High Speed Two « The Anonymous Widower

Avanti West Coast Set To Transform Motherwell Cross-Border Connectivity

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Technology Magazine.

These are the first two paragraphs of the article.

Motherwell is set to see a transformation in services as Avanti West Coast announces plans for a major timetable boost on its Anglo-Scottish route.

The change in Avanti West Coast’s timetable will see the cross-border operator serve Motherwell with a further 96 services per week, the most substantial increase in cross-border rail services for the Scottish town in decades.

I used to have a client in Motherwell, thirty years ago, when I lived in Suffolk and that sort of service, would have been very helpful then.

Consider.

CrossCountry and TransPennine Express services also call.
Motherwell station seems to have a variety of connections, most of which are electrified.
It is likely in future, an electric route will be created between Motherwell and Perth.

In the future High Speed Two will call half-hourly.

Conclusion

This seems to be an excellent proposal.

November 5, 2020 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, High Speed Two, Motherwell Station | Leave a comment

HS2 Slab Track Contract Awarded

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Business UK.

This is the opening paragraph.

Project promoter High Speed 2 Ltd has awarded a consortium of Porr UK and Aggregate Industries UK the contract to design and manufacture modular slab track for HS2.

The article also says that with the exception of tunnels and some specialist track, all track will be slab track.

What is slab track and why is it used?

These pictures show slab track on the Gospel Oak to Barking Line.

This is obviously not due to high speed, but because space is tight.

This page on the British Continuous Paving Association web site, is entitled Why Build Slab Track?

This is the two opening paragraphs.

Slab track, also called ballastless track, is a modern form of track construction which has been used successfully throughout the world for high speed lines, heavy rail, light rail and tram systems.

Slab track technology offers proven higher performance in service and a longer life than traditional ballasted track.

The article also lists these benefits.

Very low maintenance requirements
Shallow construction depth
Reduced dead load
Reduced structure gauge
Higher speed operation
Engineered noise and vibration performance
Long design life
Increased reliability
Increased availability
Low whole-life cost
A sustainable solution

Increasingly, slab track is being used for high speed railways, so I am not surprised it will be used on much of High Speed Two.

October 29, 2020 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | High Speed Two, Slab Track | 1 Comment

Darlington Station – 28th October 2020

I went to Teesside to have a look round yesterday.

These are my thoughts on Darlington station.

Platform 1 And Platform 4

These pictures show the two main platforms at Darlington station.

Note.

They are affectively a very wide island platform.
Platform 1 handles all trains going South and East to Middlesbrough and Saltburn.
Platform 4 handles all trains going North and West to Bishop Auckland.
The platforms are well over 200 metres long.
Both the main platforms have a second track, between the current track and the walls of the station.
Both main platforms have a large clock.
Platform 1 has some innovative seating.
Uniquely, there is a London Rail Map on the London-bound Platform 1. Every London-bound platform needs a copy of this map, but they are very rare.

They appear to handle all the current services easily.

There is certainly a lot of space to improve the station.

Station Structure

The station stricture is probably best described as grand, stylish and Victorian and it appears to be in good condition.

The tracks through the station are enclosed in two large brick walls.
A roof of the period, is supported on the walls and a number of perhaps forty cash-iron columns.

These pictures give a flavour of the station.

There must be few better station structures than Darlington in the UK and as it is Listed Grade II*. I would expect this is recognised by English Heritage.

The Southern Bay Platforms

There are two bay platforms at the Southern end of the station.

There were bay platforms at the Northern end, but these have now been removed.

I wonder, if these two bay platforms could be invaluable in the expansion of services both on the Tees Valley Line and generally in the area.

Current plans envisage the following.

Four trains per hour (tph) between Saltburn and Darlington.
Two tph between Darlington and Bishop Auckland.

One obvious way to achieve this objective would be to do the following.

Run two tph between Saltburn and Bishop Auckland. These trains would run as now with Saltburn services using Platform 1 and Bishop Auckland services using Platform 4 at Darlington station.
Run two tph between Saltburn and Darlington. These trains would use Platform 2 at Darlington station.

The advantages of this are.

To get to Middlesbrough or Saltburn, you would go to the island Platform 1/2, as you do now.
To get to Bishop Auckland, you would go to Platform 4, as you do now.
If battery trains were to be used the bay platforms would be ideal for a Vivarail Fast Charge system

There would probably need to be some changes to the tracks serving Platform 1 and 2.

Other possibilities might include.

Darlington might also be a useful terminal for a service to Whitby via Middlesbrough.
Using the station as a Northern terminus for an Express Parcels Service from London.

Lengthened platforms able to take a five-car Class 802 train, could be useful for service recovery.

The Western Pedestrian Entrance To The Station

Darlington Town Centre lies to the West of the station and these pictures show what probably was a very grand entrance to the station connected to it by a subway.

This Google Map shows the size of the entrance.

It is one of those buildings that would be described by a certain breed of estate agent, as having development potential.

There are no lifts to the subway.
It could be turned into a retail experience.
Does the clock tell the right time?
Buses were signposted in this direction, but there appeared to be little information.

Surely, it could be turned into an asset to both the railway and the town.

The Southern Approaches To The Station

These pictures show the Southern approach to the station.

The Tees Valley Line to and from Middlesbrough and Saltburn joins to the South of the station and trains going to Bishop Auckland have to cross over the two tracks of the East Coast Main Line.

This Google Map shows the track layout just to the South of the station.

Note.

The Southern ends of the platforms can just be seen at the top of the map.
Platforms are numbered 1 to 4 from West to East.
The two avoiding lines going past the East side of the station.
The yellow train is one of Network Rail’s Mobile Maintenance Trains.

The Mobile Maintenance Train was parked in the same place yesterday, as this picture shows.

The second Google Map shows Darlington South Junction, where the Tees Valley Line from Middlesbrough joins the East Coast Main Line.

These two maps indicate the problem of train operation at Darlington.

A train between Bishop Auckland in the West and Middlesbrough and Saltburn in the East, can sneak down the Southbound East Coast Main Line and take the Tees Valley Line to continue on its way.

But a train going the other way, needs to cross both tracks of the East Coast Main Line on the flat, which means precision working by drivers and signallers, to avoid causing delays to both main line and local trains.

I suspect all the following are true.

The number of London and Scotland expresses will increase.
London and Scotland expresses will be running faster.
The number of freight services on the route will increase.
The number of services between Bishop Auckland and Saltburn will increase from the current hourly only service.
High Speed Two will eventually start to run services between London and Birmingham, and at least as far North as Newcastle

All will make the need for improvements South, and probably North, of Darlington station increasingly important.

Could it be that the simplest solution would be to create a dive-under?

It would only need to be single-track.
It could probably be built without affecting current services, as was the Acton dive-under.
There would appear to be plenty of space.

