Class 390 Train « The Anonymous Widower

High Speed Two To Stoke-on-Trent

Some of you out there might be a bit worried after Rishi Sunak’s speech today, when he announced he’d cancelled High Speed Two, as you might be losing a future high speed service.

Currently, Stoke-on-Trent is served by two trains per hour (tph), that run between London and Manchester Piccadilly.

One train calls at Milton Keynes Central, Rugby, Macclesfield and Stockport, and takes about 1:33 to Stoke and 2:12 to Manchester Piccadilly.
The other calls at Nuneaton and Stockport, and takes about 1:30 to Stoke and 2:06 to Manchester Piccadilly.
Trains are both 9-car and 11-car Class 390 trains or Pendolinos.
All trains go via Colwich.

This map shows the Colwich, Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent.

Note.

Electrified lines are shown in red.
The line across the South-West corner of the map is the West Coast Main Line.
Stafford is the Northern end of the Trent Valley Line, which runs East along the bottom of the map.
The Trent Valley Line, which is a by-pass of the West Coast Main Line, rejoins that line at Rugby.
Stoke-on-Trent is in the North-West corner of the map.
Colwich is in the South-East corner of the map and is marked by a blue arrow.
There are two routes between Stone-on-Trent and Colwich; the more-direct Northern route and a Southern route via Stafford.

The current services between London and Stoke-on-Trent use the more-direct Northern route, although they can take the Southern route via Stafford.

This must mean that as Stoke-on-Trent services take the Northern route, there are more paths through Stafford for West Coast Main Line services to and from Liverpool, Manchester and Scotland.

This graphic shows High Speed Two services after Phase 2b is completed.

Note.

Services shown in blue are run by High Speed Two Full Size trains.
Services shown in yellow are run by High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains.
Each of these trains will have a frequency of one tph.

The third High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train from the left is a London and Macclesfield service, which will stop at Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent, has the following timings from London.

Stafford – 0:55 – 22 minutes faster
Stoke-on-Trent – 1:10 – 14 minutes faster
Macclesfield – 1:30 – 11 minutes faster

I have a few thoughts and questions.

How Does This High Speed Two Service Get To And From London?

The service goes through Stafford and then takes the Trent Valley Line to the South.

This map clipped from the HS2 site, shows the original layout of HS2 to the North and East of Lichfield.

Note.

High Speed Two runs North-South across the map.
After the Junction by Fradley South, the now-scrapped High Speed Two to Crewe and the North, is the branch to the East.
The other branch connects to the Trent Valley Line, which can be picked out North of Lichfield, where it passes through Lichfield Trent Valley station.
The Trent Valley Line goes North-West through Colwich to Stafford, where the line rejoins the West Coast Main Line.

As the Eastern branch North from the junction has been scrapped, all trains between London and North would go via this link between High Speed Two at Lichfield and Trent Valley Line through Stafford.

Can The Current Trains and the High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains Share Tracks?

The answer will be yes, as the High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains have been designed to share tracks with existing trains.

Full digital signalling may be needed to enable 140 mph running and more paths on the classic lines.

Will There Be A Second High Speed Two Service To Stoke-On-Trent And Stafford?

One of the problems with High Speed Two is that it won’t call at stations in the Midlands that are currently served by Avanti West Coast.

Currently, stations with an Avanti call are Milton Keynes Central, Nuneaton and Rugby.
Avanti’s second Liverpool service will call at Tamworth and Lichfield Trent Valley.
In the June 2023 Edition of Modern Railways, Avanti’s Managing Director; Andy Mellors talks about the benefits the company accrues from stopping in the Midlands.

I believe that after High Speed Two opens, that a semi-fast service could run between London and Manchester.

It would be run by a Class 390 train or Pendolino.
It would use the route currently used by Manchester services via Stoke-on-Trent.
At the Southern end, it would terminate in London Euston.
It could call at Watford Junction, Milton Keynes Central, Rugby, Nuneaton, Lichfield Trent Valley, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield and Stockport.
,Station stops would be arranged as to need.
A one stop service to London takes 90 minutes from Stoke-on-Trent, with a two-stopper taking 93 minutes, so does each stop with a Pendolino add three minutes to the journey time?

Such a service could be developed to give stations like Stoke-on-Trent a second service to London.

The Lines Around Stafford

This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the lines around Stafford.

Note.

