After Coronavirus, What’s Next? China: More Coal, US: More Oil, EU: More Renewables
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on CleanTechnica.
The title says it all, but read the article to get the detail.
Wabtec Launches BlueFilter Air Filters For Trains
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This is the introductory paragraphs.
Wabtec Corp has launched BlueFilter, a filter designed to be retrofitted to current passenger train HVAC systems to ensure the provision of clean air on board.
The company says it can remove contaminants that are .01 to 1 000 μm size, smaller than current standard filters and including bacteria, dust and viruses.
Does viruses include COVID-19?
This Press Release on Wabtec’s web site gives more details.
BlueFilter’s design removes contaminants that are .01 to 1,000 micrometers in size. That includes allergens, bacteria, various dusts and viruses. By comparison, today’s standard filters typically only remove particles that are between 10 to 1,000 micrometers in size, which only includes contaminants such as pollen, most dusts and some bacteria.
It certainly gets down to the nitty-gritty.
Has The BCG Vaccine Saved The Balkans From The Worst Of The Coronavirus?
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
The article discusses the title and there is certainly circumstantial evidence.
- The former Yugoslavia hasn’t been badly hid by COVID-19.
- The country had endemic tuberculosis.
- The UK dropped BCG vaccinations in the 2000s.
I’ll be interested to see, if this turns out to be a promising lead or just a coincidence.
Crossrail Trains Cleared To Use The Heathrow Tunnel
This title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Ian Visits.
These are the first four paragraphs.
Last month, a significant achievement took place on the Crossrail project, which is far more important than the headlines make it seem to be.
At a basic level, the Office of Rail Regulation approved the use of the new Class 345 trains that will be used on the Elizabeth line to carry passengers into the Heathrow tunnels.
The practical implication being that TfL Rail will in the next few weeks be able to run from Paddington to Heathrow direct, as they were supposed to start doing back in May 2018.
The delay has been caused by the bane and saviour of modern railways, the signalling system.
Ian then goes on to give a full and understandable explanation of the complex nature of modern rail signalling.
Ian finishes by giving a detailed description of the Class 345 trains‘ Auto-Reverse feature.
Around half of westbound trains will terminate at Paddington, but to head back eastwards, once all the passengers are off, they carry on westwards to Westbourne Park, then return back to Paddington on the eastbound line.
Normally that means the train driver would drive to Westbourne Park, stop, walk through the train to the other end, then drive back. But with “auto-reverse”, as soon as the train leaves Paddington, the driver switches to automatic and starts walking through the train to the other end. By the time the train arrives at Westbourne Park sidings, the driver will be sitting in the drivers cab at the other end of the train ready to head back into Central London.
I feel we need more automation on trains.
Possible Uses Of Automation
These are some possibilities.
Reversing In Services
Several services, require the driver to change ends and then drive the train from the other end, when calling at a station.
- Some Nottingham and Skegness services, reverse in Grantham station.
- Maidenhead and Marlow services, reverse in Bourne End station.
- Norwich and Sheringham services, reverse in Cromer station.
I could envisage an automatic system, that took the train from A to B to C etc. under the control of the driver.
- They might just touch a screen or button to move to the next station, as drivers have done on the Victoria Line.
- Both cabs would have a remote video screen showing the view from the other end of the train.
- The driver could drive the train from either cab.
- Arriving at a station, the automation would stop the train in the correct position.
- As on a Victoria Line train, the driver would monitor the system at all times and take control and drive manually, if required.
- The driver might also have a sophisticated remote control, so that if he needed to walk through the train to change cabs, he would still be in full control.
The guard might also have a remote control, for use in the very rare case of driver incapacitation, where he would need to halt the train.
Shuttle Services
There are services in the UK, where a single train shuttles between two stations.
- Brockenhurst and Limington Pier – 11 minutes
- Grove Park and Bromley North stations – 5 mins
- St. Erth and St. Ives stations – 10 mins
- Slough and Windsor & Eton Central – 6 mins
- Sudbury and Marks Tey – 19 mins
- Twyford and Henley stations – 12 mins
- Watford Junction and St. Albans Abbey – 16 minutes
Note.
- The time shown is the time for a single journey.