It would only need to allow trains from the Eastern branch of the Tees Valley Line to access Platform 4 at Darlington station.

High Speed Two Is Coming

High Speed Two is coming to Darlington and I wrote about that in £100m Station Revamp Could Double Local Train Services.

This was my conclusion about what will happen to services at Darlington in that post.

I think that this will happen.

The Tees Valley Line trains will be greatly improved by this project.
Trains will generally run at up to 140 mph on the East Coast Main Line, under full digital control, like a slower High Speed Two.
There will be two high speed platforms to the East of the current station, where most if not all of the High Speed Two, LNER and other fast services will stop.
There could be up to 15 tph on the high speed lines.

With full step-free access between the high speed and the local platforms in the current station, this will be a great improvement.

So what will the step-free access be like?

The young assistant in WH Smith told me that a hole will be made in the wall on the East side of the current Platform 1.

It does seem that a new bridge could reach over all the platforms with an entrance for the Town Centre in a refurbished Western entrance.

Passengers would arrive by high speed train every few minutes from the South, Newcastle or Scotland.

Those for the Town Centre would walk across the bridge and exit the station in a refurbished Western entrance.
Those needing onward local train travel would descend into the current station to catch another frequent train.
Hopefully, there would be space somewhere for a bus station.

It would be a real gateway station for Darlington.

October 29, 2020 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Clocks, Darlington Station, East Coast Main Line, High Speed Two, Tube Map | 2 Comments

£100m Station Revamp Could Double Local Train Services

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

This is the opening paragraph.

Officials behind plans for a £100m-plus transformation of Darlington’s Bank Top Station have confirmed it will remain the only one on the East Coast Mainline without a platform specifically for the London to Scotland service.

Darlington station has made various appearances in my life, all of which have been pleasurable ones.

I went several times to ICI’s Wilton site on Teesside in the 1970s, when the route to London was worked by the iconic Class 55 locomotives or Deltics.

I wrote about one memorable trip home from Darlington in The Thunder of Three-Thousand Three-Hundred Horses.

Over the years, I also seem to have had several clients for my computing skills in the area, including the use of my data analysis software; Daisy at Cummins Engines in the town.

And lately, it’s been for football at Middlesbrough to see Ipswich play, where I’ve changed trains. Sometimes, Town even won.

The improvements planned for the station are two-fold.

Improvement Of Local Services

This paragraph from Wikipedia, sums up the local train services on the Tees Valley Line between Saltburn and Bishop Auckland via Darlington, Middlesbrough and Redcar.

Northern run their Tees Valley line trains twice hourly to Middlesbrough, Redcar and Saltburn (hourly on Sundays), whilst the Bishop Auckland branch has a service every hour (including Sundays). The company also operates two Sundays-only direct trains to/from Stockton and Hartlepool.

If ever a route needed improvement it is this one.

This paragraph from the Northern Echo article, outlines the plans for Darlington station.

The meeting was also told the overhaul, which will see new platforms, a new station building, parking and an interchange for passengers, alongside other improvements, would also double capacity on Tees Valley and Bishop Auckland lines, meaning four trains an hour on the former and two trains an hour on the latter.

I also believe that the route is a shoe-in for zero-carbon services; hydrogen or battery electric.

Hydrogen Trains On Teesside

In Fuelling The Change On Teesside Rails, I discuss using hydrogen powered trains for the lines in the area and they could certainly provide services on more than just the Tees Valley Line.

Teesside certainly has big plans for hydrogen to fuel its chemical industry.
Hydrogen powered transport in the area has been backed by the Government, as I wrote about in Tees Valley Wins £1.3million Project To Bring Hydrogen Vehicles To The Region.
Plans are advancing for a depot for hydrogen-powered trains at Lackenby.

The hydrogen powered trains would probably be this Alstom Breeze.

They would appear to be in pole position to change the image of Teesside’s trains.

Battery Electric Trains On Teesside

But I suspect. that an Anglo-Japanese partnership, based in the North-East could have other ideas.

Hitachi have a train factory at Newton Aycliffe on the Tees Valley Line.
Hyperdrive Innovation design and produce battery packs for transport and mobile applications in Sunderland.

The two companies have launched the Regional Battery Train, which is described in this Hitachi infographic.

Note than 90 kilometres is 56 miles, so the train has a very useful range.

Hitachi have talked about fitting batteries to their express trains to serve places like Middlesbrough, Redcar and Sunderland with zero-carbon electric services.

But their technology can also be fitted to their Class 385 trains and I’m sure that Scotland will order some battery-equipped Class 385 trains to expand their vigorous electric train network.

Both Scotland and Teesside will need to charge their battery trains.

Example distances on Teesside include.

Darlington and Saltburn – 28 miles
Darlington and Whitby – 47 miles
Darlington and Bishop Auckland – 12 miles

The last route would be possible on a full battery, but the first two would need a quick battery top-up before return.

So there will need to be strategically-placed battery chargers around the North-East of England. These could include.

Hexham
Nunthorpe
Redcar or Saltburn – This would also be used by TransPennine Express’s Class 802 trains, if they were to be fitted with batteries.
Whitby

If Grand Central did the right thing and ran battery electric between London and Sunderland, there would probably be a need for a battery charger at Sunderland.

It appears that Adrian Shooter of Vivarail has just announced a One-Size-Fits-All Fast Charge system, that has been given interim approval by Network Rail.

I discuss this charger in Vivarail’s Plans For Zero-Emission Trains, which is based on a video on the Modern Railways web site.

There is more about Vivarail’s plans in the November 2020 Print Edition of the magazine, where this is said on page 69.

‘Network Rail has granted interim approval for the fast charge system and wants it to be the UK’s standard battery charging system’ says Mr. Shooter. ‘We believe it could have worldwide implications.’

I believe that Hitachi and Hyperdrive Innovation, with a little bit of help from friends in Seaham, can build a battery-electric train network in the North-East.

The Choice Between Hydrogen And Battery Electric

Consider.

The hydrogen trains would need a refuelling system.
The battery electric trains would need a charging structure, which could also be used by other battery electric services to and from the North-East.
No new electrification or other infrastructure would be needed.
If a depot is needed for the battery electric trains, they could probably use the site at Lackenby, that has been identified as a base for the hydrogen trains.

Which train would I choose?

I think the decision will come down to politics, money and to a certain extent design, capacity and fuel.

The Japanese have just signed a post-Brexit trade deal and France or rather the EU hasn’t.
The best leasing deal might count for a lot.
Vivarail have stated that batteries for a battery electric train, could be leased on a per mile basis.
The Hitachi train will be a new one and the Alstom train will be a conversion of a thirty year old British Rail train.
The Hitachi train may well have a higher passenger capacity, as there is no need for the large hydrogen tank.
Some people will worry about sharing the train with a large hydrogen tank.
The green credentials of both trains is not a deal-breaker, but will provoke discussion.

