The Anonymous Widower

East West Rail: Could A New Rail Link ‘Tear Apart’ A Village?

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.

This is the sub-heading.

A new £5bn railway line connecting Cambridge and Oxford will transform much of the area between the two university cities. It could see one Bedfordshire village grow from a population of about 600 to more than 44,000. What would that change mean for people living there and how do they feel about it?

This Google Map shows the village.

Note.

  1. On the West side of the map there is the Great North Road and the Great Ouse.
  2. On the East side of the Map, there is the electrified East Coast Main Line.
  3. The  village is strung along the East-West lane in the middle of the map, which is inevitably named Station Road.

It appears to have a surgery, a playing field and a Methodist church, but not much else.

I have some thoughts.

Bedford And Tempsford

This Google Map shows Bedford and Tempsford.

Note.

  1. Bedford is in the South-West corner of the map.
  2. Tempsford is in the North-East corner of the map.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see the East West Railway take an East West route to Tempsford, that skirted to the North of Bedford.

In East-West Rail: Through Bedford, I discuss how the East West Railway could branch away to the East from the Midland Main Line.

Tempsford And Cambourne

The next station to the East is Cambourne station.

This Google Map shows Tempsford and Cambourne.

Note.

  1. Tempsford is in the South-West corner of the map.
  2. Cambourne is in the North-East corner of the map.
  3. St. Neots station can be picked out on the Northern edge of the map.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see the East West Railway take a North-Easterly route from Tempsford.

The Possible Station Site At Tempsford

This Google Map shows where Station Road crosses the East Coast Main Line.

Note.

  1. There are a few industrial businesses on what was probably the old station site.
  2. There doesn’t appear to be any housing.

I flew my virtual helicopter lower and took this image.

Note.

  1. It is a level crossing.
  2. There is a car waiting to cross on the Eastern side.
  3. There is also a bus stop on the Western side.

This must be an accident waiting to happen as the speed limit on the trains through here is 125 mph. Remember Upton Nervet, where seven were killed and sixty-six were injured!

Hopefully, the new design of Tempsford station will incorporate a combined rail and road bridge or tunnel.

The Route Of The Railway At Tempsford

I think it is more likely that the railway would go roughly East-West to the North of Station Road.

 

June 14, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , | 1 Comment

East-West Rail: Electrification

The first paragraph of the Wikipedia entry for the East West Railway, says this about electrification.

As of March 2020, electrification of the line is not planned, but the 2019 decision (to rule it out) is under review.

But I don’t think it’s a simple decision of electrify or not!

These observations are guiding my thoughts.

Milton Keynes Central Station

This OpenRailwayMap shows the platforms and whether they are electrified in Milton Keynes Central station.

Note.

  1. Lines shown in red are electrified with 25 KVAC overhead wires.
  2. The short platform is Platform 2A, which can take a five-car train and was built recently to terminate the Marston Vale Line service.
  3. Could Platform 2A be ideal for handling and charging, battery-electric trains, that terminate in Milton Keynes station?

The Wikipedia entry for Milton KeynesCentral station, has a section called Platforms and Layout, which gives full details.

Bletchley Station

This OpenRailwayMap shows the platforms and whether they are electrified in Bletchley station.

Note.

  1. Lines shown in red are electrified with 25 KVAC overhead wires.
  2. The wide swath of red going North is the West Coast Main Line.
  3. The smaller patch of red to the East of the West Coast Main Line are electrified sidings.
  4. All low-level platforms at Bletchley station are electrified.
  5. The viaduct platforms, are shown in black as they are not electrified.
  6. A non-electrified line leads North-West from the viaduct towards Milton Keynes Central.
  7. The Milton Keynes end of the line between Milton Keynes Central station and the viaduct is electrified.
  8. A non-electrified line leads North-East from the viaduct towards Fenny Stratford and Bedford.

The Google Map shows a 3D visualisation of Bletchley station.

I can’t see much sign of any electrification.

Bedford Station

This OpenRailwayMap shows the platforms and the electrification around Bedford station.

Note.

  1. All platforms at Bedford station are electrified.
  2. The lines to the West of the station are the electrified Midland Main Line.
  3. The Marston Vale Line services terminate in the short Platform 1A, which is the South-East corner of the station.
  4. The track into Platform 1A is electrified for about two hundred metres, through the sidings South of the station.

This picture shows the electrified track as it crosses over the river.

Could Platform 1A be ideal for handling and charging, battery-electric trains, that terminate in Bedford station?

It’s odd that there is the same platform layout at both ends of the Marston Vale Line.

Is it just a coincidence or does Engineer Baldrick have a cunning Plan?

Oxford Station

This OpenRailwayMap shows the platforms and the electrification around Oxford station.

Note.

  1. The dotted red and black tracks, indicate electrification is planned.
  2. The planned electrification will connect Oxford station to Didcot Junction station.
  3. The two bay platforms at the North of the station are not electrified and Platform 2 is now used by Chiltern’s London services.
  4. Platform 1 could be used by trains on the East West Railway that terminate at Oxford.

When Oxford station is electrified, it wouldn’t be the largest project to add 25 KVAC overhead electrification to the two bay platforms.

Aylesbury Station

This OpenRailwayMap shows the platforms and the lack of electrification around Aylesbury station.

Note.

  1. No tracks are electrified.
  2. Platforms are numbered 3, 2, 1 from the top, so 2 and 3 are paired in the middle.
  3. All freight trains go through Platform 2 and most seem to go via Princes Risborough and High Wycombe.
  4. Chiltern services use Platforms 1 and 3.

Putting a charging system in Aylesbury station could be tricky.

I wonder if the simplest system for East West Railway would be to electrify between Aylesbury and Aylesbury Vale Parkway stations.

Chiltern Railway’s time between the two stations is as much as seven minutes.

Some trains to Aylesbury take over twenty minutes to do the short journey to Aylesbury Vale Parkway and return, which is more than enough to fully-charge a battery-electric train.

You can even have Chiltern’s hourly Aylesbury Parkway service, sharing the same stretch of electrification with East West Railway’s Aylesbury service, as there is a loop, which creates double-track for some of the way.