- All these services use a single train, where the driver changes ends before each journey.
- The services use a dedicated platform at both terminals.
- There is a dedicated track between the terminals.
- Some of these services may need a more frequent service.
If the driver doesn’t change ends, would the time saved allow more trains per hour (tph)?
I think the following improvements are possible.
- Grove Park and Bromley North – three tph to four
- Slough and Windsor & Eton Central – three tph to four
- Watford Junction and St. Albans Abbey – If the journey time could be reduced to fourteen minutes or less, there is a chance that the service could be doubled to two tph.
It looks that if the driver change ends, then it appears the following frequencies are possible, with these journey times.
- Less than six-and-a-half minutes – four tph
- Less than nine minutes – three tph
- Less than fourteen minutes – two tph
I do wonder if an automated shuttle on the Abbey Line could run at the required two tph, with only minimal infrastructure works.
RMT Threatens Strikes Over ‘Guardian Angels’ Plan
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail News.
This is the introductory paragraph.
The RMT has warned of possible industrial action in protest at a government plan for unpaid volunteers to help guide railway passengers and prevent overcrowding at stations.
They don’t seem to be in favour.
This was a statement from the Department of Transport.
These volunteers will play a crucial supporting role in keeping people moving by easing crowding and providing advice to help maintain social distancing, protecting passengers and tackling the spread of the virus.
‘We are clear these volunteers will not be performing any tasks or roles that vital frontline staff are trained to carry out, and they will be deployed at key stations in the short term when the easing of lockdown restrictions could see the increased use of public transport.
It puzzles me, why the RMT didn’t strike during the Olympics, as we had all those charming volunteers, helping visitors with their needs.
Hydrogen Pilot Projects Could Eventually Boost Nuclear Plants’ Bottom Lines
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Energy News Network.
The article discusses in depth. how producing hydrogen can help to improve the economics of nuclear power plants in the Mid-West, with particular reference to a plant called Davis-Besse at Oak Harbor, Ohio.
Will The East Coast Main Line Give High Speed Two A Run For Its Money To The North East Of England?
I have looked up High Speed Two timings on their Journey Time Calculator and compared them with current LNER timetables.
- London-Leeds – Current – 136 minutes – HS2 – 81 minutes
- London-York – Current – 111 minutes – HS2 – 84 minutes
- London – Darlington – Current – 141 minutes – HS2 – 112 minutes
- York- Darlington – Current – 27 minutes – HS2 – 26 minutes
- London – Durham – Current – 170 minutes – HS2 – 138 minutes
- York – Durham – Current – 45 minutes – HS2 – 44 minutes
- London – Newcastle – Current – 170 minutes – HS2 – 137 minutes
- York – Newcastle – Current – 55 minutes – HS2 – 51 minutes
- London – Edinburgh – Current – 259 minutes – HS2 – 220 minutes
- Newcastle – Edinburgh – Current – 83 minutes – HS2 – 83 minutes
- York – Edinburgh – Current – 138 minutes – HS2 – 134 minutes
Note.
- I have assumed that Newcastle and Edinburgh takes 83 minutes, which is the current timing.
- The time savings possible to the North of Leeds are only a few minutes.
- As an example, the straight route between York and Darlington is 34 miles, which means an average speed of only 75 mph.
Serious work needs to be done North of York to improve timings.
Improvements To The East Coast Main Line
Various improvements to the East Coast Main Line are in process of building designed or built.
Extra Tracks
These example of more tracks are from the Wikipedia entry for the East Coast Main Line.
- Four tracks are being restored between Huntington and Woodwalton.
- Freight loops between York and Darlington.
There are probably other places, which will see extra tracks in the next few years.
Power Supply And Electrification
Wikipedia identified places where the power supply and the electrification could be better.
This sentence indicates the comprehensive nature of the planned work.
Power supply upgrades (PSU) between Wood Green and Bawtry (Phase 1 – completed in September 2017) and Bawtry to Edinburgh (Phase 2), including some overhead lines (OLE) support improvements, rewiring of the contact and catenary wires, and headspan to portal conversions (HS2P) which were installed at Conington in January 2018.
The Hertford Loop Line is also due to have some power supply upgrades.
