Avanti West Coast « The Anonymous Widower

High Speed Two To Liverpool

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 Liverpool Service

I shall look at the 08:43 train on the 18th September 2023.

It was a nine-car Class 390 train or Pendolino, which left on time.
Euston and Liverpool Lime Street are 193.7 miles apart.
The train called at Milton Keynes Central, Crewe and Runcorn
The train arrived at Crewe at 10:24 and left at 10:26.
The train arrived at Runcorn at 10:43 and left at 10:44.
The train arrived at Liverpool Lime Street at 11:04 on time.
The journey took two hours and 21 minutes
The average speed was 82.4 mph.
The Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street section is 39.7 miles and the train is scheduled to take forty minutes.
The average speed between Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street is almost exactly 60 mph.
The slower average speed is because the train is slowing for a gradual stop in Liverpool and the only fast section is the 110 mph section between Crewe and Weaver Junction, where the Liverpool Branch leaves the West Coast Main Line.
There is one train per hour (tph).

There are probably only limited ways that time can be saved between Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street.

The West Coast Main Line between Crewe and Weaver Junction takes twelve minutes and has an operating speed of 110 mph, so saving a few minutes might be possible, by upgrading the speed on this line with digital signalling to allow 140 mph running.
It might be possible to save a couple of minutes at the Runcorn stop by using the superior performance of the new Class 807 or High Speed Two trains.
The slowing down into and accelerating out of Liverpool might be improved by digital signalling and trains with better performance.

It should be noted that Liverpool Lime Street station was recently remodelled to improve operation of the station and the tracks connecting it to Runcorn.

I would be fairly sure that Network Rail and Avanti West Coast have got Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street times to a minimum. As this route will become part of High Speed Two, I suspect that Network Rail/Avanti have done extensive computer simulations of the route, to make sure they get it as quick and efficient as possible.

The New Class 807 Trains

The Class 807 trains, which enter service this year or early next, are the Lotuses in Hitachi’s AT 300 family of high speed trains.

They are electric only and have no heavy diesel engines or traction batteries.
They don’t even have emergency batteries for when the catenary fails.
They have a redesigned nose. Is it more aerodynamic?
As with all the other Hitachi high speed trains, they are capable of 125 mph, or 140 mph if the signalling permits.

These trains will undoubtedly have faster acceleration and deceleration and could probably knock minutes off the timings at all the stops.

A Second Hourly Train To Liverpool

Tucked away beside the Grand Union Sets Out Stirling Ambitions article in the December 2022 Edition of Modern Railways is a report on Avanti West Coast’s application for a second service between Euston and Liverpool.

This is said.

Avanti West Coast has applied for access rights for its second hourly Euston to Liverpool service, starting from December 2023, although a phased introduction of the new service is likely. This would make use of Avanti’s new fleet of 10×7-car Class 807 Hitachi EMUs, which are expected to enter service from Autumn 2023. The ‘807s’ would be deployed on the current hourly Liverpool service, on which a call at Liverpool South Parkway would be added. (provision is made for this in the December 2022 timetable.).

Pendolinos would then operate the second service each hour, calling at Lichfield Trent Valley and Tamworth.

A linespeed project is in progress to raise the permissible speed for non-tilting trains on the West Coast Main Line, and Avanti’s new Hitachi trains will take advantage of this.

Note.

The current Liverpool service stops at Milton Keynes Central, Crewe and Runcorn.
Liverpool South Parkway station is too short for the longest Pendolinos or Class 390/1 trains.
When the second service is implemented will it stop at Milton Keynes Central, Crewe, Runcorn and Liverpool South Parkway?
Will the Pendolinos only stop at Lichfield Trent Valley and Tamworth?

Will Avanti West Coast use the trains to take advantage of their strengths?

The new lighter Class 807 trains will use their superior acceleration and deceleration to execute fast stops at more stations.
The shorter Class 807 trains will call at Liverpool South Parkway.
The current Pendolinos will use their tilt to run as fast as possible between London Euston and Liverpool.

I also suspect that Avanti West Coast will adjust the stopping pattern to attract passengers. I read somewhere, that a stop at Nuneaton to connect to Leicester, Peterborough, Cambridge and Stansted Airport, was a possibility.

More Details Of A Second Hourly Train To Liverpool – 30th September 2023.

Real Time Trains is now showing the details of the second service between London Euston and Liverpool.

These are the future timings of the 09:13 train from Liverpool.

Liverpool – Leave at 09:13
Runcorn – Arrive at 09:28 and leave at 09:29½
Crewe – Arrive at 09:49 and leave at 09:56
Stafford – Arrive at 10:14½ and leave at 10:16½
Lichfield Trent Valley – Arrive at 10:29½ and leave at 10:31½
Tamworth – Arrive at 10:36½ and leave at 10:38½
Nuneaton – Arrive at 10:49 and leave at 10:51
Milton Keynes Central – Arrive at 11:21 and leave at 11:23
Euston – Arrive at 11.59

Note.

This service has not been activated yet.
It is pathed for a Class 80x train.
There are seven stops.
It will take two hours and 46 minutes.
Liverpool and Crewe will take 36 minutes.
There are two other inactivated services like this running through Birmingham and Northampton.

Could these services have been timetabled to test connectivity?

High Speed Two Classic Compatible Trains

These High Speed Two Classic Compatible trains are to be built for High Speed Two.