Red lines are electrified.
Black Lines are not.
Stafford is marked by the blue arrow.

Selective electrification could probably improve connectivity by a large margin.

This Google map shows Stafford station.

I feel that Stafford station could be developed into a major interchange between High Speed Two and local services.

Conclusion

It looks to me that Stoke-on-Trent will be well-served by High Speed Two.

High Speed Two To Crewe

High Speed Two To Holyhead

High Speed Two To Lancaster

High Speed Two To Liverpool

High Speed Two To Manchester

High Speed Two To Wigan

October 5, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Class 390 Train, High Speed Two, High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains, High Speed Two Lite, Rishi Sunak, Stafford Station, Stoke-on-Trent Station, Trent Valley Line, West Coast Main Line | 8 Comments

Could High Speed Two Finish At Lichfield?

I wrote this post before Rishi Sunak made his speech.

I went to Manchester and Liverpool yesterday by train.

I took the 10:33 from Euston and this a summary of my journey.

The train left Euston half a minute early.
It arrived at Stafford (133.5 miles) at 11:50 and left at 11:52.
It arrived at Crewe (158.0 miles) at 12:08 and left at 12.10.
It arrived at Wilmslow (176.9 miles) at 12:25 and left at 12:27.
It arrived at Stockport (183.0 miles) at 12:35 and left at 12:37.
It arrived in Manchester Piccadilly (188.9 miles) at 12:46.
It was two minutes late into Manchester and more or less on time at the other stops.

Note.

The route was via the Trent Valley Line and the train passed through Nuneaton, Tamworth, Lichfield Trent Valley, Colwich and Stafford.
Euston and Manchester had been timetabled at two hours and eleven minutes.
This is an average speed of 86.5 mph.
The Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two gives the fastest time before High Speed Two opens as one hour and fifty-four minutes.
This will be an average speed of 99.4 mph.

Coming home, I took the 18:48 from Liverpool Lime Street and this a summary of my journey.

The train left Liverpool on time.
It arrived at Runcorn (13.2 miles) at 18:58 and left at 19:02.
It arrived at Crewe (35.8 miles) at 19:26 and left at 19:28.
It arrived at Milton Keynes (143.8 miles) at 20:27 and left at 20:29.
It arrived in Euston (183.6 miles) at 21:00.
It was five minutes late into Crewe and two minutes early at Euston.

Note.

The route was via the Trent Valley Line and the train passed through Stafford, Colwich, Lichfield Trent Valley, Tamworth and Nuneaton.
Liverpool and Euston had been timetabled at two hours and twenty minutes.
This is an average speed of 78.7 mph.
The Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two gives the fastest time before High Speed Two opens as two hours and three minutes.
This will be an average speed of 89.6 mph.

This map clipped from the High Speed Two web site, shows the junction North of Lichfield, where High Speed Two connects to the Trent Valley Line through Stafford.

Note.

High Speed Two runs North-South across the map.
After the Junction by Fradley South, High Speed Two to Crewe and the North, is the branch to the East.
The other branch connects to the Trent Valley Line at Handsacre junction.
Trent Valley Line can be picked out North of Lichfield, where it passes through Lichfield Trent Valley station.

The Trent Valley Line is no Victorian double-track slow-speed bottleneck.

The route between Rugby and Crewe is generally three or four tracks, with only one short stretch of double track, through Shugborough tunnel.
The speed limit is generally 110 mph, with 90 mph at Shugborough.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Avanti West Coast’s Class 390 and Class 807 trains could be running at up to 140 mph on the route, if digital signalling were to be installed.
This speed would probably be attained by High Speed Two trains.

London Euston and Stafford would only have under twenty miles of slower line and that could be 140 mph, so High Speed Two times on the route could be very fast.

This second map clipped from the High Speed Two web site, shows between High Speed Two’s two Birmingham stations and Lichfield.

Note.

High Speed Two Phases 1 and 2a are shown in blue.
High Speed Two Phase 2b is shown in orange.
At the top of the map, can be seen the junction, where High Speed Two to the North splits, that was shown in the previous map.
The large blue dot in the West at the bottom of the map, is Birmingham Curzon Street station.
The other large blue dot is Birmingham International station.
The three sections of High Speed Two to London, Birmingham Curzon Street and the North meet at a triangular junction between the two Birmingham stations.
High Speed Two to the East Midlands, branches off to the East North of the triangular junction.

