Thoughts On The Eastern Leg Of High Speed Two
These are a few thoughts on the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two.
Serving The North-East Quarter Of England From London
In Anxiety Over HS2 Eastern Leg Future, I gave a table of timings from London to towns and cities in the North-East quarter of England from Lincoln and Nottingham Northwards.
I’ll repeat it here.
- Bradford – Will not be served by High Speed Two – One hour and fifty-four minutes
- Cleethorpes – Will not be served by High Speed Two – Two hours and fifty-one minutes
- Darlington – One hour and forty-nine minutes – One hour and forty-nine minutes
- Doncaster – Will not be served by High Speed Two – One hour
- Edinburgh – Three hours and forty minutes via Western Leg – Three hours and thirty minutes.
- Grimsby – Will not be served by High Speed Two – Two hours and thirty-six minutes
- Harrogate – Will not be served by High Speed Two – One hour and fifty-two minutes
- Huddersfield – Will not served by High Speed Two – Two hours and eight minutes
- Hull – Will not be served by High Speed Two – One hour and fifty minutes
- Leeds – One hour and twenty-one minutes – One hour and thirty minutes
- Lincoln – Will not be served by High Speed Two – One hour and fifty-one minutes
- Middlesbrough – Will not be served by High Speed Two – Two hours and twenty minutes
- Newcastle – Two hours and seventeen minutes – Two hours and sixteen minutes
- Nottingham – One hour and seven minutes – One hour and fifty minutes
- Scarborough – Will not be served by High Speed Two – Two hours and fifty-seven minutes
- Sheffield – One hour and twenty-seven minutes – One hour and twenty-seven minutes
- Skipton – Will not be served by High Speed Two – Two hours and seven minutes
- Sunderland – Will not be served by High Speed Two – Two hours and thirty minutes
- York – One hour and twenty-four minutes – One hour and twenty-four minutes
Note.
- I have included all destinations served by Grand Central, Hull Trains and LNER.
- I have included Nottingham and Sheffield for completeness and in case whilst electrification is installed on the Midland Main Line, LNER run services to the two cities.
- I suspect LNER services to Bradford, Harrogate, Huddersfield and Skipton will split and join at Leeds.
There are a total of nineteen destination in this table.
- Twelve are not served by High Speed Two.
- Six are not more than fifteen minutes slower by the East Coast Main Line.
Only Nottingham is substantially quicker by High Speed Two.
Serving The North-East Quarter Of England From Birmingham
Fenland Scouser felt the above table might be interesting to and from Birmingham with or without the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two.
I think, I can give more information than that and it should be possible to give for each destination the following.
- Whether of not the route exists on High Speed Two.
- Time on High Speed Two from Birmingham.
- Time on High Speed Two and Northern Powerhouse Rail from Birmingham via Manchester
- Time by current trains from Birmingham
In the following table, the fields are in the order of the previous table.
- Bradford – No direct route – No time – One hour and three minutes – Two hours and twenty-seven minutes
- Cleethorpes – No direct route – No time – Three hours and eight minutes – Three hours and eighteen minutes
- Darlington – Route Exists – One hour and twenty-three minutes – One hour and forty minutes – Two hours and fifty-five minutes
- Doncaster – No direct route – No time – One hour and thirty-six minutes – Two hours and nineteen minutes
- Edinburgh- Route Exists – Three hours and fourteen minutes – Four hours – Four hours and thirteen minutes
- Grimsby – No direct route – No time – Two hours and fifty-three minutes – Three hours and three minutes
- Harrogate – No direct route – No time – One hour and twenty-eight minutes – Three hours
- Huddersfield – No direct route – No time – Fifty-six minutes – Two hours and eleven minutes
- Hull – No direct route – No time – One hour and forty-four minutes – Three hours and two minutes
- Leeds – Route Exists – Forty-nine minutes – One hour and six minutes – One hour and fifty-nine minutes
- Lincoln – No direct route – No time – Two hours and fifty-three minutes – Two hours and thirteen minutes
- Middlesbrough – No direct route – No time – Two hours and twenty-nine minutes – Three hours and thirty-two minutes
- Newcastle – No direct route – No time – Two hours and four minutes – Three hours and twenty-six minutes
- Nottingham – Route Exists – Fifty-seven minutes – Two hours and fifty-five minutes – One hour and ten minutes
- Sheffield – Route Exists – Thirty-five minutes – One hour and thirty-four minutes – One hour and fifteen minutes
- Skipton – No direct route – No time – One hour and forty-three minutes – Two hours and fifty-two minutes
- Sunderland – No direct route – No time – Two hours and fifty-nine minutes – Three hours and fifty-eight minutes
- York – Route Exists – Fifty-seven minutes – One hour and twenty-eight minutes – Two hours and twenty-seven minutes
Note.
- No time means just that!
- One of the crucial times is that Birmingham Curzon Street and Leeds is just an hour and six minutes via High Speed Two and Northern Powerhouse Rail. This time gives good times to all destinations served from Leeds.
- Nottingham and Sheffield are both around an hour and fifteen minutes from Birmingham New Street, by the current trains.
