High Speed Two Lite
Posts that relate to Rishi Sunak’s cut-back High Speed Two will be tagged with High Speed Two Lite.
These are the current list of posts.
Could High Speed Two Finish At Lichfield?
Could Manchester Airport Be Accessed From The West By A Tunnel Under The M56?
High Speed Two To Barrow-in-Furness
High Speed Two To Stoke-on-Trent
Is Six Platforms Enough At Euston For High Speed Two?
Will High Speed Two Lite Make Stafford An Important Station?
UK’s First Battery-Powered Trains Hit The Tracks
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
The UK’s first battery-powered passenger trains have started running on Merseyside.
These two paragraphs outline the article.
The trains, which are part of the Liverpool City Region’s £500m publicly owned fleet, will run from the new £80m Headbolt Lane station in Kirkby.
Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said the move helps to pave the way “for cleaner and greener” transport.
I particularly liked this paragraph.
The battery technology – which removes the need for a live third rail – could see the Merseyrail network running to previously inaccessible places, including Manchester, Wrexham, Warrington, Preston and Runcorn, according to a Liverpool City Region Combined Authority spokesperson.
After the trouble, I had on Tuesday, when I tried to get from Manchester to Saint Helens, Manchester is also a city that’s difficult to leave.
High Speed Two To Stoke-on-Trent
Some of you out there might be a bit worried after Rishi Sunak’s speech today, when he announced he’d cancelled High Speed Two, as you might be losing a future high speed service.
Currently, Stoke-on-Trent is served by two trains per hour (tph), that run between London and Manchester Piccadilly.
- One train calls at Milton Keynes Central, Rugby, Macclesfield and Stockport, and takes about 1:33 to Stoke and 2:12 to Manchester Piccadilly.
- The other calls at Nuneaton and Stockport, and takes about 1:30 to Stoke and 2:06 to Manchester Piccadilly.
- Trains are both 9-car and 11-car Class 390 trains or Pendolinos.
- All trains go via Colwich.
This map shows the Colwich, Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent.
Note.
- Electrified lines are shown in red.
- The line across the South-West corner of the map is the West Coast Main Line.
- Stafford is the Northern end of the Trent Valley Line, which runs East along the bottom of the map.
- The Trent Valley Line, which is a by-pass of the West Coast Main Line, rejoins that line at Rugby.
- Stoke-on-Trent is in the North-West corner of the map.
- Colwich is in the South-East corner of the map and is marked by a blue arrow.
- There are two routes between Stone-on-Trent and Colwich; the more-direct Northern route and a Southern route via Stafford.
The current services between London and Stoke-on-Trent use the more-direct Northern route, although they can take the Southern route via Stafford.
This must mean that as Stoke-on-Trent services take the Northern route, there are more paths through Stafford for West Coast Main Line services to and from Liverpool, Manchester and Scotland.
This graphic shows High Speed Two services after Phase 2b is completed.
Note.
- Services shown in blue are run by High Speed Two Full Size trains.
- Services shown in yellow are run by High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains.
- Each of these trains will have a frequency of one tph.
The third High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train from the left is a London and Macclesfield service, which will stop at Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent, has the following timings from London.
- Stafford – 0:55 – 22 minutes faster
- Stoke-on-Trent – 1:10 – 14 minutes faster
- Macclesfield – 1:30 – 11 minutes faster
I have a few thoughts and questions.
How Does This High Speed Two Service Get To And From London?
The service goes through Stafford and then takes the Trent Valley Line to the South.
This map clipped from the HS2 site, shows the original layout of HS2 to the North and East of Lichfield.
Note.
- High Speed Two runs North-South across the map.
- After the Junction by Fradley South, the now-scrapped High Speed Two to Crewe and the North, is the branch to the East.
- The other branch connects to the Trent Valley Line, which can be picked out North of Lichfield, where it passes through Lichfield Trent Valley station.
- The Trent Valley Line goes North-West through Colwich to Stafford, where the line rejoins the West Coast Main Line.
As the Eastern branch North from the junction has been scrapped, all trains between London and North would go via this link between High Speed Two at Lichfield and Trent Valley Line through Stafford.
Can The Current Trains and the High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains Share Tracks?
The answer will be yes, as the High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains have been designed to share tracks with existing trains.
Full digital signalling may be needed to enable 140 mph running and more paths on the classic lines.