I feel that as this is a passenger train, that I’m leaning towards a battery electric train built on the route.

An Avoiding Line Through Darlington

The Northern Echo also says this about track changes at the station.

A meeting of Darlington Borough Council’s communities and local services scrutiny committee was told a bus lane-style route off the mainline at the station would enable operators to run more high-speed services.

Councillors heard that the proposed track changes would enable very fast approaches to Darlington and allow other trains to pass as East Coast Mainline passengers boarded.

Some councillors seem to be unhappy about some trains passing through the station without stopping.

Are their fears justified?

This Google Map shows Darlington station.

Note.

The station has two long platforms and two South-facing bay platforms.
There is plenty of space.
There already appear to be a pair of electrified avoiding lines on the Eastern side of the station.

Wikipedia also says this about how Darlington station will be changed by High Speed Two.

The new high speed rail project in the UK, High Speed 2, is planned to run through Darlington once Phase 2b is complete and will run on the existing East Coast Main Line from York and Newcastle. Darlington Station will have two new platforms built for the HS2 trains on the Main Line, as the station is built just off the ECML to allow for freight services to pass through.

This would appear to suggest that the two current avoiding lines will be turned into high speed platforms.

Current High Speed Services At Darlington

The current high speed services at Darlington are as follows.

LNER – two trains per hour (tph) – London Kings Cross and Edinburgh
Cross Country – one tph – Plymouth and Edinburgh or Glasgow
Cross Country – one tph – Southampton and Newcastle
TransPennine Express – one tph – Liverpool and Edinburgh
TransPennine Express – one tph – Manchester Airport and Newcastle

Northbound, this gives eight tph to Newcastle and four tph to Edinburgh

East Coast Trains

East Coast Trains‘s services are not planned to stop at Darlington.

High Speed Two Trains

Darlington is planned to be served by these High Speed Two trains.

1 tph – Birmingham Curzon Street and Newcastle via East Midlands Hub, York and Durham
1 tph – London Euston and Newcastle via Old Oak Common and York.

Both will be 200 metre High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains

Northbound, this gives ten tph to Newcastle and four tph to Edinburgh.

As the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two has some spare capacity, I suspect there could be other services through Darlington.

Improvements To The East Coast Main Line

If you look at the East Coast Main Line between Doncaster and Newcastle, the route is a mixture of two and four-track railway.

Between Doncaster and York, there are two tracks
Between York and Northallerton, there are four tracks
Between Northallerton and Darlington, there are two tracks
North of Darlington, the route is mainly two tracks.

I have flown my virtual helicopter along much of the route and I can say this about it.

Much of the route is through agricultural land, and where absolutely necessary extra tracks could possibly be added.
The track is more-or-less straight for large sections of the route.
Routes through some towns and cities, are tightly hemmed in by houses.

I also believe that the following developments will happen to the whole of the East Coast Main Line before High Speed Two opens.

Full ERTMS in-cab digital signalling will be used on all trains on the route.
The trains will be driven automatically, with the driver watching everything. Just like a pilot in an airliner!
All the Hitachi Class 80x trains used by operators on the route, will be able to operate at up to 140 mph, once this signalling and some other improvements have been completed.
All level crossings will have been removed.
High Speed Two is being built using slab track, as I stated in HS2 Slab Track Contract Awarded. I suspect some sections of the East Coast Main Line, that are used by High Speed Two services, will be upgraded with slab track to increase performance and reduce lifetime costs.

Much of the East Coast Main Line could become a 140 mph high speed line, as against High Speed Two, which will be a 225 mph high speed line.

This will mean that all high speed trains will approach Darlington and most other stations on the route, at 140 mph.

Trains will take around a minute to decelerate from or accelerate to 140 mph and if the station stop took a minute, the trains will be up to speed again in just three minutes. In this time, the train would have travelled two-and-a-half miles.

Conclusion

I think that this will happen.

The Tees Valley Line trains will be greatly improved by this project.
Trains will generally run at up to 140 mph on the East Coast Main Line, under full digital control, like a slower High Speed Two.
There will be two high speed platforms to the East of the current station, where most if not all of the High Speed Two, LNER and other fast services will stop.
There could be up to 15 tph on the high speed lines.

With full step-free access between the high speed and the local platforms in the current station, this will be a great improvement.

October 25, 2020 Posted by AnonW | Computing, Hydrogen, Sport, Transport/Travel | Adrian Shooter, Battery-Electric Trains, Class 321 Hydrogen/Alstom Breeze, Class 385 Train, Class 55 Locomotive, Daisy, Darlington Station, ERTMS, Football, Global Warming/Zero-Carbon, High Speed Two, Hitachi, Hitachi Regional Battery Train, Hydrogen-Powered Trains, Hyperdrive Innovation, ICI, Ipswich Town, Slab Track, Tees Valley Line, Vivarail/GWR Fast Charge | 3 Comments

How Many Trains Are Needed To Run A Full Service On High Speed Two?

The latest High Speed Two schedule was published in the June 2020 Edition of Modern Railways.

The Two Train Classes

Two separate train classes have been proposed for High Speed Two.

Full-Size – Wider and taller trains built to a European loading gauge, which would be confined to the high-speed network (including HS1 and HS2) and other lines cleared to their loading gauge.

Classic-Compatible – Conventional 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.

The Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two has a section entitled Rolling Stock, where this is said about the design.

Both types of train would have a maximum speed of at least 360 km/h (225 mph) and a length of 200 metres (660 ft); two units could be joined together for a 400-metre (1,300 ft) train. It has been reported that these longer trains would have approximately 1,100 seats.

These are some of my thoughts.

Seating Density

I would assume that this means that a single 200 metre train, will have a capacity of approximately 550 seats or a density of 2.75 seats per metre. How does that compare with other trains?

9-car Class 801 train – 234 metres – 611 seats – 2.61 seats/metre
7-car Class 807 train – 182 metres – 453 seats – 2.49 seats/metre
9-car Class 390 train – 217.5 metres – 469 seats – 2.16 seats/metre
11-car Class 390 train – 265.3 metres – 589 seats – 2.22 seats/metre
12-car Class 745/1 train – 236.6 metres – 767 seats – 3.24 seats/metre
16-car Class 374 train – 390 metres – 902 seats – 2.31 seats/metre

Note.

What I find strange with these figures, is that I feel most crowded and cramped in a Class 390 train. Could this be because the Pendelino trains are eighteen years old and train interior design has moved on?
But I always prefer to travel in a Hitachi Class 80x train or a Stadler Class 745 train.

I very much feel that a seating density of 2.75 seats per metre, designed using some of the best modern practice, could create a train, where travelling is a very pleasant experience.

Step-Free Access

I have travelled in high speed trains all over Europe and have yet to travel in one with step-free access.