They will be able to run on both High Speed Two and current high speed lines like the East Coast Main Line and the West Coast Main Line.
They will have an operating speed of 205 mph on High Speed Two.
They will be able to operate at appropriate speeds on existing high speed lines. Typically, that is 125 mph, but with full digital signalling that is 140 mph.
They are two hundred metres long and are sixty metres shorter than an eleven-car Pendolino.
They are being built by a Hitachi-Alstom joint venture.

This document on the Government web site is the Train Technical Specification for High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains.

Introducing The High Speed Two Classic Compatible Trains Into Service

Consider.

London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street services can be run by eleven-car Pendolinos.
It looks like after the introduction of the second service between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street is introduced, it will be run by Pendolinos and it could be a two-stop service.
The High Speed Two Classic Compatible trains should be able to run any service currently run by an eleven-car Pendolino.

So will Avanti West Coast use this second hourly London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street service to introduce the new High Speed Two Classic Compatible trains into public service?

It would make sure the trains and existing track and signals were fully debugged.
It would inform the public that High Speed Two is on its way.
It would be good marketing for High Speed Two.
They might shave a few minutes off journey times.
It could use all the existing infrastructure.
It will provide work for Alstom in Derby.

I feel Avanti West Coast just might!

London Euston And Liverpool Lime Street Before Phase 2a Of High Speed Two Opens

According to the Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two, these are the fastest timings.

London Euston and Crewe – One hour and 30 minutes
London Euston and Runcorn – One hour and 53 minutes
London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street – Two hours and 3 minutes

Currently, the fastest London and Liverpool Lime Street trains take two hours and 21 minutes, so are the Class 807 trains going to be eighteen minutes faster?

From these figures and the times of the 0843, I can deduce these journey times.

Currently, Crewe and Runcorn takes 17 minutes and the Class 807 train will take 23 minutes
Currently, Runcorn and Liverpool Lime Street takes 20 minutes and the Class 807 train will take 10 minutes
Currently, Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street takes 38 minutes and the Class 807 train will take 33 minutes

It looks like there may be slight problems with Wikipedia’s figures. But they were published before Avanti West Coast had run a Class 807 train between Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street. I think we’ll have to wait and see what turns up on Saturday, the 9th of December 2023, when the timetables change.

But I do feel now that the Class 807 trains will achieve London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street in two hours and three minutes.

London Euston And Liverpool Lime Street After Phase 2a Of High Speed Two Opens

According to the Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two, these are the timings.

London Euston and Crewe – 56 minutes
London Euston and Runcorn – One hour and 14 minutes
London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street – One hour and 32 minutes

From these figures and the times of the 0843, I can deduce these journey times.

Currently, Crewe and Runcorn takes 17 minutes and High Speed Two will take 18 minutes
Currently, Runcorn and Liverpool Lime Street takes 20 minutes and High Speed Two will take 18 minutes
Currently, Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street takes 38 minutes and High Speed Two will take 36 minutes

There doesn’t seem to be much of a saving between today’s Pendolino and High Speed Two between Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street.

Could it be that the work to improve Liverpool Lime Street station and its approaches a few years ago sorted out a lot of problems and Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street is now almost to the standard needed for High Speed Two?

If savings are made anywhere by High Speed Two, it could be between Runcorn and Liverpool Lime Street.

Looking at the operating speeds on OpenRailwayMap, there appears to be a 30 mph section of track for a couple of miles out of Liverpool Lime Street, which includes a sharp curve.

This Google Map shows the approaches to Lime Street station.

Note.

The tracks across the top of the map are the main electrified Liverpool and Manchester tracks.
The building in the middle is Alstom Traincare’s Liverpool Depot.
The line to Runcorn enters the map in the South-East corner and curves around the depot to join the tracks into Lime Street station.
The operating speed gradually reduces from 30 mph on this map to less than 15 mph in Lime Street station.

Perhaps, this 30 mph section is to be improved to gain the couple of minutes.

I also think, that savings could be possible at Runcorn station.

If when the second service starts, the Pendolinos don’t stop at Runcorn, that would save a few minutes.

The Class 807 and the High Speed Two Classic Compatible trains with their superior acceleration and deceleration could save a couple of minutes in the stop at Runcorn.

I very much feel that as the Pendolinos manage to achieve Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street in 38 minutes, that Pendolinos on the second service, Class 807 and the High Speed Two Classic Compatible trains, will all manage 36 minutes or less on the route.

London Euston And Liverpool Lime Street After Phase 2b Of High Speed Two Opens

There will be no changes as the full-size High Speed Two trains are not planned to run into Liverpool Lime Street.

Conclusion

It looks to me, that the Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street leg of High Speed Two is more or less complete.

Times between London and Liverpool will be as follows.

Before High Speed Two Phase 2a – 2 hours and 3 minutes
After High Speed Two Phase 2a – 1 hour and 32 minutes
After High Speed Two Phase 2b – 1 hour and 32 minutes

I believe that for many this will be fast enough, especially as it’s nearly complete.

High Speed Two To Crewe

High Speed Two To Holyhead

High Speed Two To Lancaster

High Speed Two To Manchester

High Speed Two To Stoke-on-Trent

High Speed Two To Wigan

September 20, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Class 390 Train, Class 807 Train, Euston Station, High Speed Two, High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains, High Speed Two Lite, Liverpool Lime Street Station, Network Rail, West Coast Main Line | 10 Comments

Thoughts On Rail Capacity Between London And The North

This is just a rough calculation to see how many trains can be run between London and the North.

I shall do the calculation by station.

Euston

Trains are.