Will There Be A Second High Speed Two Service To Stoke-On-Trent And Stafford?
One of the problems with High Speed Two is that it won’t call at stations in the Midlands that are currently served by Avanti West Coast.
- Currently, stations with an Avanti call are Milton Keynes Central, Nuneaton and Rugby.
- Avanti’s second Liverpool service will call at Tamworth and Lichfield Trent Valley.
- In the June 2023 Edition of Modern Railways, Avanti’s Managing Director; Andy Mellors talks about the benefits the company accrues from stopping in the Midlands.
I believe that after High Speed Two opens, that a semi-fast service could run between London and Manchester.
- It would be run by a Class 390 train or Pendolino.
- It would use the route currently used by Manchester services via Stoke-on-Trent.
- At the Southern end, it would terminate in London Euston.
- It could call at Watford Junction, Milton Keynes Central, Rugby, Nuneaton, Lichfield Trent Valley, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield and Stockport.
- ,Station stops would be arranged as to need.
- A one stop service to London takes 90 minutes from Stoke-on-Trent, with a two-stopper taking 93 minutes, so does each stop with a Pendolino add three minutes to the journey time?
Such a service could be developed to give stations like Stoke-on-Trent a second service to London.
The Lines Around Stafford
This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the lines around Stafford.
Note.
- Red lines are electrified.
- Black Lines are not.
- Stafford is marked by the blue arrow.
Selective electrification could probably improve connectivity by a large margin.
This Google map shows Stafford station.
I feel that Stafford station could be developed into a major interchange between High Speed Two and local services.
Conclusion
It looks to me that Stoke-on-Trent will be well-served by High Speed Two.
See Also
Could High Speed Two Finish At Lichfield?
INEOS Inovyn Becomes Europe’s First Green Hydrogen ISCC PLUS Fully Certificated Producer
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from INEOS.
These two bullet points, act as sub-headings.
- INEOS Inovyn’s Antwerp hydrogen production, has been certified under the ISCC (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification) PLUS scheme.
- We become the first European company to have our renewable hydrogen fully audited with greenhouse gas data certification.
This paragraph describes how the hydrogen is produced.
Our Antwerp site produces hydrogen through Chlor-Alkali electrolysis – the electrolysis of brine producing chlorine, caustic soda/potash, sodium hypochlorite and hydrogen. The electricity used to produce this hydrogen comes directly from wind turbines off Belgium’s North Coast.
The Castner-Kellner process, that I worked on at ICI in the 1960s produced similar products.
High Speed Two To Holyhead
Rishi Sunak has just announced that the North Wales Main Line will be electrified, along with the cancellation of further phases of High Speed Two.
I have written about this topic before in Could High Speed Two Serve Holyhead?.
In that post, I started with this question and answer.
Why?
It could be a way to create a zero- or low-carbon route between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland.
In Could High Speed Two Finish At Lichfield?, I discussed, what might happen if the Birmingham to Manchester leg of High Speed Two were to be scrapped.
This was my main conclusion.
I strongly believe that an upgraded Trent Valley Line linked to a shortened High Speed Two at Lichfield could improve journey times between London, Birmingham and the North.
As the current Holyhead services will pass this junction between the Trent Valley Line and High Speed Two, there is no reason, why they couldn’t take High Speed Two to and from London, if the service was run by High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains.
These are further thoughts.
Timings
These would be the times in hours:minutes.
- Bangor – 2:42
- Chester – 1:28
- Holyhead – 3:10
- Llandudno Junction – 2:24
Currently, Holyhead is three hours and forty-five minutes.
Would the Electrification Be Full Or Partial Between Crewe And Holyhead?
This question will be increasingly asked about electrification.
Consider.
- CAF, Hitachi, Siemens and Stadler are all developing battery-electric technology for trains.
- The UK’s first battery-electric train service goes into service tomorrow between Liverpool and Headbolt Lane station.
- Freight locomotives are increasingly being ordered with both electric and diesel power.
- Some of the castles, countryside and other monuments wouldn’t be enhanced, with lots of overhead electrification.
I think it is likely, that electrification will increasingly have gaps for visual, technical or heritage reasons.
Electrification of the North Wales Coast Line with other small improvements could probably reduce the journey time between London and Holyhead to around three hours.
Would There Be Enough Paths On The Trent Valley Line And High Speed Two?