Station Improvements
Darlington, Kings Cross, Stevenage and York will have track improvements, which will improve the capacity of the tracks through the stations.
Werrington Dive Under
The Werrington Dive Under will be a big improvement. This is an extract from the Wikipedia entry.
The project will see the construction of 1.9 miles (3 km) of new line that will run underneath the fast lines, culverting works on Marholm Brook and the movement of the Stamford lines 82 feet (25 m) westwards over the culverted brook. This will mean that trains for the GN/GE line no longer need to cross the fast lines on the level, nor use the Up Fast line between Peterborough station and the junction. The project, coupled with other ECML improvement schemes (such as the four tracking from Huntingdon to Woodwalton) will improve capacity on the line through Peterborough by 33% according to Network Rail. This equates to two extra train paths an hour by 2021, when the work is scheduled to be completed. In turn, this will remove 21 minutes from the fastest King’s Cross to Edinburgh Waverley service, and 13 minutes from the fastest King’s Cross to Leeds service. It will also see an increase of 1,050 ‘intercity’ seats per hour on express trains through Peterborough.
The upgrade will add two more train paths to the route and knock 21 and 13 minutes off the faster Edinburgh and Leeds services respectively.
The Newark Flat Crossing
This is the railway equivalent of a light-controlled pedestrian crossing in the middle of a motorway.
This Google Map shows the crossing.
Note.
- The East Coast Main Line running roughly North-South
- The A 46 road crossing the line.
- The Nottingham-Lincoln Line running parallel to the railway.
- A chord allowing trains to go between the Nottingham-Lincoln Line and Newark North Gate station, which is to the South.
- The River Trent.
Complicated it certainly is!
I wrote about the problems in The Newark Crossing and felt something radical needed to be done.
Looking at the numbers of trains at the Newark Crossing.
- The number of trains crossing the East Coast Main Line, is typically about three to five trains per hour (tph) and they block the East Coast Main Line for about two minutes.
- But then there could be a fast train around every four minutes on the East Coast Main Line, with eight tph in both directions.
The numbers of trains and their speeds would probably cut out a Control Engineer’s solution, where all trains are computer controlled through the junction.
Although, it might be possible to reduce the number of conflicting trains on the East Coast Main Line dramatically, by arranging a Northbound and a Southbound express passed each other at the flat junction.
There’s also the problem of what happens if a crossing train fails, as it goes over the East Coast Main Line. But that must be a problem now!
Whatever happens here will be a well-thought through solution and it will add to the capacity of the East Coast Main Line and increase the line-speed from the current 100 mph.
Level Crossings
Wikipedia says this about level crossings.
Level crossing closures between King’s Cross and Doncaster: As of July 2015 this will no longer be conducted as a single closure of 73 level crossings but will be conducted on a case-by case basis (for example, Abbots Ripton Level Crossing will close as part of the HW4T scheme).
It is my personal view that all should be removed.
ERTMS Signalling
Wikipedia says this about the installation of ERTMS digital in-cab signalling.
The line between London King’s Cross and Bawtry, on the approach to Doncaster, will be signalled with Level 2 ERTMS. The target date for operational ERTMS services is December 2018 with completion in 2020.
Note that, ERTMS is needed for 140 mph running.
140 mpg Running
Wkipedia says this about 140 mph running.
Increasing maximum speeds on the fast lines between Woolmer Green and Dalton-on-Tees up to 140 mph (225 km/h) in conjunction with the introduction of the Intercity Express Programme, level crossing closures, ERTMS fitments, OLE rewiring and the OLE PSU – est. to cost £1.3 billion (2014). This project is referred to as “L2E4” or London to Edinburgh (in) 4 Hours. L2E4 examined the operation of the IEP at 140 mph on the ECML and the sections of track which can be upgraded to permit this, together with the engineering and operational costs.
A rough calculation indicates that up to eleven minutes could be saved by this upgrade, between London and Darlington.
Prospective Timings On The East Coast Main Line
Consider.
- The package of new trains level crossing closures, ERTMS, OLE rewiring and the OLE PSU, which is collectively known as L2E4 should deliver Edinburgh in four hours.
- Nineteen minutes need to be saved on current times.
- I believe that if the train takes four hours or less, travellers will switch from the airlines.
