and Morpeth stations.
If three trains could be doubled up, that would add 1,206 train seats per day between London and Edinburgh in both directions.
The daily total would now total 30,938 train seats, which compares with a daily average of 13,948 passengers per day, who travel by air.
I also suspect, that some of the Stirling services could be doubled up.
Connectivity Of England’s Northern Airports To London And Central Scotland
Birmingham Airport
Consider.
- There are easyJet flights to Edinburgh and Glasgow
- There are 1.5 trains per hour (tph) between Birmingham New Street and Edinburgh.
- There are 6 tpd between Birmingham New Street and Glasgow.
You would make your choice and pay the money.
East Midlands Airport
There are no flights or trains to Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Leeds Airport
Consider.
- There are no flights to Edinburgh or Glasgow.
- There is one tph between Leeds and Edinburgh
- There is one tpd between Leeds and Glasgow
Could Leeds and Glasgow get better connectivity?
Liverpool Airport
Consider.
- There are no flights to Edinburgh or Glasgow.
- There is one tph between Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh
- There is three tpd between Liverpool Lime Street and Glasgow
The Liverpool area is well connected to Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western and Preston stations on the West Coast Main Line for alternative services to Glasgow.
Manchester Airport
Consider.
- There are no flights to Edinburgh or Glasgow.
- There is one tph between Manchester Airport and Scotland via Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Oxford Road, which alternates between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The Manchester area is well connected to Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western and Preston stations on the West Coast Main Line for alternative services to Glasgow.
Omio gives this summary of flights between Heathrow and Manchester airports.
Flights from Manchester Airport to London Heathrow Airport depart on average 8 times per day, taking around 1h 6m. Cheap flight tickets for this journey start at £63 but you can travel from only £16 by coach.
Wrightbus and others will be producing mouse-quiet hydrogen-powered coaches in a couple of years. I suspect these will give short flights a good kicking.
Newcastle Airport
Consider.
- There are no flights to Edinburgh or Glasgow.
- There is three tph between Newcastle and Edinburgh with an additional 5 tpd from Lumo.
- There is two tpd between Newcastle and Glasgow.
- There is one tpd between Newcastle and Stirling.
- From December 2025, Lumo will add two tpd from Newcastle to Glasgow and one tpd from Glasgow to Newcastle.
- In Lumo Will Extend Its King’s Cross And Edinburgh Service To Glasgow, I stated that I believe that Lumo’s Glasgow to Newcastle service will be a late evening ten-car train, so travellers can have a long day in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newcastle and still return to London.
Lumo would appear to fill in the gap between Newcastle and Glasgow.
Google AI gives this summary of flights between Heathrow and Newcastle airports.
There are usually 5-6 direct flights per day between Newcastle and Heathrow airports. These flights are operated by British Airways. The average flight time is around 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Note.
- In 2024, 497, 469 passengers flew between between Heathrow and Newcastle airports, which is an average of 681 passengers in each direction every day.
- This was an increase of 13.6 % on 2023.
- From December Lumo will be running extra London King’s Cross and Newcastle services, with each train having 402 seats.
- The improvements in rail services in and around Newcastle in recent months, will surely bring more passengers to use trains from Newcastle station.
- Will Lumo also target adverts at airline passengers?
London and Newcastle could be another route for mouse-quiet hydrogen-powered coaches.
Conclusion
These numbers summarise my calculations.
- Currently an average of 13,948 passengers per day fly between London and Central Scotland.
- Currently, there are 26,918 train seats available per day between London and Central Scotland.
- In December 2025, Lumo will add another 804 low-cost train seats between London King’s Cross and Glasgow Queen Street.
- In Spring 2026, Lumo will add 2010 low-cost train seats between London Euston and Stirling.
- From Spring 2026, there will be 29,732 train seats available per day between London and Central Scotland.
- This represents a 10 % increase of seats on the trains between London and Central Scotland.
How many passengers, who normally fly, will switch to using the train?
- Lumo may only offer one class, but you get a trolley and can order food from M & S and others to be delivered to your seat.
- Both LNER and Lumo accept dogs. I don’t know about Avanti.
- All services will be all-electric, when Lumo gets its new electric trains for Stirling, in a few years.
- It looks to me like Lumo could be offering a late train back to London from Edinburgh and Glasgow.
- Digital signalling on the East Coast Main Line should speed up services.
If Lumo to Glasgow and Stirling works out, it could also cut the total carbon footprint of travel between London and Central Scotland.
Hotel Tycoon Reveals Heathrow Expansion Proposal
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
Hotel tycoon Surinder Arora has announced he is submitting a Heathrow expansion plan which rivals a proposal from the airport’s owners.
These three paragraphs add more details.
The billionaire’s Arora Group said the “primary benefit” of the plan it submitted to the government was a shorter new runway which would avoid the costly and disruptive need to divert the M25 motorway.
Building a 2,800-metre (9,200 ft) third runway instead of the full-length 3,500-metre (11,500 ft) runway planned by the airport would result in “reduced risk” and avoid “spiralling cost”, the company said.
The airport declined to comment on the Arora Group’s proposal.
Note.
- In Heathrow Willing To Build Shorter Runway After Airline Outcry Over Cost, I proved to my satisfaction, that a shorter third runway would work.
- Any scheme that involves diverting the M25, is not fit to get to be on the short list, as construction will be too disruptive.
- I also remember the problems of the M 25, during the construction of Terminal 5.
The last paragraph is the most important, as it illustrates Heathrow’s attitude to outside ideas.
- Was HS4Air, that I talked about in Ambitious £10bn Plans For Gatwick Heathrow HS4Air Rail Service Rejected properly considered?
- Was Heathrow Southern Railway, that I talked about in Why I Like The Heathrow Southern Railway Proposal, properly considered?
Perhaps, Heathrow’s management suffers from Not-Invented-Here Syndrome?
Conclusion
I suspect that Surinder Arora’s project will be a non-starter.
The Anonymous Widower 