The Anonymous Widower

Is Wigan North Western Station Ready For High Speed Two?

This diagram shows High Speed Two services, as they were originally envisaged before Phase 2 was discontinued.

Note.

  1. Trains to the left of the vertical black line are Phase 1 and those to the right are Phase 2.
  2. Full-Size trains are shown in blue.
  3. Classic-Compatible trains are shown in yellow.
  4. Blue circles are shown, where trains stop.
  5. The dotted circles are where trains split and join.
  6. In the red boxes routes alternate every hour.
  7. Was Lancaster chosen as it’s close to the new Eden Project Morecambe?

Click on the diagram to enlarge it.

It would appear if High Speed Two sticks to this original pattern of services, then the following trains will go through Wigan North Western station.

  • 200 metre single train – London Euston and Lancaster, which stops at Old Oak Common, Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western and Preston.
  • 400 metre pair of trains – London Euston and Edinburgh Haymarket/Edinburgh Waverley/Glasgow Central, which stops at Old Oak Common, Preston, Carlisle.
  • 400 metre pair of trains – London Euston and Edinburgh Haymarket/Edinburgh Waverley/Glasgow Central, which stops at Old Oak Common, Birmingham Interchange, Preston, Carlisle.
  • 200 metre single train – Birmingham Curzon Street and Edinburgh Haymarket/Edinburgh Waverley or Motherwell/Glasgow Central, which stops at Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster, Carlisle and Lockerby and every two hours at Oxenholme and Penrith.

Note.

  1. Only single High Speed Two classic-compatible trains, stop in Wigan North Western station and they are only two hundred metres long.
  2. One train per hour (tph) terminates at Lancaster and a second tph terminates alternatively at Edinburgh Haymarket/Edinburgh Waverley or Glasgow Central.
  3. Four hundred metre long pairs of trains go through North Western station without stopping.

Currently Wigan North Western has 14 trains per day (tpd) stopping at the station, eleven of which go to Scotland and three to Blackpool.

This Google Map shows Wigan North Western station.

Note.

  1. The two long platforms in the middle of the station, where the Avanti trains stop.
  2. A long platform on the Southern side of the station used by local services to and from Liverpool and Blackpool.
  3. Three bay platforms on the Northern side of the station, one of which is unused, that handle local services to Manchester and beyond.

As the 265.3 metre long Class 390 trains can use the central platforms, High Speed Two classic-compatible trains will be able to use these platforms.

On my brief visit to the station yesterday, I took these pictures.

Note.

  1. All Class 390 trains are longer than High Speed Two classic-compatible trains, so the train in the pictures indicates that the High Speed Two trains will be able to stop at Wigan North Western station.
  2. The platforms are long and wide.
  3. The station is well-equipped with lifts, cafes, waiting rooms and some of the best toilets in a station in the North of England.
  4. Wigan Wallgate station is only a short walk away, with a selection of local services to Blackburn, Headbolt Lane, Manchester, Southport and a large proportion of Lancashire.
  5. The last two pictures were taken looking at the two stations from halfway.
  6. The shops between the two stations are a good selection and include a Morrisons Local.

I had been intending to go on to Preston, Lancaster and Morecambe, but a points failure at Preston meant that no trains were running.

Conclusion

The two Wigan stations and the buses that serve them,  could be a good interchange for passengers to catch High Speed Two.

I feel that most of the work needed to be done at Wigan North Western to get the station ready for High Speed Two will mainly be cosmetic or technical upgrades like signalling. I can’t see any expensive or disruptive upgrades like platform lengthening being needed.

May 11, 2025 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Avanti West Coast Increases Liverpool – London Services With Launch Of Electric Evero Trains

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

This is the sub-heading.

Avanti West Coast officially launched the Class 807 electric only-version of its Hitachi-built Evero trainsets into service on November 11. This enables the operator to offer an additional weekday return service between Liverpool Lime Street and London Euston.

On the 14th of November 2024, these services were run by new Class 807 trains.

  • 3F79 – 807001 – 2100 – Northampton to Liverpool Lime Street
  • 3F80 – 807001 – 0023 – Liverpool Lime Street to Edge Hill Depot
  • 5A99 – 807001 – 0836 – Edge Hill Depot to Liverpool Lime Street
  • 1A99 – 807001 – 0901 – Liverpool Lime Street to London Euston – 02:40
  • 1F12 – 807003 – 0743 – London Euston to Liverpool Lime Street – 03:07
  • 1A28 – 807003 – 1043 – Liverpool Lime Street to London Euston – 02:20

Note,

  1. I have shown all Class 807 movements that happened. Some possibly didn’t!
  2. There appear to be extra services, which I’ve marked with their times.
  3. Time seems to be available to go to Edge Hill Depot if needed.
  4. I suspect an open return ticket can be used on any train, that’s running.

Services seem to be slow, but they can be booked.

Avanti Are Ramping Up The Service

I suspect that as they add more trains, times will come down and a stop at Liverpool South Parkway will be added.

The Class 390 trains currently used on the Liverpool route are too long for Liverpool South Parkway station.

But seven-car Class 807 trains would fit easily.