Surely, if Stadler can give their trains step-free access everybody can.

The pictures shows step-free access on Stadler Class 745 and Class 755 trains.

If I turned up pushing a friend in a wheelchair, would I be able to push them in easily? Or better still will they be able to wheel themselves in?

A Greater Anglia driver tp;d me recently, that now they never have to wait anymore for wheelchairs to be loaded.

So surely, it is in the train operator’s interest to have step-free access, if it means less train delays.

Double-Deck Trains

In my view double-deck trains only have one only good feature and that is the ability to see everything, if you have a well-designed window seat.

I may be seventy-three, but I am reasonably fit and only ever travel on trains with airline-sized hand baggage. So I don’t find any problem travelling upstairs on a double-deck bus or train!

But it could have been, so very different, if my stroke had been a bit worse and left me blind or in a wheelchair for life.

I have seen incidents on the Continent, which have been caused by double-deck trains.

A lady of about eighteen in trying to get down with a heavy case dropped it. Luckily it only caused the guy she was travelling with, to roll unhurt down the stairs.
Luggage is often a problem on Continental trains because of the step-up into the train and access is worse on double deck trains.
I also remember on a train at Leipzig, when several passengers helped me lift a guy and his wheelchair out of the lower deck of a double-deck train, which was lower than the platform, as they often are with double-deck trains.

I am not totally against double-deck trains, but they must be designed properly.

Consider.

High Speed Two’s Full-Size trains will only use London Euston, Old Oak Common, Birmingham Interchange, Birmingham Curzon Street, Manchester Airport, Manchester Piccadilly, East Midlands Hub and Leeds stations.
All stations used by Full-Size trains will be brand-new or substantially rebuilt stations.
Someone sitting in a wheelchair surely has the same right to a view from the top-deck of a double-deck train as anybody else.
Jumbo jets seemed to do very well without a full-length top-deck.
The A 380 Superjumbo has been designed so that entry and exit on both decks is possible.

I feel if High Speed Two want to run double-deck trains, an elegant solution can surely be found.

A Crude Estimate On The Number Of Trains

This is my crude estimate to find out how many trains, High Speed Two will need.

Western Leg

These are the services for the Western Leg between London , Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Train 1 – London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street – 400 metre Full-Size – 45 minutes – 2 hour Round Trip – 4 trains
Train 2 – London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street – 400 metre Full-Size – 45 minutes – 2 hour Round Trip – 4 trains
Train 3 – London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street – 400 metre Full-Size – 45 minutes – 2 hour Round Trip – 4 trains
Train 4 – London Euston and Lancaster – Classic Compatible – 2 hours 3 minutes – 5 hour Round Trip – 5 trains
Train 4 – London Euston and Liverpool – Classic Compatible – 1 hours 34 minutes – 4 hour Round Trip – 4 trains
Train 5 – London Euston and Liverpool – Classic Compatible – 1 hours 34 minutes – 4 hour Round Trip – 4 trains
Train 6 – London Euston and Macclesfield – Classic Compatible – 1 hours 30 minutes – 4 hour Round Trip – 4 trains
Train 7 – London Euston and Manchester – 400 metre Full-Size – 1 hour and 11 minutes – 3 hour Round Trip – 6 trains
Train 8 – London Euston and Manchester – 400 metre Full-Size – 1 hour and 11 minutes – 3 hour Round Trip – 6 trains
Train 9 – London Euston and Manchester – 400 metre Full-Size – 1 hour and 11 minutes – 3 hour Round Trip – 6 trains
Train 10 – London Euston and Edinburgh – Classic Compatible – 3 hours 48 minutes – 8 hour Round Trip – 8 trains
Train 10 – London Euston and Glasgow – Classic Compatible – 3 hours 40 minutes – 8 hour Round Trip – 8 trains
Train 11 – London Euston and Edinburgh – Classic Compatible – 3 hours 48 minutes – 8 hour Round Trip – 8 trains
Train 11 – London Euston and Glasgow – Classic Compatible – 3 hours 40 minutes – 8 hour Round Trip – 8 trains
Train 12 – Birmingham Curzon Street and Edinburgh or Glasgow – Classic Compatible – 3 hours 20 minutes – 7 hour Round Trip – 7 trains
Train 13 – Birmingham Curzon Street and Manchester – 200 metre Full-Size – 41 minutes – 2 hour Round Trip – 2 trains
Train 14 – Birmingham Curzon Street and Manchester – 200 metre Full-Size – 41 minutes – 2 hour Round Trip – 2 trains

Note.

I have assumed 400 metre Full-Size trains will be a pair of 200 metre trains.
Trains 4, 10 and 11 are pairs of 200 metre long Classic-Compatible trains, that split and join at Crewe. Carlisle and Carlisle respectively.
Trains 5 and 6 are single 200 metre long Classic-Compatible trains.
The full schedule will need 34 Full-Size trains and 56 Classic-Compatible trains

According to Wikipedia, the first order will be for 54 Classic-Compatible trains, so I would assume, that more trains will be ordered.

Eastern Leg

These are the services for the Eastern Leg between London , Birmingham, East Midlands Hub, Leeds, Sheffield, York and Newcastle.

Train 15 – Birmingham Curzon Street and Leeds – 200 metre Full-Size – 49 minutes – 2 hour Round Trip – 2 trains
Train 16 – Birmingham Curzon Street and Leeds – 200 metre Full-Size – 49 minutes – 2 hour Round Trip – 2 trains
Train 17 – Birmingham Curzon Street and Newcastle – Classic Compatible – 1 hour 57 minutes – 5 hour Round Trip – 5 trains
Train 18 – London Euston and Sheffield – Classic Compatible – 1 hour 27 minutes – 4 hour Round Trip – 4 trains
Train 18 – London Euston and Leeds – Classic Compatible – 1 hour 21 minutes – 3 hour Round Trip – 3 trains
Train 19 – London Euston and Leeds – 400 metre Full-Size – 1 hour and 21 minutes – 3 hour Round Trip – 6 trains
Train 20 – London Euston and Leeds – 400 metre Full-Size – 1 hour and 21 minutes – 3 hour Round Trip – 6 trains
Train 21 – London Euston and Sheffield – Classic Compatible – 1 hour 27 minutes – 4 hour Round Trip – 4 trains
Train 21 – London Euston and York – Classic Compatible – 1 hour 24 minutes – 3 hour Round Trip – 3 trains
Train 22 – London Euston and Newcastle – Classic Compatible – 2 hour 17 minutes – 5 hour Round Trip – 5 trains
Train 23 – London Euston and Newcastle – Classic Compatible – 2 hour 17 minutes – 5 hour Round Trip – 5 trains

Note.