Avanti – Birmingham – 1 tph (trains per hour)
Avanti – Blackpool North – 1 tpd (trains per day)
Avanti – Blackpool North via Birmingham – 2 tpd
Avanti – Edinburgh via Birmingham – 1 tp2h – (trains per two hours)
Avanti – Glasgow – 1 tph
Avanti – Glasgow via Birmingham – 5 tpd
Avanti – Holyhead – 8 tpd
Avanti – Liverpool – 1 tph
Avanti – Manchester – 3 tph
WMT – Birmingham – 2 tph
WMT – Crewe – 1 tph

This gives totals of 9 tph, 1 tp2h and 16 tpd

King’s Cross

Trains are.

Grand Central – Bradford – 4 tpd
Grand Central – Sunderland – 6 tpd
Hull Trains – Beverley – 2 tpd
Hull Trains – Hull – 5 tpd
LNER – Bradford- 2 tpd
LNER – Edinburgh – 3 tp2h
LNER – Harrogate – 1 tp2h
LNER – Hull – 1 tpd
LNER – Leeds – 3 tp2h
LNER – Lincoln – 1 tp2h
LNER – Middlesbrough – 1 tpd
LNER – Skipton – 1 tpd
LNER – Sunderland – 1 tpd
LNER – York- 1 tp2h
Lumo – Edinburgh – 5 tpd

This gives totals of 9 tp2h and 28 tpd

Marylebone

Trains are.

Chiltern – Birmingham – 2 tph

This gives totals of 2 tph

St. Pancras

Trains are.

EMR – Corby – two tph
EMR – Nottingham – two tph
EMR – Sheffield- two tph

This gives totals of 6 tph

Grand Totals

Grand totals are 17 tph, 10 tp2h and 44 tpd

I will assume.

10 tp2h is equivalent to 5 tph.
44 tpd is equivalent to 3 tph if trains start journeys between 0600 and 2100.

This means that currently, there is the equivalent of 25 tph between London and the North.

The Effect Of High Speed Two

The capacity of High Speed Two is 17 tph, so, that appears to be a 68 % increase in paths to the North.

Consider.

Assume we need 25 tph between London and the North.
17 tph will be on High Speed Two.
8 tph will be on classic routes like the East Coast Main Line, Midland Main Line and West Coast Main Line.
High Speed Two trains are 400 metres long.
Current trains are about 240 metres long.

I have done a weighted calculation, which shows that passenger capacity between London and the North, will increase by around 45 %.

High Speed Two will surely release paths between London and the North on the classic routes, that could accommodate somewhere around 17 tph.

These could be used for.

Services not suitable for High Speed Two
New services
Freight services
Open access services

There is a lot of capacity that can be reused.

What Will Happen To Classic Routes Between London And The North?

Consider.

The East Coast Main Line between London and Doncaster, is being upgraded with full digital signalling to allow running at up to 140 mph and increased train frequencies.
Similar upgrades will be surely be applied to the other classic routes between London and the North.
Important destinations, that will not be served by High Speed Two, like Coventry, Derby, Leicester, Luton, Milton Keynes and Peterborough could be given high speed connections, to Birmingham, London and Manchester.
The East Coast Main Line, Midland Main Line and West Coast Main Line will all be electrified with some sections of quadruple track in a few years.
Currently, the East Coast Main Line, Midland Main Line and West Coast Main Line are mainly 125 mph lines and these could be upgraded to 140 mph with digital signalling.

I could envisage the East Coast Main Line, Midland Main Line and West Coast Main Line being developed into a secondary 140 mph network based on the existing stations lines and services.

Conclusion

High Speed Two is going to have a lot of collateral benefits in Middle England.

July 21, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Digital Signalling, East Coast Main Line, East Midlands Gateway, Grand Central Trains, High Speed Two, Hull Trains, LNER, Lumo, Midland Main Line, West Coast Main Line, West Midlands Trains | 3 Comments

East-West Rail: Aylesbury Spur

This map from East West Rail shows the complete route of the East West Railway between Oxford and Cambridge.

Note the spur to Aylesbury, which is shown dotted, which the legend says means it is a Potential Future Section of the EWR.

The papers in the area have different views.

This article on Bucks Herald is entitled Aylesbury Spur Excluded From Government’s Latest East West Rail Route Outline.
This article on Buckinghamshire Live is entitled East West Rail Aylesbury ‘Spur’ Plans Remain On The Table As Route Announced For £5bn Project.

So what do I feel about the Aylesbury Spur?

Train Services

In the Wikipedia entry for the East West Railway, it is stated that there will be an hourly service between Aylesbury and Milton Keynes Central stations, that would call at Aylesbury Vale Parkway, Winslow and Bletchley.

Wikipedia also states that there will be no Marylebone and Milton Keynes or Aylesbury and Manchester Piccadilly services.

I am surprised that a Marylebone and Milton Keynes service is ruled out, for these reasons.

A Marylebone and Milton Keynes service would give Winslow a direct service to London.
Aylesbury Vale Parkway has an hourly service from Marylebone, which could be extended to Milton Keynes Central to create the service.
Aylesbury Vale Parkway and Marylebone have as many as three trains per hour (tph) in the Peak. Does this make timetabling of an hourly Marylebone and Milton Keynes service difficult?

The Wikipedia entry for Aylesbury Vale Parkway, says this about a Marylebone and Aylesbury Vale Parkway service.

It was proposed that, if services are extended to the north, trains between Milton Keynes Central and Marylebone would run via High Wycombe and not Amersham.