This third map clipped from the High Speed Two web site, shows between Lichfield and Crewe.

Note.

High Speed Two Phase 2a is shown in blue.
High Speed Two Phase 2b is shown in orange.
Crewe is in the North-West corner of the map, where at the South end of the orange section.
The junction at Lichfield is in the South-East corner of the map.
The lighter blue route to the East, between the Lichfield junction and Crewe is the new tracks of High Speed Two.
The darker blue route to the West, between the Lichfield junction and Crewe is the existing route of the Trent Valley Line and the West Coast Main Line.
The Trent Valley Line joins the West Coast Main Line at Stafford.

These are a few thoughts and questions.

How Will Trains Go Between Birmingham Curzon Street And London?

Trains will use the triangular junction shown in the second map to go between the two Birmingham stations and then head South,

How Will Trains Go Between Birmingham Curzon Street And The North?

Trains will use the triangular junction shown in the second map to turn North and then take one of the two routes to the North; High Speed Two or Trent Valley Line/West Coast Main Line.

How Will Trains Go Between Birmingham Curzon Street And The North If High Speed Two Between Birmingham And The North Is Scrapped?

If High Speed Two is scrapped from the Northern point of the triangular junction to the North, there will be no way that trains could go North from Birmingham Curzon Street.

The overcrowded Birmingham New Street station will still be the link to the North of England and Scotland for Birmingham.
How would trains connect to the future branch to East Midlands Parkway, which connects just North of the triangular junction?

I suspect that a short stub will be built North of the triangular junction to connect to the Trent Valley Line, which is currently, the main route of trains between London and the North through the West Midlands, for trains that don’t go through Birmingham.

Trains Between London And Stafford

Currently, Avanti West Coast trains take around one hour and seventeen minutes between London and Stafford.

The Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two gives these times between London and Stafford.

Fastest time before High Speed Two – one hour and seventeen minutes.
Time after Phase 2a of High Speed Two opens – fifty-five minutes.

Note.

That is a time saving of twenty-two minutes.

High Speed Two Trains will use the link between the junction at Lichfield and the Trent Valley Line.

How Many Avanti West Coast Services Use The Trent Valley Line?

These trains use the Trent Valley Line.

London and Holyhead – 8 tpd
London and Liverpool Lime Street – 1 tph, which is planned to increase to 2 tph
London and Manchester Piccadilly – 2 tph
London and Blackpool North – 1 tpd
London and Glasgow – 1 tph

Note.

tpd is trains per day
tph is trains per hour

This is roughly six tph.

Would It Be Possible To Finish High Speed Two At The Lichfield Junction And Connect It To The Trent Valley Line?

This is a repeat of the first map.

Note.

High Speed Two runs North-South across the map.
After the Junction by Fradley South, High Speed Two to Crewe and the North, is the branch to the East.
The other branch connects to the Trent Valley Line at Handsacre junction.
Trent Valley Line can be picked out North of Lichfield, where it passes through Lichfield Trent Valley station.

If the Eastern branch North from the junction were to be scrapped, all trains between London and North would go via Stafford.

As all these tracks are planned and must be at an advanced stage, that is ready for construction, I feel the route would be feasible.

It would have these benefits.

Birmingham Curzon Street services and the North-West of England and the West of Scotland would be possible.
Services between London and Stafford will be twenty-two minutes faster, than they are now.
Time savings will also apply to services from London to Liverpool, Macclesfield, Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent and all stations between Crewe and Glasgow.

The capacity of the Trent Valley Line would be the limiting factor.

Time Savings Between Crewe And Preston

According to the Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two, after Phase 2a of High Speed Two opens, these will be the fastest times to Crewe and Preston.

Crewe – 0:56
Preston 1:18

Note.

The fastest Preston service runs non-stop between Euston and Preston.
Crewe and Preston are 51 miles apart.

A time of 22 minutes between Crewe and Preston, means the average speed is 139 mph.

Does this mean that High Speed Two will improve between Crewe and Preston to allow 140 mph non-stop running?

But 22 minutes is certainly an improvement on the current time between Crewe and Preston for Scottish trains of 40 minutes.

Time Savings Between Crewe And Liverpool

The upgrading of the line between might save another couple of minutes between Crewe and Weaver junction.

What Times Would Be Possible Via High Speed Two And The Trent Valley Line?

These times are based on the following.