This graphic shows High Speed Two services after Phase 2b is completed.
Note.
- Services shown in blue are run by High Speed Two Full Size trains.
- Services shown in yellow are run by High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains.
- There are a total of 23 train paths of which eleven would need to go along the Trent Valley Line.
- The three London-Manchester services and the two Birmingham-Manchester services would have to be run by High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains.
- The second Liverpool train is only a single train, but it could be a pair, that split at Crewe, with one train going to Liverpool and the other to Chester and North Wales.
- All the Avanti West Coast services, currently using the Trent Valley Line would probably be replaced by High Speed Two services.
There would have to be a bit of reorganising, but I suspect an hourly path could be found for a train between London and Holyhead.
A Fast Green Route To The Emerald Isle
Electrification of the North Wales Coast Line with other small improvements could probably reduce the journey time between London and Holyhead to around three hours.
This service could be paired with a fast zero-carbon ferry to the island of Ireland?
Conclusion
I am fairly sure that an HS2 service to Holyhead could be run, once the North Wales Coast Line is electrified.
See Also
Could High Speed Two Finish At Lichfield?
Could High Speed Two Finish At Lichfield?
I wrote this post before Rishi Sunak made his speech.
I went to Manchester and Liverpool yesterday by train.
I took the 10:33 from Euston and this a summary of my journey.
- The train left Euston half a minute early.
- It arrived at Stafford (133.5 miles) at 11:50 and left at 11:52.
- It arrived at Crewe (158.0 miles) at 12:08 and left at 12.10.
- It arrived at Wilmslow (176.9 miles) at 12:25 and left at 12:27.
- It arrived at Stockport (183.0 miles) at 12:35 and left at 12:37.
- It arrived in Manchester Piccadilly (188.9 miles) at 12:46.
- It was two minutes late into Manchester and more or less on time at the other stops.
Note.
- The route was via the Trent Valley Line and the train passed through Nuneaton, Tamworth, Lichfield Trent Valley, Colwich and Stafford.
- Euston and Manchester had been timetabled at two hours and eleven minutes.
- This is an average speed of 86.5 mph.
- The Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two gives the fastest time before High Speed Two opens as one hour and fifty-four minutes.
- This will be an average speed of 99.4 mph.
Coming home, I took the 18:48 from Liverpool Lime Street and this a summary of my journey.
- The train left Liverpool on time.
- It arrived at Runcorn (13.2 miles) at 18:58 and left at 19:02.
- It arrived at Crewe (35.8 miles) at 19:26 and left at 19:28.
- It arrived at Milton Keynes (143.8 miles) at 20:27 and left at 20:29.
- It arrived in Euston (183.6 miles) at 21:00.
- It was five minutes late into Crewe and two minutes early at Euston.
Note.
- The route was via the Trent Valley Line and the train passed through Stafford, Colwich, Lichfield Trent Valley, Tamworth and Nuneaton.
- Liverpool and Euston had been timetabled at two hours and twenty minutes.
- This is an average speed of 78.7 mph.
- The Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two gives the fastest time before High Speed Two opens as two hours and three minutes.
- This will be an average speed of 89.6 mph.
This map clipped from the High Speed Two web site, shows the junction North of Lichfield, where High Speed Two connects to the Trent Valley Line through Stafford.
Note.
- High Speed Two runs North-South across the map.
- After the Junction by Fradley South, High Speed Two to Crewe and the North, is the branch to the East.
- The other branch connects to the Trent Valley Line at Handsacre junction.
- Trent Valley Line can be picked out North of Lichfield, where it passes through Lichfield Trent Valley station.
The Trent Valley Line is no Victorian double-track slow-speed bottleneck.
- The route between Rugby and Crewe is generally three or four tracks, with only one short stretch of double track, through Shugborough tunnel.
- The speed limit is generally 110 mph, with 90 mph at Shugborough.
- I wouldn’t be surprised to see Avanti West Coast’s Class 390 and Class 807 trains could be running at up to 140 mph on the route, if digital signalling were to be installed.
- This speed would probably be attained by High Speed Two trains.
London Euston and Stafford would only have under twenty miles of slower line and that could be 140 mph, so High Speed Two times on the route could be very fast.
This second map clipped from the High Speed Two web site, shows between High Speed Two’s two Birmingham stations and Lichfield.
Note.
- High Speed Two Phases 1 and 2a are shown in blue.
