East Midlands Railway « The Anonymous Widower

Avanti West Coast Looks To Recover

The title of this post is the same as an article in the March 2022 Edition of Modern Railways.

These are some points from the article.

Passengers Numbers Are Recovering

This is a paragraph.

Mr. Wittingham says the recovery has been strongest on the Anglo-Scottish and Liverpool corridors, while Manchester have begun to bounce back. Slowest to recover is the London to West Midlands market; ‘there’s several operators here and we were the main carrier of business passengers, and that sector has been recovering more slowly than leisure’ says Mr. Whittingham.

Phil Whittingham is MD of Avanti West Coast.

Train Numbers Are Recovering

Avanti are building up train numbers from Euston after the pandemic.

Frequencies are as follows in trains per hour (tph)

Pre-Covid – 9
During the pandemic – 4
From December 2021 – 7
Omicron – 4
From February 2022 – 6
From May 2022 – 6+

Avanti have reacted to demand.

Three Classes Of Travel

This is a paragraph.

Avanti’s business has historically been driven by leisure travel – before Covid this accounted for broadly 60 % of passengers, with most of the rest travelling for business plus a smaller number of commuters. ‘The demand is there, and we think by next year we’ll be on the way to full recovery’ says Mr. Whittingham. ‘Leisure has been strong, especially at weekends, but the missing bit is the corporate market.’

Avanti have been running a marketing campaign and it appears to have been successful.

This paragraph describes Avanti’s new Standard Premium class.

Last year, Avanti West Coast launched a new class of travel – Standard Premium. This was first introduced in May on an upgrade-only basis before going fully live in September with the option to book online in advance. The new class sits between Standard and First, giving passengers larger seats and greater space but without some of the extras that come with First Class Travel such as complimentary refreshments and lounge access.

These are Mr. Whittingham’s comments on the three classes.

The current split of passengers is 84% Standard, 12 % First and 4 % Standard Premium, but given the latter has been in place for less than a year there is clearly scope for growth. ‘Our research shows people have been upgrading to Standard Premium rather than downgrading from First’.

I have yet to try Standard Premium, but I will next time I use Avanti.

Refreshments

Avanti have decided to serve different refreshments in Standard Premium and First classes.

In Standard Premium, they are now offering At Seat Orders.
In First, they have updated the menu.

Both seem to have been well-received.

I like this statement from Mr. Whittingham.

We’ve tried to make it a more personalised service with a less rigid structure, so we give customers what they want, when they want it, rather than when we want to give it to them.

A Consistent Offer

This is a paragraph.

Mr. Whittingham says Avanti has not yet confirmed whether t will offer three classes of travel on the new Hitachi trains it has ordered, but says the aim is to provide a more consistent offer. Assisting this will be changes in the ongoing Pendolino refurbishment, where 11-car sets are having Coach G converted from First to Standard accommodation, meaning all Pendolinos, whether nine-car or 11-car, will have three coaches for First and Standard Premium passengers.

My instinct says that the four trains will be something like.

Class 390 train – Pendolino – Nine-car – three First/Standard Premium cars – six Standard cars
Class 390 train – Pendolino – Eleven-car – three First/Standard Premium cars – eight Standard cars
Class 805 train – Hitachi – Five-car – one First/Standard Premium car – four Standard cars
Class 807 train – Hitachi – Seven-car – two First/Standard Premium car – five Standard cars

Note.

The Class 805 and Class 807 Hitachi trains are very much plug-and-play and can be lengthened or shortened as required.
A regular passenger between London and Liverpool, who regularly upgrades from Standard to Standard Premium in a Class 390 train could be a bit miffed if he couldn’t, because the service was being run by a Class 807 train.
Hitachi would probably be very happy to add extra cars to the Class 805 and Class 807 trains.

As the Class 390 Pendolino trains are being refurbished, I do wonder if they will be receiving some fittings from the Hitachi trains to make sure the trains are consistent to both on-board staff and passengers.

Pendolino Investment

The Pendolino refurbishment is comprehensive.

It is one of the largest such programmes ever undertaken in the UK.
Leasing company; Angel Trains are funding the work.
Alstom are doing the work at Widnes.
There appears to be a smooth plan to refurbish all trains.
Coach G will be converted from First to Standard accommodation in eleven-car trains.
Mr. Whittingham says that all trains will come out looking like a new train.

The eleven-car trains are being converted first, as the conversion of Coach G gives a capacity benefit of around thirty seats.

The awful seats in Standard Class will be replaced with Lumo-style seats and laptop-friendly fold-down tables.

These seats will be a big improvement!

New Trains Coming

This paragraph introduces the new trains.

The second major fleet investment from Avanti is the £350 million for new trains from Hitachi, financed by Rock Rail. These comprise 13×5-car Class 805 bi-modes, ordered for destinations off the electrified route including North Wales and Shrewsbury and 10×7-car Class 807 electrics. Deployment plans for the latter are still being worked through but are likely to include services to Birmingham and Liverpool, and potentially to Blackpool.

What is not said in this paragraph, is that all trains have a redesigned front end, which I suspect is more aerodynamic.

The all-electric Class 807 trains have no diesel engines or batteries, so have they been put on a diet, to improve the acceleration?

In Will Avanti West Coast’s New Trains Be Able To Achieve London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street In Two Hours?, I came to these conclusions.

A two hour service between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street will be possible with Avanti West Coast’s new Class 807 trains.
The current Class 390 trains could go a bit faster and if they cut out a couple of stops could probably break two hours.

I also calculated that a two tph service between London and Liverpool in two hours would need nine trains.

Timetable Changes

This paragraph introduces the article’s section on timetable changes.

The project in turn feeds into a major timetable change planned by Avanti and other West Coast main line operators. This will be the first significant change to West Coast main line schedules since 2008; ‘the world has changed, and we need to think about how we best serve our markets’ says Mr Whittingham.

This paragraph sums up the major changes.

Of note are the planned changes to the pattern of London to West Midlands services; the pre-Covid 20-minute interval would be amended to offer faster journey times and greater connectivity. Also featuring in the new timetable aspirations would be additional Trent Valley calls in some Liverpool and Manchester services; Mr Whittingham cites as one benefit of this the potential for improved journey times between the North West and the East Midlands via a change of train at Nuneaton. The Hitachi trains, with their better acceleration, will be particularly useful on services with more frequent stops.

The next three sections will look at some timetable changes in a bit more detail.

London And West Midlands Services

Replacement of twenty diesel Class 221 trains with thirteen bi-mode Class 805 trains will mean a major reorganisation of services to the West Midlands.

Some current diesel services will now be electric.
All services between Birmingham New Street and Euston will now be electric.
No services will run on diesel under live electrification.
Avanti have promised to serve Walsall.
There will be extra services to Shrewsbury and other places.

The electric services will also speed up some services to the West Midlands.

North West And East Midlands Services

I will look at train times for services between the North West (Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly) and the East Midlands (Leicester, Nottingham and Lincoln), where passengers change at Nuneaton.