The twenty-two minute saving to Stafford, as all High Speed Two services to the North-West of England and the West of Scotland will go via Phase 1 of High Speed Two and Stafford.
A saving of eighteen minutes will be applied to Scottish services because of savings between Crewe and Preston.

This would give these times in hours:minutes.

Blackpool – 2:10
Carlisle – 2:35
Chester – 1:28
Crewe – 1:08
Glasgow – 3:50
Holyhead – 3:10
Lancaster – 2:03
Liverpool Lime Street – 1:41
Llandudno Junction – 2:24
Macclesfield – 1:30
Manchester Piccadilly via Crewe – 1:52
Oxenholme – 1:54
Preston – 1:46
Runcorn 1:31
Stafford – 0:55
Stockport – 1:35
Stoke-on-Trent – 1:10
Warrington – 1:22
Wigan 1:33
Wilmslow – 1:25

I have calculated extra services to Blackpool and North Wales.

Adding The Lichfield And Crewe Section

Consider.

My calculations indicate that London and Crewe will take 1:08.
The Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two, after Phase 2a of High Speed Two opens, gives the fastest time to Crewe as 0:56.

This indicates that adding the section of High Speed Two between Lichfield and Crewe will save a further twelve minutes.

Conclusion

I strongly believe that an upgraded Trent Valley Line linked to a shortened High Speed Two at Lichfield could improve journey times between London, Birmingham and the North.

There are certainly savings to be made.

See Also

High Speed Two To Crewe

High Speed Two To Holyhead

High Speed Two To Lancaster

High Speed Two To Liverpool

High Speed Two To Manchester

High Speed Two To Wigan

October 4, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Birmingham Curzon Street Station, Birmingham International Station, Class 390 Train, Class 807 Train, Euston Station, Handsacre Junction, High Speed Two, High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains, High Speed Two Lite, Lichfield Trent Valley Station, Liverpool Lime Street Station, Manchester Piccadilly Station, Nuneaton Station, Trent Valley Line | 11 Comments

High Speed Two To Crewe

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.

Sample Times Between London And Crewe

These are selected times from the 27th September 2023.

07:30 – Glasgow Non-Stop – 1:29
07:33 – Manchester Piccadilly – 1:37 – Stops at Stafford
07:43 – Liverpool Lime Street – 1:40 – Stops at Milton Keynes
08:30 – Glasgow Non-Stop – 1:29
08:33 – Manchester Piccadilly – 1:37 – Stops at Stafford
08:43 – Liverpool Lime Street – 1:40 – Stops at Milton Keynes
09:02 – Holyhead – 1:40 – Stop at Stafford
15:02 – Chester – 1:40 – Stops at Tamworth, Lichfield Trent Valley and Stafford

Note.

The 07:30 and 08:30 Glasgow services appears to be pathed for one of the Class 390 Pendolino electric trains and were run by Pendolinos.
The 07:33 and 08:33 Manchester services appears to be pathed for one of the Pendolino electric trains and were run by Pendolinos.
The 07:43 and 08:43 Liverpool services appears to be pathed for one of the new Class 807 electric trains, but were run by Pendolinos.
The 15:02 Chester service appears to be pathed for one of the new Class 805 bi-mode trains.
All services except the Glasgow services stop at Crewe.
As London Euston and Crewe is 158 miles, the non-stop Glasgow services average 107 mph, the one-stop Manchester service averages 98 mph and the one-stop Liverpool service averages 95 mph.

I have some further thoughts.

How Long Does A Stop Take?

I’ve looked at some stops of Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester services

Crewe

Looking at timings between Weaver Junction and Norton Bridge, I have found the following times.

Glasgow-Euston – 23 minutes
Liverpool-Euston – 28 minutes

Note.

Manchester services don’t go through Weaver Junction.
Weaver Junction and Norton Bridge are respectively North and South of Crewe.
The Liverpool service stops at Crewe, where it has a dwell time of two minutes.
The Glasgow service goes straight through Crewe.

The Crewe stop takes a total of 5 minutes of which 3 minutes are deceleration and acceleration to and from linespeed.

Stafford

Looking at timings between Norton Bridge and Colwich, I have found the following times.

Glasgow-Euston – 7½ minutes
Liverpool-Euston – 7½ minutes
Manchester -Euston – 14 minutes

Note.