- High Speed Two Phase 2b is shown in orange.
- At the top of the map, can be seen the junction, where High Speed Two to the North splits, that was shown in the previous map.
- The large blue dot in the West at the bottom of the map, is Birmingham Curzon Street station.
- The other large blue dot is Birmingham International station.
- The three sections of High Speed Two to London, Birmingham Curzon Street and the North meet at a triangular junction between the two Birmingham stations.
- High Speed Two to the East Midlands, branches off to the East North of the triangular junction.
This third map clipped from the High Speed Two web site, shows between Lichfield and Crewe.
Note.
- High Speed Two Phase 2a is shown in blue.
- High Speed Two Phase 2b is shown in orange.
- Crewe is in the North-West corner of the map, where at the South end of the orange section.
- The junction at Lichfield is in the South-East corner of the map.
- The lighter blue route to the East, between the Lichfield junction and Crewe is the new tracks of High Speed Two.
- The darker blue route to the West, between the Lichfield junction and Crewe is the existing route of the Trent Valley Line and the West Coast Main Line.
- The Trent Valley Line joins the West Coast Main Line at Stafford.
These are a few thoughts and questions.
How Will Trains Go Between Birmingham Curzon Street And London?
Trains will use the triangular junction shown in the second map to go between the two Birmingham stations and then head South,
How Will Trains Go Between Birmingham Curzon Street And The North?
Trains will use the triangular junction shown in the second map to turn North and then take one of the two routes to the North; High Speed Two or Trent Valley Line/West Coast Main Line.
How Will Trains Go Between Birmingham Curzon Street And The North If High Speed Two Between Birmingham And The North Is Scrapped?
If High Speed Two is scrapped from the Northern point of the triangular junction to the North, there will be no way that trains could go North from Birmingham Curzon Street.
- The overcrowded Birmingham New Street station will still be the link to the North of England and Scotland for Birmingham.
- How would trains connect to the future branch to East Midlands Parkway, which connects just North of the triangular junction?
I suspect that a short stub will be built North of the triangular junction to connect to the Trent Valley Line, which is currently, the main route of trains between London and the North through the West Midlands, for trains that don’t go through Birmingham.
Trains Between London And Stafford
Currently, Avanti West Coast trains take around one hour and seventeen minutes between London and Stafford.
The Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two gives these times between London and Stafford.
- Fastest time before High Speed Two – one hour and seventeen minutes.
- Time after Phase 2a of High Speed Two opens – fifty-five minutes.
Note.
That is a time saving of twenty-two minutes.
High Speed Two Trains will use the link between the junction at Lichfield and the Trent Valley Line.
How Many Avanti West Coast Services Use The Trent Valley Line?
These trains use the Trent Valley Line.
- London and Holyhead – 8 tpd
- London and Liverpool Lime Street – 1 tph, which is planned to increase to 2 tph
- London and Manchester Piccadilly – 2 tph
- London and Blackpool North – 1 tpd
- London and Glasgow – 1 tph
Note.
- tpd is trains per day
- tph is trains per hour
This is roughly six tph.
Would It Be Possible To Finish High Speed Two At The Lichfield Junction And Connect It To The Trent Valley Line?
This is a repeat of the first map.
Note.
- High Speed Two runs North-South across the map.
- After the Junction by Fradley South, High Speed Two to Crewe and the North, is the branch to the East.
- The other branch connects to the Trent Valley Line at Handsacre junction.
- Trent Valley Line can be picked out North of Lichfield, where it passes through Lichfield Trent Valley station.
If the Eastern branch North from the junction were to be scrapped, all trains between London and North would go via Stafford.
As all these tracks are planned and must be at an advanced stage, that is ready for construction, I feel the route would be feasible.
It would have these benefits.
- Birmingham Curzon Street services and the North-West of England and the West of Scotland would be possible.
- Services between London and Stafford will be twenty-two minutes faster, than they are now.
- Time savings will also apply to services from London to Liverpool, Macclesfield, Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent and all stations between Crewe and Glasgow.
The capacity of the Trent Valley Line would be the limiting factor.
Time Savings Between Crewe And Preston
According to the Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two, after Phase 2a of High Speed Two opens, these will be the fastest times to Crewe and Preston.
- Crewe – 0:56
- Preston 1:18
Note.
- The fastest Preston service runs non-stop between Euston and Preston.