The shorter and lighter seven-car Class 807 trains may well have faster acceleration and deceleration than the nine- or eleven-car Class 390 trains with their heavy tilting mechanism.

Could this extra performance mean that the Class 807 trains could still meet the timetable with extra stops?

In Is Liverpool Going To Get High Speed One-Point-Five?, I discussed various options for the London and Liverpool service.

I believe that a practical timetable like this could work.

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

Note.

  1. An hourly service between London and Liverpool in under two hours would surely be a passenger magnet.
  2. Two tph would be a 43 % hourly increase in the number of seats between London and Liverpool.
  3. There would be better connections between Liverpool Lime Street and the East Midlands.

The Railway Gazette article also says this.

From the December timetable change AWC will supplement the current hourly Liverpool – London service with an extra two trains each way every weekday and a third service on Saturdays.

In the short term, AWC will not be delivering the long-standing plan for a half-hourly service on the route, but further services are to be introduced over the next year.

One constraint relates to the power supply. Network Rail has identified two locations where additional electric services cannot currently be accommodated, and discussions over a resolution are ongoing.

A fast service could also be applied to one of the London and Manchester services.

It should be noted, that the two hours and eight minutes record between Manchester and London Euston was set by an InterCity 225 in 1992, so perhaps a seven-car Class 807 could do better than a Class 390 train.

Could A Pair Of Class 807 Trains Leave Euston For Liverpool And Manchester, And Split At Crewe?

Train lengths are as follows.

  • Seven-car Class 807 train – 182 metres.
  • Fourteen-car Class 807 train – 364 metres.
  • Nine-car Class 390 train – 217.5 metres.
  • Eleven-car Class 390 train – 365.3 metres.
  • Caledonian Sleeper – 374 metres.

I suspect with perhaps a small amount of platform lengthening, a pair of Class 807 could be fitted into all stations, where they would need to call.

This might be a way of adding extra capacity and faster services to Manchester, without needing an extra path on the West Coast Main Line.

Could A Single Class 807 Train Call At Manchester Airport Station?

The platforms at Manchester Airport station are 192 metres long, so a single Class 807 train should fit.

This would allow an hourly service from Manchester Airport to the South, without a change at Manchester Piccadilly or Crewe.

To save paths, it could split and join with the second Liverpool service at Crewe.

Conclusion

The new Class 807 trains could increase performance to between London Euston and both Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly.

November 16, 2024 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Rochdale Station – 12th November, 2024

Yesterday, I went to Rochdale station, to ascertain, the suitability of running a Lumo service between Euston and Rochdale stations.

Note.

  1. The building in the style of a mosque, is actually a Catholic church.
  2. The island tram platform is at right angles to the railway lines through the station.
  3. The tram takes you a short distance to the North to the town centre.

This map shows the station and the tram stop.

Note.

  1. The station has four platforms and two tram platforms.
  2. The two outer train platforms are quite long.
  3. The West-facing bay platform could probably take a five-car Lumo train.
  4. The tram platform runs North from the station.
  5. There is a co-working space by the tram-stop.
  6. There is a cafe in the station.
  7. There is a manned ticket office.
  8. Car parking is free.
  9. There are sixteen bicycle spaces.

With some tidying up, this could be a neat interchange.

These are my thoughts.

Will Rochdale Station Accommodate One Of Lumo’s Five-Car Trains?

The Wikipedia entry for Rochdale station, says this about the Bay Platform 4, that was used for the Cltheroe train.

In 2015, construction on a fourth railway platform began. The 135m-long bay platform was completed in 2016 and is used to relieve congestion at Manchester Victoria, where terminating trains would otherwise occupy the through platforms; numerous services now continue on to Rochdale as opposed to terminating at Victoria. It is located at the south end of the main island platform, with the southbound through line having been re-aligned slightly further east to accommodate the new terminating line and is used by the half-hourly stopping service from Blackburn/Clitheroe via Bolton and Victoria.

A 135 metre platform should be able to accommodate a five-car train with 27 metre carriages, so it looks like a 5-carriage Lumo train with 26-metre cars would fit in the bay platform 4.

Will Rochdale Station Accommodate A Pair Of Lumo’s Five-Car Trains?

Consider.

  • Lumo’s Hitachi trains, like all their siblings can run in pairs. As I reported in Ten-Car Hull Trains, Hull Trains do it regularly.
  • Rochdale station may or may not be able to accommodate a pair of five-car trains, but say if one of Manchester’s Premier League clubs was playing in the FA Cup Final, I’m sure they would find a way to run a ten-car train to London.
  • It looks like Warrington Bank Quay, Newton-le-Willows, Eccles and Manchester Victoria could all take 10-car trains.
  • Euston probably can as well, as 9-car and 11-car Class 390 trains are 217.5 and 265.3 metres respectively long respectively and a 10-car Lumo train would only be 260 metres.

Perhaps, one train can start at Rochdale and the other at Manchester Victoria, before they join at Victoria and go to London as a pair.

Could The Lumo Service Be Extended Across The Pennines?

Distances Along the Calder Valley Line to Leeds are as follows.