Norton Bridge and Colwich are respectively North and South of Stafford.
The Manchester service stops at Stafford, where it has a dwell time of two minutes.
The Glasgow and Liverpool services go straight through Stafford.

The Stafford stop takes a total of 6½ minutes of which 4½ minutes are deceleration and acceleration to and from linespeed.

Milton Keynes

Looking at timings between Weedon and Bletchley, I have found the following times.

Glasgow-Euston – 11½ minutes
Liverpool-Euston – 16 minutes
Manchester -Euston – 12½ minutes

Note.

Weedon and Bletchley are respectively North and South of Milton Keynes.
The Liverpool service stops at Milton Keynes, where it has a dwell time of one minute.
The Glasgow and Manchester services go straight through Milton Keynes.

The Milton Keynes stop takes a total of 4 minutes of which 3 minutes are deceleration and acceleration to and from linespeed.

Average Speeds Between Crewe And London

London Ruston and Crewe is 158 miles according to Real Time Trains.

So what would times would various average speeds deliver?

100 mph – 95 minutes
110 mph – 86 minutes
120 mph – 79 minutes
125 mph – 76 minutes
130 mph – 73 minutes
140 mph – 68 minutes

Obviously, any average speed with over 125 mph running, will need full digital signalling.

Liverpool And London In Two Hours

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.

I’ll take a quick look at the Crewe and Runcorn section.

It is 22.5 miles.
It takes 19 minutes.
That is an average speed of 71 mph.
Crewe and Weaver Junction has a speed limit of at least 110 mph
Runcorn and Weaver Junction has a speed limit of at least 90 mph for most of the way.
If with their superior performance, the new Class 807 trains could average 90 mph between Crewe and Runcorn, they would take 15 minutes.
Achieving the 90 mph average may need a bit of track realignment and some signaling changes.

The four minutes saved would be enough to handle the extra stop at Liverpool South Parkway.

Consider.

Currently, Pendolino trains do Liverpool and Crewe in 38 minutes, which includes the stop at Runcorn.
My calculation with the Class 807 trains, shows that with a bit of extra signalling, the new trains could do Liverpool and Crewe in 38 minutes with the two stops.
The stop at Crewe will subtract 5 minutes from the base journey time.
The stop at Milton Keynes will subtract 4 minutes from the base journey time.

This means the base journey time between Crewe and London will be 73 minutes.

This would indicate that the trains would be running at 130 mph to achieve the two hours.

But there are five accelerations and five decelerations on a journey between London and Liverpool and the new Class 807 trains are the Lotuses of Hitachi’s family of AT-300 trains; lightweight and powerful.

Suppose they could save thirty seconds for each acceleration and deceleration.

The base journey time between Crewe and London will be 78 minutes.

This would indicate that the trains would be running at over 120 mph to achieve the two hours.

I certainly feel, that Liverpool and London in two hours is certainly possible using the new Class 807 trains.

London and Crewe with two stops would be times at one hour and twelve minutes.

But what about the Pendolinos?

My last return trip from Liverpool did a practice call at Liverpool South Parkway and still arrived in London a few minutes early.
The Pendolinos will still benefit from any improvements, between Crewe and Runcorn, which could reduce the Liverpool and Crewe time from 38 minutes to 34 minutes.
The stop at Crewe will subtract 5 minutes from the base journey time.
The stops at Lichfield Trent Valley and Tamworth will both subtract 4 minutes from the base journey time.

This means the base journey time between Crewe and London will be 73 minutes, which is the same as for the Class 807 trains.

This would indicate that the trains would be running at 130 mph to achieve the two hours.

Could this average speed be achieved by the selective application of full digital signalling, perhaps on the Trent Valley Line?

But it does appear to me, that the Pendolinos can get very close to two hours between London and Liverpool.

London and Crewe with three stops would be times at one hour and sixteen minutes.

Crewe And London Non-Stop

Consider.

Pendolinos between London and Glasgow, go non-stop between London and Crewe.
I have calculated that Pendolinos between London and Liverpool, will take one hour and sixteen minutes with three stops between London and Crewe.
The three stops take a total of thirteen minutes.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see London and Glasgow Pendolinos take one hour and three minutes between London and Crewe.

This would knock twenty-six minutes off journey times between London and Glasgow.

Conclusion

I believe that with relatively minor improvements on the West Coast Main Line and the Liverpool branch, the following can be achieved.

