High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains

Rockton To Buy Up To 40 Heart Aerospace ES-30 Electric Aircraft

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Aviation Source News.

These are the first two paragraphs.

Swedish investment and aircraft leasing company Rockton has confirmed that it will acquire up to 40 of Heart Aerospace’s regional electric aircraft, the ES-30.

The purchase confirmation converts an earlier letter of intent with the Swedish aircraft manufacturer into firm purchase orders for 20 aircraft with purchase rights for 20 more.

It’s good to see a leasing company getting involved, as it probably means that the finances are viable.

The Wikipedia entry for Heart Aerospace, describes the range of the ES-30 like this.

The ES-30 is planned to have a 108 nautical miles (200 kilometres; 124 miles) fully electric range or a 215 nmi (398 km; 247 mi) range when also using generators powered by aviation biofuel. A range of 430 nmi (800 km; 490 mi) could be possible if only 25 passengers are carried.

These are some UK airport to airport distances.

Aberdeen – Kirkwall – 124 miles
Aberdeen – Sumburgh – 188 miles
Anglesey – Belfast – 109 miles
Anglesey – Belfast City – 109 miles
Anglesey – Cork – 192 miles
Anglesey – Derry – 163 miles
Anglesey – Dublin – 71 miles
Anglesey – Ronaldsway – 58 miles
Anglesey – Shannon – 186 miles
Anglesey – Waterford – 130 miles
Birmingham – Belfast – 226 miles
Birmingham – Dublin – 200 miles
Birmingham – Edinburgh – 250 miles
Birmingham – Glasgow – 260 miles
Birmingham – Inverness – 363 miles
Birmingham – Kirkwall – 451 miles
Birmingham – Newcastle – 178 miles
Birmingham – Newquay – 198 miles
Birmingham – Schipol – 402 miles
Birmingham – Sumburgh – 513 miles
Birmingham – Wick – 418 miles
Edinburgh – Schipol – 473 miles
Gatwick – Edinburgh – 356 miles
Gatwick – Schipol – 374 miles
Glasgow – Belfast – 106 miles
Glasgow – Belfast City – 103 miles
Glasgow – Derry – 121 miles
Glasgow – Kirkwall – 221 miles
Glasgow – Sumburgh – 300 miles
Glasgow – Stornoway – 177 miles
Haverfordwest – Waterford – 94 miles
Haverfordwest – Newquay – 94 miles
Heathrow – Newquay – 212 miles
Humberside – Schipol – 333 miles
Inverness – Kirkwall – 106 miles
Inverness – Sumburgh – 190 miles
Leeds – Schipol – 386 miles
Liverpool – Belfast City – 151 miles
Liverpool – Cardiff – 135 miles
Liverpool – Dublin – 140 miles
Liverpool – Haverfordwest – 127 miles
Liverpool – Norwich – 180 miles
Liverpool – Ronaldsway – 89 miles
London City – Haverfordwest – 167 miles
London City – Humberside – 145 miles
London City – Manchester – 161 miles
London City – Norwich – 100 miles
Manchester – Schipol 413 miles
Newcastle – Cardiff – 230 miles
Newcastle – Belfast City – 168 miles
Newcastle – Newquay – 346 miles
Newcastle – Schipol – 395 miles
Newquay – Brest – 140 miles
Newquay – Cardiff 98 miles
Newquay – Cork – 180 miles
Newquay – Deauville – 241 miles
Newquay – Dinard – 183 miles
Newquay – Dublin – 212 miles
Newquay – Guernsey – 128 miles
Newquay – Jersey – 152 miles
Newquay – Nantes – 211 miles
Newquay – Orly – 351 miles
Newquay – Rouen – 285 miles
Newquay – Scillies – 68 miles
Newquay – Waterford – 150 miles
Norwich – Schipol – 277 miles
Ronaldsway – Belfast – 75 miles
Ronaldsway – Belfast City – 62 miles
Ronaldsway – Birmingham – 165 miles
Ronaldsway – Dublin – 80 miles
Ronaldsway – East Midlands – 161 miles
Ronaldsway – Glasgow – 123 miles
Ronaldsway – Leeds – 121 miles
Ronaldsway – Manchester – 109 miles
Southend – Schipol – 180 miles
Stansted – Aberdeen – 379 miles
Stansted – Edinburgh – 316 miles
Stansted – Glasgow – 334 miles
Stansted – Inverness – 426 miles
Stansted – Schipol – 335 miles
Stansted – Wick – 472 miles
Sumburgh – Bergen – 226 miles
Sumburgh – Kirkwall – 85 miles

Note.