- Crewe and Preston are 51 miles apart.
A time of 22 minutes between Crewe and Preston, means the average speed is 139 mph.
Does this mean that High Speed Two will improve between Crewe and Preston to allow 140 mph non-stop running?
But 22 minutes is certainly an improvement on the current time between Crewe and Preston for Scottish trains of 40 minutes.
Time Savings Between Crewe And Liverpool
The upgrading of the line between might save another couple of minutes between Crewe and Weaver junction.
What Times Would Be Possible Via High Speed Two And The Trent Valley Line?
These times are based on the following.
- The twenty-two minute saving to Stafford, as all High Speed Two services to the North-West of England and the West of Scotland will go via Phase 1 of High Speed Two and Stafford.
- A saving of eighteen minutes will be applied to Scottish services because of savings between Crewe and Preston.
This would give these times in hours:minutes.
- Blackpool – 2:10
- Carlisle – 2:35
- Chester – 1:28
- Crewe – 1:08
- Glasgow – 3:50
- Holyhead – 3:10
- Lancaster – 2:03
- Liverpool Lime Street – 1:41
- Llandudno Junction – 2:24
- Macclesfield – 1:30
- Manchester Piccadilly via Crewe – 1:52
- Oxenholme – 1:54
- Preston – 1:46
- Runcorn 1:31
- Stafford – 0:55
- Stockport – 1:35
- Stoke-on-Trent – 1:10
- Warrington – 1:22
- Wigan 1:33
- Wilmslow – 1:25
I have calculated extra services to Blackpool and North Wales.
Adding The Lichfield And Crewe Section
Consider.
- My calculations indicate that London and Crewe will take 1:08.
- The Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two, after Phase 2a of High Speed Two opens, gives the fastest time to Crewe as 0:56.
This indicates that adding the section of High Speed Two between Lichfield and Crewe will save a further twelve minutes.
Conclusion
I strongly believe that an upgraded Trent Valley Line linked to a shortened High Speed Two at Lichfield could improve journey times between London, Birmingham and the North.
There are certainly savings to be made.
See Also
The Crown Estate Refines Plans For Celtic Sea Floating Wind
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Crown Estate.
This is the first part of the press release.
The Crown Estate has set out further details on its plans for Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5, which aims to establish new floating offshore wind technology off the coast of Wales and South West England. The update includes details on the final planned locations for the new windfarms, as well as further information on a multi-million-pound programme of marine surveys.
Round 5 is expected to be the first phase of development in the Celtic Sea, with The Crown Estate working to catalyse and accelerate the UK’s energy transition, and to de-risk developments to speed up their deployment. This includes investing in an upfront Habitats Regulation Assessment, an extensive programme of marine surveys and working with the Electricity System Operator on a coordinated approach to grid design.
This latest update follows a period of engagement with developers and wider stakeholders on proposals set out in July over how to make best use of available space in the Celtic Sea. As a result of the feedback received, The Crown Estate has confirmed that:
- Three Project Development Areas (PDAs) of roughly equal size are expected to be made available to bidders, as opposed to the previously proposed four PDAs of varying sizes
- No bidder will be able to secure an Agreement for Lease for more than one PDA
- As a result of bringing forward three equal-sized PDAs – each with a potential capacity of up to 1.5GW – the overall capacity available through Round 5 has increased from a possible 4GW to up to 4.5GW, enough to power more than 4 million homes
Note.
- Another 4.5 GW of offshore wind should hit the queue.
- It sounds like they have been listening to developers.
To find out more of the potential of the Celtic Sea, I recommend this article on the Engineer, which is entitled Unlocking The Renewables Potential Of The Celtic Sea.
I’ll go along with what this article says and accept that 50 GW of wind capacity could be installed in the Celtic Sea.
Northern Trials New Technology To Blast Leaves From Train Tracks
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Technology Magazine.
This is the sub-heading.
Northern is trialling new technology to blast leaves from train tracks this autumn. The technology, called Water-Trak, is attached to the undercarriage of passenger trains and sprays a small amount of water onto the track when a slippery rail is detected. This creates rainy-day conditions on the rail surface, which cleans the rail and makes the conditions better for braking.
Northern have fitted the Water-Trak system to five trains this autumn and seem pleased with the results, as they are fitting another eleven trains for next autumn.
High Speed Two To Lancaster
There has been a lot of speculation about the Northern end of High Speed Two, so I might as well add sort out a few facts and add a bit of speculation of my own.