These are the current fastest possible times according to the National Rail journey planner.

Liverpool Lime Street and Leicester -2:24 with changes at Crewe and Nuneaton,
Manchester Piccadilly and Leicester – 2:11 with change at Sheffield
Liverpool Lime Street and Nottingham – 2:42 with no changes
Manchester Piccadilly and Nottingham – 1:51 with no changes
Liverpool Lime Street and Lincoln- 3:42 with changes at Sheffield and Doncaster
Manchester Piccadilly and Lincoln – 2:38 with change at Sheffield

Note that times are in hours:minutes.

These are all current times for the various legs if the route is via Nuneaton.

Avanti West Coast – Liverpool Lime Street and Nuneaton – 1:18
Avanti West Coast – Manchester Piccadilly and Nuneaton – 1:13
CrossCountry – Nuneaton and Leicester – 0:27
East Midlands Railway – Leicester and Nottingham – 0:48 – Time from Leicester and Lincoln service.
East Midlands Railway – Leicester and Nottingham – 0:20 – Time from St. Pancras and Nottingham service.
East Midlands Railway – Leicester and Lincoln -1:42 – Time from Leicester and Lincoln service.
East Midlands Railway – Nottingham and Lincoln -0:52 – Time from Leicester and Lincoln service.

Note that the two Avanti West Coast times have been estimated by taking the time from Real Time Trains and adding three minutes for the acceleration or deceleration at Nuneaton.

These would be possible times between the North West and the East Midlands via Nuneaton.

Liverpool Lime Street and Leicester – 1:47
Manchester Piccadilly and Leicester – 1:42
Liverpool Lime Street and Nottingham – 2:37
Manchester Piccadilly and Nottingham – 2:32
Liverpool Lime Street and Lincoln- 3:31
Manchester Piccadilly and Lincoln – 3:26

Note that I am assuming changes at Nuneaton and Leicester are cross-platform or same platform changes that take two minutes.

But there is another level of improvement possible.

Suppose that East Midlands Railway’s Lincoln and Leicester service were to be extended to Nuneaton and run by a train with this specification.

125 mph operating speed.
Battery-electric power.
100 mph operating speed on battery power.
Range of 56 miles on battery
Ability to use the Midland Main Line electrification, when it is erected.

Charging stations would be needed at Nuneaton and Lincoln.

These would be possible times between the North West and the East Midlands via Nuneaton with the one change at Nuneaton.

Liverpool Lime Street and Leicester – 1:45
Manchester Piccadilly and Leicester – 1:40
Liverpool Lime Street and Nottingham – 2:05
Manchester Piccadilly and Nottingham – 2:00
Liverpool Lime Street and Lincoln- 2:57
Manchester Piccadilly and Lincoln – 2:52

Note.

I am assuming that the timings for the Nuneaton and Leicester and the Nottingham and Lincoln legs are as for the current trains.

I am assuming the change at Nuneaton is a cross-platform or same platform change that takes two minutes.

Trains run on battery where tracks are not electrified.

I can build a table of current times, times via Nuneaton and savings.

Liverpool Lime Street and Leicester -2:24 – 1:45 – 0:39
Manchester Piccadilly and Leicester – 2:11 – 1:40 – 0.31
Liverpool Lime Street and Nottingham – 2:42 – 2:05 – 0:37
Manchester Piccadilly and Nottingham – 1:51 – 2:00 – 0.09 slower
Liverpool Lime Street and Lincoln- 3:42 – 2:57 – 0.45
Manchester Piccadilly and Lincoln – 2:38 – 2:52 – 0:14 slower

It does appear that by using the 125 mph speed of the West Coast Main Line has a positive effect on some times from the North West to the East Midlands.

But times could be reduced further.

Installing full digital signalling, that would enable 140 mph running between Crewe and Nuneaton, could save ten minutes.
Improving the Nuneaton and Leicester and the Nottingham and Lincoln legs could allow faster running.

The more I look at changing at Nuneaton, I feel it is a good idea.

It improves the connections between East Midlands Parkway and Loughborough and the North West.
It improves the connections between Cambridge, Peterborough and Stansted Airport and the North West, if the change at Nuneaton is to CrossCountry’s Stansted Airport and Birmingham New Street service.
It improves the connections between Coventry and Leamington Spa and the North West.

Avanti have come up with a cunning plan, worthy of Baldrick at his best.

A Second Hourly Service Between London And Liverpool

A paragraph talks about the second hourly service between London and Liverpool.

Avanti still has ambitions to introduce a second hourly service between Euston and Liverpool, but when this will come in will depend on demand recovery.

Consider.

If would be desirable if some or all trains running on the route could achieve a timing of two hours between London and Liverpool.
It is felt that the second service should stop at Liverpool South Parkway station, where the platforms are too short for eleven-car Class 390 trains.
Avanti have stated they would like more stops in the Trent Valley, especially at Nuneaton, where they would connect to services to the East Midlands.
Nuneaton is almost exactly halfway between London and Liverpool.
Running two tph with Class 807 trains would need nine trains and Avanti have only ordered ten in total.

I believe that a practical timetable like this could work.

Class 390 train – one tph – Non-stop or perhaps a single stop in the Midlands – Under two hours
Class 807 train – one tph – Stopping at Nuneaton, Stafford, Crewe, Runcorn and Liverpool South Parkway – Current time or better

An hourly service between London and Liverpool in under two hours would surely be a passenger magnet.

February 23, 2022 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Class 805 Train, Class 807 Train, East Midlands Railway, Euston Station, Leicester Station, Lincoln Station, Liverpool Lime Street Station, Liverpool South Parkway Station, Lumo, Midland Main Line, Midland Main Line Electrification, Nottingham Station, Nuneaton Station | 3 Comments

New Station Proposed For National Arboretum

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

This is the first two paragraphs.

It has been revealed that a new station is being proposed at Alrewas between Lichfield Trent Valley high level and Wichnor Junction, which is on the line linking Tamworth and Burton-on-Trent. The original station serving the village of Alrewas was closed in 1965, although the line remained open.

A new Alrewas station would serve the National Memorial Arboretum, which is visited by more than 300,000 people a year and stages 250 events, including services of remembrance. It includes a Railway Industry Memorial, which was unveiled in May 2012, and also a memorial commemorating the thousands of prisoners of war who were forced to work on the infamous Burma Railway in the Second World War.

I first wrote about this proposed station in Everybody Could Do Better For Rail In South Staffordshire.

Two totally unrelated events had happened.

I heard the exchange during Prime Minister’s Questions and Michael Fabricant was passionate about creating the rail service on the freight-only line to give passenger train access to the National Memorial Arboretum and Alrewas.
Burton were playing Manchester City in the League Cup, so the Police thought it would be a good idea to shut the M6. Nothing moved for hours and many Burton supporters missed the match.

Note.