I have included Schipol, as in certain areas of the UK, passengers sometimes fly long-haul from Schipol.
I have included Haverfordwest, as it will be close to all the wind farm activity in the Celtic Sea.
I have included Anglesey, as I think it has possibilities.
The distances wee calculated using on of the Free Map Tools.

These are some more specific thoughts.

The Basic ES-30 And The UK

With a range of 124 miles, I don’t believe that the range is long enough for the UK.

But saying that there are some established routes, where it should be able to operate.

Glasgow – Belfast
Glasgow – Belfast City
Glasgow – Derry
Haverfordwest – Waterford
Haverfordwest – Newquay
Inverness – Kirkwall
Liverpool – Haverfordwest
Liverpool – Ronaldsway
London City – Norwich
Newquay – Cardiff
Newquay – Scillies
Ronaldsway – Belfast
Ronaldsway – Belfast City
Ronaldsway – Dublin
Ronaldsway – Glasgow
Ronaldsway – Leeds
Ronaldsway – Manchester

These routes have the following in common.

They are mostly between major airports with advanced facilities.
Most airports served have access to renewable electricity.
Some of the routes can support hundred seat airliners.
Fifty percent go to the Isle of Man.

I can see several routes between the UK and the island of Ireland and to and from the Isle of Man using ES 30 aircraft.

The Extended Range ES-30 And The UK

The 247 mile range of the extended range ES-30, brings lots more routes into play.

Key routes could be the following.

Aberdeen – Kirkwall
Aberdeen – Sumburgh
Anglesey – Cork
Anglesey – Shannon
Birmingham – Belfast
Birmingham – Dublin
Birmingham – Newcastle
Birmingham – Newquay
Glasgow – Kirkwall
Glasgow – Stornoway
Heathrow – Newquay
Inverness – Sumburgh
Liverpool – Belfast City
Liverpool – Dublin
Liverpool – Norwich
London City – Haverfordwest
London City – Humberside
London City – Manchester
Newcastle – Belfast City
Newcastle – Cardiff
Newquay – Brest
Newquay – Cork
Newquay – Deauville
Newquay – Dinard
Newquay – Dublin
Newquay – Guernsey
Newquay – Jersey
Newquay – Nantes
Newquay – Waterford
Ronaldsway – Birmingham
Ronaldsway – East Midlands

There will also be other routes.

The Extended Range With 25 Passengers ES-30 And The UK

The 490 mile range of the extended range ES-30 with only 25 passengers, brings a few more routes into play.

Birmingham – Edinburgh
Birmingham – Glasgow
Birmingham – Inverness
Birmingham – Kirkwall
Birmingham – Schipol
Birmingham – Wick
Edinburgh – Schipol
Gatwick – Edinburgh
Gatwick – Schipol
Glasgow – Sumburgh
Humberside – Schipol
Leeds – Schipol
Manchester – Schipol
Newcastle – Newquay
Newcastle – Schipol
Newquay – Orly
Newquay – Rouen
Norwich – Schipol
Southend – Schipol
Stansted – Aberdeen
Stansted – Edinburgh
Stansted – Inverness
Stansted – Glasgow
Stansted – Schipol
Stansted – Wick

Note.

All airports East of Birmingham and Manchester seem to be close enough to Schipol for an Extended Range ES-30 with 25 passengers to serve the route.
Most major Scottish Airports can be reached from Stansted.
Flying from Gatwick to Scottish Airports is around forty miles longer than flying from Stansted.

Liverpool Airport

Liverpool Airport could be a major destination for the ES 30, as it could be a key airport for flying between the UK and the island of Ireland.

Liverpool would obviously need the electric infrastructure, but I also believe it needs a better connection to the major railway station at Liverpool South Parkway, which has extensive rail connections.

This Google Map shows the area between Liverpool South Parkway station and the airport.

Note.

Liverpool South Parkway station is marked by the red arrow in the North-West corner of the map.
The airport is in the opposite corner, with the terminal to the North of the runway.
The main railway between the South and Liverpool Lime Street passes to the South of the station.
The A561 passes across to the South of the railway and to the North of the airport.

I suspect some form of people mover like the Luton DART can be built between the station and the airport.