  • Rochdale 10.4 miles – 
  • Hebden Bridge – 23.6 miles
  • Halifax – 32.7 miles
  • Low Moor – 37.5 miles
  • Bradford Interchange – 40.4 miles
  • Leeds – 49.8 miles

Note.

  1. The 70 km. rang of a Lumo train will be 43.5 miles.
  2. The train can be charged at both end stations and will be fully charged, when it leaves Manchester Victoria and Leeds.
  3. There are short lengths of electrification at Manchester Victoria and Leeds.
  4. There may be extra electrification between Bradford Interchange and Leeds, in the next few years.

I am fairly certain, that a battery-electric Lumo Class 803 train will be able to provide a London Euston and Leeds service.

How Long Will Services Take?

Timings on the extended route from London Euston to Manchester Victoria, Rochdale, Bradford and Leeds would take.

  • London-Euston – Warrington Bank Quay – One hour and forty-four minutes – Current Avanti timings.
  • Warrington Bank Quay – Newton-le-Willows -Eleven minutes – Current Northern timings.
  • Newton-le-Willows – Eccles -Ten minutes – Current Northern timings.
  • Eccles – Manchester Victoria – Ten minutes – Current Northern timings.
  • Manchester Victoria – Rochdale – Fourteen minutes – Current Northern timings.
  • Rochdale – Hebden Bridge – Sixteen minutes – Current Northern timings.
  • Hebden Bridge – Halifax – Fifteen minutes – Current Northern timings.
  • Halifax – Low Moor – Six minutes – Current Northern timings.
  • Low Moor – Bradford Interchange -Ten minutes – Current Northern timings.
  • Bradford Interchange – Leeds – Nineteen minutes – Current Northern timings.

Totals.

  • London and Manchester Victoria – Two hours and fifteen minutes.
  • London and Rochdale – Two hours and twenty-nine minutes.
  • London and Bradford – Three hours and six minutes.
  • London and Leeds – Three hours and twenty-five minutes.

I suspect times could be speeded up a bit.

Proposed Developments Of Manchester Metrolink

This sub-title has its own Wikipedia entry.

Developments that would be beneficial to a Lumo service might include.

A station at Cop Road on the Oldham and Rochdale Line, that would support new housing.

Tram-trains between Oldham and Heywood On the Calder Valley Line.

These two developments will directly bring more passengers to the Lumo service, but because the Lumo service has links with the Metrolink at Eccles, Manchester Victoria and Rochdale any Metrolink improvements should benefit the Lumo service.

 

November 13, 2024 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

‘UK-First’ Intercity Battery Trial Exceeds Expectations

The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Hitachi.

These three bullet points, act as sub-headings.

  • Intercity battery train completes testing in the north of England, demonstrating superior performance and cost-effectiveness compared to diesel engines.
  • Trial confirms single battery technology can reduce fuels costs between 35%-50% and enter and leave stations in zero-emission mode.
  • Ahead of Railway 200 celebration, this new UK rail innovation is ready to reduce cost and emissions on the railways.

These are the first two paragraphs.

Today, Angel Trains, Hitachi Rail and TransPennine Express are celebrating the successful completion of the UK’s first intercity battery trial in the North of England.

The powerful 700kw battery technology met, and in some cases even surpassed, the key objectives of the trial, including:

  • Fuel costs savings between 35%-50%, surpassing previous predictions of up to 30%.
  • Just one battery has managed to power the train to speeds greater than 75mph, clearly demonstrating this technology can enter, alight and exit stations solely in zero-emission battery-mode to improve air quality and reduce noise pollution.
  • Able to achieve all journey times and performance requirements so can meet operators timetable requirements.
  • The battery matches the weight of a diesel engine and is installed in the same undercarriage space, ensuring no risk of track degradation and no impact on the passenger environment.

Note.

  1. I would expect, that most of the fuel cost savings are due to the use of regenerative braking to the battery.
  2. 75 mph might seem slow, but Hull Trains average slower speeds than this on their diesel sections.
  3. Running in a non-polluting mode in stations and sensitive areas, is not going to be disliked by anyone.
  4. The most powerful diesel engines in Class 800 and Class 802 trains are rated at 700 kW. So with the same weight and power, it is not surprising that the performance is the same.

It looks to me, that Hitachi have designed an efficient battery-electric electric train, that can extend services from electrified main lines onto branch lines without electrification.

The One Battery Test Train And Hull Trains

Hull Trains currently run one service to Hull and Beverley and have applied for another service to serve Worksop, Woodhouse and Sheffield, where the trains would leave the East Coast Main Line at Retford.

Hitachi’s current test train has two diesel engines and one battery pack.

An Electric Service Between London and Hull/Beverley

Distances for the Hull and Beverley service are.

  • ECML  and Hull – 58.1 km. – 3 stops
  • Hull and Beverley – 13.2 km or 26.4 km both ways. – 1 stop

Note.