It should be noted that between Marylebone and Aylesbury Vale Parkway stations is only 41.1 miles, so some battery-electric trains could do that with a full charge at one end.

East West Railway Distances

In Trains Needed For The East West Railway, I calculated some of these distances.

  • Oxford and Bedford – 46.8 miles
  • Oxford and Milton Keynes – 33.4 miles
  • Aylesbury and Milton Keynes – 25.9 miles

With charging at both ends, all of these routes are possible using modern battery-electric trains, where even a Class 777 IPEMU, designed for extending Merseyrail’s suburban network has done 84 miles on one charge.

On To Cambridge

In this document on the East-West Rail Consortium web site, these services are suggested, for when the East West Railway is complete.

  • An hourly train via Norwich terminating at Great Yarmouth.
  • An hourly train via Ipswich terminating at Manningtree.

These are distances on these routes that are not electrified, that are to the East of Cambridge.

  • Ely and Norwich – 53.7 miles
  • Norwich and Great Yarmouth – 18.3 miles
  • Cambridge and Haughley Junction – 40.3 miles

Note.

  1. The Manningtree service would be able to charge its batteries after passing Haughley junction going East and it would be nearly an hour before it needed to use the battery for traction.
  2. If the Yarmouth service could handle the full route on batteries, then it could return to Cambridge with an efficient charger at Great Yarmouth, which for 25 KVAC overhead electrification trains is an off the shelf item.
  3. But it does look to me that the trains must leave Cambridge with full batteries, so they can reach electrification at Bedford, Haughley or Norwich.

This map shows the route of the East West Railway between Bedford and Cambridge.

Note.

  1. Bedford is on the electrified Midland Main Line to London.
  2. Tempsford is on the electrified East Coast Main Line to London.
  3. Cambridge has two electrified main lines to London.
  4. These connections should ensure a good power supply to the East of Bedford for electrification.

I suspect the easiest option will be to add some more electrification at one or more of these places.

  • At the Eastern end of the Bedford and Cambridge section.
  • To the West of Haughley junction, when it is rebuilt.
  • To the North of Ely, when the railways in that area are improved.

Although, as it will be a new route, it might be best to build Bedford and Cambridge as an electrified railway.

June 3, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

East-West Rail: Along The Marston Vale Line

For the initial phase of the East West Railway, it doesn’t appear that the Marston Vale Line will be improved.

As I write this, I have not heard of any improvements between Bedford and Bletchley.

Perhaps, with all the arguments about the section of the East West Railway between Bedford and Cambridge, the Government, Network Rail and the East West Railway feel that the best approach, is to do what they can with the existing track layout and the rebuilt viaduct at Bletchley.

These are my thoughts.

The Capacity Of The Marston Vale Line

In the Wikipedia entry for the Marston Vale Line, this is said about the infrastructure of the line.

Apart from a short length of single track at both ends, the line is double track, and is not electrified. It has a loading gauge of W8 and a line speed of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). The line’s signalling centre is at Ridgmont.

The line has a length of only 16.5 miles.

I believe with modern signalling and well-trained drivers, that the line could accommodate at least two trains per hour (tph) in both directions.

At its simplest every half hour, a train would leave both end stations and the two trains would pass each other on the long double-track section in the middle.

Proposed Train Services

Train services on the East West Railway will be as follows, when it opens between Oxford and Milton Keynes and Bedford, are proposed to be as follows.

  • 2 tph – East West Railway – Oxford and Milton Keynes Central via Oxford Parkway, Bicester Village, Winslow and Bletchley
  • 1 tph – East West Railway – Oxford and Bedford via Oxford Parkway, Bicester Village, Winslow, Bletchley, Woburn Sands and Ridgmont
  • 1 tph – West Midlands Trains – Bletchley and Bedford via Fenny Stratford, Bow Brickhill, Woburn Sands, Aspley Guise, Ridgmont, Lidlington, Millbrook, Stewartby, Kempston Hardwick and Bedford St Johns

If the East West Railway uses the Marston Vale Line between Bletchley and Bedford, then there will be two tph along the Marston Vale Line.

I believe that if the Marston Vale Line is not improved until later, then the proposed initial train service pattern can be achieved.

The New Bletchley Viaduct

The tracks appear to have been laid on the Bletchley Viaduct.

This Google Map shows the tracks on the viaduct.

Note.

  1. The double-track viaduct runs North-South in the middle of the map.
  2. The two platforms appear to be substantially complete.
  3. The two lift and stair towers are at the Southern end of the platforms.

This second Google Map shows the section of the viaduct by the roundabout.

Note.

  1. The viaduct splits with two tracks going North-West to Milton Keynes Central and two tracks going North-East to Bedford.
  2. There is a complicated junction, which appears to allow a lot of flexibility for train operations.

I have followed the Milton Keynes tracks and there are cross-overs, so that trains can go between Platform 2A at Milton Keynes Central station and either of the viaduct platforms at Bletchley station, which they will need to do to run services between Oxford and Aylesbury, and Milton Keynes Central.

This Google Map shows the tracks between the viaduct and Fenny Stratford, which is the first station towards Bedford.

Note.

  1. The Princes Way roundabout in the West of the map.
  2. The Milton Keynes and Bedford tracks divide close to the roundabout.
  3. Fenny Stratford station in the East of the map.
  4. The tracks gradually combine from West to East, so there is only one track for the single platform at Fenny Stratford station.

This Google Map shows the Western section of the tracks between the viaduct and Fenny Stratford.

Note, how the two tracks on the viaduct join into one for going towards Fenny Stratford in the North-East corner of the map..

I’m certain, that this track layout, allows a train to go between the single platform at Fenny Stratford station and either of the viaduct platforms at Bletchley station.

A Milton Keynes Central And Bedford Service

In the Wikipedia entry for the Marston Vale Line, there is a section, which is entitled Extension to Milton Keynes Central, where this is said.

In June 2005, the then franchisee, Silverlink Trains announced an intention to extend the Marston Vale service via the West Coast Main Line to Milton Keynes Central, where a new platform and track would be built alongside the up slow track. Work began on 4 December 2006 at the station to prepare for a service connection. The platform was ready for use in January 2009 but the service did not materialise and there are no longer any published plans for it to do so. A firm service pattern on East West Rail remains to be announced but the illustrative pattern has no Bedford–Milton Keynes Central service; passengers will continue to have to change at Bletchley. There is no east-to-north chord between this line and the WCML: As of December 2020, the route the chord might take is occupied by trade outlets and a warehouse.