Liverpool and London can be around two hours with new Class 807 trains or Pendolinos.
Liverpool and London services can increase their calls in the Midlands.
London and Glasgow services can be nearly half-an-hour faster.
The fastest London and Crewe services could be just over an hour using Pendolinos.

I also believe that the only serious infrastructure needed is some track realignment and some updated signalling.

High Speed Two To Holyhead

High Speed Two To Lancaster

High Speed Two To Liverpool

High Speed Two To Manchester

High Speed Two To Stoke-on-Trent

High Speed Two To Wigan

September 30, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Chester Station, Class 390 Train, Class 805 Train, Class 807 Train, Class AT-300 Train, Crewe Station, Euston Station, Glasgow Central Station, High Speed Two, High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains, High Speed Two Lite, Holyhead Station, Liverpool Lime Street Station, Manchester Piccadilly Station, Milton Keynes Central Station, Stafford Station, West Coast Main Line | 11 Comments

High Speed Two To Manchester

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 Manchester Piccadilly Services

Currently, there are three trains per hour (tph) between London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly.

The services stop as follows.

Milton Keynes Central, Rugby, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield and Stockport
Nuneaton, Stoke-on-Trent and Stockport
Stafford, Crewe, Wilmslow and Stockport

Note.

One service goes via Crewe.
Two services go via Stoke-on-Trent.
All services go via Stockport.
A London and Manchester Piccadilly train could go via Milton Keynes Central, Nuneaton, Rugby, Stafford, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield and Stockport.
A London and Manchester Piccadilly train could go via Crewe, Wilmslow and Stockport.

The two trains detailed would mean that Manchester wouldn’t lose any connectivity.

I would expect that Manchester Piccadilly needs at least three tph to and from London.

This graphic shows High Speed Two services after Phase 2b is completed.

Note.

Services shown in blue are run by High Speed Two Full Size trains.
Services shown in yellow are run by High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains.
Full Size Services will only run to Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly after Phase 2b is completed to Manchester Piccadilly.
Classic-Compatible Services will be able to run to to Manchester Piccadilly after Phase 2a is completed.
Two London and Manchester Piccadilly trains will call at just Old Oak Common and Manchester Airport.
A third London and Manchester Piccadilly train will call at Old Oak Common, Birmingham International and Manchester Airport.
Two Birmingham Curzon Street and Manchester Piccadilly trains will call at just Manchester Airport.
Despite Wilmslow and Stockport being shown in the list of stations on the left hand side of the graphic, no High Speed Two services appear to call at the two stations.

The graphic of High Speed Two services also shows these Full-Size services to Manchester Piccadilly.

Three tph to London Euston
Two tph to Birmingham Curzon Street

Some or all of these services will surely be run by High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains.

What services will run to Manchester between the opening of Phase 2a and the opening of Phase 2b?

I will now give some possibilities for services.

London and Manchester Piccadilly Via Crewe, Wilmslow And Stockport

I shall look at the 07:33 train to Manchester Piccadilly on the 20th September 2023.

It was a service via Stafford, Crewe, Wilmslow and Stockport
It was a nine-car Class 390 train or Pendolino, which left on time.
Euston and Manchester Piccadilly are 188.9 miles apart.
The train called at Crewe at 09:08 and left at 09:10.
The average speed between London Euston and Crewe is 70.7 mph.
The train arrived in Manchester Piccadilly on time at 09:44.
The journey took two hours and 11 minutes
The average speed was 86.5 mph.
The Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly section is 30.9 miles and the train is scheduled to take 34 minutes.
The average speed between Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly is 54.5 mph.
The example train slows past Crewe because of two stops at Wilmslow and Stockport.

When Phase 2a of High Speed Two opens a replacement for this service via Crewe, could operate as follows.

It could use High Speed Two between and Crewe.
It could use the current route between Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly.
It would probably use a 200 metre long High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains.
I wouldn’t be surprised, that the current Pendolino service between Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Crewe, Wilmslow and Stockport was retired.
The new High Speed Two service could take over the path currently used by the current Pendolino service, between Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly.
The train could stop at Crewe, Wilmslow and Stockport as required.
If it stopped at Crewe, Wilmslow and Stockport, it would restore some of the connectivity to smaller places.

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

London Euston and Crewe – 56 minutes
London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly Phase 2a – One hour and 30 minutes
London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly Phase 2b – One hour and 11 minutes

From these figures and the times of the 07:33, I can deduce these journey times for trains via Crewe, Wilmslow and Stockport.