  1. Trains will be fully-charged, when they leave the ECML.
  2. Trains could be fully-charged, when they leave Hull station, if the platform they use has a charging system.
  3. All Hull Trains call in Platform 7 at Hull station.
  4. The Hitachi press release said “During a trial run, the battery’s impressive power enabled the train to operate solely in battery mode for 70km.” A speed of 75 mph is indicated.
  5. I would assume the Hitachi train used regenerative braking to help recharge the batteries, at the intermediate stops.
  6. Trains average around 57 mph between the ECML and Hull and 38 mph between Hull and Beverley.
  7. Much of the track between the ECML and Hull has a speed limit of 75 mph.
  8. Much of the track between Beverley and Hull has a speed limit of 70 mph or less.

Because of these figures and what Hitachi have said of the train’s performance on batteries, I am convinced that Hull Trains will use an electrified Platform 7 at Hull station to charge the trains.

These pictures show a Hull Trains’s Class 802 train in Platform 7 at Hull station.

Note.

  1. The blue Hull Train is in Platform 7 in the pictures.
  2. Hull station has a classic Victorian cast-iron roof.
  3. Many other similar platforms have been electrified in the UK.

I believe that this platform can be electrified relatively easily with 25 KVAC overhead wires.

An Electric Service Between London and Worksop/Sheffield

Distances for the Worksop and Sheffield service are.

  • ECML  and Worksop – 12.2 km. – 1 stop
  • Worksop and Sheffield- 25.3 km or 50.6 km both ways. – 1 stop

Note.

1. A train from London will leave Retford with a full battery.
2. Retford and Sheffield is only 37.5 km. So the round trip is only 75 km.
3. A full battery will power the train at 75 mph for 70 km – According to Hitachi.
4. Much of the track between Retford and Sheffield is only 60 mph. So going slower will give an energy saving.
5. Slowing at Worksop, Woodhouse and Sheffield will give the batteries a small charge.
6. There are no bridges in the Workshop station area, so a mile or so of electrification could be easy.
7. It’s an easy level route.
8. I’ve read somewhere that Hitachi have a full route simulator.

I calculate, that a two minute charge at Worksop would probably be all the train would need to travel the 75 km. on batteries.

We don’t know if Hitachi have licenced some of Vivarail’s FastCharge technology from FirstGroup. This could enable them to extract the maximum value from each stop at Worksop.

The One Battery Test Train And Lumo

Hitachi’s current test train has two diesel engines and one battery pack.

It is likely that a train with this configuration could be used on Lumo’s new service to Rochdale.

As London Euston and Manchester Victoria is fully electrified, the only unelectrified section is the 16.7 km. between Manchester Victoria and Rochdale. This would mean, that to complete the trip, Lumo’s train would need the ability to do 33.4 km on battery power.

As Hitachi’s test train can do 70 km on a full charge, Lumo could use trains with the standard two diesel engine and one battery pack configuration. The battery would be charged on the electrified sections of the route, between London Euston and Manchester Victoria stations.

It looks to me, to be a superb demonstration of the capabilities of a battery-electric InterCity train with two diesel engines and one battery pack.

The One Battery Test Train And LNER

Hitachi’s current test train has two diesel engines and one battery pack.

It is likely that a train with this configuration could be used on  several LNER services from King’s Cross.

  • Bradford Forster Square – 21.9 km. from Leeds
  • Cleethorpes – 102.5 km. from Newark
  • Grimsby Town – 97.9 km. from Newark
  • Harrogate – 29.4 km from Leeds
  • Lincoln – 26.9 km. from Newark
  • Middlesbrough – 35.2 km. from ECML
  • Cleethorpes – 102.5 km. from ECML
  • Scarborough – 67.8 km. from York

Note.

  1. Some services like those to Bradford Forster Square, Harrogate and Lincoln could be run by only charging on the East Coast Main Line.
  2. Some services like those to Middlesbrough  and Scarborough could be run by charging at the destination.
  3. Other services would need more batteries and/or charging at the destination.

I haven’t put in the Scottish services as running them may be more complicated.

Running Longer Distances On Battery Power

This paragraph is from the original Hitachi press release.

This success demonstrates that Hitachi Rail is ready to deliver the next stage of a full intercity battery-electric train. Based on real-world data, such a train would have a range between 100-150km. These ranges can cover significant sections of non-electrified routes, eliminating the need for wires in tunnels or stations, and potentially saving hundreds of millions of pounds on electrification projects.

Note.

  1. I would assume that as many diesel engines as possible would be replaced with battery packs.
  2. On a typical three-battery Class 800 train, 802 train or Class 805 train, this could be up to three batteries.
  3. But on a four-battery Class 810 train, this could be up to four batteries.

A strategy would need to be developed for all routes and trains would be configured and allocated to the routes accordingly.

November 10, 2024 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Extending The Elizabeth Line – Adding Ladbroke Grove Station To The Elizabeth Line

There is a Wikipedia entry for Ladbroke Grove railway station, which starts with this paragraph.

Ladbroke Grove is a proposed railway station in London, England on the Crossrail Route between Old Oak Common and Paddington. This is not part of the internal route and would be added at a later stage. Locals want the station to be called Portobello Central to serve the nearby Portobello Market. It was originally called Kensal.

The Wikipedia entry also gives these details of two proposals for a Ladbroke Grove station on the Elizabeth Line.