The Current Lancaster Service
I shall look at the 07:30 train on the 29th September 2023.
- It was a nine-car Class 390 train or Pendolino, which left on time.
- Euston and Lancaster are 230 miles apart.
- The train passed Crewe at 09:59
- The train arrived at Warrington Bank Quay at 09:14 and left at 09:15.
- The train arrived at Wigan North Western at 09:25 and left at 09:26.
- The train arrived at Preston at 09:39 and left at 09:41.
- The train arrived at Lancaster at 09:55 and left at 09:57.
- The journey took two hours and 25 minutes
- The average speed was 95.2 mph.
- There is at least one train per hour (tph).
Lancaster Will Get Its Own High Speed Two Service
This graphic shows High Speed Two services after Phase 2b is completed.
Note.
- Lancaster and Liverpool share a pair of High Speed Two Classic Compatible trains, that will split and join at Crewe.
- The Lancaster service will stop at Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western and Preston, to the North of Crewe.
The Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two gives these times for trains from London after Phase 2a opens to Crewe.
- Crewe – 56 minutes
- Warrington Bank Quay – One hour and 20 minutes
- Wigan North Western – One hour and 34 minutes
- Preston – One hour and 18 minutes
- Lancaster – Two hours and 3 minutes
- Oxenholme – One hour and 56 minutes
- Carlisle – Two hours and 23 minutes
Note.
- The Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western and Lancaster times will apply to the direct Lancaster service.
- The Preston and Carlisle times apply to the non-stop Scottish service.
- Oxenholme will be reached with a change from London.
- Currently, Pendolinos travel between Crewe and Lancaster in an hour or a few minutes less.
I feel the Lancaster time is suspect and a better time would be around one hour and 52-56 minutes.
140 Mph Running Between Crewe And Preston
Consider.
- London Euston and Crewe is 56 minutes
- One hour and 18 minutes to Preston infers a time of 22 minutes between Crewe and Preston.
- Crewe and Preston is 51 miles.
This implies an average speed of 139 mph.
As the West Coast Main Line was built for 140 mph, when digital signalling was installed, this would appear to be feasible, once the signalling is upgraded.
It may also mean, that faster times are possible in services to Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan North Western.
Crewe And Warrington Bank Quay
Consider.
- The distance is 24.1 miles
- HS2 will take 24 minutes with one acceleration and one deceleration, which probably take a maximum of 4 minutes in total.
- I explain the four minutes in High Speed Two To Crewe.
This gives an average speed of 72.3 mph.
Warrington Bank Quay And Wigan North Western
Consider.
- The distance is 11.7 miles
- HS2 will take 14 minutes with one acceleration and one deceleration, which probably take a maximum of 4 minutes in total.
This gives an average speed of 70.2 mph.
Wigan North Western And Lancaster
Consider.
- The distance is 36.1 miles
- HS2 will take 29 minutes with two accelerations and two decelerations, which probably take a maximum of 8 minutes in total.
- I will also allow a minute for the dwell time at Preston.
This gives an average speed of 108.3 mph.
Crewe And Lancaster
Consider.
- The distance is 72 miles
- HS2 will take 67 minutes with four accelerations and four decelerations, which probably take a maximum of 16 minutes in total.
- I will also allow a minute for the dwell times at Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan and Preston.
This gives an average speed of 90.6 mph.
I now feel happier about two hours and three minutes between London and Lancaster.
Conclusion
The West Coast Main Line needs upgrading to full in-cab digital signalling as soon as possible.
Once working it would give journey time savings for everybody travelling on the line.
See Also
Could High Speed Two Finish At Lichfield?
Maverick Clean Air Candidate Who Ran For Mayor Of London Is Back In Politics
The title of this post, is the same as that, of this article on Air Quality News.
This is the sub-heading.
One of the most enthusiastic political advocates of clean air is once again throwing his hat into the electoral ring by announcing that he will stand in both the forthcoming Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election and the Mid Bedfordshire by-election.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Prince Ankit Love, Emperor of India* may not be the best known political figure, but he’s certainly a persistent one. Representing the One Love Party, he was the youngest candidate in the 2016 London Mayoral election, where his policies focussed on London’s housing crisis and air pollution.
I didn’t know you could stand in two by-elections at the same time! What if you won both?
The Anonymous Widower 