But.

Supposing a Milton Keynes to Bedford train did this.

  • It ran from Platform 2A at Milton Keynes Central to the Northbound platform on the Bletchley viaduct.
  • It would then reverse and run to Bedford along the Marston Vale Line.
  • It would terminate in Platform 1A at Bedford station.

And supposing a Bedford to Milton Keynes train did this.

  • It ran from Platform 1A at Bedford to the Northbound platform on the Bletchley viaduct.
  • It would then reverse and run to Milton Keynes Central along the tracks alongside the West Coast Main Line.
  • It would terminate in Platform 2A at Milton Keynes Central station.

Note.

  1. There would be some bi-directional running.
  2. Trains would only reverse on the Northbound platform on the Bletchley viaduct.
  3. Platform 2A at Milton Keynes Central would handle 4 tph.
  4. Platform 1A at Bedford station would handle 2 tph.

As the only reversing happens on the Northbound platform on the Bletchley viaduct, would it be sensible for a new driver to step-up, so that the reverse was fast?

I believe that with some innovative running, that a Milton Keynes and Bedford service is possible, because of the comprehensive track layout that has been installed.

June 3, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , | 10 Comments

East-West Rail: Through Bedford

This Google Map shows the route of East West Rail through Bedford.

Note.

  1. Bedford St. Johns station in the South-East corner of the map.
  2. Bedford station is in the North-West corner of the map.
  3. Tracks run between the two stations to allow Marston Vale Line trains to terminate in Platform 1A  at Bedford station.
  4. There are a lot of sidings for Thameslink trains South of Bedford station.
  5. The Great Ouse divides the town into two.

I’ll now explore further.

Bedford St. Johns Station

This Google Map shows Bedford St. Johns station.

Note.

  1. Bedford St. Johns station towards the North-East corner of the map.
  2. The single-track Marston Vale Line passing through the station.
  3. The track becomes double track to the North of the station.
  4. Although not shown on the map, the Marston Vale Line becomes double track to the South of the station.
  5. If it was all double-track, this would surely make operation of the Marston Vale Line easier for two trains per hour (tph).
  6. In the South-West of the map is Bedford hospital.

The Wikipedia entry for Bedford St. Johns station, says this about the future of the station.

In March 2021, plans were unveiled which, if taken forward, would see Bedford St Johns railway station relocated as the track through the station will be realigned. In May 2023, EWRL announced that it proposes to relocate the station further north (to Kempston Road) to better serve Bedford Hospital.

That sounds sensible, as it would allow either a full two-platform step-free station or a smaller single-sided one-platform station to be built.

Over The Great Ouse

This Google Map shows the railway crossing the Great Ouse.

Note.

  1. The Marston Vale Line runs to the South -West of the long-stay car park in the South-East corner of the map.
  2. The Western bridge takes the line over the Great Ouse.
  3. It then runs between the sidings to Bedford station.

This picture, which was taken from the Spiral Footbridge on the North bank of the Ouse, shows the double-track rail bridge.

There are two tracks all the way from where the single-track divides to the North of Bedford St. Johns station.

The Southern Approaches To Bedford Station

This Google Map shows the Southern approaches to Bedford station.

I have looked at the track layout and I’m fairly sure of the following.

  • Current Marston Vale trains can go directly into Platform 1A without crossing any other tracks.
  • Marston Vale trains can use Platform 1 if required.
  • Thameslink trains can terminate in Platforms 1, 2 or 3.
  • Southbound Corby trains can call in Platforms 1, 2 or 3.
  • If they stop in Platforms 1 or 2, they appear to cross over South of Bedford station to the Midland Main Line.

If 2 tph were running on the Marston Vale Line; one fast and one stopping, a single platform should be able to handle the trains, if it was long enough.

Bedford Station

These pictures show Bedford station.

Note.

  1. The first two pictures were taken from the footbridge.
  2. The fast line between Platforms 3 and 4, is clearly visible in the second picture.
  3. Platform 1A is electrified.

This Google Map shows Platform 1A, where Marston Valley Line trains currently terminate.

Note.

  1. Platforms from the right are 1A and 1, 2 and 3 on the islands, with 4 to the left.
  2. Judging it against the three cars of the train in Platform 2, I reckon that Platform 1A could be updated to hold a six-car train.

Would a six-car train be long enough?

Initial East West Rail Services To Bedford

According to the Wikipedia entry for the East West Railway, these services will run on the railway between Oxford and Bedford.

  • East West Railway – Oxford and Milton Keynes Central via Oxford Parkway, Bicester Village, Winslow and Bletchley – 2 tph
  • East West Railway – Oxford and Bedford via Oxford Parkway, Bicester Village, Winslow, Bletchley, Woburn Sands and Ridgmont – 1 tph
  • East West Railway – Aylesbury and Milton Keynes Central via Aylesbury Vale Parkway, Winslow and Bletchley – 1 tph
  • West Midlands Trains – Bletchley and Bedford via Fenny Stratford, Bow Brickhill, Woburn Sands, Aspley Guise, Ridgmont, Lidlington, Millbrook, Stewartby, Kempston Hardwick and Bedford St Johns – 1 tph

Note.

  1. tph is trains per hour.
  2. There a fast train and a stopping train between Bletchley and Bedford.
  3. It appears that both these trains could terminate in Platform 1A at Bedford station.

I believe this will be possible with the current track layout, as the Marston Vale Line is almost all double-track.

East West Rail Services To Cambridge And Beyond

In this document on the East-West Rail Consortium web site, these services are suggested, for when the East West Rail is complete.

  • An hourly train via Norwich terminating at Great Yarmouth.
  • An hourly train via Ipswich terminating at Manningtree.

Would this mean three of four passenger tph on the Marston Vale Line?

If Cambridge and Oxford services, were running under digital signalling, I suspect trains could cross between the Thameslink and Marston Vale Lines, so that they could call in the through platforms at Bedford station.

How Would Trains Connect To The East At Bedford Station?