Kensington and Chelsea Council has been pushing for a station at North Kensington / Kensal, just to the east of the Old Oak Common railway station site, off Ladbroke Grove and Canal Way, as a turn-back facility will have to be built in the area anyway. Siting it at Kensal Rise, rather than next to Paddington itself, would provide a new station to regenerate the area. Amongst the general public there is a huge amount of support for the project and then-mayor of London Boris Johnson stated that a station would be added if it did not increase Crossrail’s overall cost; in response, Kensington and Chelsea Council agreed to underwrite the projected £33 million cost of a Crossrail station, which was received very well by the residents of the borough. Transport for London (TfL) is conducting a feasibility study on the station and the project is backed by National Grid, retailers Sainsbury’s and Cath Kidston, and Jenny Jones (Green Party member of the London Assembly).

The plans were resurrected by Boris Johnson in 2016.

In March 2017, it was announced that TfL was considering a Crossrail station in Kensal Green, on the site of a former gasworks, and it would be between Old Oak Common and Paddington.

This map from cartometro.com shows the railway lines to the West of Paddington.

Note.

  1. The Elizabeth Line is shown in purple.
  2. Ladbroke Grove rube station is not close to the Elizabeth Line.
  3. Kensal Green tube station is not close to the Elizabeth Line.

But we do know this about the future Old Oak Common station.

  • It will be served by Elizabeth Line services between Central London and Heathrow Airport.
  • It will be served by High Speed Two services between London Euston and the North of England and Scotland.
  • It will be served by Great Western services between London Paddington and the West of England and Wales.
  • It will be served by North London Line services betweeen Stratford and Richmond.
  • It will be served by Heathrow Express services between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport.

From the map, it looks unlikely that the Hammersmith & City Line will be able to serve Old Oak Common station.

However, it might be possible that Euston and Old Oak Common could be served by Watford DC Line services, which called at either Old Oak Common or Kensal Greeen.

A link between Euston and Old Oak Common, would give all stations on the line access to High Speed Two and Heathrow with a change at Old Oak Common.

Some Euston suburban services could stop at Old Oak Common for access to High Speed Two and Heathrow.

The Watford DC Line which is very self-contained could become a comprehensive feeder line for High Speed Two and Heathrow.

Kensal Green Station

I took a trip to Kensal Green station and took these pictures.

Note.

The station handles two heights of trains on single-height platforms.

Some of the stairs are not the best.

There is no step-free access.

There are six lines through the station and there may be scope for more platforms.

If ever there was a station that needed a makeover it is Kensal Green.

Conclusion

I doubt that the Hammersmith & City Line could be connected to the Elizabeth Line to the West of Paddingt9n.

But I do feel that the Watford DC Line could be developed into a comprehensive link between Euston and Old Oak Common satiations.

October 12, 2024 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mushroom Management On TfL Buses

Transport for London or as all Londoners abuse them as TfL, are getting the masters at applying mushroom management to running the buses. Especially at the weekends.

For those of you not familiar with the last century term, it means keeping everybody in the dark and throwing in lots of manure. As in the 1970s, I used to live next door to a mushroom factory, I know it at least works with fungi, but I’m not sure of it’s effectiveness with fleets of buses about moving passengers.

Most Saturdays, I take a 141 bus to Moorgate and have a full English gluten-free breakfast in the Leon cafe there, as I like to set myself up for the weekend.

The 141 bus may be one of the least reliable buses in the capital, but last Saturday, I was dropped close to Liverpool Street station and yesterday, I was dropped under the Barbican.

No warning, advice or apology about the change of plan.

But then like the Mayor, TfL are never in the wrong.

Today was different!

After taking a 56 bus from near my house to the Angel I had another full English gluten-free breakfast in the Leon cafe there, before taking the Northern Line to Euston station.

I was hoping, I could take a trip somewhere, but there were extensive engineering works, so I just came home from Euston on the Overground via Willesden Junction station.

I ended up at Hackney Central station, where I did a bit of shopping in the excellent M & S Food shop.

Normally, I just get a 38 bus home from the side of the station, but there weren’t any around.

Again, there was no warning, advice or apology. Just loads of people looking for non-existent buses.

It was a full three hours before I completed my round trip.

Transport for London has no respect for its passengers.

Normal businesses would go bust, if they treated their customers like this.

 

 

 

October 6, 2024 Posted by | Food, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

3rd October 2024 – A Day In Liverpool

A Three-Leg Journey North

This is the second time, I’ve bought one of there journeys North and they are a pain, unless you want to guarantee seats.

I suppose, I should buy my tickets earlier, but if I can buy my rickets on the day on other train companies, I would prefer to do it on Avanti West Coast.

Avanti West Coast’s problem is that they haven’t got their new Class 807 trains into service yet, which will double the services to Liverpool.

T arrived at Warrington Bank Quay on time and the transfer to Newton-le-Willows went smoothly, but then, I waited thirty minutes for my train to Liverpool Lime Street.

This OpenRailwayMap shows the route I took.

Note.