This dates from 2012.

But.

There may be troubles with the timings of a Marylebone and Milton Keynes service between Aylesbury Vale Parkway and Milton Keynes.
A separate Aylesbury and Milton Keynes service would give a half-hourly service between Aylesbury Vale Parkway and Aylesbury, whereas an extended service only gives the current hourly service.

This Google Map shows Aylesbury Vale Parkway station.

Note.

The station only has a single bay platform.
It appears that there is a step-free walk between the car park and the platform.
There is no bridge or need for one.
There is a single through line at the station on the opposite side to the car park, which is mainly used by trains going to the landfill at Calvert.

It looks from this map, that if the single platform were widened to an island platform, that both terminating and through trains could call in the station.

Perhaps though the modifications at Aylesbury Vale Parkway are too complicated or expensive?

The ruling out of the Aylesbury and Manchester Piccadilly service is probably easier to understand.

Consider.

Milton Keynes Central will have a two tph service to Oxford and was planned to have an hourly service from Aylesbury.
Milton Keynes Central has an hourly Avanti West Coast service to Manchester Piccadilly via Rugby, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield and Stockport.
Milton Keynes Central has an hourly Avanti West Coast service to Liverpool Lime Street via Crewe and Runcorn.
Milton Keynes Central has a two-hourly Avanti West Coast service to Edinburgh Waverley via Rugby, Coventry, Birmingham International, Birmingham New Street, Sandwell and Dudley, Wolverhampton, Stafford, Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme Lake District, Penrith, Carlisle, Haymarket
Milton Keynes Central has a two-hourly Avanti West Coast service to Preston via Rugby, Coventry, Birmingham International, Birmingham New Street, Sandwell and Dudley, Wolverhampton, Stafford, Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan North Western. Five trains per day (tpd) are extended to Glasgow and two tpd are extended to Blackpool North.

Note.

A train running between Aylesbury and Manchester Piccadilly would probably need to be a 125 mph electric train, which would mean electrifying the East West Railway.
A change at Milton Keynes Central would give access to trains for nearly all North-West England and Southern Scotland.

But because of all the connectivity at Milton Keynes Central, it surely puts pressure on providing an Aylesbury and Milton Keynes Central service.

The Track

It is possible to follow the track North from Aylesbury Vale Parkway until it joins the East West Railway to the West of Winsford station.

This Google Map shows the junction, just North of the hamlet of Calvert..

Note.

The East West Railway going across the top of the map.
The single track railway to Aylesbury Vale Parkway coming North and then turning East to join the East West Railway.
The railway from Aylesbury Vale Parkway is still used by trains taking landfill.

The Wikipedia entry for Calvert, says this about the landfill site.

Another of the clay pits is now a landfill site. Waste is collected from Bristol, Bath and London each day and transported using rail via Aylesbury to Calvert. The site has a power station capable of producing 14 MWe of electricity from landfill gas, coming from the decomposition of organic matter to convert it into renewable electricity MW.

Looking at the map and the traffic on Real Time Trains, it would appear that there would be enough capacity for both the freight and an hourly passenger train between Aylesbury and Milton Keynes.

There is also the slight problem, that High Speed Two will be going through the area, as this map shows.

Note.

High Speed Two is shown in yellow (cutting) and embankment (red).
High Speed Two appears to run either on the same route or alongside the route to Aylesbury.
The East West Railway goes across the top of thye map.
The chord that connects the Aylesbury Spur to the East West Railway can clearly be seen.
The Aylesbury Spur will run along the same route as High Speed Two.
Aylesbury Vale Parkway will be just off the South-East corner of the map.

This page on the High Speed Two web site is entitled Boost for Oxford-Cambridge Connections As HS2 Builds Key East West Rail Bridge, describes the installation of a bridge to take the East West Railway goes over High Speed Two.

This picture is from High Speed Two.

As the landfill at Calvert will still need to be filled, I suspect that High Speed Two will leave the route between Aylesbury Vale Parkway and the East West Railway as a fully-serviceable railway, when they tidy up and leave this section of their route.

It looks to me, that once these tasks are complete.

High Speed Two relay all the tracks between Aylesbury Vale Parkway and the East West Railway.
The junction between the Aylesbury Spur and the East West Railway is completed.
Aylesbury Vale Parkway station is updated.

The Aylesbury Spur as needed by the East West Railway to run passenger services between Aylesbury and Milton Keynes Central could be complete.

And all because of High Speed Two and a landfill site.

Conclusion

I am drawn to the conclusion, that the Aylesbury Spur would not be a difficult railway to build and because it links to the important interchange station at Milton Keynes Central, it could be delivered soon after High Speed Two are finished in the area.

It also appears that Avanti West Coast have already aligned their services with the East West Railway.

June 3, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Aylesbury Station, Aylesbury Vale Parkway Station, Bletchley Station, East West Railway, East West Railway - Aylesbury Spur, High Speed Two, Landfill, Manchester Piccadilly Station, Winslow Station | 4 Comments

The Much-Loved Railway Food Carrier Bag

Coming back from Liverpool yesterday on Avanti West Coast, I treated myself to a coffee and a Nakd bar.

I took this picture after I’d cleared away and put all the rubbish in the bag.

These bags seem to be unique to British trains and I’ve never seen one in use on the many foreign trains, I’ve used all over the world.

Yesterday, the train was a Pendolino and I had no trouble carrying my coffee back to my seat, whilst the train tilted.