- High Speed Two are aiming for a time of 220 minutes, but is this by the West or East Coast routes?
- As their proposed Glasgow service has a similar time, I assume it is by the West Coast route.
- Wikipedia states that an Open Access Operator was thinking of running Class 390 trains or Pendelinos between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh in 223 minutes.
If the managers of LNER are the least bit ambitious, I can see them wanting to run a service between London and Edinburgh, in a time that is several minutes under four hours.
It should always be remembered that the East Coast Main Line was built for speed, as these true stories illustrate.
- Mallard set the world speed record for steam locomotives in 1938 of 126 mph, on the line.
- The record time between London and Edinburgh was set in 1991 by an InterCity 225 train at a minute under three-and-a-half hours.
I even have my own special memory of the line, which I wrote about in The Thunder of Three-Thousand Three-Hundred Horses. Behind a Deltic or Class 55 locomotive, I went from Darlington to London in two hours and fifteen minutes, which is faster than today’s fastest trains. Not bad for a 1960s design, but the train was a coach short and had a clear run. And was probably extremely-well driven.
Is the East Coast Main Line and especially the section South of Darlington, a route, where a knowledgeable driver can coax the maximum out of a high speed train?
Possible savings over the next few years include.
Werrington Junction
When this is completed, it could knock twenty-one minutes off the timings to Edinburgh.
Newark Crossing
How much time could be saved here?
There must be some time savings if the line speed can be increased from 100 mph.
140 mph Running
The various improvements in L2E4 are intended to enable services to run between London and Edinburgh in under four hours.
- Does L2E4 include any possible time savings from the Werrington Dive Under?
- Does L2E4 include any possible time savings from improvements at Newark?
- What is the completion date for L2E4?
- Most of the time savings for L2E4 will be South of Darlington as the track is straighter.
As I said earlier a rough calculation indicates that L2E4 will save about eleven minutes to the South of Darlington.
Conclusion
There must be over thirty minutes of savings to be accumulated on the East Coast Main Line. Much of it because of the Werrington and Newark improvements will be South of Darlington.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see timings like these.
- London-Leeds – Current – 136 minutes – HS2 – 81 minutes – Possible ECML – 120 minutes
- London-York – Current – 111 minutes – HS2 – 84 minutes – Possible ECML – 90 minutes
- London – Darlington – Current – 141 minutes – HS2 – 112 minutes – Possible ECML – 115 minutes
- London – Durham – Current – 170 minutes – HS2 – 138 minutes – Possible ECML – 130 minutes
- London – Newcastle – Current – 170 minutes – HS2 – 137 minutes – Possible ECML – 130 minutes
- London – Edinburgh – Current – 259 minutes – HS2 – 220 minutes – Possible ECML – 210 minutes
It looks to me, that the East Coast Main Line could be fulfilling the aspirations of British Rail’s engineers of the 1980s.
Railway Lines Through East Midlands Hub Station
This Google Map shows the position of High Speed Two‘s East Midland Hub station to the West of Nottingham.
Note.
- In the North East Corner of the map, is a label saying Japanese Water Garden. Below that is a blue dot, which marks the Toton Lane tram stop.
- Three red arrows relate to Toton Ballast Sidings, Old Toton Sidings (Black Path) and Toton Sidings from North to South.
- Running to the West of the arrows is a double-track railway and beyond that are a large number of sidings.
This second Google Map shows some of the sidings.
The double track main line is the Erewash Valley Line.
- This line goes North to Ilkeston, Langley Mill, Alfreton, Clay Cross North Junction, Chesterfield and Sheffield.
- Going South, the route splits with one branch going East through Attenborough and Beeston to Nottingham station.
- The other branch turns to the West and then splits again at the massive Trent Junction.
- One branch goes West through Long Eaton station, under the M1, through Spondon station and on to Derby station.
- The second branch goes South over the River Trent to join up with the Midland Main Line and pass through East Midlands Parkway station.
- There is also a chord across the Trent Junction to allow trains to go between Long Eaton and East Midlands Parkway stations.
It is sounds complicated this map from High Speed Two may help.
Note.
- High Speed Two is shown in orange, with the blue dot indicating the East Midlands Hub station.