I’ll now look at some routes in detail.
Birmingham And Leeds
The time of one hour and six minutes is derived from the following.
- Birmingham Curzon Street and Manchester Piccadilly by High Speed Two – Forty-one minutes
- Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds by Northern Powerhouse Rail – Twenty-five minutes
It would be seventeen minutes slower than the direct time of forty-nine minutes.
But it is quicker than the current time of one hour and fifty-nine minutes
Note.
- As Manchester Piccadilly will have a time to and from London of one hour and eleven minutes, Leeds will have a time of one hour and twenty-six minutes to London via Northern Powerhouse Rail and Manchester.
- If the Eastern Leg is built, The London and Leeds time will be one hour and twenty-one minutes.
- The Eastern Leg would therefore save just five minutes.
The Northern Powerhouse route could probably mean that Huddersfield, Bradford and Hull would be served by High Speed Two from London.
Manchester Airport, Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds would be connected by a tunnel deep under the Pennines.
- Manchester Piccadilly, Huddersfield and Bradford could be underground platforms added to existing stations.
- Piccadilly and Leeds would have a journey time of under 25 minutes and six trains per hour (tph).
- The tunnel would also carry freight.
- It would be modelled on the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland.
I wrote full details in Will HS2 And Northern Powerhouse Rail Go For The Big Bore?
Birmingham And Nottingham
The time of two hours and fifty-five minutes is derived from the following.
- Birmingham Curzon Street and Manchester Piccadilly by High Speed Two – Forty-one minutes
- Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds by Northern Powerhouse Rail – Twenty-five minutes
- Leeds and Nottingham – One hour and forty-nine minutes
It would be one hour and fifty-eight minutes slower than the direct time of fifty-nine minutes.
The current time of one hour and ten minutes is much quicker.
Birmingham And Sheffield
The time of two hours and thirty-four minutes is derived from the following.
- Birmingham Curzon Street and Manchester Piccadilly by High Speed Two – Forty-one minutes
- Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds by Northern Powerhouse Rail – Twenty-five minutes
- Leeds and Sheffield – One hour and twenty-eight minutes
It would be one hour and fifty-nine minutes slower than the direct time of thirty-five minutes.
The current time of one hour and fifteen minutes is much quicker.
Conclusions On The Timings
I am led to the following conclusions on the timings.
The building of the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two gives the fastest times between Birmingham and Leeds, Nottingham and Sheffield.
But if the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two is not built, then the following is true, if Northern Powerhouse Rail is created between Manchester and Leeds.
The time of an hour and six minutes between Birmingham Curzon Street and Leeds is probably an acceptable time.
This time probably enables acceptable times between Birmingham Curzon Street and destinations North of Leeds.
But with Nottingham and Sheffield the current CrossCountry service is faster than the route via Manchester.
The speed of the CrossCountry services surprised me, but then there is a section of 125 mph running between Derby and Birmingham, which is used by CrossCountry services between Birmingham New Street and Leeds, Nottingham and Sheffield.
This table gives details of these services.
- Birmingham New Street and Leeds – 116,4 miles – One hour and 58 minutes – 59.3 mph
- Birmingham New Street and Nottingham – 57.2 miles – One hour and 14 minutes – 46.4 mph
- Birmingham New Street and Sheffield – 77.6 miles – One hour and 18 minutes – 59.7 mph
Note.
- The Leeds and Sheffield services are run by 125 mph Class 220 trains.
- The Notting service is run by 100 mph Class 170 trains.
- All trains are diesel-powered.
As there is 125 mph running between Derby and Birmingham, the train performance probably accounts for the slower average speed of the Nottingham service.
CrossCountry And Decarbonisation
Consider.
- CrossCountry has an all-diesel fleet.
- All train companies in the UK are planning on decarbonising.
- Some of CrossCountry’s routes are partially electrified and have sections where 125 mph running is possible.
The only standard train that is built in the UK that would fit CrossCountry’s requirements, would appear to be one of Hitachi’s 125 mph trains like a bi-mode Class 802 train.
- These trains are available in various lengths
- Hitachi will be testing battery packs in the trains in the next year, with the aim of entering service in 2023.
- Hitachi have formed a company with ABB, which is called Hitachi ABB Power Grids to develop and install discontinuous electrification.
When CrossCountry do replace their fleet and run 125 mph trains on these services several stations will be connected to Birmingham for High Speed Two.
The route between Leeds and Birmingham via Sheffield is part of the Cross Country Route, for which electrification appears to have planned in the 1960s according to a section in Wikipedia called Abortive British Rail Proposals For Complete Electrification,
I suspect that the following times could be achieved with a frequency of two tph
- Birmingham New Street and Leeds – 90 minutes
- Birmingham New Street and Nottingham – 60 minutes
- Birmingham New Street and Sheffield – 60 minutes
It is not the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two, but it could do in the interim.
Electrification Of The Midland Main Line
I don’t believe that the Midland Main Line needs full electrification to speed up services to Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield, but I believe that by fitting batteries to Hitachi’s Class 810 trains, that will soon be running on the line and using the Hitachi ABB Power Grids system of discontinuous electrification, that the route can be decarbonised.