Were these bags invented by British Rail?

I can never understand, why they are not used by takeaways, as they are ideal for carrying food and drinks without spilling anything and they are much easier to carry and are ideal for collecting up the rubbish to put in a litter bin.

May 5, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Food, Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, British Rail, Coffee, Liverpool, Rubbish | 2 Comments

Manchester For The Weekend By Air?

For some weeks now, Manchester has been advertising itself as a weekend break on the giant advertising screen over Silicon Roundabout.

The adverts also seem to be backed by British Airways and are advertising flights from London City Airport.

Perhaps, these are in response to Avanti West Coast’s problems?

April 14, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, London City Airport, Manchester, Old Street Roundabout (Silicon Roundabout) | 3 Comments

Could The Bombardier Voyagers Be Converted To Hydrogen Power?

Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry and East Midlands Trains all run versions of Bombardier Voyager trains.

There are 103 sets in service.
Lengths are four, five and seven cars.
They are 125 mph trains.
They are powered by one Cummins QSK19 diesel engine in each car.

Given Cummins’s enthusiasm for hydrogen could these diesel engines be converted to hydrogen power, so the trains could run long distance routes on zero-carbon power?

If there is no need for them in the UK, there are probably lots of places in the world that would like them!

April 8, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Hydrogen, Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Class 220 Train, Class 221 Train, Class 222 Train, CrossCountry Trains, Cummins, Decarbonisation, East Midlands Railway, Hydrogen-Powered Trains, Voyager Train | 12 Comments

Platform Canopies To Be Renovated For Passengers At Lancaster Station

The title of this post is the same as that of this press release from Network Rail.

These are the first two paragraphs.

Station platform canopies are being renovated at Lancaster to improve passenger journeys on the West Coast Main Line.

Network Rail is investing £9.5m to restore and upgrade the station building for the future.

This picture from Network Rail shows an aerial view of the station.

Note that the camera is looking South.

This picture shows the current canopies.

Network Rail can surely do better on a Grade II Listed Building.

The press release lists that this work will be done.

Replacing all glazing in the platform canopies
Repairing and strengthening the structure of the canopy structures
Repainting across the station

The press release says the work won’t affect train services, but will be done when trains aren’t running.

These are my thoughts.

Lancaster Station and High Speed Two

Lancaster station will be a terminus on the High Speed Two Network.

Note.

Train 4 , which is a pair of 200 metre High Speed Classic Compatible trains, leaves London Euston and splits at Crewe, with one train going to Liverpool Lime Street and the other to Lancaster.
Train 12, which runs between Birmingham Curzon Street and Scotland, also calls at Lancaster.

Both trains will be single 200 metre High Speed Classic Compatible trains at Lancaster station and platforms 3, 4 and 5 can handle them.

But how will the Lancaster train terminate?

This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the lines through Lancaster station.

Note.

The red lines are electrified with 25 KVAC overhead wires.
In the North-West corner of the station are the bay platforms 1 and 2, which handle Morecambe services.
West Coast Main Line services between London Euston and Scotland, go through platforms 3 and 4 in the middle of the station.
On the East side of the station is platform 5 which is on a loop off the West Coast Main Line.

I would expect that the London Euston and Lancaster service will generally terminate in platform 5.

Wikipedia says this about platform 5 and the signalling.

Platform 5, which can be used by both northbound and southbound trains or by terminating services.

All platforms are signalled for arrivals and departures in either direction.

That all sounds very convenient.

There may be some minor changes for the longer High Speed Two trains, but I doubt it would be too challenging.

Onward To Morecambe

The Eden Project North at Morecambe could attract a lot of traffic.

Lancaster will be just two hours and three minutes from London by High Speed Two.
There are numerous rail connections from Lancaster to all over the North of England and Scotland.
Would you drive for two hours to the Eden Project North, if there was a convenient and quicker train?
Train companies may offer combined tickets for the attraction with rail tickets.

Wikipedia says this about the development and opening of the attraction.

Having been granted planning permission in January 2022 and with £50 million of levelling-up funding granted in January 2023, it is due to open in 2024 and predicted to benefit the North West economy by £200 million per year.

I’ve always wanted to go to the Eden Project in Cornwall, but it’s difficult if you don’t drive.

However, I might manage to get to Eden Project North.

Trains between Morecambe and Lancaster are at least hourly.

I think they can use any platform at Lancaster.
Morecambe station has two platforms.
Morecambe and Lancaster stations are four miles apart, with probably half electrified.
A battery-electric train could work between Morecambe and Lancaster.

I can envisage two main ways to arrange the connection between Morecambe and Lancaster.

Trains arrive in Lancaster and passengers for Morecambe catch the next Morecambe train for two stops, that take ten minutes.
When High Speed Two serves Lancaster from Euston, the shuttle train can wait in the Northern end of Platform 5 and when the High Speed Two train arrives passengers can just walk up the platform to the shuttle.

But if the Eden Project North is as successful as the Cornish original, there is going to be a need for more trains between Morecambe and Lancaster.

This Google Map shows Morecambe station.

Note that the island platform is probably about 160 metres long.

This would accommodate.

A five-car Class 802 or Class 805 train.
A pair of four-car Class 319, Class 321 trains.
A pair of three-car Class 331 trains.

But why not be bold and lengthen at least one platform to the full two hundred metres, so that it can accommodate a High Speed Classic Compatible train?

This would also accommodate.

A seven-car Class 807 train.
A pair of four-car Class 331 trains.