This Google Map shows the Midland Main Line through Bedform.

Note.

  1. Bedford station in the South-East corner of the map.
  2. The Midland Main Line runs diagonally from Bedford station across the map.
  3. The A6 seems to take a curious route in the North-West corner of the map, where it connects to a roundabout with an Aldi and a Sainsbury’s

This Google Map shows the countryside to the North-East of the roundabout.

Judging by the colours of the fields to the North-East of the roundabout, I suspect, that a high proportion of the land is in one ownership.

This map clipped from the East West Rail route map, shows the route between Bedford and the East Coast Main Line between St. Neots and Sandy stations.

This Google Map shows the area of the junction, that would connect the East West Rail tracks to the slow lines through Bedford station.

Note.

  1. The four-track Midland Main Line runs diagonally across the map.
  2. The beige-coloured diamond-shaped area by the railway is an electrical substation.
  3. There doesn’t appear to be many properties that would need to be demolished.
  4. There would need to be a viaduct over the A6.
  5. Once over the A6, the land seems to be in one ownership, which should ease building the railway across.

I feel it would be feasible, possibly with the use of a dive-under or flyover to connect the East West Rail tracks to the slow lines through Bedford station.

May 28, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

East-West Rail: Oxford And Bedford

This map from East West Rail shows the route between Oxford and Bedford.

Note.

  1. The proposed route is shown in blue.
  2. The possible Southern extension to Aylesbury is shown dotted.
  3. The route between Bicester and Bletchley is rebuilt track along a former alignment.
  4. The route between Bletchley and Bedford will surely be rebuilt track along the Marston Vale Line.
  5. The Bicester and Bedford sections of track will be joined by the Bletchley Flyover, which is well on the way to completion.

This Google Map shows Bletchley station.

Note.

  1. Bletchley Station has six platforms.
  2. The double-track Bletchley Flyover runs North-South at the Eastern side of the station.
  3. There are the beginnings of two platforms on the flyover, which will increase the number of platforms at Bletchley station to eight.
  4. There is a junction at the Northern end of the flyover, where one pair of tracks go North to Milton Keynes Central and the other takes the Marston Vale Line to Bedford.

The track-layout at Bletchley station allows trains between Oxford and Bedford and Oxford and Milton Keynes Central to call at Bletchley station.

Proposed Passenger Trains Between Oxford and Bedford

According to the Wikipedia entry for the East West Railway, these service will run on the railway between Oxford and Bedford.

  • East West Railway – Oxford and Milton Keynes Central via Oxford Parkway, Bicester Village, Winslow and Bletchley – 2 tph
  • East West Railway – Oxford and Bedford via Oxford Parkway, Bicester Village, Winslow, Bletchley, Woburn Sands and Ridgmont – 1 tph
  • East West Railway – Aylesbury and Milton Keynes Central via Aylesbury Vale Parkway, Winslow and Bletchley – 1 tph
  • West Midlands Trains – Bletchley and Bedford via Fenny Stratford, Bow Brickhill, Woburn Sands, Aspley Guise, Ridgmont, Lidlington, Millbrook, Stewartby, Kempston Hardwick and Bedford St Johns – 1 tph

Note.

  1. tph is trains per hour.
  2. All larger stations get at least a half-hourly service.
  3. There are three tph  between Oxford and Bletchley via Oxford Parkway, Bicester Village and Winslow.
  4. There a fast train and a stopping train between Bletchley and Bedford.
  5. It is still undecided, whether provision will be made for the Aylesbury service.

I think that this service pattern is achievable, with or without the Aylesbury service.

 

 

May 26, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , | 3 Comments

East-West Rail: Route For £5bn Bedford To Cambridge Link Announced

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.

This is the sub-heading.

The preferred route of part of £5bn railway line connecting Oxford and Cambridge has been announced.

The first two paragraphs summarise the route.

The East-West Rail (EWR) project confirmed details of the section between Bedford and Cambridge.

It will include new stations at Tempsford and Cambourne, and enter Cambridge via the south of the city.

This map from East West Rail shows the route.

Note.

  1. The proposed route is shown in blue.
  2. The possible Southern extension to Aylesbury is shown dotted.
  3. The Wikipedia entry for East West Rail has conflicting information, as to when trains can run between  Bicester and Bedford.

These related posts describe and discuss various parts and issues of the route.

East-West Rail: Along The Marston Vale Line

East-West Rail: Aylesbury Spur

East-West Rail: Electrification

East-West Rail: Oxford And Bedford

East-West Rail: Through Bedford

 

May 26, 2023 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , | 1 Comment

East-West Rail: Bedford’s Mayoral Candidates Split On Rail Project

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.

This is the first sentence.

Part of the route of the controversial East-West Rail project will not be decided before we know the winner of Bedford’s mayoral elections.

Unfortunately, the four candidates for Mayor all seem to have different ideas for East-West Railway through the town.

I have a few thoughts and observations.

Thameslink

Thameslink has the following connections to the East West Railway.

  • Four tph at Bedford.
  • Three tph at Cambridge.

Note.

  1. tph is trains per hour.
  2. All Bedford trains terminate at Bedford.
  3. The half-hourly Luton Airport Express between London St. Pancras and Corby stops at Luton Airport Parkway, Luton, Bedford, Wellingborough and Kettering.
  4. Cambridge trains may extend to Cambridge North station.
  5. Cambridge has additional through services between London King’s Cross and Ely and/or King’s Lynn.

Both Bedford and Cambridge will be busy stations.

Extra Tracks At Bedford

Bedford station has four tracks; two which are generally used by Thameslink services and two main lines used by through trains.

  • The fast lines must accommodate the following trains.
  • East Midlands Railway – 6 tph in both directions. Two tph stop in Bedford station.
  • Freight Trains – 2 tph in both directions.
  • East West Railway – 2 tph in both directions. All trains will stop in Bedford station.

It strikes me, that the station may need at least one and possibly two extra tracks.

If there are extra tracks, there will need to be some demolition of houses.

Freight Trains

In Roaming Around East Anglia – Newmarket Station, I wrote this about the plans of the East West Rail Consortium in the area.

In this document on the East-West Rail Consortium web site, this is said.