I would also apply full digital in-cab signalling to the Midland Main Line.
Conclusion
We will need the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two at some time in the future, but if we do the following we can do more than cope.
- Create Northern Powerhouse Rail between Manchester and Leeds, so that High Speed Two can serve Leeds and Hull via Manchester.
- Decarbonise CrossCountry with some 125 mph battery-electric trains.
- Electrify the Midland Main Line.
I would also deliver as much as possible before Phase 1 and 2a of High Speed Two opens.
Could Services To The North On High Speed Two Reverse At Birmingham Curzon Street?
When I first went to Nice by TGV, which I wrote about in Cambridge to Nice by Train, the train reversed in Marseille. They still do!
So would it be possible to run services between London and the North of England and Scotland via Birmingham Curzon Street?
- Birmingham Curzon Street can handle trains to and from London Euston, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Scotland.
- It could offer timetabling advantages.
- It might be possible to use London Euston station more efficiently.
- There will be plenty of capacity between Birmingham Curzon Street and Manchester and Leeds, if the Eastern Leg is built.
Drivers would probably step-up to perform a fast stop at Birmingham Curzon Street.
I could envisage a service, that went between London Euston and Hull.
- It would call at Birmingham Curzon Street, Manchester, Huddersfield, Bradford and Leeds.
- There might be a stop at Crewe for interchange to other services on the West Coast Main Line.
- The train would reverse in Birmingham Curzon Street.
- The service could be an extension of the core London and Birmingham Curzon Street service.
- It could have a frequency of two trains per hour (tph)
Note.
- If Northern Powerhouse Rail were to be upgraded to handle High Speed Two’s Full-Size trains, these could be used on the route.
- The service would make better use of the underused section of High Speed Two between Birmingham and Manchester.
- This service would reduce the urgency to build the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two.
- Hull gets a High Speed Two service from London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street.
Scottish and other services could also reverse at Birmingham Curzon Street.
How Long Would A Reverse At Birmingham Curzon Street Take?
Consider
- CrossCountry services take about ten minutes to reverse at Reading.
- Typical stops of Southeastern Highspeed services at Ebbsfleet take less than two minutes.
- Most stops with Hitachi 80x trains appear to take about a minute.
- Better operating procedures and automation could make the reverse faster.
- It looks like High Speed Two trains are designed for speedy boarding.
I suspect that the reverse can be achieved in perhaps two or three minutes.
Update – In Dwell Time On High Speed Two Trains, I found out the dwell time is two minutes.
London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly With A Reverse At Birmingham Curzon Street
If I look at London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly, I get the following times.
- London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street – Forty-five minutes
- Reverse at Birmingham Curzon Street – two minutes,
- Birmingham Curzon Street Could See Six tph – Forty-one minutes
That would be eighty-eight minutes, which compares with seventy-one minutes by going direct.
Current proposals give the following frequencies between the three stations.
- London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street – 3 tph
- Birmingham Curzon Street and Manchester Piccadilly – 2 tph
- London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly – 3 tph
There would be six tph running to and from London Euston.
But the pattern could be.
- London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street – 2 tph
- London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly – 2 tph
- London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Birmingham Curzon Street – 2 tph
in addition one of each pair of services would call at Birmingham Interchange.
Note.
- There would still be six tph running to and from London Euston.
- Birmingham Curzon Street, Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly get four tph to and from London Euston.
- Birmingham Interchange still has two tph to and from Birmingham Curzon Street.
- Birmingham Interchange now has two tph to and from Manchester.Airport and Manchester Piccadilly.
It could be a worthwhile improvement for passengers and train operators.
Reversing in Birmingham Curzon Street Could Increase Frequency To And From London Euston
I showed in the previous section, that with a reverse in Birmingham Curzon Street, it is possible to increase services between London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street, Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly from three to four tph.
Suppose, one of each of the two Liverpool and Glasgow/Edinburgh services were to reverse in Birmingham Curzon Street, this would increase the frequency of trains between London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street to six tph or a train every ten minutes.
Now that would be a Turn-Up-And-Go service. Especially, if customer-friendly contactless ticketing were to be used.
Conclusion
Reversing services at Birmingham Curzon Street has possibilities.
Anxiety Over HS2 Eastern Leg Future
I did think about giving this post a title of Here We Go Again, as it yet another story about delaying or cancelling the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two.
But in the end I decided to use the title of the article in the September 2021 Edition of Modern Railways.
I wrote about this subject in Is The Eastern Leg Of High Speed Two Under Threat? in December 2020.
In that post, this was my major conclusion.
To achieve the required timings for High Speed Two, major improvements must be made to existing track on the East Coast Main Line and these improvements will mean that existing services will be competitive with High Speed Two on time.
It is backed up by the timings in the following table., which show the direct time by High Speed Two and my best estimate of time on an improved East Coast Main Line.