All of these electric trains would need the Morecambe branch line to be electrified to Morecambe station.

But the Eden Project North would get the public transport access it needs.

Electrifying To Morecambe

This map from OpenRailwayMap, shows the Morecambe Branch Line between the West Coast Main Line and Morecambe station.

Note.

The tracks shown in red on the Eastern side of the map are the West Coast Main Line.
The black lines are the unelectrified tracks of the Morecambe branch line.
Morecambe station is marked by the blue arrow.
Much of the Morecambe branch line is single track, with some sections of double track.
The distance between the West Coast Main Line and Morecambe station is around 2.1 miles.

I don’t think it would be the most challenging of electrifications.

A Green Route To The Isle Of Man And Ireland

This map from OpenRailwayMap, shows the terminal of the Morecambe Branch Line at Heysham Port.

Note.

There is a rail connection to the West Coast Main Line via Morecambe, which is shown in yellow.
The port appears to have three berths for ferries.
There are only a couple of train services per day.
South of the port is the Heysham nuclear power station, which has a capacity of 2.5 GW.

At a first glance, it would appear, that a rail-served passenger terminal could be built close to the port.

I suspect most passengers using Heysham are travelling with a vehicle.

The problem is also that the ferry crossing to Belfast takes around eight hours and there are faster and more convenient routes.

The ferries could be decarbonised by using ammonia or hydrogen fuel, but I doubt that they would be any faster.

I suspect that getting more passengers to use Heysham for the Isle of Man or Ireland will be a difficult proposition to sell to passengers.

And it is made even more difficult with such an infrequent train service.

Before High Speed Two

Avanti West Coast might like to run a train between Euston and Morecambe for the Eden Project North.

Are National Rail Promoting Theme Parks?

I found this page on the National Rail web site, which is entitled Theme Parks.

It gives a list of most theme parks and their nearest stations.

Does such a page exist for hospitals, cathedrals and other similar groups.

March 20, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Battery-Electric Trains, Eden Project Morecambe, Green Route To Ireland, Heysham Port, High Speed Two, High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains, Isle Of Man, Lancaster Station, Morecambe Station, Network Rail, Republic Of Ireland, Theme Parks, West Coast Main Line | Leave a comment

Thoughts On High Speed Two

These are a few thoughts about High Speed Two, after the reports of major changes today.

This article on the BBC is entitled HS2 Line Between Birmingham And Crewe Delayed By Two Years.

This is the sub-heading.

The Birmingham to Crewe leg of high speed railway HS2 will be delayed by two years to cut costs.

These are the three opening paragraphs.

Some of the design teams working on the Euston end of the line are also understood to be affected.

Transport secretary Mark Harper blamed soaring prices and said it was “committed” to the line linking London, the Midlands and North of England.

HS2 has been beset by delays and cost rises. In 2010, it was expected to cost £33bn but is now expected to be £71bn.

Delivering The Benefits Of High Speed Two Early

It is my belief that with a large project taking a decade or more , it is not a bad idea to deliver some worthwhile benefits early on.

The Elizabeth Line opened in stages.

The new Class 345 trains started replacing scrapyard specials in 2017.
The rebuilt Abbey Wood station opened in 2017.
Paddington local services were transferred to the Elizabeth Line in 2019.
Outer stations reopened regularly after refurbishment from 2018.
The through line opened in May 2022.

There’s still more to come.

Some projects wait until everything is ready and everybody gets fed up and annoyed.

Are there any parts of High Speed Two, that could be completed early, so that existing services will benefit?

In 2020, the refurbishment of Liverpool Lime Street station and the tracks leading to the station was completed and I wrote about the station in It’s A Privilege To Work Here!, where this was my conclusion.

Wikipedia says this about Liverpool Lime Street station.

Opened in August 1836, it is the oldest still-operating grand terminus mainline station in the world.

I’ve used Lime Street station for fifty-five years and finally, it is the station, the city needs and deserves.

I’ve been to grand termini all over the world and Lime Street may be the oldest, but now it is one of the best.

Are there any stations, that will be served by High Speed Two, that should be upgraded as soon as possible to give early benefits to passengers, staff and operators?

Avanti West Cost have solved the problem of the short platforms at Liverpool South Parkway station, by ordering shorter Class 807 trains. Will High Speed Two lengthen the platforms at this station?

A good project manager will need to get all the smaller sub-projects in a row and work out what is the best time to do each.

Digital Signalling

I would assume, as this will be needed for High Speed Two services in the West Coast Main Line to the North of Crewe, this is surely a must for installing as early as possible.

If the existing trains could run for a hundred miles at 140 mph, rather than the current 125 mph, that would save five worthwhile minutes.

Trains could run closer together and there is the possibility of organising services in flights, where a number of trains run together a safe number of minutes apart.

Remove Bottlenecks On Classic Lines, That Could Be Used By High Speed Two

I don’t know the bottlenecks on the West Coast Main Line, but there are two on the East Coast Main Line, that I have talked about in the past.

Could ERTMS And ETCS Solve The Newark Crossing Problem?

Improving The North Throat Of York Station Including Skelton Bridge Junction

Hopefully, the digital signalling will solve them.

Any bottlenecks on lines that will be part of High Speed Two, should be upgraded as soon as possible.

Birmingham And Crewe

I will start by looking at the leg between Birmingham and Crewe.

This section of the HS2 map shows High Speed Two between Birmingham and Lichfield.

Note.