- Nottingham station is to the North East.
- Attenborough station can be picked out on the line going to Nottingham station.
- The water is in the Trent Valley.
- Trent Junction is the large triangular junction to the West of High Speed Two.
- Two rail lines lead to the West from Trent junction; the northerly one goes to Derby by Long Eaton and the other is a freight line to Castle Donington and East Midlands Gateway.
It is worth looking at how the various passenger services go through the area.
- CrossCountry – Cardiff and Nottingham goes via Derby, Long Eaton, Attenborough, Beeston and Nottingham
- CrossCountry – Birmingham and Nottingham goes via Derby, Long Eaton, Attenborough, Beeston and Nottingham
- East Midlands Railway – Leicester and Lincoln goes via East Midlands Parkway, Attenborough, Beeston and Nottingham
- East Midlands Railway – Liverpool and Norwich goes via Alfreton, Langley Mill, Ilkeston and Nottingham
- East Midlands Railway – Matlock and Newark Castle goes via Derby, Long Eaton, Attenborough, Beeston and Nottingham
- East Midlands Railway – St. Pancras and Sheffield goes via East Midlands Parkway, Long Eaton and Derby
- East Midlands Railway – St. Pancras and Nottingham goes via East Midlands Parkway, Attenborough, Beeston and Nottingham
- Northern – Leeds and Nottingham goes via Alfreton, Langley Mill, Ilkeston and Nottingham.
Note.
- Not one service goes past the site of the new East Midlands Hub station.
- Most services to and from Nottingham seem to use the Attenborough and Beeston route
- Services between Derby and Nottingham go via the Long Eaton, Attenborough and Derby route.
- Services from the North use the Erewash Valley Line and turn East at Trowell for Nottingham.
It is fairly obvious that there needs to be a sort-out of services to fit in with the location of the new East Midlands Parkway station.
Classic-Compatible High Speed Two Trains At East Midlands Hub Station
This article on Rail News, is entitled £2.7bn East Midlands Plan Unveiled For HS2 Links.
This is the first two paragraphs.
A bold plan costed at £2.7 billion for the area around the HS2 hub in the East Midlands has been published by a group of councils, transport bodies and East Midlands Airport.
The core of the scheme is the future East Midlands Hub at Toton, and the plan proposes direct access to the Hub from more than 20 cities, towns and villages in the East Midlands.
If you want to read the original report by Midlands Connect, there’s a download link on this page of their web site.
The original report has a section entitled Midlands Engine Rail, where this is said.
This project is fully integrated with Midlands Engine Rail, a rail improvement plan developed by Midlands Connect to revolutionise connectivity, mobility and productivity across the region. Midlands Engine Rail includes plans for two new HS2 classic-compatible services on an electrified Midland Main Line that will run direct from:
- Bedford and Leeds via Leicester and East Midlands Hub
- Nottingham and Birmingham Curzon Street via East Midlands Hub
These services can run on both electrified and high speed tracks, and would join the HS2 network at Toton, the HS2 East Midlands Hub, meaning that Nottingham and Leicester city centres are directly linked to HS2 without the need to change trains.
These improved connections will more than halve current journey times, with Leicester to Leeds dropping from 120 minutes to 46 minutes and Nottingham to Birmingham falling from 72 minutes to 33 minutes.
Note.
- Between Bedford and East Midland Hub stations, the Midland Main Line is or soon will be an almost a complete 125 mph rail line.
- It is likely, that with digital in-cab signalling, that faster running up to 140 mph may be permitted in places.
- Between Birmingham Curzon Street and East Midlands Hub stations, trains will use High Speed Two at up to 205 mph.
- Between Leeds and East Midlands Hub stations, trains will use High Speed Two at up to 205 mph.
- Leeds and Birmingham Curzon Street station will be new stations for High Speed Two.
The Classic-Compatible Trains
These are described in this section in Wikipedia, by this sentence.
The classic-compatible trains, capable of high speed but built to a British loading gauge, permitting them to leave the high speed track to join conventional routes such as the West Coast Main Line, Midland Main Line and East Coast Main Line. Such trains would allow running of HS2 services to the north of England and Scotland, although these non-tilting trains would run slower than existing tilting trains on conventional track. HS2 Ltd has stated that, because these trains must be specifically designed for the British network and cannot be bought “off-the-shelf”, these conventional trains were expected to be around 50% more expensive, costing around £40 million per train rather than £27 million for the captive stock.