Quite frankly, it is a disgrace, that the National Memorial Arboretum, has been designed for most visitors to come by car.
The M6 incident was caused by illegal immigrants stuffed into the back of a truck, but surely the Police reaction to shut the motorway for so long was over the top?
I have been to Burton by train a couple of times and it is one of those places, you wouldn’t go to by train, unless it was absolutely essential.

It would appear that after a quick glance, Michael Fabricant’s proposal could be one of those ideas, that would benefit a lot of travellers.

These are a few thoughts on the new service.

Services To And From Burton-on-Trent Station

I said this about services to and from Burton-on-Trent in Everybody Could Do Better For Rail In South Staffordshire.

If you look at the train services from the town, you can go to faraway places like Glasgow and Plymouth, but services to practical local places like Lichfield, Stoke and Derby are rare. There used to be a service to London, but that was discontinued in 2008.

A regular service between Burton and Lichfield, running at a frequency of two trains per hour (tph) could connect at Lichfield to the following services.

Hourly services on the West Coast Main Line
Half-hourly services across Birmingham on the Cross-City Line.

If a decent service via Lichfield had existed, how many fans on that League Cup night, would have used the trains to get to Manchester?

Not many probably, as there would not have been a late train home, as is particularly common in The Midlands. Try getting back to London from Derby, Nottingham or Sheffield, after 21:30 for example!

I am certain, that with a station at Alrewas and a well-designed train service between Burton-on-Trent and Birmingham stations via Alrewas for the National Memorial Arboretum and Lichfield would be a positive addition to the transport system of the area.

Electrification Between Litchfield Tent Valley And Burton-on-Trent Stations

This map from Open Railway Map shows the track between Litchfield Tent Valley and Burton-on-Trent stations.

Note.

Burton-on-Trent station is in the North-East corner of the map.
Lichfield Trent Valley station is in the South-West corner of the map.
Burton-on-Trent and Lichfield Trent Valley stations are probably less than fifteen miles apart.
The orange line is the Burton-upon-Trent and Birmingham line via Tamworth.
The yellow line is the Burton-upon-Trent and Birmingham line via Lichfield.

The National Memorial Arboretum is just South of the junction between the orange and yellow lines.

This second map from Open Railway Map shows this junction to a larger scale.

Note.

The National Memorial Arboretum can be seen between the two tracks.
The village of Alrewas and the site of the proposed Alrewas station are to the West of the arboretum.
Central Rivers depot, where CrossCountry trains are serviced, is in the North-East corner of the map.
I have found a twelve car formation of Class 220 trains running between Birmingham New Street station and Central Rivers depot.

There is electrification at Lichfield Trent Valley station as this picture shows.

This electrification could be extended as far as required.

I would extend the electrification all the way to Burton-on-Trent.

This would mean that the Class 730 trains used on the Cross-City Line could terminate at Burton-on-Trent station, rather than Lichfield Trent Valley station, after extra stops at Alrewas for the National Memorial Arboretum and possibly another new station at Barton-under-Needwood.
Excursion trains for the National Memorial Arboretum could be electric-hauled.
It would also mean that electric trains could reach Central Rivers depot under their own power.
It would probably require less than fifteen miles of double-track electrification.
I suspect that the West Coast Main Line electrification could provide enough power for the branch electrification to Burton-upon-Trent.

I doubt that this would be considered a major electrification scheme.

Electric Services Between Birmingham New Street And Leicester Stations Via Burton-on-Trent

Consider.

Leicester and Burton-on-Trent stations are under thirty miles apart on the Ivanhoe Line.
The Ivanhoe Line is an existing freight line, that could be opened to passenger trains.
Leicester is to be electrified in the Midland Main Line electrification.

A battery-electric service could be run between Birmingham New Street and Leicester stations via Burton-on-Trent, Alrewas and Lichfield Trent Valley stations.

It should also be noted that East Midlands Railway run a service between Lincoln and Leicester.

Nottingham and Leicester will probably electrified with the rest of the Midland Main Line.
Only thirty-four miles of the route between Leicester and Lincoln is not electrified.

If it were felt to be needed, a battery-electric service could be run between Birmingham New Street and Lincoln stations.

Heritage Rail Excursions To The National Memorial Arboretum

Type “Coach Trips To The National Memorial Arboretum” and you get a good selection of trips from all over the UK.

I believe that the National Memorial Arboretum, would make the ideal destination for steam- or diesel-hauled heritage rail excursions with all the trimmings.

They could even be hauled by a Class 90 electric locomotive, dating from the late 1980s, if the route between Alrewas and Lichfield were to be electrified.
Rakes of comfortable Mark III coaches could be used.
A long platform at Alrewas station would be needed, so that the maximum size of heritage train could be handled.
For steam locomotives, there may need to be a runround loop.

Track improvements at Lichfield Trent Valley station, may allow direct services from London.

This page on the West Midlands Rail Executive web site is entitled Steam Engine Rolls Into Moor Street Station To Launch New Vintage Trains Partnership.

This is the first two paragraphs.

Historic steam engines are set to play a greater role in the region’s rail network following the signing of a ground-breaking new partnership.

The West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE) has teamed up with Tyseley-based Vintage Trains in a bid to establish the Shakespeare Line as Britain’s premier mainline heritage railway.

Perhaps, it would be possible to run a heritage train like a short-formation InterCity 125 between Stratford-om-Avon and the National Memorial Arboretum.

Conclusion

Opening up of the Lichfield Trent Valley and Burton route to passenger trains opens up a lot of possibilities.

January 21, 2022 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Alrewas Station, Birmingham New Street Station, Burton Station, Class 730 Train, Cross-City Line, East Midlands Railway, Heritage Railways, Ivanhoe Line, Leicester Station, Lichfield Trent Valley Station, Midland Main Line, Midland Main Line Electrification, National Memorial Arboretum | 1 Comment

More Train Companies Are Advertising Now

At the end of October, I posted Hull Trains Are Mounting A Big Advertising Campaign.

Today LNER are also advertising in The Times and these follow other companies like Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, Grand Central and Great Western Railway.

It looks like the Hull Trains campaign must have been successful.

January 2, 2022 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Advertising, Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, Grand Central Trains, Great Western Railway, Hull Trains, LNER, Trains | Leave a comment

Is There A Case For A Round-The-Wash Service Between Doncaster And Ipswich/Norwich?

Effectively, it would join East Midlands Railway’s Doncaster and Peterborough service with Greater Anglia’s Cambridge and Ipswich service.

The service could go via Scunthorpe, Grimsby Town, Cleethorpes, Grimsby Town, Market Rasen, Lincoln, Sleaford, Spalding, Peterborough, March, Ely, Cambridge North, Cambridge, Newmarket, Bury St. Edmunds and Stowmarket.
There would be reverses at Cleethorpes and Cambridge.
There may be extra stops in Lincolnshire and across Suffolk.
The service would not use the East Coast Main Line, but would use the new Werrington Dive-Under and the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line to the East of the East Coast Main Line.
The frequency would be one train per two hours (1tp2h).
Ideal trains could be Class 755 trains, perhaps running on batteries or hydrogen.