Note that doubling of Warren Hill Tunnel at Newmarket and
redoubling between Coldham Lane Junction and Chippenham Junction is included
in the infrastructure requirements. It is assumed that most freight would operate
via Newmarket, with a new north chord at Coldham Lane Junction, rather than
pursuing further doubling of the route via Soham.

So would it be possible to create a double-track railway through Newmarket station?

In the related post, I came to this conclusion.

Newmarket can benefit from East West Rail, but the two parties must agree objectives that don’t cause problems for the other.

But I do think, that Newmarket will not welcome the building of a double-track railway through the town.

I do wonder, if the East West Rail Consortium plan to run freight trains between Felixstowe and South Wales and the West of England through Bedford and Oxford.

Four freight tph, through Bedford would certainly need extra tracks and the demolition of houses in the centre of Bedford.

Electrification

Two of the candidates for Bedford’s mayor, think that the line needs to be electrified.

As the route is full or partially-electrified at Didcot, Bletchley, Bedford and Cambridge, I believe that battery-electric trains could handle the route.

But then there are no plans to purchase any passenger trains of this type.

Freight trains would still need to be diesel hauled, unless more progress is made fairly quickly in the development of hydrogen-powered freight locomotives.

The Cambridge Effect

Cambridge is one of the most important cities in the world, because of its strength in innovation in high technology industries.

But Cambridge is bursting at the seams and needs more space for laboratories, advanced manufacturing and housing.

A fully-developed double-track and electrified East West Railway would open up Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Bedford, Newmarket, Bury St. Edmunds and Ipswich to act as satellites to help Cambridge build a shared and successful future.

The Felixstowe Effect

If Cambridge will stimulate the growth of passenger traffic, then Felixstowe will promote the growth of East-West freight traffic.

Conclusion

It may not be initially built that way, but probably by 2040, the East West Railway will be a fully-electrified double-track railway between Didcot and Felixstowe.

Extra tracks will also be needed through Bedford. This will mean demolition of houses.

 

April 15, 2023 Posted by | Hydrogen, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Could An Oxford And Cambridge Service Be Run Via The Lizzie Line?

This article on the BBC is entitled East-West Rail: Part Of £5bn Scheme ‘Appears To Be Unachievable’.

These are the first four paragraphs.

A £5bn rail project “appears to be unachievable” in parts, a government report said.

The East-West Rail scheme will create a link from Oxford to Cambridge, with services being introduced in stages.

Stage two, between Oxford and Bedford, and stage three, between Bedford and Cambridge, have “major issues”, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority said.

A spokesman for East-West Rail said the delivery programme was “under review”.

As someone, who used to live near Cambridge, I have seen the transport routes improve in East Anglia, but not the area’s connections to the rest of the country.

The article describes Stage 2 and 3 of the East West Railway like this.

Stage two involves predominantly upgrading existing infrastructure, between Bletchley and Bedford, to allow services between Oxford and Bedford.

Stage three involves building a new line, between Bedford and Cambridge, to extend the railway and facilitate services from Oxford to Cambridge.

So if the Government feel that the major issues and opposition should lead to cancellation of the scheme to the East of Bedford or even Bletchley, what are the problems and alternatives?

Freight

The Port of Felixstowe is the UK’s busiest container port and it handles 48% of Britain’s containerised trade.

Having lived as a teenager in Felixstowe and in Suffolk for probably half my life, there is only one certainty about the port in my mind. It will get bigger and will generate more rail and road traffic in East Anglia.

  • The roads have improved greatly, since the 1960s, when I used to cycle between Ipswich and Felixstowe, along a two-lane single carriageway road.
  • The renamed A14 has replaced the A45 and now connects the port to the M1 and the M6.
  • Tens of long freight trains every day now connect Felixstowe with the rest of the country.
  • The East West Railway will be a very useful link between Felixstowe and South Wales and the West of England.
  • Global warming will mean the decarbonisation of heavy freight, with more traffic on an electrified railway.

Felixstowe’s connections to the North and Midlands may have improved greatly, but they will need to be improved a lot more.

The Port of Southampton is the UK’s second busiest container port.

  • Most freight trains from Southampton go North via Basingstoke, Reading and Oxford.
  • A plan some years ago was for an Electric Spine, that would have connected the Port of Southampton to the Northern cities.
  • The Electric Spine would have envisaged electrification of the East West Railway to the West of Bedford and electrified connections with the West Coast Main Line and the Midland Main Line.
  • The Midland Main Line is now planned to be fully electrified, under the the Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands.

Southampton, like Felixstowe will be in need of improved transport connections.

In an ideal world, an electrified East West Railway, would improve freight connections between the UK’s two busiest container ports and major cities in the UK.

Problems With Freight

Could this be the major problem East of Bletchley, where the residents living along the route, don’t want to see large numbers of freight trains running close by?

In this document on the East-West Rail Consortium web site, this is said.

Note that doubling of Warren Hill Tunnel at Newmarket and
redoubling between Coldham Lane Junction and Chippenham Junction is included
in the infrastructure requirements. It is assumed that most freight would operate
via Newmarket, with a new north chord at Coldham Lane Junction, rather than
pursuing further doubling of the route via Soham.

Will the residents of Newmarket object to a double-track freight railway through the town? Freight trains and horses are not a good mix.

I do wonder, if freight trains hauled by noisy and unfriendly diesel locomotives are one of the reasons a full Oxford and Cambridge railway is losing its appeal and becoming a vote loser for the Government.

Cambridge Has An Accommodation And Commuting Problem

There is a shortage of accommodation in Cambridge for offices, laboratories, workshop and above all workers.

So it looks to the surrounding towns and cities to provide help.

London and Ely have good links, but the city needs better links to Bedford, Bury St. Edmunds, Haverhill, Ipswich, Norwich, Kings Lynn, Peterborough, Soham, Stansted Airport, Stevenage, Sudbury and Thetford.

Cambridge may be the place in the South East with the largest numbers of commuters from London.