I have assumed 400 metre Full-Size trains will be a pair of 200 metre trains.
Trains 15 and 16 work as a pair,
Trains 18 and 21 are pairs of 200 metre long Classic-Compatible trains, that split and join at East Midlands Hub.
Trains 22 and 23 are single 200 metre long Classic-Compatible trains
The full schedule will need 16 Full-Size trains and 29 Classic-Compatible trains.

Adding the two legs together and I estimate that 50 Full-Size trains and 85 Classic-Compatible trains, will be needed to run a full schedule.

Trains Per Hour On Each Section

It is possible to make a table of how many trains run on each section of the High Speed Two network in trains per hour (tph)

London Euston (stops) – 1-11, 18-23 – 17 tph
London Euston and Old Oak Common – 1-11, 18-23 – 17 tph
Old Oak Common (stops) – 1-11, 18-23 – 17 tph
Old Oak Common and Birmingham Interchange – 1-11, 18-23 – 17 tph
Birmingham Interchange (stops) – 2, 3, 7, 11, 20 – 5 tph
Birmingham Curzon Street (stops) – 1-3, 12-14, 15-17 – 9 tph
Birmingham and Crewe – 4,5, 7-9, 10-14 – 10 tph
Crewe (stops) – 4,5 – 2 tph
Crewe and Liverpool – 4,5 – 2 tph
Crewe and Lancaster – 4, 10-12 – 4 tph
Crewe and Manchester – 7-9, 13, 14 – 5 tph
Crewe and Wigan via Warrington – 4 – 1 tph
Crewe and Wigan via High Speed Two (new route) – 10-12 – 3 tph
Lancaster (stops) 4 – 1 tph
Lancaster and Carlisle – 10-12 – 3 tph
Carlisle and Edinburgh – 10-12 – 2.5 tph
Carlisle and Glasgow – 10-12 – 2.5 tph
Birmingham and Stoke – 6 – 1 tph
Stoke (stops) – 6 – 1 tph
Stoke and Macclesfield – 6 – 1 tph
Macclesfield (stops) – 6 – 1 tph
Birmingham and East Midlands Hub – 15-17, 18-20, 21-23 – 9 tph
East Midlands Hub (stops) – 15-17, 18-20, 21 – 7 tph
East Midlands Hub and Sheffield – 18, 21 – 2 tph
Sheffield (stops) – 18, 21 – 2 tph
Midlands Hub and Leeds – 15, 16, 18-20 – 5 tph
Leeds (stops) – 15, 16, 18-20 – 5 tph
East Midlands Hub and York – 17, 21-23 – 4 tph
York (stops) – 17, 21-23 – 4 tph
York and Newcastle – 17, 22, 23 – 3 tph
Newcastle (stops) – 17, 22, 23 – 3 tph

These are a few thoughts.

Capacity Of The Southern Leg

The busiest section is between London Euston and Birmingham Interchange, which handles 17 tph.

As the maximum capacity of High Speed Two is laid down in the Phase One Act as 18 tph, this gives a path for recovery, according to the article.

Trains Serving Euston

The following train types serve London Euston station.

Full-Size – 8 tph
400 metre Classic-Compatible – 5 tph
200 metre Classic-Compatible – 4 tph

In the current service proposal, , Trains 5,6, 22 and 23 are just single 200 metre Classic Compatible trains.

This is inefficient and another four tph could be run into Euston station, by the use of appropriate splitting and joining.

Train 5 could run an identical manner to Train 4 to give extra services to Lancaster, Preston, Wigan North Western and Warrington Bank Quay.
Train 6 to Macclesfield is a problem and perhaps should call at Birmingham Interchange, where it could split and join to serve somewhere else like Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury.
Trains 22 and 23 could split and join at East Midlands Hub and serve other places in the East of England like Cleethorpes, Hull, Lincoln, Middlesbrough and Scarborough.

Paths are expensive entities to provide and every path into Euston should support a 400 metre train or a pair of 200 metre trains.

Platform Use At Euston

This page on the High Speed Two web site, gives details of Euston High Speed Two station.

HS2 will deliver eleven new 400m long platforms, a new concourse and improved connections to Euston and Euston Square Underground stations. Our design teams are also looking at the opportunity to create a new northerly entrance facing Camden Town as well as new east-west links across the whole station site.

So how will the eleven platforms be used?

Destinations served from London are planned to be as follows.

Birmingham Curzon Street – Full-Size – 3 tph
Edinburgh/Glasgow – Classic-Compatible – 2 tph
Lancaster – Classic-Compatible – 1 tph
Leeds – Full-Size – 2 tph – Classic-Compatible – 1 tph

Liverpool – Classic-Compatible – 2 tph

Macclesfield – Classic-Compatible – 1 tph
Manchester Piccadilly – Full-Size – 3 tph
Newcastle – Classic-Compatible – 2 tph
Sheffield – Classic-Compatible – 2 tph
York – Classic-Compatible – 1 tph

That is ten destinations and there will be eleven platforms.

I like it! Lack of resources is often the reason systems don’t work well and there are certainly enough platforms.

Could platforms be allocated something like this?

Birmingham Curzon Street – Full-Size
Edinburgh/Glasgow – Classic-Compatible
Leeds – Full-Size
Liverpool – Classic-Compatible – Also serves Lancaster
Macclesfield – Classic-Compatible
Manchester Piccadilly – Full-Size
Newcastle – Classic-Compatible
Sheffield – Classic-Compatible – Also serves Leeds and York

Note.

No platform handles more than three tph.
There are three spare platforms.
Each platform would only be normally used by one train type.
Only Birmingham Interchange, East Midlands Hub, Leeds, Preston and York are not always served from the same platform.

Platform arrangements could be very passenger- and operator-friendly.

Platform Use At Birmingham Curzon Street

Birmingham Curzon Street station has been designed to have seven platforms.

Destinations served from Birmingham Curzon Street station are planned to be as follows.

Edinburgh/Glasgow – Classic-Compatible – 1 tph
Leeds – Full-Size – 2 tph
London Euston – Full-Size – 3 tph
Manchester Piccadilly – Full-Size – 2 tph
Newcastle – Classic-Compatible – 1 tph
Nottingham – Classic-Compatible – 1 tph

Note.

The Nottingham service has been proposed by Midlands Engine Rail, but will be running High Speed Two Classic Compatible trains.
That is six destinations and there will be seven platforms.

I like it! For the same reason as London Euston.

Could platforms be allocated something like this?

Edinburgh/Glasgow – Classic-Compatible
Leeds – Full-Size
London Euston – Full-Size
Manchester Piccadilly – Full-Size
Newcastle/Nottingham – Classic-Compatible

Note.

No platform handles more than three tph.
There are two spare platforms.
Each platform would only be normally used by one train type.
Only East Midlands Hub is not always served from the same platform.

Platform arrangements could be very passenger- and operator-friendly.