It would be paired with a new Doncaster and Norwich service, that could partly replace East Midlands Railway’s Liverpool and Norwich service.

The service could go via Scunthorpe, Grimsby Town, Cleethorpes, Grimsby Town, Market Rasen, Lincoln, Sleaford, Spalding, Peterborough, March, Ely, Cambridge North, Cambridge, Cambridge North, Ely, Thetford, Attleborough and Wymondham.
There would be reverses at Cleethorpes and Cambridge.
There may be extra stops in Lincolnshire and across Norfolk.

As with the Ipswich train it would not use the East Coast Main Line and have a frequency of 1tp2h.

The Objectives Of The Service

I believe this service could have several objectives.

Remove Slower Trains From The East Coast Main Line Between Peterborough And Doncaster

There aren’t many except freight, but this plan could provide a better solution to the Liverpool and Norwich service.

Providing Better Connections To The Biggest Growth Point In The UK – Cambridge

Cambridge needs better connections, so that it can bring in the staff and workers, that the high-tech capital of the UK needs.

Better Connection Of East Anglia And Lincolnshire To Northern England And Scotland

In Peterborough and Doncaster the route has two main interchanges to bring about these connections.

Promoting Tourism

For a start the route has five cathedrals; Bury St. Edmunds, Ely, Lincoln, Norwich and Peterborough and the historic city of Cambridge.

But I do believe that there are numerous places, where tourists might stay on the route and use it to explore the East of the country.

A Few Questions

These are a few questions.

Would The Route Be Electrified?

I don’t believe it will be fully electrified for two reasons.

Freight locomotives will increasingly become hydrogen-powered and also be able to use electrification, where it exists.

Plans by the likes of Hitachi ABB Power Grids and Furrer and Frey are likely to enable discontinuous and battery-electric trains to be able to work the route.

This philosophy would avoid all the disruption and reconstruction of structures of electrification and probably be much more affordable.

Would York Or Leeds Make A Better Northern Terminal For The Route?

Both have possibilities.

York would need running on the East Coast Main Line.
Leeds would probably need trains capable of 125 mph running.

On the other hand both Leeds and York would have superb connectivity.

Conclusion

I feel this would be a very valuable new service and it could be created without building any new infrastructure other than perhaps some strategic stations.

November 25, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Cambridge Station, Class 755 Train, Discontinuous Electrification, Doncaster Station, East Coast Main Line, East Midlands Railway, Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line (GNGE), Greater Anglia, Hydrogen-Powered Locomotives, Ipswich Station, Norwich Station, Round-The-Wash Train Service, Werrington Dive Under | 1 Comment

Electrifying Derwent Valley Mills

Under the latest plans the Midland Main Line will be electrified.

One problem is electrifying the line through the World Heritage Site of Derwent Valley Mills.

This Google Map shows the Midland Main Line between Belper and Duffield stations.

Note.

Belper with its station is at the North of the map.
Duffield station is at the South of the map.

In the middle of the map the railway line disappears into Milford Tunnel.

Wikipedia says this about the portals of the tunnel.

Both portals are grade II listed, being part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.

I doubt that the Heritage Taliban would allow the tunnel to be electrified, as they wouldn’t want wires near the tunnels.

But between Belper and Duffield stations is only 4.2 kilometres.

This Hitachi infographic shows their Intercity Battery Hybrid Train, which I described in Hitachi Rail And Angel Trains To Create Intercity Battery Hybrid Train On TransPennine Express.

Note that the train can cover gaps of 5 km.

The Class 810 trains, that will be used by East Midlands Railways will have four diesel engines and I’m certain these trains will be able to be retrofitted to be Intercity Battery Hybrid Trains.

The electrification of the line will be discontinuous with no wires between Belper and Duffield stations.

Express trains going between Derby and Sheffield will go through the following procedure.

Arrive at Duffield station with a full battery, after using the electrification from Derby and the South.
Drop the pantograph in the area of Duffield station and switch to battery power.
Proceed through Milford tunnel at an appropriate speed.
Once under the electrification again at Belper station, they would raise the pantograph and switch to using the electrification.

The problem of electrification of Milford tunnel in the area of the World Heritage Site has been neatly side-stepped.

November 18, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Class 810 Train, derw, East Midlands Railway, Electrification, Hitachi Intercity Battery Hybrid Train, Midland Main Line, Tunnels, World Heritage Site | 1 Comment

Reopening The Don Valley Section Of The Former Woodhead Line Between Stocksbridge and Sheffield Victoria To Passenger Services

On October 27th this Beeching Reversal Project was given £50,000 to build a case for reopening.

Stocksbridge is introduced like this in its Wikipedia entry.

Stocksbridge is a town and civil parish, in the City of Sheffield, in South Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies just to the east of the Peak District. The town is located in the steep-sided valley of the Little Don River, below the Underbank Reservoir. It blends into the areas of Deepcar, Bolsterstone and the eastern end of Ewden valley around Ewden village, which are also within the civil parish. The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census was 13,455.

This Google Map shows the area.

Note there are a large number of steel related industries all connected by an extensive railway system.

This Google Map shows part of the area to a more detailed scale.

I suspect that a station could be built somewhere to the South of the works.

I have followed the Stocksbridge Railway out to the East and it takes a loop to the South to Deepcar Tram and Railway station, as is shown on this Google Map.

Note.

The Eastern end of the Stockbridge site is in the North-West of the map.

Deepcar station is shown by a blue dot in the South-East corner of the map.

This Google Map shows Deepcar station in greater detail.

Note.

The Stocksbridge Railway curving to the West is clearly visible.
The other railway going North is the former Woodhead Line to Manchester.

This map clipped from Wikipedia shows the Lines through Deepcar station.

This shows the route between Stocksbridge and the former Sheffield Victoria station.

I have also found this article on the Sheffield Star, which is entitled Passenger Trains Could Return On Sheffield To Stocksbridge Don Valley Railway Line After major Funding Boost.

This is a paragraph.

The plans also involve reopening Sheffield Victoria station, which could serve a new Barrow Hill line to Chesterfield, stopping at Darnall, the Advanced Manufacturing Park, Woodhouse and other new stations, similar funding for which was granted last year.

This would seem to be a sensible plan.

These are my thoughts.

Sheffield Victoria Station

This Google Map shows the site of the Stocksbridge Line going through the centre of Sheffield.

The line starts in the North-West corner of the map and goes diagonally across.

The site of Sheffield Victoria station is at the Eastern edge of the map and is shown enlarged in this Google Map.

The street and hotel names are a giveaway.

There would appear to be space for a simple station with one or two platforms on the single-track through the area.

My preference would be for a single bi-directional platform, as has been used successfully at Galashiels station.

With well-placed passing loops, stations like these can handle two trains per hour (tph) and they can be step-free for all users.

Onward To Chesterfield

The plans as laid out in the paragraph in the Sheffield Star would appear to be feasible.