  1. Liverpool Lime Street station is at the Western side of the map.
  2. Newton-le-Willows station is marked by the blue arrow in the top right corner of the map.
  3. Warrington Bank Quay station is in the bottom right corner of the map.

It does seem a round about route, But I got there. Although, I was late.

Hopefully, in a couple of years, you’ll be able to take a local train between Liverpool Lime Street and Newton-le-Willows stations to link up with FirstGroup’s low-cost Lumo Open Access service between Euston and Rochdale.

A Single Journey Home

I was booked home on the 18:43 train from Lime Street, but as you can often do, I asked and was allowed to board the 17:43.

A Crowded And Crazy Euston

I arrived back at Euston at 20:00, but it was crowded, as the station is very much a building site for High Speed Two.

I felt I would treat myself to a taxi, but I couldn’t find any.

So I took a 205 bus along Euston Road to King’s Cross, where I jumped on the the Circle Line for Moorgate.

From there I took my usual 141 bus home.

A friendly station guy at Moorgate, indicated, there might not be any taxis at Euston.

I’d also found earlier, that there were no escalators to the Underground.

Perhaps more than ever, care should be taken at Euston, when getting to and from the station.

It Looks To Me That High Speed Two Has Got Their Planning Wrong At Euston

The big problem at Euston is getting to and from the National Rail station from East or West,

Compare Euston in this respect with Liverpool Street, King’s Cross, St. Pancras or Paddington.

In The New Step-Free Entrance At Euston Square Station, I show the plans for step-free access to the  sub-surface lines.

This new entrance to Euston station, should be built first.

All the dithering about High Speed Two seems to have delayed it!

October 4, 2024 Posted by | Transport/Travel, World | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Why The Elizabeth Line Must Be Extended To Ebbsfleet International

There are various plans to link the Elizabeth Line to Ebbsfleet International.

In Elizabeth Line To Ebbsfleet Extension Could Cost £3.2 Billion, I showed this map from the Abbeywood2Ebbsfleet consultation.

There doesn’t appear to be too much new infrastructure, except for a proper connection between Northfleet and Ebbsfleet stations. References on the Internet, say that the similar-sized Luton DART connection at Luton Airport, cost around £225 million.

The Elizabeth Line connects to the following.

  • Bond Street
  • Canary Wharf
  • City of London
  • Farringdon for Thameslink
  • Heathrow Airport
  • Old Oak Common for High Speed Two
  • Liverpool Street station
  • Oxford Street
  • Paddington station
  • Slough for Windsor
  • Tottenham Court Road for the British Museum, Oxford Street, Soho, Theatreland and the Underground.
  • West End of London
  • Whitechapel for the Overground and Underground

For many people like me, the Elizabeth Line at Ebbsfleet will provide one of the quickest ways to get to and from European trains.

High Speed Two Services

This diagram shows High Speed Two services, as they were originally envisaged before Phase 2 was discontinued.

Note.

  1. Trains to the left of the vertical black line are Phase 1 and those to the right are Phase 2.
  2. Full-Size trains are shown in blue.
  3. Classic-Compatible trains are shown in yellow.
  4. The dotted circles are where trains split and join.
  5. In the red boxes routes alternate every hour.
  6. Was Lancaster chosen as it’s close to the new Eden Project Morecambe?

Click on the diagram to enlarge it.

Destinations served by the current foreshortened High Speed Two or High Speed Two Lite will be.

  • Birmingham Curzon Street
  • Birmingham Interchange
  • Carlisle
  • Carstairs
  • Crewe
  • Edinburgh Haymarket
  • Edinburgh Waverley
  • Glasgow Central
  • Lancaster
  • Liverpool Lime Street
  • Lockerbie
  • Macclesfield
  • Manchester Airport
  • Manchester Piccadilly
  • Motherwell
  • Oxenholme
  • Penrith
  • Preston
  • Runcorn
  • Stafford
  • Srockport
  • Stoke-on-Trent
  • Warrington Bank Quay
  • Wigan North Western
  • Wilmslow

That is twenty-five stations.

I would add these extra stations.

  • Bangor
  • Blackpool
  • Chester
  • Holyhead
  • Llandudno Junction
  • Wrexham

Note.

  1. These extra six stations would make High Speed Two, a line for more of the people.
  2. Because the Eastern leg is cancelled, the paths that would have served that leg can be used to provide services for the West of the country.

The East of the country could be served by updating the East Coast Main Line.

The Development Of Eurostar

Consider.

  • Eurostar and Thalys have now merged and I can see them providing extra direct services between London and Europe.
  • Bordeaux, Cologne, Frankfurt and Geneva have been mentioned as possible destinations.
  • Most of the new destinations, will be served by extending current services from Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris appropriately.

But to cope with the extra numbers of passengers, there will have to be extra passenger capacity at St. Pancras and/or Ebbsfleet International.

High Speed Two And Continental Services

Currently, if you want to go from the North of England or Scotland to the Continent, you do one of the following.

  • Take a train to King’s Cross and walk across to St. Pancras International.
  • Take a train to St. Pancras and walk to the International section of the station.
  • Take a train to Euston and walk or take a bus, taxi or Underground to St. Pancras International.