The trains will have the same characteristics as the full-size trains.
- Maximum speed of 225 mph.
- Cruising speed of 205 mph on High Speed Two.
- Length of 200 metres.
- Ability to work in pairs.
- A passenger capacity around 500-600 passengers.
It should be noted that one of these trains will be shorter than a pair of East Midlands Railway’s five-car Class 810 trains, which should avoid any serious platform lengthening on existing lines.
Bedford and Leeds via Leicester and East Midlands Hub
A few facts and thoughts.
- The service is shown as stopping at Wellingborough, Kettering, Market Harborough, Leicester, Loughborough and East Midlands Hub.
- The service frequency could be hourly, but two trains per hour (tph) would be better.
- This service could be more important, than it appears, as by the time High Speed Two opens to Leeds, the East West Railway will be open through Bedford.
- Would a terminal platform need to be added at Bedford station? As the station could be rebuilt for the East West Railway, this shouldn’t be a problem.
- Leeds will have a new High Speed Two station or at least new platforms in the existing station.
- The Bedford and Leeds service would join High Speed Two at East Midlands Hub and go North.
- The Leeds and Bedford service would leave High Speed Two at East Midlands Hub and go South.
Leeds and Leicester will take 46 minutes, with High Speed Two’s journey time calculator, indicating twenty-seven minutes between East Midlands Hub and Leeds stations.
According to an article in the June 2020 Edition of Modern Railways High Speed Two is planning to run the following services on the Eastern leg of High Speed Two between East Midlands Hub and Leeds.
- Two tph – Birmingham Curzon Street and Leeds
- Three tph – London Euston and Leeds
There will be a Turn-Up-And-Go six tph service between East Midlands Hub and Leeds stations.
If the Bedford and Leeds service was an hourly service, when added to the current East Midlands Railway Inter-City services, it would give the following calling frequencies.
- Wellingborough – 2 tph
- Kettering – 2 tph
- Market Harborough – 3 tph
- Leicester – 5 tph
- Loughborough – 3 tph
- East Midlands Parkway – 2 tph
The calling pattern can be adjusted to the number of passengers.
Nottingham and Birmingham Curzon Street via East Midlands Hub
A few facts and thoughts.
- The service is shown as only stopping at East Midlands Hub.
- The service frequency could be hourly.
- The service would go between East Midlands Hub and Nottingham using the Trowell Curve route, which I discussed in Access To Toton – Scheme 6 – Trowell Curve.
- Nottingham station has long terminal platforms that take a full-length Inter-City 125.
- Birmingham Curzon Street will be a new High Speed Two station.
- The Nottingham and Birmingham Curzon Street service would join High Speed Two at East Midlands Hub and go South.
- The Birmingham Curzon Street and Nottingham service would leave High Speed Two at East Midlands Hub and go North.
Nottingham and Birmingham Curzon Street will take 33 minutes, with High Speed Two’s journey time calculator, indicating twenty minutes, between Birmingham Curzon Street and East Midlands Hub stations.
According to an article in the June 2020 Edition of Modern Railways High Speed Two is planning to run the following services on the Eastern leg of High Speed Two from Birmingham Curzon Street.
- Two tph – East Midlands Hub and Leeds
- One tph – East Midlands Hub, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle.
There will be a Turn-Up-And-Go four tph service between East Midlands Hub and Birmingham Curzon Street stations.
Midland Main Line Electrification
Midlands Connect is calling for full electrification of the Midland Main Line.
The problem is electrification through Leicester station, where there is a low bridge over the track.
In Discontinuous Electrification Through Leicester Station, I showed how the problem might be solved by discontinuous electrification and battery-equipped trains.
The Shared High Speed Two Path
If you look at the two previous sections you’ll see the following.
- The Birmingham Curzon Street and Nottingham service would leave High Speed Two at East Midlands Hub and go North.
- The Bedford and Leeds service would join High Speed Two at East Midlands Hub and go North.