Cambridge Needs A Decent Rail Network

In my view Cambridge needs at least the following services in trains per hour (tph)

  • Colchester via Haverhill, Sudbury and Marks Tey – 2 tph
  • Ipswich via Newmarket, A14 Parkway, Bury St. Edmunds, Stowmarket and Needham Market – 2 tph
  • King’s Lynn via Cambridge North, Ely and Downham Market – 2 tph
  • Oxford via Bedford, Milton Keynes/Bletchley and Bicester – 2 tph
  • London King’s Cross via Cambridge South – 2 tph
  • Norwich via Cambridge North, Ely, Thetford, Attleborough  and Wymondham – 2 tph
  • Peterborough via Cambridge North, Ely and March – 2 tph
  • Stansted Airport via Cambridge South and Audley End – 2 tph
  • Stevenage via Royston and Hitchin – 2 tph
  • Wisbech via Cambridge North, Ely and March – 2 tph

Note.

  1. Some services already exist.
  2. Some of these services duplicate each other to give 4 tph or even 6 tph on certain routes.
  3. Some services could be back-to-back through Cambridge.
  4. A 14 Parkway station is a new station proposed by the East West Railway. I wrote about it in detail in Soham Station – 14th December 2021.
  5. Haverhill would be served by a rebuilt Stour Valley Railway.
  6. Wisbech would be served by restoring the railway to March.

To complete the network there would be a two tph service between Peterborough and Ipswich, which would go via March, Ely, Soham, A 14 Parkway, Bury St. Edmunds, Stowmarket and Needham Market.

Oxford Could Probably Argue that It Needs A Decent Rail Network Like Cambridge

Oxford would argue this and they have a point.

The East West Railway Is The Odd Line Out

Looking at the rail networks at Cambridge and Oxford, it appears, that with the exception of Cotswold services at Oxford and a few CrossCountry services, it appears that the East West Railway is a bit of an odd line out, as everything else is a local service.

The Effects Of Not Building The Bedford And Cambridge Section Of The East-West Railway

What will it mean, if the Bedford and Cambridge Section of The East-West Railway is not built?

  • Cambourne will not get the promised station.
  • Bedford and Cambridge journeys will be by bus, train via London or private car.
  • Commuting into Cambridge from the West will be difficult.
  • Milton Keynes and Cambridge journeys will be by bus, train via London or private car.
  • Oxford and Cambridge journeys will be by bus, train via London or private car.
  • Train journeys between Cambridge and much of the rest of the UK, will need to go via London.

It would appear that by not building the third section of the East West Railway, a lot of potential passengers will be denied a rail service.

Could Services Be Run Using Existing Infrastructure Through London?

The Elizabeth Line will eventually be able to handle a lot more services than it does at present.

Would Extending The Elizabeth Line To Oxford Be A Good Start?

Consider.

  • Oxford has two services to London; Chiltern to Marylebone and Great Western Railway (GWR) to Paddington.
  • The GWR service to Paddington stops only at Reading and Slough, has a frequency of two tph and takes under an hour.
  • The fastest journey between Oxford and Liverpool Street using a fast GWR train and the Elizabeth Line takes one hour and 20 minutes.
  • Only 10.6 miles of the route between Oxford and Paddington is without electrification.
  • There is also a two tph stopping shuttle train between Oxford and Didcot Parkway stations and a two tph stopping train between Paddington and Didcot Parkway.

I feel that combining the two Didcot Parkway services and moving them to the Elizabeth Line would be an experiment worth trying.

This would give 2 tph direct to the following stations.

  • Bond Street for the West End
  • Canary Wharf for finance.
  • Farringdon for Cambridge, Gatwick and Brighton.
  • Hayes & Harlington for Heathrow.
  • Liverpool Street for the City of London, Cambridge and Stansted
  • Reading for Wales and the West.

Note.

  1. No-one would have a worse service than currently, but many passengers would avoid a change on their journey.
  2. Services could terminate at either Abbey Wood or Shenfield stations.
  3. Services could be an extension of the two tph to Reading or additional services.
  4. Between Didcot Parkway and Oxford is shown on OpenRailwayMap, as proposed for electrification.
  5. There may need to be some new platforms at Didcot Parkway station.
  6. I estimate that between Oxford and Liverpool Street would take one hour and fifty minutes.

It certainly looks, that it would be possible to replace the current GWR service between Oxford and Paddington, with an all-electric Elizabeth Line service.

The direct stopping service between Oxford and Liverpool Street would be thirty minutes slower, than the current fastest train.

The current fastest train between Liverpool Street and Cambridge takes 71 minutes, so with a change at Liverpool Street Oxford and Cambridge  would probably be just over three hours.

Google Maps estimate a driving time of two hours between the two University Cities.

Could The Elizabeth Line Be Extended To Cambridge?

There is no train connection between the Elizabeth Line and the West Anglia Main Line at Liverpool Street station, although the walk for passengers is not that long.

In Extending The Elizabeth Line – Connecting West Anglia Main Line Services To The Central Tunnel, I describe how it could be possible to connect the West Anglia Main Line to the Elizabeth Line at Stratford station.

This connection would allow services from Cambridge, Harlow and Stansted to anywhere on the Elizabeth Line to the West of Stratford.

Oxford and Cambridge and Heathrow and Stansted would be distinct possibilities.

Could A High Speed Limited Stop Service Run Between Oxford And Cambridge?

In Extending The Elizabeth Line – High Speed Trains On The Elizabeth Line, I proposed running faster long-distance trains through the Central Tunnel of the Elizabeth Line.

  • They would have to be dimensionally identical to the Class 345 trains to fit the platform edge doors.
  • They would have a long-distance interiors.
  • In the Central Tunnel, they would behave like 345 trains. with Paddington to Stratford taking 19 minutes.
  • But on main lines like the Great Western Main Line, they could rattle along at 125 mph.

If the trains could keep up with Class 802 train performance between Oxford and Paddington and enter the Central Tunnel quickly, these times could be possible.

  • Oxford and Paddington – 55 minutes
  • Paddington and Stratford – 19 minutes
  • Stratford and Tottenham Hale – 14 minutes
  • Tottenham Hale and Cambridge – 65 minutes

Just over two-and-a-half hours, without a change of train, sounds fine to me.

What About The Trains From Great Malvern?

The fast services between Paddington and Oxford, run twice an hour, with the service formed of one hourly Paddington and Oxford service and another hourly Paddington and Great Malvern service.