Currently, Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly takes 34 minutes.
High Speed Two after Phase 2a will also take 34 minutes.

I am surprised that sectional timings on this section of the West Coast Main Line are the same as current timings. Digital signalling and the faster acceleration and deceleration of the new trains, are quite likely to decrease times.

Because they are both 34 minutes, does that mean that services will stop at Crewe, Wilmslow and Stockport?

London and Macclesfield Via Stafford And Stoke-on-Trent

This map of High Speed Two in North West England was captured from the interactive map on the High Speed Two web site.

Note.

The map dates from around October 2020.
The current West Coast Main Line (WCML) and Phase 2a of High Speed Two are shown in blue.
Phase 2b of High Speed Two is shown in orange.
The main North-South route, which is shown in blue, is the WCML passing through Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan North Western as it goes North.
The Western Branch, which is shown in blue, is the Liverpool Branch of the WCML, which serves Runcorn and Liverpool.
High Speed Two, which is shown in orange, takes a faster route between Crewe and Wigan North Western.
The Eastern Branch, which is shown in orange, is the Manchester Branch of High Speed Two, which serves Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly.
The route in the East, which is shown in blue, is the Macclesfield Branch of High Speed Two, which serves Stafford, Stoke-on-Trent and Macclesfield.

The route of Northern Powerhouse Rail between Manchester Airport and Liverpool has still to be finalised.

The London and Macclesfield service is as follows.

There will be one tph
There are intermediate stops at Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent.
Macclesfield has a long electrified bay platform, which looks like it will take a 200 m High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train.
Macclesfield Station And High Speed Two has pictures of the station.
Four tph operate between Stoke-on-Trent and Manchester Piccadilly via Macclesfield.
Timings from London would be 55 minutes to Stafford, 70 minutes to Stoke-on-Trent and 90 minutes to Macclesfield.

In some ways, I was surprised about this High Speed Two service.

But it does give an easy connection to Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent.

London and Manchester Piccadilly via Macclesfield, Stafford And Stoke-on-Trent

Currently, Avanti West Coast run a service between London and Manchester which runs as follows.

It calls at Milton Keynes Central, Rugby, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield and Stockport
It also passes through Watford Junction, Nuneaton, Tamworth and Lichfield Trent Valley.
It could pass through Stafford.
It would mean that Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent were served by 2 tph.
It is run by a Pendolino.
It has a frequency of 1 tph.
The current service takes two hours and 6 minutes.
A few minutes would be added for each extra stop.

I believe it could be a very useful service.

I wonder if it could be run as a complimentary service to High Speed Two to serve more places on the route.

A Second High Speed Two Service Between London and Manchester Piccadilly Via Crewe, Wilmslow And Stockport

So far, I have mapped out three possible services.

High Speed Two – London and Manchester Piccadilly Via Crewe, Wilmslow And Stockport – One hour and thirty minutes
High Speed Two – London and Macclesfield Via Stafford and Stoke – One hour and thirty minutes
Pendolino – London and Manchester Piccadilly Via Milton Keynes Central, Rugby, Nuneaton, Tamworth, Lichfield Trent Valley, Stafford, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield and Stockport – Two hours and 6 minutes plus 4 minutes for each extra stop.

I suspect that four tph could be a good frequency.

The simplest extra service would probably be another High Speed Two London and Manchester Piccadilly Via Crewe, Wilmslow And Stockport.

But it could be another Pendolino service to serve more places.

I believe a service pattern could be arranged with these features.

Major cities and towns between London and Manchester have at least two tph.
A larger number of towns and cities have at least one tph.

Note that many stations on the route already have Pendolino services.

Phase 2b Would Be The Ultimate Solution

Phase 2b which will involve a tunnel via Manchester Airport to new platforms in Manchester Piccadilly could be the ultimate solution.

Phase 2b is also needed so that full-size High Speed Two trains can be run to Manchester Piccadilly.

But it will be difficult, expensive and disruptive to build.

Conclusion

I believe it could be easy to plan four services between London and Manchester Piccadilly or Macclesfield.