- The Leeds and Bedford service would leave High Speed Two at East Midlands Hub and go South.
- The Nottingham and Birmingham Curzon Street service would join High Speed Two at East Midlands Hub and go South.
The two services are using the same path on High Speed Two.
I would design the East Midlands Hub, so that High Speed Two and classic services going in the same direction shared an island platform.
Southbound services would behave like this.
- The Nottingham to Birmingham Curzon Street train would arrive in the High Speed Two face of the platform.
- The Leeds to Bedford train would arrive in the classic face of the platform.
- Passengers who needed to change would walk across the platform.
- When ready both trains would go on their way.
Northbound services would do something similar.
It would be an efficient way to organise interchange between services.
- Train design would have to ensure, that all trains using the island platform had similar and preferably step-free access.
- If Greater Anglia and Merseyrail, can do step-free access, then no train designer has an excuse not to.
- Surely every High Speed Two train that arrives at East Midlands Hub, should be paired with a Midland Main Line service, if the timetable allows it.
The money being spent on High Speed Two means that the British public, won’t accept anything less than perfect.
Are There Any Other Possible Destinations For Classic-Compatible High Speed Two Trains From East Midlands Hub Station?
I will put these in alphabetical order.
Bedford
Consider.
- Bedford is already planned to have one classic-compatible service to and from Leeds.
- One of East Midlands Railway’s St. Pancras services calls at Bedford.
- Bedford has a four tph Thameslink service to a large proportion of Central London and the South East of England.
- Bedford has direct services to Gatwick Airport.
- Bedford station will be expanded to accommodate the East West Railway.
- In a few years, Bedford will be connected to Milton Keynes, Oxford and Reading by the East West Railway.
- When the East Midlands Hub station opens, Bedford will be connected to Cambridge, Ipswich and Norwich by the East West Railway.
I feel there is a need for a Turn-Up-And-Go four tph service between Bedford and East Midlands Hub stations.
I estimate that between Bedford and East Midlands Parkway stations will have a journey time of around 60 minutes.
Cambridge
I believe that the East West Railway should be built to the same standard as the East Coast, Great Western, Midland and West Coast Main Lines.
- Digitally signalled
- 125 mph-capable
- Electrified
This would enable classic-compatible services to be extended from Bedford to the UK’s Technology Powerhouse; Cambridge.
As Bedford and East Midlands Parkway could be 60 minutes, timings depend on the times of the East West Railway, between Bedford and Cambridge.
Edinburgh
Consider.
- Edinburgh is an important city; financially and politically.
- Edinburgh is planned to have a classic-compatible service from London via the West Coast Main Line.
- Newcastle is planned to have a classic-compatible service from East Midlands Hub
The city must be a possibility for a classic compatible service from East Midlands Hub.
I estimate that Edinburgh and East Midlands Parkway will have a journey time of a few minutes over two hours
Hull
This clip of a map from the Transport for the North report shows a schematic of the rail links in Yorkshire.
Hull is important for various reasons.
- It is large city.
- It is the Eastern terminus of an increasing number of routes.
- It is becoming a manufacturing centre for North Sea wind.
- The city will be the terminus of Northern Powerhouse Rail across the Pennines from Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds.
- Some reports have shown the city as a terminus of the Western leg of High Speed Two.
For these reasons, I will add Hull to the list.
I estimate that Hull and East Midlands Parkway will have a journey time of under an hour.
Lincoln
Looking forward to 2040, I wouldn’t bet against Lincoln being a very important city in the UK.
- It has history.
- It is becoming an important higher education centre.
- It has lots of space.
- Train operating companies like LNER and East Midlands Railway are improving services to the city.
But most importantly, as Aberdeen became Scotland’s centre for North Sea Oil and Gas, I believe that Lincoln could become England’s centre for North Sea renewable electricity and hydrogen.
I estimate that Lincoln and East Midlands Parkway will have a journey time of around an hour.
Milton Keynes
As I said for Cambridge, I believe that the East West Railway should be built to the same standard as the East Coast, Great Western, Midland and West Coast Main Lines.
This would enable classic-compatible services to be extended from Bedford to Milton Keynes.