Darnall and Woodhouse are existing stations.

It would serve the proposed new station at Waverley, that I wrote about in Sheffield Region Transport Plan 2019 – A New Tram-Train Route To A New Station At Waverley.

Chesterfield station will be rebuilt for High Speed Two, so extra platforms could surely be added.

I wrote about plans for the Barrow Hill Line in Reinstatement Of The Barrow Hill Line Between Sheffield And Chesterfield.

It certainly looks to me, that taken together the Barrow Hill and Stocksbridge schemes could be a valuable new railway for Sheffield.

Rolling Stock

I have ridden all over Karlsruhe in Germany on their tram-trains, which are a German variant of Sheffield’s Class 399 tram-trains and I can see no reason, why the combined route couldn’t be designed and built for these trains.

They are very good on hills.
They can work on both 750 VDC and 25 KVAC overhead wires.
The closely-related Class 398 tram-trains in Cardiff will have batteries.
They are already working successfully in Sheffield.
There must be design advantages for stations.
Travellers in Sheffield are used to the tram-trains.
There is maintenance and operational experience in Sheffield.

It is also my belief, that Class 399 tram-trains would make excellent replacements for Sheffield’s current trams. I wrote about this in Sheffield Region Transport Plan 2019 – Renewal Of Supertram Network.

Electrification

Looking at the Stocksbridge and Barrow Hill Lines together, I believe there is a strong case for electrification of both routes with 25 KVAC overhead wires.

This would enable the following.

Class 399 tram-trains to work the combined route.
East Midlands Railway’s Class 810 trains to access Sheffield station via the Barrow Hill Line on electricity.
Electrified freight trains could use the route.

It could also be an easy route to electrify and be a good start to the electrification of Sheffield, which will happen in the future.

Electrification Between Sheffield And Clay Cross North Junction For High Speed Two

This electrification is needed for High Speed Two’s connection to Sheffield. It will also entail a lot of disruption for trains between Derby and Sheffield.

For these reasons, I believe that opening up the Barrow Hill route early between Sheffield and Chesterfield could be an excellent blockade buster.

Conclusion

There’s more to reopening the Stocksbridge Line, than as a local service in Sheffield.

November 3, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Barrow Hill Line, Beeching Reversal, Chesterfield Station, Class 399 Tram-Train, Clay Cross North Junction And Sheffield Electrification, East Midlands Railway, Electrification, Sheffield, Sheffield Station, Sheffield Supertram, Sheffield Victoria Station, Stocksbridge | 7 Comments

Could We See Between London And Much Of The North By Train In Under Two Hours?

I shall write about each route in order starting from Euston and working East.

Avanti West Coast And Euston

These are services from Euston, that I feel could be under two hours.

London Euston And Liverpool Lime Street

On Thursday, I went to Liverpool by train.

My train took two hours and thirteen minutes between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street stations.
There were stops at Stafford, Crewe and Runcorn.
The Class 390 train was travelling at 125 mph for a lot of the way.
The distance between the two terminals is 193.6 miles.
The start to stop average including the stops was 87.3 mph.

So could London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street be achieved in the magic two hours?

A few thoughts.

Average Speed

To do the journey in this time would need an average speed of 96.8 mph.

Accelerating And Stopping

Ideally, the train will run as fast as it can only changing speed for the station stops.

The train will accelerate from stop to cruising speed at Euston, Stafford, Crewe and Runcorn or four times.
The train will decelerate from cruising speed to stop at Stafford, Crewe, Runcorn and Liverpool Lime Street or four times.

Effectively, the train goes through four complete station stops, although one will be split between the two ends of the journey.

These figures are from Wikipedia and the Internet

The acceleration of the Class 390 train is 1.0 mph/sec which means that it takes 125 seconds to get to 125 mph.
The deceleration of a Class 390 train is 2.0 mph/sec, which means that it takes 63 seconds to stop from 125 mph.
The acceleration of a Class 801 train is 1.6 mph/sec which means that it takes 78 seconds to get to 125 mph.
The deceleration of a Class 801 train is 2.2 mph/sec, which means that it takes 57 seconds to stop from 125 mph.

These figures would appear to show, that a Class 801 train can decelerate and accelerate at a stop in nearly a minute faster than a Class 390 train.

So how can we increase the acceleration and deceleration? The two obvious ways are more power and less weight.

Form the Internet, I estimate that the average car in a Class 390 train is around 52 tonnes, as opposed to 41 tonnes for the Hitachi trains.

So does this weight difference explain some of the difference in acceleration and deceleration times?

Consider.

The Class 390 trains have all the extra weight of the tilt mechanism. More weight means slower acceleration.
Avanti West Coast’s new Class 807 trains have no diesel engines or batteries. Have the trains been put on a diet?
They also have a reprofiled nose. Is it more aerodynamic?

So if these trains can save time on the four accelerate/decelerate cycles compared to the Class 390 trains, they must be getting nearer to the magic two hours.

If two minutes a stop can be saved that would save eight minutes on the journey between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street.

140 Mph Running

The time to do a mile at various speeds are as follows.

100 mph – 36 seconds
125 mph – 29 seconds
140 mph – 26 seconds

So running at 140 mph, as opposed to the current 125 mph would save three seconds for every mile.

To save five minutes would mean the train would have to run for a hundred miles at 140 mph instead of 125 mph.

As Stafford is 133.5 miles from London, it could be that full digital signalling should be installed on the West Coast Main Line all the way to Stafford or even Crewe, which is 158 miles from London.

This schematic map of the West Coast Main Line was clipped from Wikipedia.

Note.

Trains between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street take the Trent Valley Line through Nuneaton and Lichfield Trent Valley and stop at Stafford, Crewe and Runcorn.
Trains between London Euston and Manchester take a variety of routes and all go via Stockport.
One train per hour (tph) between London Euston and Glasgow Central takes the Trent Valley Line and goes non-stop between London Euston and Warrington Central.
Norton Bridge Junction just to the North of Stafford has recently been remodelled.

I believe there is potential to enable up to at least a hundred miles of 140 mph running to the South of Crewe. Especially as most of the track South of Crewe is quadruple track.

This should enable the shaving of five or more minutes off the time of any train capable of 140 mph running that uses the Trent Valley Line through Nuneaton, Lichfield Trent Valley and Stafford.

Norton Bridge Junction

Norton Bridge junction, which is five miles North used to be a bottleneck, but it has now been remodelled.

I wrote about it in The New Norton Bridge Junction In Action.

The new junction has probably been designed so that it can save a few seconds for trains going between Stafford and Crewe, whether or not they stop at either or both stations.

Non-Stop Between London Euston and Runcorn

If you look at the times of a London Euston and Glasgow Central train via the Trent Valley Line , it travels the 174.7 miles between London Euston and Weaver Junction non-stop in one hour and forty minutes. This is an average speed of 104.8 mph.

By comparison, my train on Thursday took one hour and forty-seven minutes with the two stops at Stafford and Crewe.