- Bradford – Will not served by High Speed Two – One hour and fifty-four minutes
- Cleethorpes – Will not served by High Speed Two – Two hours and fifty-one minutes
- Darlington – One hour and forty-nine minutes – One hour and forty-nine minutes
- Doncaster – Will not served by High Speed Two – One hour
- Edinburgh – Three hours and forty minutes via Western Leg – Three hours and thirty minutes.
- Grimsby – Will not served by High Speed Two – Two hours and thirty-six minutes
- Harrogate – Will not served by High Speed Two – One hour and fifty-two minutes
- Huddersfield – Will not served by High Speed Two – Two hours and eight minutes
- Hull – Will not served by High Speed Two – One hour and fifty minutes
- Leeds – One hour and twenty-one minutes – One hour and thirty minutes
- Lincoln – Will not served by High Speed Two – One hour and fifty-one minutes
- Middlesbrough – Will not served by High Speed Two – Two hours and twenty minutes
- Newcastle – Two hours and seventeen minutes – Two hours and sixteen minutes
- Nottingham – One hour and seven minutes – One hour and fifty minutes
- Scarborough – Will not served by High Speed Two – Two hours and fifty-seven minutes
- Sheffield – One hour and twenty-seven minutes – One hour and twenty-seven minutes
- Skipton – Will not served by High Speed Two – Two hours and seven minutes
- Sunderland – Will not served by High Speed Two – Two hours and thirty minutes
- York – One hour and twenty-four minutes – One hour and twenty-four minutes
Note.
- I have included all destinations served by Grand Central, Hull Trains and LNER.
- I have included Nottingham and Sheffield for completeness and in case whilst electrification is installed on the Midland Main Line, LNER run services to the two cities.
- I suspect LNER services to Bradford, Harrogate, Huddersfield and Skipton will split and join at Leeds.
There are a total of nineteen destination in this table.
- Twelve are not served by High Speed Two.
- Six are not more than fifteen minutes slower by the East Coast Main Line.
Only Nottingham is substantially quicker by High Speed Two.
In Is The Eastern Leg Of High Speed Two Under Threat?, I said that if Nottingham services ran at the sort of speed on the East Coast Main Line, that a time of one hour and twenty-one minutes between London St. Pancras and Nottingham could be possible. That would be just fourteen minutes slower than the time on High Speed Two with a change at East Midlands Hub.
Conclusion
I am getting more convinced that we don’t need the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two to East Midlands Hub and Leeds for a few years yet, as by uprating the East Coast and Midland Main Lines we can handle the traffic that we currently are generating with ease.
High Speed Two Trains Will Have A Moveable Step At Every Passenger Door
This document on the Government web site is the Train Technical Specification for High Speed Two trains.
There is a Section 7.15.2, which is entitled Moveable Step, which is labelled Mandatory.
This is said.
The Unit shall have a Moveable Step at every Exterior Door, which shall be automatically
deployed (unless inhibited) when the door is released, and fully retracted whenever the
Unit is in motion.
The rationale is also given.
A Moveable Step is considered necessary to provide an improvement in the PTI compared
with existing rolling stock and to meet HS2 goals for accessibility.
About time too!
If Stadler can do it, so can everybody else.
The picture shows a Class 755 train.
I think this step-free feature applies to all High Speed Two trains.
What Does High Speed Two Mean By Classic Compatible Trains?
The Classic-Compatible trains are described in this section in Wikipedia, by this sentence.
The classic-compatible trains, capable of high speed but built to a British loading gauge, permitting them to leave the high speed track to join conventional routes such as the West Coast Main Line, Midland Main Line and East Coast Main Line. Such trains would allow running of HS2 services to the north of England and Scotland, although these non-tilting trains would run slower than existing tilting trains on conventional track. HS2 Ltd has stated that, because these trains must be specifically designed for the British network and cannot be bought “off-the-shelf”, these conventional trains were expected to be around 50% more expensive, costing around £40 million per train rather than £27 million for the captive stock.
The Classic-Compatible trains will share these characteristics with the Full-Size trains.
- Maximum speed of 225 mph.
- Cruising speed of 205 mph on High Speed Two.
- Length of 200 metres.
- Ability to work in pairs.
- A passenger capacity around 500-600 passengers.
But what characteristics will the Classic-Compatible trains share with other trains on the UK network?
The Classic-Compatible trains will share some tracks with other trains, according to High Speed Two’s latest plans.
- On the East Coast Main Line, the trains will run between York and Newcastle.
- On the Liverpool Branch between Weaver junction and Liverpool Lime Street station.
- On the Midland Main Line between Clay Cross North junction and Sheffield.
- On the Midland main Line between East Midlands Hub and Bedford.
- On the West Coast Main Line, the trains will run between Crewe and Glasgow.
- On the West Coast Main Line, the trains will run between Stafford and Macclesfield.
As High Speed Two develops, the Classic-Compatible trains could venture off the main routes to places like Aberdeen, Barrow-in-Furness, Blackburn, Blackpool, Cleethorpes, Holyhead, Huddersfield, Inverness, Middlesbrough, Redcar, Scarborough, Stirling and Sunderland.