It should be noted that as Hunts Cross has only one platform for Merseyrail Northern Line trains and this could be a factor in limiting the line’s capacity. So could a second platform be installed at the airport to both act as an airport station and to increase the frequency on the Northern Line?

I believe that in a couple of years, journey times between Euston and Liverpool South Parkway will be under two hours and they will only get shorter with High Speed Two. With a fast connection between the airport and the station, there could be a sub-three-hour zero-carbon route between London and the island of Ireland.

Avanti West Coast Class 805 train to Liverpool South Parkway.
People mover to the airport.
Electric aircraft on the 140 miles to Dublin.

Dublin air traffic are usually efficient in getting planes in quickly.

Glasgow Airport

Glasgow Airport could be a major destination for the ES 30, as it could be a key airport for flying between the UK and the island of Ireland.

As with Liverpool Airport it needs a better connection to the rail network.

If Glasgow Airport is successful running zero-carbon aircraft to Ireland, this could change all previous thinking on a Glasgow Airport Rail Link.

Ronaldsway Airport

Geography and electric airliners could be very kind to Ronaldsway Airport and the Isle of Man.

Electric airliners can easily reach much of the island of Ireland and the UK mainland between Glasgow and Birmingham, from Ronaldsway Airport with ease.
The Isle of Man will in a couple of years be surrounded by wind farms.
With other developments on the island, it could sell itself to the UK and Ireland, as a green holiday destination.

But what would the motorcycle enthusiasts say?

Anglesey Airport

I believe that Anglesey Airport could be brought to life in a big way by electric aircraft like the ES-30 or the Eviation Alice.

These are flight distances from Anglesey Airport.

Anglesey – Belfast – 109 miles
Anglesey – Belfast City – 109 miles
Anglesey – Cork – 192 miles
Anglesey – Derry – 163 miles
Anglesey – Dublin – 71 miles
Anglesey – Ronaldsway – 58 miles
Anglesey – Shannon – 186 miles
Anglesey – Waterford – 130 miles

All of these except for Cork, Derry, Shannon and Waterford would be possible in the basic ES-30.

This Google Map shows the airport, which is also labelled as RAF Valley.

Note that the North Wales Coast Line passes the site on the North-East side.

At present, Avanti West Coast trains take nearly four hours between London and Holyhead.

But later this year, new bi-mode Class 805 trains will replace, the current diesel only Class 221 trains.

The current diesel only trains take two hours and five minutes between Crewe and Holyhead.
The current diesel only trains take one hour and forty-three minutes between Crewe and London Euston.
The fastest electric trains take one hour and twenty-nine minutes between Crewe and London Euston.
High Speed Two trains will take 56 minutes between Crewe and London Euston.

When you consider that a lot of the North Wales Coast Line, is straight and flat, I can see the following times being possible, with some improvement and smart electrification between Crewe and Holyhead and a smaller number of stops.

Crewe and Anglesey Airport – One hour and twenty minutes
London Euston and Anglesey Airport – Two hours and fifty minutes

With High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains, the London Euston and Anglesey Airport time could be below two hours and thirty minutes.

I believe that with a well-designed terminal at Anglesey Airport, this could be the fastest zero-carbon way between London and Ireland.

Haverfordwest Airport

This Google Map shows the location of Haverfordwest Airport in the East of Pembrokeshire.

This second Google Map shows a close-up of the airport.

This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the airport and the nearest railway station.

Note.

Haverfordwest Airport is at the top of the map.
Haverfordwest station is at the bottom of the map.
There are rail connections to Cardiff, Fishguard, Milford Haven, Pembroke Dock and Swansea from the the station.
Rail passengers for London would change at Swansea.

The road looks good between the airport and the station, so would an electric bus to handle transfers be ideal?

Consider.

I have flown myself into Haverfordwest Airport and there were no navigation or operational problems that I can remember.
With all the wind farm development planned for the coast of Pembrokeshire and the Celtic Sea, I feel that an airport in the area with regular flights to London and perhaps Waterford in Ireland could be essential.
London City and Haverfordwest airports are 167 miles apart
Waterford and Haverfordwest airports are 94 miles apart
Quiet electric aircraft may ease any planning problems.
Will a helicopter base be needed for serving wind farms in the Celtic Sea?

I believe, Haverfordwest Airport could be converted into a high-class airport for the Eastern tip of South Wales.