So there is at least six minutes to be saved by going non-stop.

Two Trains Per Hour Between London Euston And Liverpool Lime Street

Wikipedia says this about an additional service.

Subject to approval by the Office of Rail and Road, an additional hourly service will be introduced between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street with a stop at Liverpool South Parkway from December 2022.

I have a few thoughts and questions on extra services between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street,

In my view the second service is much needed.
I also think, that a later train back to London is needed.
Does the Wikipedia statement mean that only one train will stop at Liverpool South Parkway?
Does Runcorn need two tph to and from London?
Would the platforms at Liverpool South Parkway be lengthened to accept eleven-car Class 390 trains?

I feel that if a train stopped at both Liverpool South Parkway and Runcorn, this would make a two-hour journey more difficult to achieve.

London Euston And Liverpool Lime Street In Two Hours

The new Class 807 trains will be delivered by 2022. Because of the pandemic, I’ll assume that of the ten trains on order, some, but not all, will be available by the December 2022 timetable change.

The time savings needed for a two-hour journey will come from four improvements.

The increased performance of the Class 807 trains.
Full digital signalling South of Crewe.
The track improvements already completed like Norton Bridge Junction.
Cutting out stop on the second service.

There may also be time savings to be obtained at the intermediate stops, by better working practices.

I doubt that the full digital signalling will have been installed, but all trains will be capable of 125 mph running.

Avanti West Coast probably have a good idea of the time they could achieve without digital signalling and I feel that they could be about five minutes over two hours with the Class 807 trains.

As the eleven-car Class 390 trains are too long for Liverpool South Parkway station, could we see the following service?

1 tph – Class 390 train – London Euston And Liverpool Lime Street via Runcorn, Crewe and Stafford.
1 tph – Class 807 train – London Euston And Liverpool Lime Street via Liverpool South Parkway.

Note.

The Class 390 train would run the existing timetable in two hours and thirteen minutes.
The Class 807 train would be a two-hour express service if possible.
Going from three stops to one could save the express at least seven minutes, as I showed earlier by looking at train timings South of Weaver Junction.
There would be time savings of at least two minutes on the express service due to the better performance of the Class 807 train.

To save the final four minutes, there would need to be at least eighty miles of 140 mph running, as each mile saves three seconds.

I am fairly certain, that London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street can be regularly achieved in two hours.

London Euston And Warrington Bank Quay

The hourly London Euston and Glasgow Central expresses seem to take one hour and forty-five minutes for the non-stop trip of 182.1 miles, which is an average speed of 104 mph.

As this service is non-stop, I believe that this service would get the maximum benefit from digital signalling and this service will only get faster, as more and more of the route allowed 140 mph-running.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see almost ten minutes lopped off this service by signalling and other improvements.

I am fairly certain, that London Euston and Warrington Bank Quay can be regularly achieved in well under two hours, by a Class 390 train.

London Euston And Wigan North Western

The hourly London Euston and Glasgow Central expresses seem to take one hour and fifty-six minutes for the single-stop trip of 193.9 miles, which is an average speed of 100.3 mph.

As this service just a single stop at Warrington Bank Quay, I believe that this service would get the maximum benefit from digital signalling and this service will only get faster, as more and more of the route allowed 140 mph-running.

As with Warrington Bank Quay, I wouldn’t be surprised to see almost ten minutes lopped off this service by signalling and other improvements.

I am fairly certain, that London Euston and Wigan North Western can be regularly achieved in comfortably under two hours, by a Class 390 train.

London Euston And Preston

The hourly London Euston and Glasgow Central expresses seem to take two hours and eleven minutes for the two -stop trip of 209 miles, which is an average speed of 95.7 mph.

As this service just stops at Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan North Western, I believe that this service would get the maximum benefit from digital signalling and this service will only get faster, as more and more of the route allowed 140 mph-running.

As with Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan North Western, I wouldn’t be surprised to see almost ten minutes lopped off this service by signalling and other improvements.

I am fairly certain, that London Euston and Preston can be regularly achieved in just under two hours, by a Class 390 train.

London Euston And Blackpool North

Avanti West Coast have indicated that their new Class 807 trains will run between London Euston and Blackpool North.

Consider.

I am fairly certain that a Class 390 train will be able to run between London Euston and Preston in under two hours, once digital signalling is installed South of Crewe.
Currently, Class 390 trains take twenty minutes between Preston and Blackpool North stations.
The Class 807 trains have better acceleration and deceleration and should be able to execute faster stops than the Class 390 trains.

I wonder if Avanti West Coast, Hitachi, Network Rail and Rock Rail have thought up a cunning plan to run Class 807 trains between London Euston And Blackpool North, in under two hours.

Trains would go via the Trent Valley.

Trains might only stop at perhaps Milton Keynes Central, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western and Preston.

Trains would run at up to 140 mph using digital signalling, in as many places as possible.

Is the performance of the Class 807 trains sufficient to achieve London Euston and Blackpool North in under two hours via the Trent Valley?

London Euston And Manchester Piccadilly via Wilmslow

Consider.

Most trains between London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Wilmslow seem to take around six or seven minutes over two hours.
I believe that if the 158 miles between London Euston and Crewe were to be digitally signalled, then this could save up to eight minutes by allowing trains to run at 140 mph rather than the current 125 mph.

This could be enough to bring the London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Wilmslow below two hours.

I am not surprised at this, as the trains were built for 140 mph and because there is no digital signalling, they are limited to 125 mph, which slows the trains by six or seven minutes.

London Euston And Manchester Piccadilly via Stoke-on-Trent

Everything I said about trains between London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Wilmslow probably apply, except that the services via Stoke-on-Trent are a few minutes slower.

But I do feel, that this could be enough to bring the London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Stoke-on-Trent below two hours.

East Midlands Railway And St. Pancras

These is only one service from St. Pancras, that is not comfortably under two hours.

London St. Pancras And Sheffield

A typical service between London St. Pancras And Sheffield takes a few minutes over two hours..

There are two tph
There are stops at Leicester, Loughborough, East Midlands Parkway, Long Eaton, Derby or Chesterfield depending on the service.
The Class 222 trains travel at 125 mph for most of the way.
The distance between the two terminals is 164.7 miles.
The start to stop average including the stops is 81 mph.

I would suspect that East Midlands Railway’s new bi-mode Class 810 trains will be able to easily break the two-hour barrier.

They have four diesel engines so they can cruise at 125 mph on diesel.
They have electric power for South of Market Harborough.
Some diesel engines will be changed for batteries.

As electrification increases on the Midland Main Line, these trains will use less and less diesel.

I also suspect that digital signalling will start to creep into the route, starting from Bedford, where it is used on Thameslink.

LNER And King’s Cross

These are services from King’s Cross, that are or I feel will be under two hours.

London King’s Cross And Doncaster

A typical service between London King’s Cross And Doncaster takes around one hour and thirty-seven minutes.