They will need to be able to go anywhere, which is worthwhile to connect to High Speed Two.
The main restriction is the size of the train and so a Classic-Compatible train probably can’t be larger than the largest train on the UK network, with respect to width, height and to a certain extend length.
Widths of typical trains are as follows.
- Class 319 train – 2.82 metres
- Class 321 train – 2.82 metres
- Class 387 train – 2.80 metres
- Class 700 train – 2.80 metres
- Class 710 train – 2.77 metres
- Class 745 train – 2.72 metres
- Class 800 train – 2.70 metres
- Mark 4 coach – 2.73 metres
Heights of typical trains are as follows.
- Class 319 train – 3.58 metres
- Class 321 train – 3.78 metres
- Class 387 train – 3.77 metres
- Class 710 train – 3.76 metres
- Class 745 train – 3.95 metres
- Mark 4 coach – 3.79 metres
Note.
- I find it odd, that the smallest width is one of the newest trains; Hitachi’s Class 800.
- Length is fairly irrelevant as many trains in the UK are almost 240 metres long.
I suspect that Classic-Compatible trains will have width of between 2.70 and 2.80 metres and a height of around 3.80 metres.
Could A High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Train Go Through The Thameslink Tunnel?
I ask this question, as surely in a post-pandemic world, where we are all flying there may be a case to be made for a train service between the North of England and Gatwick Airport.
But when East Midlands Railway has their new Class 810 trains, it might be possible, if they didn’t use the diesel engines.
Signalling would not be a problem, as in a few years time, all trains will be equipped with the latest digital signalling systems.
If running a Class 810 train, through the tunnel is possible, given that a Classic-Compatible train will not be larger than a Class 810 train, will High Speed Two’s trains be able to cross London in the Thameslink Tunnel?
As Midlands Connect are planning to run a Leeds and Bedford service using High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains, could this service be extended through the Thameslink Tunnel to Gatwick Airport and Brighton?
I have a feeling that this will be physically possible.
- It would be under the control of the signalling.
- There’s no reason, why a high speed train can’t have a precise low speed performance.
- It would stop at all stations.
- It would use one of the Bedford and Brighton paths on Thameslink
Passengers would like catching a train at a station in Central London and like being whisked all the way to East Midlands Hub and Leeds.
Could A High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Train Go Through The Crossrail Tunnel?
Consider.
- It would surely be possible to arrange tracks at Old Oak Common to allow High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains to go between High Speed Two and Crossrail.
- Crossrail is considering running to Ebbsfleet.
- It might even be possible to connect in East London.
- The High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains would be digitally-signalled and controlled through Crossrail without stopping.
- Platform edge doors would ensure safety, but also prevent the trains from stopping at the existing stations.
I have just looked at the London railway map on carto metro, there are stretches of Crossrail under London, where there is space for a station with 200 metre, if not a 400 metre platforms, to the West or East of current Crossrail stations.
- To the West of Bond Street
- To the East of Tottenham Court Road
- To the West of Farringdon
- To the East of Liverpool Street
- To the West of Canary Wharf
- To the East of Canary Wharf
Would all appear to have the required space and be possibilities for extra High Speed Two platforms.
Effectively, some stations would have two sets of platforms on the tracks beside each other.
- One pair of platforms would be the existing station, with platform edge doors compatible with Crossrail’s Class 345 trains.
- The other pair of platforms would be the High Speed Two station, with platform edge doors compatible with High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains.
- The signalling and train control systems would automatically stop trains in the appropriate platform.
- Extra passageways would link the new platforms to the existing station.
I suspect when Crossrail was designed, the possibility of adding extra stations to the underground section was considered and there is a method of adding extra platforms in Crossrail’s book of cunning engineering ideas.
Conclusion
I don’t rule out a High Speed service between Birmingham and stations in the North of Great Britain and major cities on the Continent.
- Crossrail would be used to link High Speed One and High Speed Two.
- High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains would be used.
- Stops in London could be Old Oak Common, Bond Street, Liverpool Street, Canary Wharf and Ebbsfleet
It may sound to be a fanciful idea, but I believe it is possible.
Thoughts On Phase 2a Of High Speed Two
This map shows the route of Phase 2a of High Speed Two.
Note.
- The blue circles are stations.
- From the top, the stations are Crewe, Stoke-on-Trent, Stafford, Birmingham Curzon Street and Birmingham Interchange.
- The lighter blue track is sections of the West Coast Main Line, that will be used by High Speed Two services.
- The darker blue track is Phase 1 of High Speed Two.
- The orange track is Phase 2b of High Speed Two to East Midlands Hub, Leeds and Sheffield.
- The mauve track is Phase 2a of High Speed Two.
This page on the High Speed Two web site, which is entitled Phase 2a: West Midlands To Crewe, says this about the building and opening of Phase 2a.
It will be built at the same time as the line between London and the West Midlands. High speed services will begin operating between London, Birmingham and Crewe between 2029 and 2033.
It is my opinion, to build Phase 1 and Phase 2a together is a good move.
- Crewe is a very well-connected station.
- It will reduce times between Crewe and London Euston by 34 minutes.