Haverfordwest Airport could also attract other services, given that the Welsh Government have a policy of not building new roads.

I have a feeling that quiet electric airliners will lead to the development of airports like Haverfordwest as feeder airports for the Heathrows and Schipols of this world.

Waterford Airport

Waterford Airport has recently been expanded and it appears from the Wikipedia entry, they are expecting more tourists.

This Google Map shows the position of the airport and the railway station in Waterford.

Note.

The red arrow at the top of the map indicates Waterford station on the Northern side of the city.
The airport is indicated by the blue dot in the South-East corner of the map.
The airport is about ten kilometres from the City Centre.

In the past, Waterford has been quite a busy airport, but Covid-19 seems to have killed most of the traffic.

So could a zero-carbon service between Waterford and Haverfordwest be profitable?

Those working with the wind energy in the Celtic Sea might find route useful.
It would give a low-carbon route between Waterford and South Wales, which some might like.
I also believe that the novelty of flying in an electric plane would attract passengers.

Waterford and Haverfordwest might be one of those routes, where electric planes might be worth trying.

This Google Map shows the Celtic Sea.

Note.

Waterford Airport is indicated in red on the South-East corner of Ireland.
Haverfordwest Airport is on the South-Western tip of Wales.
Newquay Airport is in the South-East corner of the map on the North coast of Cornwall.

There could be as much as 50 GW of floating wind farms installed in this area.

I feel that there could be a case for a triangular Haverfordwest, Newquay and Waterford service.

Newquay Airport

Newquay Airport has been in the news recently because of the antics of Richard Branson and Virgin Orbit.

This Google Map shows the airport in relation to the town.

Note.

The airport is in the North-East corner and boasts a long runway.
The airport serves well over a dozen destinations.
The town of Newquay is in the South-West corner of the map.
Newquay station is by the sea.

All of these places would be suitable destinations for electric aircraft.

Birmingham
Brest
Cardiff
Cork
Deauville
Dinard
Dublin
Guernsey
Heathrow
Jersey
Nantes
Orly
Rouen
Scillies
Waterford

Newquay Airport could get very busy with electric aircraft supporting tourism and the developing wind power industry.

This second Google Map shows the town centre and station.

Surely, having the station by Great Western Beach is good marketing.

In The Proposed Mid-Cornwall Metro, I talked about a plan to run an hourly Metro service between Newquay and Falmouth.

This article on Rail Technology Magazine is dated January 2023 and entitled Mid Cornwall Metro Secures £50m In Levelling Up Funding, where these are the first two paragraphs.

Following yesterday’s major Levelling Up funding announcement, the government has pledged an almost £50m grant to improve the railways linking Newquay, St Austell, Truro and Falmouth in Cornwall.

This financial aid to improve Cornwall Rail links represents the only successful bid out of four that were submitted to the Levelling up funding. The improvement scheme will be helmed by a partnership with Great Western Railway and Network Rail.

Note.

I believe this means the Mid-Cornwall Metro will be built.
Especially as looks like it will cost less than £100 million.
As this Metro will serve Newquay, it shouldn’t be too difficult to link the plane with the train, with perhaps a zero-carbon bus.
The Metro would then link Newquay Airport to the main population centres of Newquay, St Austell, Truro and Falmouth.
If the Metro could be run using zero-carbon trains, that would surely put the icing on the cake!

The map from OpenRailwayMap shows the route.

Note.

Newquay is in the North-West corner of the map.
Trains spend around 6-7 minutes waiting at Newquay.
The blue arrow in the North-East corner marks Par station, where a chord will be reinstated to allow trains to go between Newquay and St. Austell.
Par is the nearest station to the Eden Centre.
Newquay and Par is 20.6 miles.
The route, then goes along the Cornish Main Line, through St. Austell and then on to Truro.
Par and Truro is 18.9 miles.
At Truro the Metro would take the Falmouth branch.
Falmouth and Truro is 11.8 miles.
Trains spend around 7-8 minutes waiting at Falmouth Docks
The total route is just over fifty miles, which probably means that battery-electric trains could work the route with charging at each end, whilst the train is turned round.

This airport and metro combination could give a big-boost to zero-carbon tourism.

Inverness Airport

Inverness Airport has recently been expanded with a station on the Inverness and Aberdeen Line.

Consider.