As Bedford and East Midlands Parkway could be 60 minutes, timings depend on the times of the East West Railway, between Bedford and Milton Keynes.
Newcastle
As Newcastle already has a direct High Speed Two classic-compatible connection to and from East Midlands Hub station, this must be a possibility.
According to High Speed Two’s journey time calculator<, trains between Newcastle and East Midland Hub stations will take 96 minutes.
Northern Powerhouse Rail
The map I showed with Hull could indicate that a train could take High Speed Two to Leeds and then power its way across the Pennines calling at Leeds, Huddersfield, Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Airport and Liverpool.
East Midlands Railway would have found a replacement for the Western part of their Liverpool and Norwich service, which is one of the worst railway services in the UK.
Oxford And Reading
As I said for Cambridge, I believe that the East West Railway should be built to the same standard as the East Coast, Great Western, Midland and West Coast Main Lines.
This would enable classic-compatible services to be extended from Bedford to Oxford and Reading.
As Bedford and East Midlands Parkway could be 60 minutes, timings depend on the times of the East West Railway, between Bedford and Oxford and Reading.
Peterborough
I think Peterborough could be an interesting possibility.
- It is the gateway to the East of England.
- It is a fully-electrified station.
- It has seven platforms with space for more.
- Most platforms could take a two hundred metre long train.
East Midlands Railway’s Liverpool and Norwich service, links Peterborough with Nottingham.
- That section of the route is 52 miles long.
- 29 miles of the route on the East Coast Main Line are electrified.
- The 100 mph Class 158 trains take 67 minutes and 30 minutes to travel between the two stops at Grantham and Peterborough.
- Some of LNER’s 125 mph electric Class 800 trains are timetabled to travel between the two stops at Grantham and Peterborough as fast as 18 minutes.
What time will be achievable on this short length of electrified track, when digital signalling is fully-deployed and 140 mph running is possible?
I can certainly see a bi-mode Class 801 train going between Peterborough and Nottingham in under an hour.
I also think that they could equal East Midlands Railway’s times to Nottingham going from Kings Cross via Grantham.
In Access To Toton – Scheme 6 – Trowell Curve, I advocated the following electrification, to allow battery-electric trains to work the Nottingham and Skegness service.
- The Allington Chord between Bottesford and Ancaster stations.
- The line linking the chord to Grantham station.
As Nottingham station will surely be electrified to allow classic-compatible High Speed Two trains to run between the station and Birmingham using High Speed Two, there will only be sixteen miles of double-track between Bottesford and Nottingham station without electrification.
I have just flown my helicopter along the route and there are one or two bridges and Netherfield station, that will need a rebuild, but it wouldn’t be the most challenging of electrifications.
Especially, as there is High Speed Two and the East Coast Main Line to provide power at both ends of the route.
But as it is only sixteen miles would they use battery-electric high-speed trains.
Surely, that is a crazy idea?
In Will High Speed Two’s Classic-Compatible Trains Have Battery Operation?, I explain why you would use such a concept to create an efficient train.
- The batteries drive the train and they are charged from the electrification and regenerative braking.
- Batteries would give a train recovery capability in case of overhead catenary failure.
- Batteries would be used for depot movements.
In Will The Trains On High Speed Two Have Batteries For Regenerative Braking?, I do a calculation for the battery size needed for a 250 mph Spanish high speed train and the batteries are surprisingly small, at 100 kWh per carriage.
I firmly believe, that the mathematics say it is possible for a high speed train to use on-board battery power to perhaps do thirty miles at say 90 mph on a line without electrification.
Sheffield
As Sheffield station will have a direct High Speed Two connection to and from East Midlands Hub station, this must be a possibility.
According to High Speed Two’s journey time calculator, trains between Sheffield and East Midland Hub stations will take 27 minutes.
Note.
- An article in the June 2020 Edition of Modern Railways shows that the Eastern leg of High Speed Two is planned to have nine tph, against a theoretical limit of 18 tph.
- The Leeds-Bedford and Nottingham-Birmingham Curzon Street will use another path.
- Not all services would need to be hourly.
- Could some CrossCountry services be replaced with classic-compatible services?
I feel there is plenty of scope to develop more classic-compatible services along the Eastern leg of High Speed Two.
The Anonymous Widower 