But most importantly, it completes a second separate route for the West Coast Main Line between Crewe and London Euston.
Just think what new bypasses and motorways have done for your driving.
These are some thoughts and observations.
West Coast Main Line Benefits
The High Speed Two web page, which is entitled Phase 2a: West Midlands To Crewe, has a section called West Coast Main Line Benefits, where this is said.
Phase 2a unlocks more rail capacity on the West Coast mainline. It will carry six long distance high speed services per hour, freeing up the West Coast Mainline between Lichfield and Crewe. This could see services rise from hourly to half-hourly or better between Crewe and Stoke-on-Trent to Nuneaton, Tamworth, Lichfield and Rugeley, as well as more services from Crewe to Runcorn and Liverpool, as well as via Crewe between North Wales, Chester and London.
It would appear the six long-distance services could be.
- Train 1 – London Euston and Lancaster – Splits and joins with Train 2 at Crewe.
- Train 2 – London Euston and Liverpool – Splits and joins with Train 1 at Crewe.
- Train 3 – London Euston and Liverpool – Single train
- Train 4 – London Euston and Edinburgh/Glasgow – Splits and joins at Carlisle for Edinburgh and Glasgow
- Train 5 – London Euston and Edinburgh/Glasgow – Splits and joins at Carlisle for Edinburgh and Glasgow
- Train 6 – Birmingham Curzon Street and Edinburgh/Glasgow – Serves Edinburgh and Glasgow alternately.
Note that all services use a single or a pair of High Speed Two Classic Compatible trains.
A High Speed Test Route Can Be Created
Consider.
- At the Northern end of the Phase 2a track is Crewe station.
- At the Southern end of the Phase 2a track is Birmingham Interchange station.
- The track between the two end stations will be newly-laid modern high speed track capable of 225 mph running.
- There will be no intermediate stations or Victorian throwbacks like level crossings.
- The only junctions are at the end of the route.
- If the High Speed Two trains are built in this country, there will be a need for somewhere to check them out.
The Phase 2a track will surely make an ideal test track for testing trains and systems and training drivers.
HS2 Moves Stafford Ahead At High-Speed
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on StokeonTrentLive.
It seems a positive headline in comparison to some you usually see about High Speed Two.
The subtitle doesn’t have any negative words either.
Construction has begun on the first section and there will be a community and business roadshow this August to find out more.
Perhaps people from Staffordshire have a positive outlook on life.
After all, with respect to High Speed Two, Stoke will be one of the first two cities in the country outside London to receive a high speed service.
Stoke might even be first!
A Big Advantage Of Only Ten Platforms For High Speed Two At Euston Station
Many of us have been involved in the start-up and handover of a new project, even it is just buying a new house to live in from a builder.
All projects have one thing in common. Something will go wrong, even if it is just the lock on the toilet door.
Harold Macmillan expressed it memorably as “Events, Dear Boy! Events!”
This article on Ian Visits is entitled Call For A Rethink Of HS2’s Euston Station Plans.
These two paragraphs describe the current plan for Euston station.
The current plans for the HS2 station at Euston will see it delivered in two phases, with six platforms opened first to carry HS2 trains on the first stage of the railway up to the West Midlands. The second phase of the Euston station would open later, with an additional 5 platforms to manage demand when HS2 is extended to Crewe, Manchester and Leeds.
Phase one was scheduled for completion in 2026, and phase two in 2033.
This paragraph describes the latest idea from the Department for Transport.
However, the Oakervee review from last year called for a redesign of the station scaling back the station and increasing the amount of oversite development to fund it. Earlier this year it was revealed that the Department for Transport has instructed HS2 to refine the development to build it in one phase, but with just 10 platforms instead of 11 platforms.
There are now two camps arguing as to whether the station should be built with ten or eleven platforms.
The eleven platform station project will involve.
- Two-phase construction
- Five platforms by 2026
- Eleven platforms by 2033
On the other hand, the ten platform station project will involve.
- Single-phase construction
- Ten platforms on opening.
- More oversite development.
Note.
- There will be eleven trains per hour (tph) in Phase 1 of High Speed Two from London Euston.
- , Trains will serve Birmingham, Carlisle, Lancaster, Liverpool, Macclesfield, Manchester. Preston, Stafford, Stoke-on-Trent and Scotland.
- Full-size trains will be able to run to Birmingham Curzon Street and Crewe, but not to the two Manchester stations, as the trains don’t fit the infrastructure.
I suspect that Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains will be running to Manchester.
The Big Advantage Of A Two-Phase Project With Ten Platforms
In the two-phase project with eleven platforms to rebuild Euston station, there will be five platforms, when the station opens, but in the single-phase project with ten platforms, there will be ten platforms.
If there are ten platforms, the station must be easier to operate, especially during the tricky phase of opening the new station.
With ten platforms, there will be more space to sort out those unexpected events!
Why Does Birmingham Interchange Station On High Speed Two Need Four Long Platforms?
This page on the High Speed Two web site describes the design and construction at Birmingham Interchange station.