Back-to-Back Services via Birmingham Curzon Street

The current plan for High Speed Two envisages the following services between the main terminals served by Full-Size trains.

London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street – 3 tph – 45 minutes
London Euston and Leeds – 2 tph – 81 minutes
London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly – 3 tph – 71 minutes
Birmingham Curzon Street and Leeds – 2 tph – 40 minutes
Birmingham Curzon Street and Manchester Piccadilly – 2 tph – 41 minutes

Suppose a traveller wanted to go between East Midlands Hub and Manchester Airport stations.

Wouldn’t it be convenient if the Leeds to Birmingham Curzon Street train, stopped in Birmingham Curzon Street alongside the train to Manchester Airport and Piccadilly, so passengers could just walk across?

Or the two services could be run Back-to-Back with a reverse in Birmingham Curzon Street station?

Note.

The current fastest times between Nottingham and Manchester Airport stations are around two-and-a-half hours, with two changes.
With High Speed Two, it looks like the time could be under the hour, even allowing up to eight minutes for the change at Birmingham Curzon Street.

The design of the track and stations for High Speed Two, has some interesting features that will be exploited by the train operator, to provide better services.

Capacity Of The Western Leg Between Birmingham And Crewe

The section is between Birmingham and Crewe, will be running 10 tph.

As the maximum capacity of High Speed Two is laid down in the Phase One Act as 18 tph, this gives plenty of room for more trains.

But where will they come from?

High Speed One copes well with a few interlopers in the shape of Southeastern’s Class 395 trains, which run at 140 mph, between the Eurostars.

High Speed Two is faster, but what is to stop an operator running their own Classic-Compatible trains on the following routes.

Birmingham Curzon Street and Liverpool via Crewe, Runcorn and Liverpool South Parkway.
Birmingham Curzon Street and Holyhead via Crewe, Chester and an electrified North Wales Coast Line.
Birmingham Curzon Street and Blackpool via Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western and Preston.
Birmingham Curzon Street and Blackburn and Burnley via Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western and Preston.

Note.

If these trains were say 130 metres long, they could call at all stations, without any platform lengthening.
I’m sure that the clever engineers at Hitachi and Hyperdrive Innovation could come up with battery electric Classic-Compatible train, that could run at 225 mph on High Speed Two and had a battery range to reach Holyhead, with a small amount of electrification.
A pair of trains, could work the last two services with a Split/Join at Preston.

The advantages of terminating these service in Birmingham Curzon Street would be as follows.

A lot more places get a fast connection to the High Speed Two network.
Passengers can reach London with an easy change at Birmingham Curzon Street station.
They can also walk easily between the three Birmingham stations.

But the big advantage is the trains don’t use valuable paths on High Speed Two between Birmingham Curzon Street and London Euston.

Crewe Station

In the current Avanti West Coast timetable, the following trains pass through Crewe.

London Euston and Blackpool – 4 trains per day (tpd)
London Euston and Chester – 1 tph
London Euston and Edinburgh/Glasgow – 2 tph
London Euston and Liverpool – 1 tph
London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly – 1 tph

Most trains stop at Crewe.

In the proposed High Speed Two timetable, the following trains will pass through Crewe.

London Euston and Edinburgh/Glasgow – 2 tph
London Euston and Lancaster/Liverpool – 2 tph
London Euston and Manchester – 3 tph
Birmingham Curzon Street and Edinburgh/Glasgow -1 tph
Birmingham Curzon Street and Manchester – 2 tph

Note.

Only the Lancaster and Liverpool trains stop at Crewe station.
North of Crewe there will be a three-way split of High Speed Two routes to Liverpool, Wigan and the North and Manchester Airport and Piccadilly.
High Speed Two will loop to the East and then join the West Coast Main Line to the South of Wigan.
High Speed Two trains will use the West Coast Main Line to the North of Wigan North Western station.

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

Note.

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

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

Liverpool Branch

Consider.

The Liverpool Branch will take two tph between London Euston and Liverpool.
In the future it could take up to 6 tph on Northern Powerhouse Rail between Liverpool and Manchester Piccadilly via Manchester Airport.

I believe that Liverpool Lime Street station, after the recent updating can handle all these trains.

Manchester Branch

This document on the Government web site is entitled HS2 Phase 2b Western Leg Design Refinement Consultation.

It indicates two important recently-made changes to the design of the Manchester Branch of High Speed Two.

Manchester Airport station will have four High Speed platforms instead of two.
Manchester Piccadilly station will have six High Speed platforms instead of four.

These changes will help the use of these stations by Northern Powerhouse Rail..

Consider.

The Manchester Branch will be new high speed track, which will probably be built in a tunnel serving Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly stations.
The Manchester Branch will terminate in new platforms.
The Manchester Branch will take five tph between Birmingham Curzon Street or London Euston and Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly.
In the future it could take up to six tph on Northern Powerhouse Rail between Liverpool and Manchester Piccadilly via Manchester Airport.
London Euston and Old Oak Common will be new stations on a tunnelled approach to London and will handle 18 tph.

If London Euston and Old Oak Common can handle 18 tph, I can’t see why Manchester Airport and Piccadilly stations can’t handle somewhere near a similar number of trains.

At the moment eleven tph have been allocated to the Manchester Branch.

I believe that if infrastructure for Northern Powerhouse Rail was designed so that as well as connecting to Manchester and Liverpool, it connected Manchester and the West Coast Main Line running North to Preston, Carlisle and Scotland, services to the following destinations would be possible.

Barrow
Blackburn
Blackpool
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Windermere

Note.

Edinburgh and Glasgow would probably be a service that would alternate the destination, as it is proposed for High Speed Two’s Birmingham and Scotland service.
There would probably be a need for a North Wales and Manchester service via Chester.
All trains would be Classic-Compatible.

If the Manchester Branch were to be built to handle 18 tph, there would be more than enough capacity.

Crewe, Wigan And Manchester

My summing up earlier gave the number of trains between Crewe, Wigan and Manchester as follows.

Crewe and Manchester – 5 tph
Crewe and Wigan via Warrington – 1 tph
Crewe and Wigan via High Speed Two (new route) – 3 tph

This map of High Speed Two where the Manchester Branch leaves the new High Speed Two route between Crewe and Wigan was captured from the interactive map on the High Speed Two web site.

Note.

The Manchester Branch runs to the South of the M56,
The large blue dot indicates Manchester Airport station.
Wigan is to the North.
Crewe is to the South.
Manchester Piccadilly is to the North East.

I believe this junction will be turned into a full triangular junction, to connect Wigan directly to Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly.

Barrow, Blackburn, Blackpool, Preston and Windermere could all have high speed connections to Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly. Trains could be shorter Classic-Compatible trains.
A Manchester and Scotland service would take the same route.

Another pair of tracks could leave the junction to the West to create a direct route between Manchester Airport and Liverpool for Northern Powerhouse Rail, by sneaking along the M56.