Note.

  1. Passengers from North Wales take the Euston route.
  2. Some passengers will take an Elizabeth Line train to Farringdon and then take Thameslink to St. Pancras International.
  3. Passengers arriving at Paddington on Heathrow Express will probably take a taxi to St. Pancras International.
  4. Passengers arriving at Paddington on a budget will probably take the Underground to St. Pancras International.

For Londoners and those travellers, who know London well, the routes to St. Pancras International, are not to bad but they could be better.

If the current foreshortened High Speed Two or High Speed Two Lite finishes at Old Oak Common station, passengers will have to use the following routes for their onward journey.

  • Elizabeth Line
  • Great Western Railway – local services.
  • Heathrow Express
  • North London Line of the London Overground, or whatever the Mayor at the time calls it.

If the full High Speed Two or High Speed Two Lite finishes at Euston station, passengers will have to use the following routes for their onward journey.

  • Avanti West Coast
  • Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan Lines
  • London North Western – local services
  • Northern Line
  • Victoria Line
  • Watford DC Line of the London Overground, or whatever the Mayor at the time calls it.

These routes will be in addition to those at Old Oak Common station.

There will be two routes between High Speed Two and St. Pancras International station.

  1. Passengers arriving at Old Oak Common will take an Elizabeth Line train to Farringdon and then take Thameslink to St. Pancras International.
  2. Passengers arriving at Euston will walk or take a bus, taxi or Underground to St. Pancras International.

I am not sure that either route will have enough capacity, if High Speed Two attracts a large number of passengers.

Extend High Speed Two To Euston

I believe that this is essential, as it improves the connectivity greatly, at the bottom end of High Speed Two, as several Underground Lines will be connected to High Speed Two.

Extend The Elizabeth Line from Old Oak Common To Ebbsfleet International

I believe this too is essential, as it gives the North of England and Scotland, the connection to the Continent that they need.

There could be cross-platform connections at both Old Oak Common and Ebbsfleet International between the Elizabeth Line and the high speed lines.

Conclusion

Politicians should stop the dithering and act to give the UK, the rail connection it needs up and down the country and to the Continent.

 

 

September 19, 2024 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

London And Edinburgh By Lumo Using the Joint Line Diversion

This press release on the First Group web site is entitled FirstGroup Applies To Run Rochdale To London Rail Service With New British-Built Trains.

These are the first two paragraphs.

FirstGroup plc, the leading private sector transport operator, has submitted the first phase of an application for a new open access rail service between Rochdale and London to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), restoring this direct link for the first time in almost a quarter of a century.

FirstGroup plans to expand its open access rail operations as part of its successful Lumo business, building on Lumo’s existing service which has transformed long-distance connectivity between London and Edinburgh and helped support a growth in passenger numbers for all operators on the East Coast Mainline. All of the trains on this new route will be electric and battery powered, and the service will be operated by brand new trains built in the UK.

Note.

  1. This service will be run under the Lumo brand.
  2. Battery-electric trains will be used.
  3. Stops will include Manchester Victoria, Eccles, Newton-le-Willows and Warrington Bank Quay.
  4. Only 15 km. of the route, between Miles Platting and Rochdale is not electrified.

Allowing for out and back trips between Platting and Rochdale, a sensible reserve and I suspect a battery-electric train with a range of 40-50 kilometres, would allow the train to be able to do a round trip to Rochdale from London Euston.

Hitachi have now published this page on their web site, which is entitled Intercity Battery Trains.

 

These are the first two paragraphs.

A quick and easy application of battery technology is to install it on existing or future Hitachi intercity trains. Hitachi Rail’s modular design means this can be done without the need to re-engineer or rebuild the train and return them to service as quickly as possible for passengers.

Replacing one diesel engine with just one battery reduces emissions by more than 20% and offers cost savings of 20-30%. Our intercity battery powered trains can cover 70km on non-electrified routes, operating at intercity speeds at the same or increased performance.

It would appear that Hitachi’s standard Intercity Battery Train will have a range of 70 km.

  • A 70 km. range would be more than enough to handle Lumo’s Euston and Rochdale service.
  • Lumo’s Class 803 trains don’t have a diesel generator to replace.
  • One car does have a smaller battery for emergency hotel power, should the electrification fail.

As an Electrical Engineer, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that the traction batteries of Hitachi’s standard Intercity Battery Train and the emergency batteries of Lumo’s Class 803 trains are of a similar design. The batteries could even be interchangeable, which would enable both Lumo’s routes to Scotland and Rochdale to use identical Class 803 trains.

Lumo’s Class 803 trains would have this specification.

  • All-electric.
  • Emergency battery to provide back-up hotel power.
  • A range on battery of 70 km or 43 miles away from electrification.

The off-electrification range could be very useful in getting round incidents or overhead wiring problems.

An extended range of 70 km. would allow the following destinations to have all-electric services from London.

  • Beverley #
  • Bristol Temple Meads #
  • Cheltenham #
  • Chester
  • Harrogate
  • Huddersfield
  • Hull
  • Lincoln
  • Middlesbrough
  • Swansea #

Destinations marked with a hash (#), would need charging at the final destination.