  • If Oxford gets electrified soon, this will mean that the Oxford and Paddington service would be all-electric.
  • But the Great Malvern service would need to be able to handle 65.5 miles of line without electrification each way.
  • The speed limits between Oxford and Great Malvern vary between 70 and 100 mph.

I’m certain that Stadler could design and build a train, with the following characteristics.

  • Class 345 dimensions.
  • 125 mph performance.
  • Ninety miles range on battery power.

The trains would be charged between Paddington and Oxford and by a charger at Great Malvern.

Conclusion

Would an Oxford and Cambridge service through Central London be an alternative to the East-West Railway?

Perhaps not an alternative, but an addition?

 

 

 

 

 

August 3, 2022 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The New Winslow Station Site

This Google Map shows the site of the new Winslow station, on the East West Railway.

Note.

  1. The line from north of Wolvercote Tunnel (just north of Oxford) through Bicester to Bletchley would be enabled for 100 mph (160 km/h) double-track running.
  2. There will be two platforms at Winslow station.
  3. The station is planned to open in 2024.

Services at the station are likely to be.

  • Two tph – Oxford and Milton Keynes via Oxford Parkway, Bicester Village, Winslow and Bletchley
  • One tph – Oxford and Bedford via Oxford Parkway, Bicester Village, Winslow, Bletchley, Woburn Sands and Ridgmont

Note.

  1. tph is trains per hour.
  2. It appears the current Bedford and Bletchley service will continue.

It looks like the one tph service between Aylesbury and Milton Keynes via Aylesbury Vale Parkway, Winslow, Bletchley has been deferred indefinitely.

Consider.

  • Building a single track railway between Aylesbury Vale Parkway station and Claydon Junction on the East West Railway can’t be that challenging or expensive.
  • A single track railway should be able to handle the required train service of up to two tph at Aylesbury Vale Parkway station and occasional freight trains.

It doesn’t look too difficult or costly. So why? The only valid reason I can think of is that High Speed Two doesn’t want it for some reason.

March 3, 2022 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Thoughts On Faster Trains On Thameslink

The Class 700 trains used by Thameslink only have an operating speed of 100 mph.

I do wonder, if that is a fast enough operating speed for all Thameslink routes.

Sharing The Midland Main Line With 125 mph Trains

A couple of years ago, I travelled back into St. Pancras with a group of East Midlands drivers in a Class 222 train.

They told me several things about the route including that the bridge at the South of Leicester station would be difficult to electrify, as it was low and the track couldn’t be lowered as one of Leicester’s main sewers was under the tracks at the bridge. Perhaps, this is one place, where discontinuous electrification could be used on the Midland Main Line.

They also told me, that sometimes the Thameslink trains were a nuisance, as because of their 100 mph operating speed, the 125 mph Class 222 trains had to slow to 100 mph.

Upgrading Of The Midland Main Line South Of Bedford

The electrification of the Midland Main Line South of Bedford is being updated, so that it is suitable for 125 mph running.

An Analysis Of Services On The Midland Main Line South Of Bedford

The current Class 222 trains are capable of 125 mph and will be replaced by Class 810 trains capable of the same speed on both diesel and electricity.

Currently, a Class 222 train is capable of doing the following on a typical non-stop run between St. Pancras and Leicester.

  • Covering the 30 miles between St. Albans and Bedford in 17 minutes at an average speed of 106 mph.
  • Covering the 50.3 miles between Bedford and Leicester in 30 minutes at an average speed of 100.6 mph.
  • Maintaining 125 mph for long stretches of the route, once the trains is North of London commuter traffic at St. Albans

I can estimate the timings on the 79.2 miles between Leicester and St. Albans, by assuming the train runs at a constant speed.

  • 100 mph – 47.5 minutes
  • 110 mph – 43.2 minutes
  • 125 mph – 38 minutes
  • 140 mph – 34 minutes

Note.

  1. I have done the calculation for 140 mph, as that is the maximum operating speed of the Class 810 train with full in-cab digital signalling.
  2. Trains have been running at 125 mph for a couple of decades on the Midland Main Line.
  3. To get a St. Pancras and Leicester time add another 14 minutes, which is the current time between St. Pancras and St. Albans of a Class 222 train.
  4. Some Off Peak trains are timed at 62-63 minutes between St. Pancras and Leicester.
  5. A time of under an hour between St. Pancras and Leicester might be possible and the Marketing Department would like it.
  6. As Thameslink trains between Bedford and St. Albans stop regularly, they are on the slow lines of the four-track railway, to the North of St. Albans.
  7. South of St. Albans, Thameslink trains often run on the fast lines.

I can expect that East Midlands Railway will want to be running their new Class 810 trains as far as far South as they can at 125 mph, to speed up their services. When the signalling allows it, they’ll want to run at 140 mph.

So they won’t want to see Thameslink’s slow trains on the fast lines.

  • But if you look at the Thameslink trains that do run on the fast lines between St. Albans and St. Pancras, they appear to be the four trains per hour (tph) that run to and from Bedford.
  • Of these trains, two tph terminate at Brighton and two tph terminate at Gatwick Airport.
  • The average speed of a Class 222 train between St. Albans and St. Pancras assuming 14 minutes for the 19.7 miles is 84.4 mph.

So it looks to me that a 100 mph Thameslink train could be able to get away without slowing the East Midland Railway expresses.

But then that is not surprising, as for many years, the Class 222 trains worked happily with 100 mph Class 319 trains.

Is There Scope For Extra And Faster Services Into St. Pancras?

I have only done a simple calculation, but I do wonder if there is scope for the following.

  • Increasing the frequency of trains for both Thameslink and East Midlands Railway.
  • Saving a few minutes on East Midlands Railway services.

Consider.

  • The new Class 810 electric trains will probably have better acceleration and deceleration than the current Class 222 diesel trains, when working using electric power.
  • East Midlands Railway is introducing Class 360 trains that were built as 100 mph trains by Siemens, who are now upgrading them to 110 mph trains.
  • Can Siemens do the same for the Class 700 trains and create a sub-fleet capable of 110 mph running?
  • All trains will be running under full in-cab digital signalling with a large degree of automatic train control.

I feel that if the Class 700 trains had the extra speed, they would make the planning of services South of St. Albans easier and allow the Class 810 trains to both run faster and provide more services.