The blue circle on the left at the bottom of the map is Birmingham Curzon Street station.
The blue circle on the right at the bottom of the map is Birmingham Interchange station.
The High Speed Two to and from London passes through Birmingham Interchange station.
The branch to Birmingham Curzon Street station connects to the main High Speed Two at a triangular junction.
North of the triangular junction, High Speed Two splits.
The Eastern branch goes to East Midlands Parkway station.
The Northern branch goes to Crewe, Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Preston and Scotland.

At the top of the map, the Northern branch splits and lines are shown on this map.

Note.

The junction where the Northern and Eastern branches divide is in the South-East corner of the map.
To the North of Lichfield, the route divides again.
The Northern purple line is the direct line to Crewe.
The shorter Southern branch is a spur that connects High Speed Two to the Trent Valley Line, which is the current route taken by trains between London Euston and Crewe, Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Preston and Scotland.
Crewe station is in the North-West corner of the map.

The route between the junction to the North of Lichfield and Crewe is essentially two double-track railways.

High Speed Two with a routine operating speed of 205 mph.
The Trent Valley Line with a routine operating speed of 140 mph.
High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains can run on all tracks.
High Speed Two Full-Size trains may be able to run on the Trent Valley Line at reduced speed.
Eighteen trains per hour (tph) is the maximum frequency of High Speed Two.

I feel in an emergency, trains will be able to use the other route.

Will This Track Layout Allow An Innovative Build?

Suppose the link to the Trent Valley Line was built first, so that High Speed Two trains from London for Crewe, Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Preston and Scotland, could transfer to the Trent Valley Line as they do now.

All lines used by High Speed Two services North of the junction, where High Speed Two joins the Trent Valley Line would be updated with digital signalling and 140 mph running. This will benefit current services on the line. For instance Euston and Liverpool/Manchester services could be under two hours.
The current services would be replaced by High Speed Two services run by High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains.
The direct High Speed Two route between Lichfield and Crewe would now be built.
When this section of High Speed Two is complete, High Speed Two services would use it between Lichfield and Crewe.
As the direct route would be built later, this would delay the building of the Birmingham and Crewe high-speed route.

Currently, trains run the 41.8 miles between Lichfield and Crewe in 28 minutes, which is an average speed of 89.6 mph.

I can build a table of average speeds and times for Lichfield and Crewe.

100 mph – 25.1 minutes – 2.9 minutes saving
110 mph – 22.8 minutes – 5.2 minutes saving
120 mph – 20.9 minutes – 7.1 minutes saving
125 mph – 20.1 minutes – 7.9 minutes saving
130 mph – 19.3 minutes – 8.7 minutes saving
140 mph – 17.9 minutes – 10.1 minutes saving
160 mph – 15.7 minutes – 12.3 minutes saving
180 mph – 13.9 minutes – 14.1 minutes saving
200 mph – 12.5 minutes – 15.5 minutes saving

Note.

Even a slight increase in average speed creates several minutes saving.
Times apply for both routes.

I believe that a 125 mph average should be possible on the Trent Valley route, which may be enough for Euston and Liverpool/Manchester services to be under two hours.

Improving Classic Lines Used By High Speed Two North Of Lichfield

Real Time Trains shows these figures for a Glasgow Central to Euston service.

Glasgow and Lichfield Trent Valley is 298.2 miles.
Glasgow and Lichfield Trent Valley takes five hours.

This is an average speed of 59.6 mph.

Note.

The average speed is low considering the trains are capable of cruising at 125 mph and 140 mph with digital signalling.
High Speed Two services between Euston and Glasgow will use the classic network, to the North of Lichfield.

I can build a table of average speeds and times for Glasgow and Lichfield.

100 mph – 179 minutes – 121 minutes saving
110 mph – 163 minutes – 157 minutes saving
120 mph – 149 minutes – 151 minutes saving
125 mph – 143 minutes – 157 minutes saving
130 mph – 138 minutes – 162 minutes saving
140 mph – 128 minutes – 172 minutes saving

This table illustrates why it is important to improve all or as many as possible of classic lines used by High Speed Two to enable 140 mph running, with full digital signalling. Obviously, if 140 mph is not feasible, the speed should be increased to the highest possible.

Routes that could be updated include.

London Euston and Glasgow Central
London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street
London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly (all routes)
London Euston and Blackpool
London Euston and Holyhead
London Euston and Shrewsbury

Not all these routes will be served by High Speed Two, but they could be served by 140 mph trains.

What Times Would Be Possible?

The InterCity 225 was British Rail’s ultimate electric train and these two paragraphs from its Wikipedia entry, describe its performance.

The InterCity 225 was designed to achieve a peak service speed of 140 mph (225 km/h); during a test run in 1989 on Stoke Bank between Peterborough and Grantham, an InterCity 225 was recorded at a speed of 162 mph (260.7 km/h). Its high speed capabilities were again demonstrated via a 3hr 29mins non-stop run between London and Edinburgh on 26 September 1991. British regulations have since required in-cab signalling on any train running at speeds above 125 mph (201 km/h) preventing such speeds from being legally attained in regular service. Thus, except on High Speed 1, which is equipped with cab signalling, British signalling does not allow any train, including the InterCity 225, to exceed 125 mph (201 km/h) in regular service, due to the impracticality of correctly observing lineside signals at high speed.