Electric aircraft like the ES-30 will be able to reach both Kirkwall on Orkney and Sumburgh on Shetland from both Inverness and Aberdeen Airports.
Sumburgh would need an extended range ES-30.
Flights would be a few miles shorter from Inverness than from Aberdeen.
Kirkwall and Sumburgh is only 85 miles, so there may be possibilities for serving both Orkney and Shetland with one flight.
Extended range ES-30s might be able to do return trips to Kirkwall without a major charge at Kirkwall.
I once flew in my Cessna-340 to Kirkwall to see the original turbine, that was placed on the island. There is a lot of cold forbidding sea in the area. Perhaps the slightly shorter trip from Inverness, might be better for everybody’s nerves?
Just as the oil and gas industry did in the last century, I can see the offshore wind power industry generating a lot of passenger traffic to the Orkney and Shetland Islands.

Both Inverness and Aberdeen can be reached from Stansted by an ES-30 carrying a reduced passenger load.

Birmingham Airport

Birmingham Airport could become a major base for electric aircraft.

The 247 mile range of the extended range ES-30 would allow it to be able to reach the following places.

Belfast
Dublin
Newcastle
Newquay
Ronaldsway

Reduce the passenger load slightly to 25 passengers and the plane would be able to reach.

Edinburgh
Glasgow
Inverness
Kirkwall
Wick

But Birmingham Airport is only 65 minutes from Euston and will in the future be served by High Speed Two, in under an hour.

The airport also has a large catchment area of its own, who might be tempted to choose flying zero-carbon.

Spokes From Speke

In the 1980s, I went to a presentation from Royal Mail in Ipswich about guaranteed next day delivery of parcels. It was important to me, as I was writing software that needed to get from Ipswich, where it was created to London, where it would be tested and installed on customers machines. We also needed to get copies to our customers in Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

The Royal Mail’s latest concept of Spokes From Speke was described.

All urgent parcels and First Class mail would be collected from the local sorting office and taken to the local airport, which in our case would probably have been Stansted.
These consignments would then be flown to Speke Airport as Liverpool Airport was known in those days at around midnight.
They would then be sorted and reloaded onto other planes to complete their journey.
The planes would then return home and the parcels and mail would be delivered by truck to the local sorting office.

Aircraft used included Short Skyvans and piston-engined twins. Some we’re the quietest of aircraft.

I have heard or read somewhere that in some airports, there were complaints about noisy aircraft flying in and out in the middle of the night.

Now fifty years on companies are looking to speed up deliveries.

In the UK, companies are experimenting with 100 mph overnight parcels trains.
This article on Railway Gazette is entitled Varamis Rail Launches Regular Express Light Freight Service.
Eversholt Rail are putting money behind converting redundant electric multiple units into parcel trains.

But DHL in the USA are going another way and have ordered twelve Alice aircraft from Eviation.

It looks like the cargo Alice could have a useful load of just over a tonne and a range of around 290 miles.

I can envisage flights of near-silent silent Alices sneaking into and out of airports in the middle of the night to deliver and collect urgent parcels.

Techniques like Spokes From Speke will come again, but this time with electric aircraft.

How Would The ES-30 Compare With An Eviation Alice?

The Wikipedia entry for the Eviation Alice gives these figures.

Passengers – 9
Maximum Speed – 300 mph
Range – 290 miles
Take-off distance – 840 metres
Landing distance – 620 metres

Note.

These are figures that most pilots would expect from an aircraft of this size.
My Cessna 340 was about the same and about eight percent slower.
It also had a much longer range.

If you look at my list of flights, these will not be possible.

Birmingham – Inverness – 363 miles
Birmingham – Kirkwall – 451 miles
Birmingham – Schipol – 402 miles
Bimingham – Sumburgh – 513 miles
Birmingham – Wick – 418 miles
Edinburgh – Schipol – 473 miles
Gatwick – Edinburgh – 356 miles
Gatwick – Schipol – 374 miles
Glasgow – Sumburgh – 300 miles
Humberside – Schipol – 333 miles
Leeds – Schipol – 386 miles
Manchester – Schipol 413 miles
Newcastle – Newquay – 346 miles
Newcastle – Schipol – 395 miles
Newquay – Orly – 351 miles
Stansted – Wick – 472 miles
Sumburgh – Bergen – 226 miles
Sumburgh – Kirkwall – 85 miles

Note.