There are four tph
There are stops at Stevenage, Peterborough, Grantham, Newark and Retford depending on the service.
The Class 80x trains travel at 125 mph for most of the way.
The distance between the two stations is 156 miles.
The start to stop average including the stops is 96.5 mph.

Digital signaling is being installed on this section of the East Coast Main Line and I suspect that this will reduce timings between London King’s Cross And Doncaster.

A simple estimate based on the maximum operating speed, indicates a time of one hour and twenty-six minutes should be possible.

But as a Control Engineer, I believe that digital signalling will lead to faster running over the Digswell Viaduct and through the flat crossing at Newark.

The timing will certainly be under one hour and thirty minutes between London King’s Cross And Doncaster.

London King’s Cross And York

A typical service between London King’s Cross And York takes around one hour and forty-eight minutes.

There are two tph
There are stops at Stevenage, Peterborough, Grantham, Newark, Retford and Doncaster depending on the service.
The Class 80x trains travel at 125 mph for most of the way.
The distance between the two stations is 188.5 miles.
A non-stop service takes one hour and fifty-two minutes, which is a start to stop average including the stops is 101 mph.

If my crude estimate of time savings because of digital signalling South of Doncaster can be applied, this would imply a reduction in journey time of at least eleven minutes.

London King’s Cross And Leeds

A typical service between London King’s Cross And Leeds takes around two hours and thirteen minutes.

There are three tph
There are stops at Stevenage, Peterborough, Grantham, Newark, Doncaster and Wakefield Westgate depending on the service.
The Class 80x trains travel at 125 mph for most of the way.
The distance between the two terminals is 185.9 miles.
This is a start to stop average including the stops is 83.9 mph.

If my crude estimate of time savings because of digital signalling South of Doncaster can be applied, this would imply a reduction in journey time of at least eleven minutes, which would put a time between London King’s Cross and Leeds of around two hours.

London King’s Cross And Bradford Forster Square

LNER run some services on this route

The services take thirty minutes between Leeds and Bradford Forster Square stations.
The services do not reverse at Leeds.

Given that two hours should be possible between London Kings Cross and Leeds, it would appear that two hours and thirty minutes should be possible between Leeds and Bradford Forster Square stations.

London King’s Cross And Bradford Interchange

Grand Central run some services on this route

The services call at Doncaster, Wakefield Kirkgate, Mirfield, Brighouse and Low Moor
The services take two hours and fifty-four minutes between London King’s Cross and Bradford Interchange stations.

The services take one hour and seventeen minutes between Doncaster and Bradford Interchange stations.

The services are run by Class 180 diesel trains, which will have to be replaced to decarbonise the route.

I suspect that Hitachi will have a train for this route, that could use diesel or batteries to the North of Doncaster.

My estimate for the best time between King’s Cross and Doncaster is one hour and twenty-six minutes.
The current time between Doncaster and Bradford Interchange stations is one hour and seventeen minutes.

This gives a best time of perhaps two hours and forty-three minutes between Doncaster and Bradford Interchange stations.

The route to Bradford via Leeds is perhaps fifteen minutes faster, but it serves different stations.

London King’s Cross And Harrogate

LNER has been running to Harrogate for some time.

There is one train per two hours (tp2h)
The service calls at Stevenage, Grantham, Doncaster, Wakefield Westgate and Leeds.
some services reverse at Leeds.
The service takes two hours and fifty-five minutes between London King’s Cross and Harrogate stations.
The service takes thirty minutes between Leeds and Harrogate stations.

Given that two hours should be possible between London Kings Cross and Leeds, it would appear that two hours and thirty minutes could be possible between London King’s Cross and Harrogate stations.

London King’s Cross And Huddersfield

In LNER Expands To Huddersfield, I described LNER’s new service to Huddersfield.

There will be one train per day (tpd)
The service will call at Peterborough, Newark North Gate, Doncaster, Wakefield Westgate, Leeds and Dewsbury.
The service will split and join with the London King’s Cross and Skipton service at Leeds.
The service will reverse at Leeds.
The service take two hours and fifty-five minutes between London King’s Cross and Huddersfield stations.
The service will take twenty-five minutes between Leeds and Huddersfield stations.
Improvements are planned, which include electrification, between Dewsbury and Huddersfield

Given that two hours should be possible between London Kings Cross and Leeds, it would appear that two hours and thirty minutes could be possible between London King’s Cross and Huddersfield stations.

London King’s Cross And Hull

The fastest Hull Trains service between London King’s Cross And Hull takes around two hours and thirty minutes.

There are seven tpd
There are stops at Stevenage, Grantham, Retford, Doncaster, Selby, Howden and Brough depending on the service.
The Class 80x trains travel at 125 mph for most of the way.
The distance between the two terminals is 205.3 miles.
This is a start to stop average including the stops is 82.1 mph.

London King’s Cross And Middlesbrough

LNER have announced a Middlesbrough service, which I wrote about in LNER’s Middlesbrough And London Service. Starts On December 13th.

There will be one tpd in both directions
Intermediate stops will be at Thornaby and York.
The Middlesbrough and London service will leave Middlesbrough from Platform 1 at 07:08 and arrive in King’s Cross at 10:22.
The London and Middlesbrough service will leave King’s Cross at 15:25 and arrive in Middlesbrough in Platform 2 at 18:18.

There appear to be some curiosities in the timetabling of these trains, which I may explore later.

I would assume that is because LNER want a competitive time of three hours between King’s Cross and Middlesbrough.

These are Southbound times between Eaglescliffe and King’s Cross in the morning.

Grand Central – Two hours and thirty-nine minutes
LNER – Three hours and two minutes

Is this because the Class 180 train is a genuine 125 mph train on diesel and the Class 800 train is not?

Conclusion

Of the cities and towns in the North, that I have discussed only Bradford, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Hull and Middlesbrough, are ones that will be difficult to be provided with a two-hour journey time to and from London. But all should be possible in close to or under two hours and thirty minutes.

October 17, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Class 222 Train, Class 390 Train, Class 801 Train, Class 807 Train, Class 810 Train, Doncaster Station, East Coast Main Line, East Midlands Railway, Euston Station, Hull Station, Hull Trains, King's Cross Station, Leeds Station, Liverpool Lime Street Station, Liverpool South Parkway Station, LNER, Manchester Piccadilly Station, Norton Bridge Junction, St. Pancras Station, West Coast Main Line, York Station | 7 Comments

The Seat Of Aurora

The title of this post, is the same as that of an article in the August 2021 Edition of Modern Railway.

The article has this sub-title.

East Midlands Railway has finalised the new seats for its new trains, and they’re completely useless – as ironing boards.

Note.

East Midlands Railway‘s new trains are Class 810 trains, which are Hitachi AT300 express trains, as used by several operators.
Some passengers and industry commentators have criticised the seats in these trains as like ironing boards.
Abellio Greater Anglia, who are a sister company to East Midlands Railway, also choose the seats for their new trains with care. I wrote No ‘Ironing Board seats’ For Greater Anglia’s New Trains, about their seat choice.