This paragraph talks about the overall design philosophy of the station.
The Interchange Station itself will be made up of two 415 metre long island platforms, offering 4 platform faces, as well as 2 central high speed through lines for non-stopping services. The station will be linked to the NEC, Birmingham International Station and Birmingham Airport via an automated people mover carrying up to 2,100 passengers per hour in each direction. In addition to the APM, the station will be fully integrated with other local buses, taxis and private vehicle options.
Note.
- There would appear to be six tracks through the station.
- The four platforms will accept the longest High Speed Two trains.
- The automated people mover appears to be very comprehensive.
Birmingham Interchange certainly seems to have been designed as a very high capacity station.
This table gives the a list of the trains that will call at Birmingham Interchange station.
- Train 2 – London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street – 400 metre Full-Size
- Train 3 – London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street – 400 metre Full-Size
- Train 7 – London Euston and Manchester – 400 metre Full-Size
- Train 11 – London Euston and Edinburgh – Classic Compatible
- Train 11 – London Euston and Glasgow – Classic Compatible
- Train 14 – London Euston and Leeds – 400 metre Full-Size
Note.
- 400 metre Full-Size trains will be a pair of 200 metre trains.
- Train 11 is a pair of 200 metre long Classic-Compatible trains, that split and join at Carlisle.
Only five 400 metre trains call at Birmingham Interchange.
I have some thoughts.
Stations Served From Birmingham Interchange
These destinations are served from Birmingham Interchange.
- Two tph – Birmingham Curzon Street
- One tph – Carlisle
- One tph – East Midlands Hub
- One tph – Edinburgh Haymarket
- One tph – Edinburgh Waverley
- One tph – Glasgow Central
- One tph – Leeds
- Five tph – London Euston
- One tph – Manchester Airport
- One tph – Manchester Piccadilly
- One tph – Motherwell
- One tph – Preston
I suspect as the service develops more services will stop at Birmingham Interchange, to reduce the number of passenger journeys where a change is necessary.
Surely Liverpool needs a service from Birmingham Interchange, as it doesn’t have one from Birmingham Curzon Street.
Perhaps, the Liverpool/Lancaster service should stop at Birmingham Interchange?
Splitting And Joining At Birmingham Interchange
Consider.
- The position of Birmingham Interchange to the South of the junction where the Western and Eastern legs, surely makes it an ideal place for splitting and joining a pair of trains, one of which serves the Western leg and the other serves the Eastern.
- The Liverpool/Lancaster service could split and join at Birmingham Interchange to give better connectivity between the North West and the West Midlands.
Intelligent use of splitting and joining at Birmingham Interchange could make better use of paths to and from Euston.
Splitting And Joining Of Full-Size Trains At Birmingham Interchange
According to the currently proposed timetable Birmingham Curzon Street, Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly will all get three Full-Size tph to and from London Euston, with East Midlands Hub and Leeds getting two Full-Size tph.
This may be a right decision, but if four Full-Size tph is the frequency needed on some routes, then splitting and joining of Full-Size trains can be used at Birmingham Interchange to increase frequencies.
Suppose it was decided that the Leeds and Manchester services needed to be four Full-Size tph.
- The London and Manchester service that stops at Birmingham Interchange would split into two trains at the station, with one train going to Manchester and the other going to Leeds.
- The London and Leeds service that stops at Birmingham Interchange would split into two trains at the station, with one train going to Manchester and the other going to Leeds.
Coming South the two services would join at Birmingham Interchange.
I can almost envisage Full-Size pairs of trains leaving London Euston every ten minutes, which then split and join at Birmingham Interchange to give Leeds and Manchester a core service of six Full-Size tph.
There are a large number of possibilities.
Down One Leg Up T’Other
Birmingham Interchange can be used as an interchange station for journeys where you come South on one leg and then go North on the other.
It might even be possible to arrange some changes with an interchange across one of the island platforms at Birmingham Interchange.
Turning Back Trains
There is a worry about late trains delaying everything.
But because it has four platforms, it could be the station, where trains are turned back, when they are running very late.
It could be better to turnback a train at Birmingham Interchange, rather than let it run all the way to Euston and create havoc.
Perhaps, simulation has shown, that two extra platforms at Birmingham Interchange enable the optimal working of ten platforms t Euston?
Line Blocked Or Blockaded Between Birmingham And Euston
Events happen and there may be reasons why services can’t run through to London.
It could easily be turned into a mini-terminus for services to the North and linked to London by either the West Coast Main Line or a Rail Replacement Bus.
Conclusion
Because of its position in the middle of the country, I suspect there are many reasons for the four long platforms at Birmingham Interchange station.
How Many High Speed Two Trains Will Be Able To Terminate In Euston Station?
This is one of those questions for which you get a different answer depending on what conditions you put on the question.
But there are some physical constraints that have been built into the design.
High Speed Two Tracks And Signalling Are Designed For Eighteen Trains Per Hour
It seems to be an accepted fact, that High Speed Two tracks and signalling will be able to handle 18 trains per hour (tph) or a train every three minutes and twenty seconds.