Sharing The East Coast Main Line With 125 mph Trains

The following Thameslink services run up the East Coast Main Line past Stevenage.

  • Cambridge And Brighton – Two tph – Stops at Royston, Ashwell and Morden (1 tph), Baldock, Letchworth Garden City, Hitchin, Stevenage, Finsbury Park, London St Pancras International, Farringdon, City Thameslink, London Blackfriars, London Bridge, East Croydon, Gatwick Airport, Three Bridges, Balcombe, Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill
  • Cambridge and Kings Cross – Two tph – Stops at Foxton, Shepreth, Meldreth, Royston, Ashwell and Morden, Baldock, Letchworth Garden City, Hitchin, Stevenage, Knebworth, Welwyn North, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, Potters Bar and Finsbury Park
  • Peterborough and Horsham – Two tph – Stops at Huntingdon, St Neots, Sandy, Biggleswade, Arlesey, Hitchin, Stevenage, Finsbury Park, London St Pancras International, Farringdon, City Thameslink, London Blackfriars, London Bridge, East Croydon, Coulsdon South, Merstham, Redhill, Horley, Gatwick Airport, Three Bridges, Crawley, Ifield, Faygate (limited) and Littlehaven

Note.

  1. Services are generally run by Class 700 trains, although lately the Kings Cross service seems to use Class 387 trains, which have a maximum speed of 110 mph and a more comfortable interior with tables.
  2. It is intended that the Cambridge and Kings Cross service will be extended to Maidstone East by 2021.

In addition there are two Cambridge Express and Fen Line services.

  • Kings Cross and Ely – One tph – Stops at Cambridge and Cambridge North.
  • Kings Cross and King’s Lynn – One tph – Stops at Cambridge, Cambridge North, Waterbeach, Ely, Littleport, Downham Market and Watlington

Note.

  1. These services are generally run by Class 387 trains.
  2. Cambridge and King’s Cross is timetabled at around fifty minutes.

Adding all of this together means that slower services on the East Coast Main Line are comprised of the following in both directions.

  • Three tph – 110 mph – Class 387 trains
  • Four tph – 100 mph – Class 700 trains

These seven trains will have to be fitted in with the 125 mph trains running services on the East Coast Main Line, for LNER, Grand Central, Hull Trains and East Coast Trains.

There are also the following problems.

  • All trains must navigate the double-track section of the East Coast Main Line over the Digswell Viaduct and through Welwyn North station.
  • The King’s Cross and Cambridge service stops in Welwyn North station.
  • Full in-cab digital signalling is being installed on the East Coast Main Line, which could increase the speed of the expresses through the double-track section.

Could the introduction of the Class 387 trains on the Cambridge and King’s Cross service have been made, as it easier to fit in all the services if this one is run by a 110 mph train?

However, the full in-cab digital signalling with a degree of automatic train control could be the solution to this bottleneck on the East Coast Main Line.

  • Trains could be controlled automatically and with great precision between perhaps Hatfield and Stevenage.
  • Some expresses might be slowed to create gaps for the Cambridge and Peterborough services.
  • The Hertford Loop Line is also getting full in-cab digital signalling, so will some services be sent that way?

In Call For ETCS On King’s Lynn Route, I talked about a proposal to improve services on the Fen Line. This was my first three paragraphs.

The title of this post, is the same as that on an article in Edition 849 of Rail Magazine.

The article is based on this document on the Fen Line Users Aoociation web site, which is entitled Joint Response To Draft East Coast Main Line Route Study.

In addition to ETCS, which could improve capacity on the East Coast Main Line, they would also like to see journey time reductions using trains capable of running at 125 mph or faster on the King’s Lynn to Kings Cross route.

My scheduling experience tells me that a better solution will be found, if all resources are similar.

Hence the proposal to run 125 mph trains between King’s Cross and King’s Lynn and probably Ely as well, could be a very good and logical idea.

If the Class 700 trains were increased in speed to 110 mph, the trains through the double-track section of the East Coast Main Line would be.

  • One tph – 110 mph – Class 387 trains
  • Four tph – 110 mph – Class 700 trains
  • Two tph – 125 mph – New trains

Note.

  1. This would probably be an easier mix of trains to digest with the high speed services, through the double-track section.
  2. I like the idea of extending the Ely service to Norwich to give Thetford, Attleborough and Wymondham an improved service to London, Cambridge and Norwich.

The new trains would probably be a version of Hitachi’s Regional Battery Train.

  • It would need to be capable of 125 mph on the East Coast Main Line.
  • If the Ely service were to be extended to Norwich, this section would be on battery power.

There are certainly a lot of possibilities.

But as with on the Midland Main Line, it looks like for efficient operation, the operating speed of the Class 700 trains on the route needs to be increased to at least 110 mph.

Could Faster Class 700 trains Improve Services To Brighton?

These are the Thameslink services that serve Bedford, Cambridge and Peterborough, that I believe could be run more efficiently with trains capable of at running at speeds of at least 110 mph.

  • Bedford and Brighton – Two tph
  • Bedford and Gatwick Airport – Two tph
  • Cambridge and Brighton – Two tph
  • Cambridge and Maidstone East – Two tph
  • Peterborough and Horsham – Two tph

Note.

  1. I have assumed that the Cambridge and King’s Cross service has been extended to Maidstone East as planned.
  2. Eight tph serve Gatwick Airport.
  3. Four tph serve Brighton.

The Gatwick Express services have a frequency of two tph between London Victoria and Brighton calling at Gatwick Airport is already run by 110 mph Class 387 trains.

It would appear that if the Bedford, Cambridge and Peterborough were run by uprated 110 mph Class 700 trains, then this would mean that more 110 mph trains would be running to Gatwick and Brighton and this must surely improve the service to the South Coast.

But it’s not quite as simple as that, as the Cambridge and Maidstone East services will be run by eight-car trains and all the other services by twelve-car trains.

Conclusion

There would appear to be advantages in uprating some or possibly all of the Class 700 trains, so that they can run at 110 mph, as it will increase capacity on the Brighton Main Line, East Coast Main Line and Midland Main Line.

 

 

April 6, 2021 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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