The InterCity 225 has also operated on the West Coast Main Line (WCML). In April 1992, one trainset achieved a new speed record of two hours, eight minutes between Manchester and London Euston, shaving 11 minutes off the 1966 record. During 1993, trials were operated to Liverpool and Manchester in connection with the InterCity 250 project.

The fastest London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly services appear to be two hours and six minutes tomorrow, with stops at Nuneaton and Stoke-on-Trent.
The fastest London King’s Cross and Edinburgh service is four hours seventeen minutes tomorrow.

It does appear that British Rail’s 1980s-vintage InterCity 225 train did very well.

Trains that would be able to run at 140 mph with updated signalling include.

Alstom Class 390
Hitachi Class 800, 801, 802, 803, 805, 807 and 810
British Rail InterCity 225
High Speed Two Classic-Compatible.

All are electric trains.

Could High Speed Two, West Coast Main Line and East Coast Main Line Services Be Run By High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains?

I don’t see why not!

They would be able to use short stretches of High Speed Line like Lichfield and Crewe.
LNER and CrossCountry could also use the trains.
High Speed Two is providing the framework and it’s there to be used, provided the paths are available.

This graphic shows the preliminary schedule.

It only shows ten trains going through Crewe, so there could be up to eight spare high speed paths between Birmingham and Crewe.

Could High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains Be Used To Advantage On The East Coast Main Line?

I published this extract from the Wikipedia entry for the InterCity 225 earlier.

The InterCity 225 was designed to achieve a peak service speed of 140 mph (225 km/h); during a test run in 1989 on Stoke Bank between Peterborough and Grantham, an InterCity 225 was recorded at a speed of 162 mph (260.7 km/h). Its high speed capabilities were again demonstrated via a 3hr 29mins non-stop run between London and Edinburgh on 26 September 1991.

The London and Edinburgh run was at an average speed of around 112 mph.

I wonder what time, one of LNER’s Class 801 trains, that are all-electric could do, once the new digital signalling has been fully installed on the route? I suspect it would be close to three hours, but it would depend on how long the trains could run at 140 mph.

It should be noted that the Selby Diversion was designed for 160 mph, when it was built by British Rail in the 1980s.

In Are Short Lengths Of High Speed Line A Good Idea?, I look at the mathematics of putting in short lengths of new railway, which have higher speeds, where this was part of my conclusion.

I very much feel there is scope to create some new high speed sections on the current UK network, with only building very little outside of the current land used by the network.

I would love to know what some of Network Rail’s track experts feel is the fastest time possible between London and Edinburgh that can be achieved, by selective upgrading of the route.

If some of the trains were High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains, with a top speed of 205 mph, provided the track allowed it, there could be some interesting mathematics balancing the costs of track upgrades, new trains with what passengers and operators need in terms of journey times.

Could High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains Be Used To Advantage On The West Coast Main Line?

Much of what I said about the East Coast Main Line would apply to the West Coast Main Line.

But in addition, the West Coast Main Line will be a superb place to test the new High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains.

I believe, that before High Speed Two opens, we’ll see High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains, carrying passengers between Euston and Avanti West Coast’s destinations.

Could High Speed Two Be Split Into Two?

Consider.

Under earlier plans, the East Coast Main Line to the North of York, will be used by High Speed Two.
With digital signalling the East Coast Main Line will support continuous running at 140 mph for long sections of the route.
The East Coast Main Line has a recently-rebuilt large Southern terminal at King’s Cross with eleven platforms and good suburban services and excellent connections to the London Underground.
The East Coast Main Line has a very large Northern terminal at Edinburgh Waverley with twenty platforms and good local train connections.
There are large intermediate stations on the East Coast Main Line at Doncaster, Leeds, Newcastle, Peterborough and York. All these stations have good local train connections.
The East Coast Main Line has important branches to Cambridge, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Hull King’s Lynn, Lincoln, Middlesbrough, Nottingham, Scarborough, Sheffield, Skegness and Sunderland.

We are talking about an asset, that needs improving rather than sidelining.

Could High Speed Two Be A One-Nation Project?

Over three years ago, I wrote Could High Speed Two Be A One-Nation Project? and tried to answer the question in the title.

But now the core network is better defined, perhaps it is time to look at extending the High Speed network again.

The next few sections look at possible extensions.

Serving Chester And North Wales

I looked at this in Could High Speed Two Trains Serve Chester And North Wales?, which I have updated recently.

This was my conclusion.

It looks to me, that when High Speed Two, think about adding extra destinations, Chester and Holyhead could be on the list.

I also suspect that even without electrification and High Speed Two services, but with the new Class 805 trains, the route could be a valuable one for Avanti West Coast.

These are current and promised times for the two legs to Holyhead.

Euston and Crewe – 90 minutes – Fastest Class 390 train
Euston and Crewe – 55 minutes – High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train from Wikipedia
Crewe and Holyhead – 131 minutes – Fastest Class 221 train
Crewe and Holyhead – 70 minutes – 90 mph average speed
Crewe and Holyhead – 63 minutes – 100 mph average speed
Crewe and Holyhead – 57 minutes – 110 mph average speed
Crewe and Holyhead – 53 minutes – 120 mph average speed
Crewe and Holyhead – 45 minutes – 140 mph average speed

Note.

I have assumed that Crewe and Holyhead is 105.5 miles.
The operating speed of the North Wales Coast Line is 90 mph.
In the following estimates, I have assumed a change of train at Crewe, takes 6 minutes.

I think there are several options to run fast services to Chester and North Wales.

Pre-HS2 – Class 805 all the way