High Speed Two Full-Size train – London and Manchester Piccadilly Via Crewe, Wilmslow And Stockport – One hour and eleven minutes
High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train – London and Macclesfield Via Stafford and Stoke – One hour and thirty minutes
High Speed Two Full-Size train – London and Manchester Piccadilly Via Crewe, Wilmslow And Stockport – One hour and eleven minutes
Pendolino – London and Manchester Piccadilly Via Milton Keynes Central, Rugby, Nuneaton, Tamworth, Lichfield Trent Valley, Stafford, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield and Stockport – Two hours and 6 minutes plus 4 minutes for each extra stop.

Note.

Services 1 and 3 are identical, but don’t need to be.

Service 4 could be run by a High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train.

High Speed Two To Crewe

High Speed Two To Holyhead

High Speed Two To Lancaster

High Speed Two To Liverpool

High Speed Two To Stoke-on-Trent

High Speed Two To Wigan

September 24, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Class 390 Train, CrossCountry Trains, High Speed Two, High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains, High Speed Two Full-Size Trains, High Speed Two Lite, Macclesfield Station, Manchester Piccadilly Station, Stafford Station, Stoke-on-Trent Station | 10 Comments

High Speed Two To Wigan

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 Wigan North Western Service

I shall look at the 08:30 train to Glasgow on the 20th September 2023.

It was an eleven-car Class 390 train or Pendolino, which left on time.
Euston and Wigan North Western are 193.8 miles apart.
Trains call at only Warrington Bank Quay
The train passed Crewe at 09:59
The train called at Warrington Bank Quay at 10:14 and left at 10:15.
The train arrived at Wigan North Western at 10:25 on time.
The journey took one hour and 55 minutes
The average speed was 101.1 mph.
The Crewe and Wigan North Western section is 35.8 miles and the train is scheduled to take 26 minutes.
The average speed between Crewe and Wigan North Western is 82.6 mph.

The train slows past Crewe because of the stop at Warrington Bank Quay.

London Euston And Wigan North Western 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 Warrington Bank Quay – One hour and 20 minutes
London Euston and Wigan North Western – One hour and 34 minutes

From these figures and the times of the 08:30, I can deduce these journey times.

Currently, Crewe and Warrington Bank Quay takes 16 minutes and High Speed Two will take 24 minutes
Currently, Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan North Western takes 10 minutes and High Speed Two will take 14 minutes
Currently, Crewe and Wigan North Western takes 26 minutes and High Speed Two will take 38 minutes

I am surprised that sectional timings on this short section of the West Coast Main Line are slower than current timings. Digital signalling and the faster acceleration and deceleration of the new trains, are more likely to decrease times, than increase them.

London Euston And Preston 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 Warrington Bank Quay – One hour and 20 minutes
London Euston and Wigan North Western – One hour and 34 minutes
London Euston and Preston – One hour and 18 minutes

This graphic shows High Speed Two services.

Note that Preston gets two non-stop services to and from London and another with stops at Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan North Western, and a train split/join at Crewe.

The one hour and 18 minutes surely applies to one or both of the non-stop services.

140 Mph Running Between Crewe And Preston

Consider.

London Euston and Crewe is 56 minutes
One hour and 18 minutes to Preston infers a time of 22 minutes between Crewe and Preston.
Crewe and Preston is 51 miles.

This implies an average speed of 139 mph.

As the West Coast Main Line was built for 140 mph, when digital signalling was installed, this would appear to be feasible, once the signalling is upgraded.

It may also mean, that faster times are possible in services to Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan North Western.

Consider.

Crewe and Wigan North Western is 35.8 miles
High Speed Two will take 38 minutes
The average speed between Crewe and Wigan North Western will be just 56.5 mph.

But if it could run at 140 mph mph between Crewe and Wigan North Western, the base time would be just over 15 minutes.

To this time must be added two full station stops and the time it takes to split or join.

With the superior acceleration and deceleration of the High Speed Two trains and their level of automation, these operations will not take 23 minutes.

I believe that this means that minutes can be saved on services to Lancaster, Liverpool Lime Street, Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan North Western.

London Euston And Wigan North Western 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 to the North of Crewe.

High Speed Two To Crewe

High Speed Two To Holyhead

High Speed Two Lancaster

High Speed Two To Liverpool

High Speed Two To Manchester

High Speed Two To Stoke-on-Trent

September 23, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Class 390 Train, High Speed Two, High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains, High Speed Two Lite, Preston Station, Warrington Bank Quay Station, Wigan North Western Station | 8 Comments

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

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 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