Most routes that are too long are to Schipol or Scotland.
Anglesey appears to have Ireland extremely well covered.
Birmingham, Glasgow and Liverpool keep their Irish routes.
Newquay is still a hub, that would promote tourism in Cornwall and only loses the Orly connection, although it keeps the flight to Heathrow.
Ronaldsway still looks to be a possible zero-carbon airport.

I would suggest that a range of 290 miles, is an ideal one for an electric aircraft in the UK, as it can handle a large number of routes.

These are routes that I feel would attract a large number of passengers.

Anglesey – Belfast – 109 miles
Anglesey – Belfast City – 109 miles
Anglesey – Derry – 163 miles
Anglesey – Dublin – 71 miles
Glasgow – Belfast – 106 miles
Glasgow – Belfast City – 103 miles
Glasgow – Derry – 121 miles
Heathrow – Newquay – 212 miles
Inverness – Kirkwall – 106 miles
Inverness – Sumburgh – 190 miles
Liverpool – Belfast – 153 miles
Liverpool – Belfast City – 151 miles
Liverpool – Dublin – 140 miles
Liverpool – Norwich – 180 miles
Liverpool – Ronaldsway – 89 miles
London City – Humberside – 145 miles
London City – Manchester – 161 miles
Newcastle – Cardiff – 230 miles
Newcastle – Belfast City – 168 miles
Newquay – Brest – 140 miles
Newquay – Cardiff 98 miles
Newquay – Cork – 180 miles
Newquay – Deauville – 241 miles
Newquay – Scillies – 68 miles
Newquay – Waterford – 150 miles
Norwich – Schipol – 277 miles
Ronaldsway – Belfast City – 62 miles
Ronaldsway – Dublin – 80 miles
Ronaldsway – Glasgow – 123 miles
Southend – Schipol – 180 miles
Sumburgh – Kirkwall – 85 miles

Alice may not be big enough for some routes.

But it will be a wonderful route-proving aircraft for the larger ES-30 and other zero-carbon aircraft.

Conclusion

There will be a lot of uses for battery-electric aircraft in the UK.

May 12, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Aberdeen Airport, Aviation, Birmingham Airport, Celtic Sea, Class 221 Train, Class 805 Train, Cornwall, Eviation Alice, Glasgow Airport, Haverfordwest Airport, Heart Aerospace ES-30, High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains, inverness Airport, Isle Of Man, Liverpool Airport, Liverpool South Parkway Station, Mid-Cornwall Metro, Newquay Airport, Newquay Station, Pembrokeshire, Ronaldsway Airport, Varamis Rail, Waterford Airport, Wind Power | 4 Comments

Platform Canopies To Be Renovated For Passengers At Lancaster Station

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

These are the first two paragraphs.

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

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

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

Note that the camera is looking South.

This picture shows the current canopies.

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

The press release lists that this work will be done.

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

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

These are my thoughts.

Lancaster Station and High Speed Two

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

Note.

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

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

But how will the Lancaster train terminate?

This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the lines through Lancaster station.

Note.

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

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

Wikipedia says this about platform 5 and the signalling.

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

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

That all sounds very convenient.

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

Onward To Morecambe

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

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

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

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

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

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

Trains between Morecambe and Lancaster are at least hourly.

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

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

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

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

This Google Map shows Morecambe station.

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

This would accommodate.

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

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

This would also accommodate.

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

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

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

Electrifying To Morecambe

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

Note.

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

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

A Green Route To The Isle Of Man And Ireland

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

Note.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Before High Speed Two

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

Are National Rail Promoting Theme Parks?

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

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

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

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

Could A Battery-Electric High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Train Be Developed?

A Battery-Electric High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Train, would not be needed for High Speed Two, as it is currently envisaged, as all lines will be electrified.

But Hitachi have already said that they are developing the Hitachi Intercity Battery Hybrid Train, which is described in this infographic.

This page on the Hitachi Rail web site gives this description of the Hybrid Battery Train.

A quick and easy application of battery technology is to install it on existing or future Hitachi intercity trains. A retrofit programme would involve removing diesel engines and replace with batteries.

Hitachi Rail’s modular design means this can be done without the need to re-engineer or rebuild the train, this ensures trains can be returned to service as quickly as possible for passengers. Adding a battery reduces fuel costs up to 30% or increase performance.

These trains will be able to enter, alight and leave non–electrified stations in battery mode reducing diesel emissions and minimising noise – helping to improve air quality and make train stations a cleaner environment for passengers.