A more detailed analysis will probably show other possible routes.

It looks to me, that Hitachi have got the specification of their Intercity Battery Train about right.

Bridging The Joint Line Diversion

This OpenRailwayMap shows the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line (GNGE) or Joint Line.

Note.

  1. Doncaster is in the North-West corner of the map.
  2. Peterborough is in the South-East corner of the map.
  3. The red line connecting them is the East Coast Main Line.
  4. Lincoln station is marked by the blue arrow.

Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line (GNGE) is described like this by its Wikipedia entry.

The Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway, colloquially referred to as “the Joint Line” was a railway line connecting Doncaster and Lincoln with March and Huntingdon in the eastern counties of England. It was owned jointly by the Great Northern Railway (GNR) and the Great Eastern Railway (GER).

Over the last decades of the Twentieth Century, the Joint Line declined and British Rail did their worst to simplify the route.

But in the 2010s, Network Rail developed the route into a by-pass for the East Coast Main Line between Werrington and Black Carr junctions via Lincoln.

  • Trains are routed via Spalding, Sleaford, Lincoln, Saxilby and Gainsborough.
  • There is no electrification.
  • The route can handle two freight trains per hour.
  • The route can handle 9 ft. 6 in containers.
  • There is a passenger service between Doncaster and Peterborough via Lincoln.
  • Self-powered trains like InterCity125s, Class 800 trains and Class 802 trains can use their diesel power to use the diversion.
  • All-electric trains, like LNER’s Class 801 trains and Lumo’s Class 803 trains have no self-power, so can’t use the diversion.
  • Black Carr junction and Lincoln is 35 miles.
  • Werrington junction and Lincoln is 51.7 miles.

The January 2024 Edition of Modern Railways says that the diversion is approximately 90 miles or 145 kilometers.

It would appear that there are two simple solutions.

  1. Electrify a section through Lincoln, so that Lincoln is within 70 kilometres of the electrification at both Werrington and Black Carr junctions.
  2. Fit bigger batteries to the trains.

A combination of both solutions might be possible.

 

 

August 17, 2024 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

HS2 Manchester Route Not Sold Off Yet As Labour Weighs Up Rail Options

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

This is the sub-heading.

The Government has a looming dilemma with climbing costs and pressure from supporters to bring back the Birmingham to Manchester line

These first three paragraphs explain the problems.

Labour faces a £500m decision on what to do with HS2 land which was not sold despite promises by Rishi Sunak, as Sir Keir Starmer braces for new calls to resurrect the cancelled Birmingham to Manchester line.

The £50bn rail line is likely to cause the new Labour government a headache as supporters push for the party to support the project which was initially launched by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2009.

Within Whitehall, civil servants are currently thought to be calculating the value for money of Mr Sunak’s HS2 plan in comparison to the previous HS2 plan to Manchester, with the result expected to favour the longer route.

These are my thoughts.

The Appointment Of Lord Peter Hendy As Rail Minister

Two of the more unusual ministerial appointments by Sir Keir Starmer were the appointment of James Timpson as Minister of State for Prisons, Parole and Probatio, and Lord Peter Hendy as Minister of State in the Department of Transport.

But if you read their Wikipedia entries, they both have great knowledge of the area to where they have been appointed.

This picking of Ministers outside of elected MPs has happened before, with the most recent being Rishi Sunak’s appointment of David Cameron as Foreign Secretary.

This is a paragraph from the article in the i, gives some views about Lord Hendy and High Speed Two.

The appointment of Lord Peter Hendy as rail minister has been received positively by many supporters of the high speed rail line, given his previous work around the project and Euston’s redevelopment, where he pushed for a more ambitious project. One industry source told i that Lord Hendy was “one of the most respected figures in the UK rail industry”, and a “definite supporter of HS2 to Manchester”.

As the current Chairman of Network Rail, I suspect Lord Hendy has had endless thoughts on how he can get High Speed Two to Manchester, within an acceptable budget.

I also believe that since being appointed to be Chairman of Network Rail, the performance of that company has improved.

Has Lord Hendy improved the quality of the workforce or imposed better top down project management?

The Euston Station Problem

The article in the i has several paragraphs on the Euston station problem.

Lord Hendy has probably, the best directory of contacts of property developers, architects and engineers in the UK and with his background of economics, he probably know how to sort the wheat from the dross.

So could Lord Hendy somehow conjure a solution for Euston station out of the speculation?

I wonder if he could find someone to develop a multi-billion commercial complex over the station, that this could generate the cash to pay for Birmingham and Manchester section of High Speed Two.

Like Baldrick, I suspect Lord Hendy could have a cunning plan, but based on sound economic sense.

For instance, I believe, that the best way to serve Leeds by High Speed Two could be via Manchester.

  • Leeds would have a choice of routes from London; King’s Cross and Euston.
  • It could possibly have three, if St. Pancras and Leeds via Derby and Sheffield were to be improved.
  • Birmingham and Leeds services would be greatly improved if High Speed Two to Leeds, went via Manchester.

I would suspect every idea will be on the table.

July 13, 2024 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

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