If this applies to all High Speed Two routes it is certainly a big increase in capacity of the UK rail network.
Seventeen Trains Per Hour In Euston Station
Does it also mean that Euston station must be able to handle 18 tph? Not necessarily, as High Speed Two will only need to handle 17 tph, because they will be keeping one path for recovering the service, after perhaps a train breaks down.
- If the station has eleven platforms, that means each platform must handle 1.5 tph or in practice two tph or a train every thirty minutes.
- If the station has ten platforms, that means each platform must handle 1.7 tph or in practice two tph or a train every thirty minutes.
Ten platforms appear to make little difference in normal operation But when things go wrong, it is more likely, there will be another platform to park a late train.
Turning Trains In Thirty Minutes At Euston Station
One train every thirty minutes means that operating procedures and staff training must be such that trains can be turned within this time.
If trains could be turned faster, then this would enable services to be recovered after a delay.
Twenty-Four Trains Per Hour In Euston Station
If say at some time in the future, signalling improves and 24 tph on High Speed Two is possible with perhaps Automatic Train Operation, this would mean that if there were ten platforms each would have to handle 2.4 tph, or in practice three tph or a train every twenty minutes.
A frequency of 24 tph won’t happen in my lifetime, but I do believe it is possible on High Speed Two with ten platforms at Euston station.
Thirty Trains Per Hour In Euston Station
Thirty tph may be practical on Metros today and could be possible on High Speed Two in the far future, but in practice, that would only be four tph or a train every fifteen minutes.
The Initial Full Timetable Is Seventeen Trains Per Hour
Currently, this is planned to be the case and the trains to and from London Euston are planned to be as follows.
- Train 1 – London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street – 400 metre Full-Size
- Train 2 – London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street – 400 metre Full-Size
- Train 3 – London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street – 400 metre Full-Size
- Train 4 – London Euston and Lancaster – Classic Compatible
- Train 4 – London Euston and Liverpool – Classic Compatible
- Train 5 – London Euston and Liverpool – Classic Compatible
- Train 6 – London Euston and Macclesfield – Classic Compatible
- Train 7 – London Euston and Manchester – 400 metre Full-Size
- Train 8 – London Euston and Manchester – 400 metre Full-Size
- Train 9 – London Euston and Manchester – 400 metre Full-Size
- Train 10 – London Euston and Edinburgh – Classic Compatible
- Train 10 – London Euston and Glasgow – Classic Compatible
- Train 11 – London Euston and Edinburgh – Classic Compatible
- Train 11 – London Euston and Glasgow – Classic Compatible
- Train 12 – London Euston and Sheffield – Classic Compatible
- Train 12 – London Euston and Leeds – Classic Compatible
- Train 13 – London Euston and Leeds – 400 metre Full-Size
- Train 14 – London Euston and Leeds – 400 metre Full-Size
- Train 15 – London Euston and Sheffield – Classic Compatible
- Train 15 – London Euston and York – Classic Compatible
- Train 16 – London Euston and Newcastle – Classic Compatible
- Train 17 – London Euston and Newcastle – Classic Compatible
Note.
- I have assumed 400 metre Full-Size trains will be a pair of 200 metre trains.
- Trains 4, 10, 11, 12 and 15 are pairs of 200 metre long Classic-Compatible trains, that split and join at Crewe. Carlisle, Carlisle and East Midlands Hub respectively.
- Trains 5, 6, 16 and 17 are single 200 metre long Classic-Compatible trains.
This graphic shows the services.
Note.
- Trains to the left of the vertical black line are Phase 1 and those to the right are Phase 2.
- Full-Size trains are shown in blue.
- Classic-Compatible trains are shown in yellow.
- The dotted circles are where trains split and join.
- In the red boxes routes alternate every hour.
In an hour, the following trains will leave London Euston.
- 8 – 400 metre Full-Size trains, each of which consist of a pair of 200 metre trains.
- 5 – Pairs of 200 metre long Classic-Compatible trains.
- 4 – Single 200 metre long Classic-Compatible trains.
Note.
- Adding up the 200 metre trains gives a total of thirty trains.
- If all paths were handling a pair of 200 metre trains, the total would be thirty-four trains.
As I showed in Could High Speed Two Serve Holyhead?, these four trains can be used to serve extra destinations by appropriate splitting and joining.
So in answer to the question in the title of this post, the answer is thirty-four 200 metre trains.
- Each path can carry one pair of 200 metre trains per hour.
- The number of paths is determined by the 18 tph that each leg can handle, reduced by one for a path for recovery.
I am assuming each platform can handle two tph.
But thirty or forty years in the future, this figure with more advanced trains and signalling could be a lot higher.
Does Euston Station Need Ten Or Eleven Platforms?
Mathematically, the following is possible.
- Ten platforms can handle thirty tph, if trains can be turned in fifteen minutes.
- Ten platforms can handle twenty-four tph, if trains can be turned in twenty minutes.
- Ten platforms can handle seventeen tph, if trains can be turned in thirty minutes.
The only need for the eleventh platform, is for when things go seriously wrong.
The Anonymous Widower 