Suppose extra services were as follows.

Manchester and Barrow – 1 tph
Manchester and Blackburn – 1 tph
Manchester and Blackpool – 1 tph
Manchester and Liverpool – 6 tph
Manchester and Scotland – 1 tph
Manchester and Windermere – 1 tph

The frequencies from the junction would be as follows.

To and from Crewe – High Speed Two (Manchester) – 5 tph – High Speed Two (North) – 3 tph = 8 tph
To and from Liverpool – Northern Powerhouse Rail – 6 tph = 6 tph
To and from Manchester – High Speed Two – 5 tph – Northern Powerhouse Rail – 6 tph – Local – 4 tph – Scotland – 1 tph = 16 tph
To and from Wigan – High Speed Two – 3 tph – Local – 4 tph – Scotland – 1 tph = 8 tph.

Only the Manchester Branch would be working hard.

The Liverpool Connection

I indicated that another pair of tracks would need to extend the Manchester Branch towards Liverpool in the West for Northern Powerhouse Rail.

Would these tracks have a station at Warrington?
Would there be a connection to allow services between Liverpool and the North and Scotland?

It might even be possible to design a Liverpool connection, that avoided using the current Liverpool Branch and increased the capacity and efficiency of all trains to Liverpool.

Capacity Of The Western Leg Between Wigan And Scotland

The sections between Crewe and Carlisle, will be running at the following frequencies.

Wigan and Lancaster – 4 tph
Lancaster and Carlisle – 3 tph
Carlisle and Edinburgh – 2.5 tph
Carlisle and Glasgow – 2.5 tph

Note.

The unusual Scottish frequencies are caused by splitting and joining at Carlisle and alternate services to Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Any local high speed services and a Scotland service from Manchester, will increase the frequencies.

Over this section the services will be running on an improved West Coast Main Line.

But in some cases the trains will be replacing current services, so the increase in total frequencies will be less than it first appears.

Avanti West Coast currently run the following Scottish services.

One tph – London Euston and Glasgow via the most direct route.
One tph – London Euston and alternately Edinburgh and Glasgow via Birmingham.

This means that effectively Glasgow has 1.5 tph and Edinburgh 0.5 tph from London Euston.

The capacity of the current eleven-car Class 390 trains is 145 First and 444 Standard Class seats, which compares closely with the 500-600 seats given in Wikipedia for High Speed Two trains. So the capacity of the two trains is not that different.

But High Speed Two will be running 2.5 tph Between London Euston and both Edinburgh and Glasgow.

I would expect, that Class 390 services to Scotland will be discontinued and replaced by High Speed Two services.

Capacity Of The Eastern Leg Between Birmingham And East Midlands Hub

The section is between Birmingham and East Midlands Hub, will be running 9 tph

As the maximum capacity of High Speed Two is laid down in the Phase One Act as 18 tph, this gives plenty of room for more trains.

But where will they come from?

Midlands Engine Rail is proposing a service between Birmingham Curzon Street and Nottingham.

It will have a frequency of one tph.
It will be run by High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains.
The journey will take 33 minutes.
It will run on High Speed Two infrastructure between Birmingham Curzon Street and East Midlands Hub.

If High Speed Two has been designed with this service in mind, I doubt it will be a difficult service to setup.

There might be enough capacity on High Speed Two for two tph on the route,
It could possibly be extended to Lincoln.

It will also depend on the service timing being consistent with an efficient use of trains and platforms.

Thirty-three minutes is not a good timing, as it means twenty-seven minutes wait in a platform to get a round trip time, that suits clock-face time-tabling.
The current Lincoln and Nottingham service takes 56 minutes for 34 miles.
LNER’s London Kings Cross and Lincoln service travels the 16 miles between Lincoln and Newark in 25 minutes.
I estimate that after track improvements, with a single stop at Newark Castle station, that Nottingham and Lincoln could be achieved in several minutes under fifty minutes.
This would enable a sub-ninety minute journey time between Birmingham Curzon Street and Lincoln, with enough time to properly turn the trains at both ends of the route.
The three hour round trip would mean that an hourly service would need three trains.

This is probably just one of several efficient time-tabling possibilities.

Are there any other similar services?

The obvious one is surely Cambridge and Birmingham

It would run via Peterborough, Grantham, Nottingham and East Midlands Hub.
It would connect the three big science, engineering and medical centres in the Midlands and the East.
It could be run by High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains.

It might even be a replacement for CrossCountry’s Stansted Airport and Birmingham service.

Capacity Of The Eastern Leg Between East Midlands Hub And Sheffield

The section between East Midlands Hub and Sheffield, will be running 2 tph

As the maximum capacity of High Speed Two is laid down in the Phase One Act as 18 tph, this gives plenty of room for more trains.

But where will they come from?

This map of High Speed Two where the Sheffield Branch leaves the new High Speed Two route between East Midlands Hub and Leeds was captured from the interactive map on the High Speed Two web site.

Note.

The main route of High Speed Two between East Midlands Hub, is shown in orange and follows the route of the M1 Motorway, towards the East of the map.
The Sheffield Branch is new track to Clay Cross North Junction, where is takes over the Midland Main Line to Sheffield, which is shown in blue.
The line going South in the middle of the map is the Erewash Valley Line, which goes through Langley Mill and Ilkeston stations.

I suspect Clay Cross to Sheffield will be an electrified high speed line, with a maximum speed of at least 140 mph.

Could the Erewash Valley Line have been used as an alternative route to Sheffield?

This map of High Speed Two captured from their interactive map, shows the connection of High Speed Two and the Erewash Valley Line to East Midlands Hub.

Note.

East Midlands Hub is shown by the big blue dot.
High Speed Two is shown in orange.
The route to Leeds vaguely follows the M1 Motorway.
The Erewash Valley Line goes North to the East of Ilkeston.

Would have been quicker and easier to electrify the Erewash Valley Line, as the High Speed Two route to Chesterfield and Sheffield?

Network Rail updated the route a few years ago.
It does not have the problems of electrification, through a World Heritage Site, as does the route through Derby.
It could surely handle two tph, even if they were High Speed Two Classic Compatible trains.
Sheffield will be just under ninety minutes from London by High Speed Two, as opposed to two hours now.

I suspect that it all comes down to saving a few minutes to Sheffield and the civic pride of having a High Speed Two connection.

So it looks like we’ll have the following capacity between East Midlands Hub and Sheffield.

Between East Midlands Hub and Clay Cross North Junction, there will be the High Speed Two capacity of 18 tph.
Between Clay Cross and Sheffield, there will probably be an upgraded capacity of perhaps 8-10 tph.

It seems a lot of capacity for just two tph.

Consider.