Ian Walmsley, who wrote the article for Modern Railways says this about the Seat of Aurora.

My verdict is that it is a good seat, and that is in absolute terms – not just saying it is better than an 800, which it would have to be really.

For myself, the proof of the seating will be in the sitting.

September 13, 2021 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Class 810 Train, East Midlands Railway, Good Design, Ian Walmsley, Seats | 1 Comment

Electrification Between Clay Cross North Junction And Sheffield Station

Long term readers of this blog, will have noticed that I make regular references to this proposed electrification, that is part of High Speed Two’s proposals to connect Sheffield to the new high speed railway.

So I thought I would bring all my thoughts together in this post.

Connecting Sheffield To High Speed Two

Sheffield is to be accessed from a branch off the Main High Speed Two route to Leeds.

This map clipped from High Speed Two’s interactive map, shows the route of the Sheffield Branch, from where it branches North West from the main Eastern Leg of High Speed Two.

Note.

Orange indicates new High Speed Two track.
Blue indicates track that High Speed Two will share with other services.
The orange route goes North to Leeds, along the M1
The blue route goes North to Chesterfield and Sheffield, after skirting to the East of Clay Cross.
The orange route goes South to East Midlands Hub station.

This second map, shows where the Erewash Valley Line joins the Sheffield Branch near the village of Stonebroom.

Note.

Red is an embankment.
Yellow is a cutting.
The Sheffield Branch goes North-West to Clay Cross, Chesterfield and Sheffield
The Sheffield Branch goes South-East to East Midlands Hub station.
The Sheffield Branch goes through Doe Hill Country Park.
The Sheffield Branch runs alongside the existing Erewash Valley Line, which goes South to Langley Mill, Ilkeston and the Derby-Nottingham area.

The Sheffield Branch and the Erewash Valley Line appear to share a route, which continues round Clay Cross and is shown in this third map.

Note

Doe Hill Country Park is in the South-East corner of the map.
The dark line running North-South is the A61.
Running to the West of the A61 is the Midland Main Line, which currently joins the Erewash Valley Line at Clay Cross North junction.

High Speed Two and the Midland Main Line will share a route and/or tracks from Clay Cross North junction to Sheffield.

This fourth map, shows where the combined route joins the Hope Valley Line to Manchester to the South West of Sheffield.

Note.

Sheffield is to the North East.
Chesterfield is to the South East,
Totley junction is a large triangular junction, that connects to the Hope Valley Line.

These are some timings for various sections of the route.

Clay Cross North Junction and Chesterfield (current) – 4 minutes
Clay Cross North Junction and Sheffield (current) – 17 minutes
Chesterfield and Sheffield (current) – 13 minutes
Chesterfield and Sheffield (High Speed Two) – 13 minutes
East Midlands Hub and Chesterfield (High Speed Two) – 16 minutes
East Midlands Hub and Sheffield (High Speed Two) – 27 minutes

As Class Cross North Junction and Sheffield are 15.5 miles, this means the section is run at an average speed of 53 mph.

Can I draw any conclusions from the maps and timings?

There would appear to be similar current and High Speed Two timings between Chesterfield and Sheffield.
The various junctions appear to be built for speed.

The Midland Main Line will be electrified between Clay Cross North Junction and Sheffield, so that High Speed Two trains can use the route.

What will be the characteristics of the tracks between Clay Cross North Junction and Sheffield?

Will it be just two tracks as it mainly is now or will it be a multi-track railway to separate the freight trains from the high speed trains?
Will it have a high enough maximum speed, so that East Midland Railway’s new Class 810 trains can go at their maximum speed of 140 mph?
Will it be capable of handling a frequency of 18 tph, which is the maximum frequency of High Speed Two?

Surely, it will be built to a full High Speed Two standard to future-proof the line.

Current Passenger Services Between Clay Cross North Junction And Sheffield Station

These trains use all or part of the route between Cross North Junction And Sheffield stations.

CrossCountry – Plymouth and Edinburgh via Derby, Chesterfield, Sheffield and Leeds – 1 tph
East Midlands Railway – London St. Pancras and Sheffield via Derby and Chesterfield – 2 tph
East Midlands Railway – Liverpool Lime Street and Norwich via Stockport, The Hope Valley Line, Sheffield and Chesterfield – 1 tph
Northern Trains – Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield via the Hope Valley Line – 1 tph
Northern Trains – Leeds and Nottingham via Meadowhall, Sheffield and Chesterfield – 1 tph
TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport and Cleethorpes via Stockport, the Hope Valley Line and Sheffield – 1 tph

Note.

tph is trains per hour.
High Speed Two is currently planning to run two tph to Sheffield, which will run between Cross North junction and Sheffield stations.
The services on the Hope Valley Line run on electrified tracks at the Manchester end.

These services can be aggregated to show the number of trains on each section of track.

Hope Valley Line between Manchester and Totley junction – 3 tph
Totley junction and Sheffield station – 7 tph
Totley junction and Clay Cross North junction via Chesterfield – 4 tph

Adding in the High Speed Two services gives these numbers.

Hope Valley Line between Manchester and Totley junction – 3 tph
Totley junction and Sheffield station – 9 tph
Totley junction and Clay Cross North junction via Chesterfield – 6 tph

This report on the Transport for the North web site, is entitled At A Glance – Northern Powerhouse Rail. It states that Transport for the North’s aspirations for Manchester and Sheffield are four tph with a journey time of forty minutes.

Adding in the extra train gives these numbers.

Hope Valley Line between Manchester and Totley junction – 4 tph
Totley junction and Sheffield station – 10 tph
Totley junction and Clay Cross North junction via Chesterfield – 6 tph

This level of services can be accommodated on a twin-track railway designed to the right high speed standards.

Freight Services Between Clay Cross North Junction And Sheffield Station

The route is used by freight trains, with up to two tph on each of the three routes from Totley junction.

And these are likely to increase.

Tracks Between Clay Cross North Junction And Sheffield Station

I am absolutely certain, that two tracks between Clay Cross North junction And Sheffield station will not be enough, even if they are built to High Speed Two standards to allow at least 140 mph running under digital signalling.

Battery Electric Trains

The only battery-electric train with a partly-revealed specification is Hitachi’s Regional Battery Train, which is described in this Hitachi infographic.

Note.

The train is a 100 mph unit.
Ninety kilometres is fifty-six miles.

I would expect that battery-electric trains from other manufacturers like Alstom, CAF and Siemens would have similar performance on battery power.

In Thoughts On CAF’s Battery-Electric Class 331 Trains, I concluded CAF’s approach could give the following ranges.

Three-car battery-electric train with one battery pack – 46.7 miles
Four-car battery-electric train with one battery pack – 35 miles
Four-car battery-electric train with two battery packs – 70 miles

I was impressed.

These are my thoughts on battery-electric trains on the routes from an electrified Sheffield.

Adwick

Sheffield and Adwick is 22.7 miles without electrification