Our battery solution complements electrification, connecting gaps and minimising potential infrastructure costs and disruption to service.

It looks to me, that Hitachi are playing an old Electrical/Electronic Engineer’s trick.

As a sixteen-year-old, I spent a Summer in a rolling mills, building replacement transistorised control units for the old electronic valve units. They had been designed, so they were plug-compatible and performed identically.

It appears, that Hitachi’s battery supplier; Hyperdrive Innovation of Sunderland has just designed a battery pack, that appears to the train to be a diesel engine.

In the Technical Outline, this is said.

Train Configuration: 5 – 12 car
Nominal Vehicle Length: 26m
Power Supply: Battery

The AT-300 trains generally have twenty-six metre cars.

In How Much Power Is Needed To Run A Train At 125 Or 100 mph?, I calculated that a Class 801 train uses 3.42 kWh per vehicle mile, at 125 mph.

This means that a five-car train will use 1710 kWh to do 100 miles at 125 mph.
The train has three diesel engines, so three batteries of 570 kWh would be needed.
Alternatively, if a battery was put in each car, 342 kWh batteries would be needed.
In the Wikipedia entry for battery-electric multiple unit, there are two examples of trains with 360 kWh batteries.

I believe building 570 kWh batteries for fitting under the train is possible.

What would be the maximum range for this train at 100 mph?

I will assume that five batteries are fitted.
As drag is proportional to the square of the speed, I’ll use a figure of 2.07 kWh per vehicle mile, at 100 mph.

This is a table of ranges with different size batteries in all cars.

50 kWh – 24.1 miles
100 kWh – 48.3 miles
200 kWh – 96.6 miles
300 kWh – 145 miles
400 kWh – 193.2 miles
500 kWh – 241.5 miles

They are certainly useful ranges.

LNER Will Be Ordering Ten New Bi-Mode Trains

In LNER Seeks 10 More Bi-Modes, I discussed LNER’s need for ten new bi-mode trains, which started like this.

The title of this post, is the same as that of an article in the December 2020 Edition of Modern Railways.

This is the opening paragraph.

LNER has launched the procurement of at least 10 new trains to supplement its Azuma fleet on East Coast Main Line services.

Some other points from the article.

It appears that LNER would like to eliminate diesel traction if possible.
On-board energy storage is mentioned.
No form of power appears to be ruled out, including hydrogen.
LNER have all 65 of their Azumas in service.

I believe that ten trains would be enough to handle LNER’s services on lines without electrification to the North of Scotland.

London and Aberdeen has 130 miles without wires.
London and Inverness has 146 miles without wires.
Electrification plans are progressing North to Perth and to Thornton Junction.

I suspect both routes could be upgraded to under a hundred miles without wires.

I believe, that if Hyperdrive Innovation pull out every trick in the book to save power in their batteries that a five-car Azuma with a 300 kWh battery in each car, will have sufficient range with reserves to go between Edinburgh and Inverness or Aberdeen at 100 mph.

A Battery-Electric High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Train

Consider.

I am a great believer in regenerative breaking to batteries on the train, as my experience says it the most efficient and also gives advantages, when the catenary fails.
Stadler’s approach with the Class 777 train, where all trains have a small battery for depot movements, is likely to be increasingly copied by other train manufacturers.
Hitachi have also designed the Class 803 trains for Lumo with emergency batteries for hotel power.

I could envisage provision for batteries being designed into a High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Train.

Suppose it was wanted to run High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains between Crewe and Holyhead.

The train has eight cars.
The route is 105.5 miles.
I will assume an average speed of 100 mph.
A Class 801 train uses 3.42 kWh per vehicle mile, at 125 mph.
As drag is proportional to the square of the speed, I’ll use a figure of 2.07 kWh per vehicle mile, at 100 mph.
This means that an eight-car train will use 1747.08 kWh to do 105.5 miles at 100 mph.
I would put a traction battery in each car, to distribute the weight easily.

Each battery would need to be 218.4 kWh, which is totally feasible.

How far would the train travel on 300 kWh batteries at 100 mph?

Total battery capacity is 2400 kWh.
One mile will use 16.56 kWh.
I am assuming the train is using regenerative braking to the battery at each stop.

The train will travel 145 miles before needing a recharge.

On the Crewe and Holyhead route, there would be a reserve of around 40 miles or nearly 500 kWh.

Conclusion

I am convinced that Hitachi and their highly regarded partner; Hyperdrive Innovation, have developed a battery pack, that gives enough power to match the performance of Class 800/802/805/810 trains on diesel and give a range of upwards of a hundred miles on battery power at 100 mph, if you put a 300 kWh battery pack in all cars.

But then Stadler have run an Akku for 115 miles and a Class 777 for 84 miles on battery power alone.
I think the key is to put a battery in each car and harvest all the electricity you can from braking.
Remember too that Hitachi can raise and lower their pantographs with all the alacrity of a whore’s drawers, so strategic lengths of overhead electrification can also be erected.

Hitachi and Hyperdrive Innovation appear to have invented the High Speed Battery Train.

We’ll know soon, when the order for the LNER bi-modes is announced.

Whatever works on LNER, should work on High Speed Two.

March 16, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Battery-Electric Trains, Class AT-300 Battery, High Speed Two, High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains, Hitachi Intercity Battery Hybrid Train, Hyperdrive Innovation | Leave a comment

Should There Be Five-Car High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains?

The High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains have the following characteristics.

Eight cars.
200 metres long.
550 passengers.
Two can be coupled together to make a 16-car train, that is 400 metres long.
Trains can join and split en route.

This graphic shows the preliminary schedule.

Note that Train 4, starts as a pair of trains, before splitting at Crewe, with one train going to Lancaster and the other to Liverpool Lime Street.

I wonder, if some trains were to be five-cars, would this give the operator more flexibility, by allowing three trains to be coupled together to serve three destinations.

This could be a simple example.

A three train formation could leave Euston.
At Crewe one train would detach and go to Liverpool Lime Street, with stops at Runcorn and Liverpool South Parkway.
At Preston, the two remaining trains would split, with one train going to Lancaster and the other going to Blackpool with appropriate stops.

Three trains might give the operators more flexibility in providing appropriate capacity to various destinations.

Other Applications

I believe these trains would have other applications.

These are a few thoughts.

Battery-Electric High Speed Train

Battery technology is improving and I believe that a train could be designed with the following specification.

Five cars
High-Speed Two Classic-Compatible performance.
A battery pack in each car.
Up to maximum operating speed of digitally-signalled high speed lines.
140 mph on digitally-signalled classic high speed lines, like the East and West Coast Main Lines. the Midland Main Line and the Great Western Railway.
Range on battery of around 120 miles at 100 mph.
Ability to work with fully-electric versions.

Note.

I suspect that like current Hitachi AT-300s and Bombardier Aventras, the onboard computer would know what cars have been coupled together and what the train can do.
A battery in each car would distribute the extra weight of the batteries equally and not affect the handling too much.
These trains would allow High Speed Two services to be extended onto non-electrified lines.

I suspect that an eight car battery-electric High-Speed Two Classic-Compatible train would also be possible for working with the standard length trains.

March 12, 2023 Posted by AnonW | Design, Transport/Travel | Automatic Splitting And Joining Of Trains, Aventra, Battery-Electric Trains, Class AT-300 Train, High Speed Two, High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains | Leave a comment

Thoughts On High Speed Two

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

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

This is the sub-heading.

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

These are the three opening paragraphs.

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

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

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

Delivering The Benefits Of High Speed Two Early

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

The Elizabeth Line opened in stages.

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

There’s still more to come.

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

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

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

Wikipedia says this about Liverpool Lime Street station.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Digital Signalling

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

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

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

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

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

Could ERTMS And ETCS Solve The Newark Crossing Problem?

Improving The North Throat Of York Station Including Skelton Bridge Junction

Hopefully, the digital signalling will solve them.

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

Birmingham And Crewe

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

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

Note.

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

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

Note.

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

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

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

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

Will This Track Layout Allow An Innovative Build?

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

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

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

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

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

Note.

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

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

Improving Classic Lines Used By High Speed Two North Of Lichfield

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

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

This is an average speed of 59.6 mph.

Note.

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

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

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

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

Routes that could be updated include.

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

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

What Times Would Be Possible?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All are electric trains.

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

I don’t see why not!

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

This graphic shows the preliminary schedule.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Could High Speed Two Be Split Into Two?

Consider.

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

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

Could High Speed Two Be A One-Nation Project?

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

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

The next few sections look at possible extensions.

Serving Chester And North Wales

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

This was my conclusion.

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

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

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

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

Note.

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

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

Pre-HS2 – Class 805 all the way