High Speed Two is planning to run three tph between Birmingham Curzon Street and East Midlands Hub
Midlands Rail Engine is planning to run one tph between Birmingham Curzon Street and East Midlands Hub
Four tph is considered a Turn-Up-And-Go service, and could exist between Birmingham Curzon Street and East Midlands Hub.
Sheffield and Leeds, both probably need a Turn-Up-And-Go service, to and from East Midlands Hub.
Semi-fast services between Sheffield and East Midlands Hub, calling at Chesterfield, Alfreton, Langley Mill and Ilkeston would be possible, by using the Erewash Valley Line.
The Maid Marian Line will join the Robin Hood Line in adding extra connectivity to East Midlands Hub Station.
Leeds and East Midlands Hub could have a six tph service courtesy of High Speed Two and Midlands Rail Engine.

Using High Speed Two’s web site, the following times should be possible.

Sheffield and East Midlands Hub – 27 minutes
Sheffield and Birmingham Curzon Street – 47 minutes.

Both services allow time for an efficient service.

There are certainly many options to create a Turn-Up-And-Go service between Sheffield and East Midlands Hub and also improve connections to other locations across the area.

Capacity Of The Eastern Leg Between East Midlands Hub And Leeds

The section is between East Midlands Hub and Leeds, will be running 5 tph

High Speed Two between Midlands Hub and Leeds is a totally new high speed line.

As the maximum capacity of High Speed Two is laid down in the Phase One Act as 18 tph, this gives plenty of room for more trains.
The Southern section of the leg closely follows the M1 Motorway.
Leeds, York and Newcastle will be 27, 36 and 93 minutes from East Midlands Hub, respectively.

This map of High Speed Two, which shows the route of the line in Yorkshire, was captured from the interactive map on the High Speed Two web site.

Note.

Sheffield is marked by the blue dot in the South.
Leeds is marked by the blue dot in the North West.
York is marked by the blue dot in the North East.
New routes are shown in orange.
Upgraded routes are shown in blue.

The route seems to open up several possibilities for extra routes.

Leeds and Sheffield will be used by Northern Powerhouse Rail and there will be four tph, taking 28 minutes.
Leeds and Bedford via East Midlands Hub has been proposed by Midlands Rail Engine.
Services between Sheffield and the North via York must be a possibility.

This map of High Speed Two, which shows the routes to the East of Leeds, was captured from High Speed Two’s interactive map.

I think that two things might be missing.

A full triangular junction would surely allow services between Leeds and the North via York.
A high speed connection to Hull.

We shall see in the future.

Capacity Of The Eastern Leg Between York And Newcastle

The section between York and Newcastle, will be running at a frequency of 3 tph.

Over this section the services will be running on an improved East Coast Main Line.

Conclusion

I shall split the conclusions into various sections.

Route And Track Layout

I think there may be places, where the route and track layout might need to be improved.

The Manchester Branch probably needs a triangular junction with the Western Leg of High Speed Two.
How Liverpool is served by Northern Powerhouse Rail needs to be decided.
The approach to Leeds probably needs a triangular junction with the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two.
It is not clear how services will reach Hull.

Hopefully, these issues will become clear in the next year or so.

Capacity

The sections with the highest levels of capacity would appear to be the following.

London Euston and Birmingham Interchange.
The Manchester Branch
The section shared with the East Coast Main Line between York and Newcastle.
The section shared with the West Coast Main Line between Wigan and Scotland.

But on these sections extra trains can be run.

Birmingham and North West England
Birmingham and East Midlands Hub
East Midlands Hub and Leeds
East Midlands Hub and Sheffield
East Midlands Hub and York

I can see, this capacity being filled by high speed local services, like those proposed by Midlands Rail Engine.

Rolling Stock

The only comment, I will make, is that there could be a need for a shorter Classic-Compatible train to work local services.

October 22, 2020 Posted by AnonW | Design, Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Clay Cross North Junction, Clay Cross North Junction And Sheffield Electrification, Double-Deck Trains, East Coast Main Line, East Midlands Hub Station, High Speed Two, High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains, Hitachi, HS3/Northern Powerhouse Rail, Hyperdrive Innovation, Leeds Station, Liverpool Lime Street Station, Manchester Airport, Manchester Piccadilly Station, Midlands Engine Rail, Sheffield Station, Step-Free, West Coast Main Line, York Station | 6 Comments

High Speed Two To Build Stabling Facility In Scotland

High Speed Two has announced the intention to build a stabling facility for trains at Annandale in Dumfries and Galloway.

This document on the Government web site is entitled HS2 Phase 2b Western Leg Design Refinement Consultation.

Details of the Annandale Depot, start on Page 43.

This is the introductory paragraph.

Phase 2b will provide an increased number of services to Scotland and North West England compared to Phase 2a or Phase One of HS2, with two 400m trains running from Euston each hour and splitting at Carlisle into two 200m trains to serve Glasgow and Edinburgh. HS2 trains will also serve Scotland from Birmingham. New HS2 trains serving Scotland and the north west of England will need overnight stabling and light maintenance in this area, near to where trains finish and start service. It would not be operationally efficient for these trains to run empty to the next closest HS2 depot north of Crewe, approximately 150 miles away.

Note the services are as laid out in the June 2020 Edition of Modern Railways, which was obviously the thinking at the time on High Speed Two.

If you ignore the splitting and joining and assume that they are two separate trains, the Anglo-Scottish services on High Speed Two are as follows.

One train per hour (tph) – London Euston and Edinburgh Waverley via Old Oak Common, Preston, Carlisle and Edinburgh Haymarket.
One tph – London Euston and Edinburgh Waverley via Old Oak Common, Birmingham Interchange, Preston, Carlisle and Edinburgh Haymarket.
One tph – London Euston and Glasgow Central via Old Oak Common, Preston and Carlisle.
One tph – London Euston and Glasgow Central via Old Oak Common, Birmingham Interchange, Preston and Carlisle.
One train per two hours (tp2h) – Birmingham Curzon Street and Edinburgh Waverley via Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme, Penrith, Carlisle. Lockerbie and Edinburgh Haymarket
One tp2h – Birmingham Curzon Street and Glasgow Central via Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme, Penrith, Carlisle. Lockerbie and Motherwell

Note.

Oxenholme and Penrith might not be served by both Birmingham trains.
All services would be run by High Speed Two’s Classic-Compatible trains.
The two Birmingham services effectively provide a one tph service between Birmingham and Scotland.
All services will be single 200 metre long trains to the North of Carlisle, as pairs will split and join at Carlisle station.
There would appear to be a fairly consistent five tph between Carlisle and Carstairs, where the Glasgow and Edinburgh routes divide.
Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central will both have three tph to and from Carlisle and Preston.

These were factors in the choice of location of the depot, stated in the report.

Be close to the existing railway.
Be a relatively large, flat site.
Preferably a brownfield rather than greenfield site.
Located as close as feasible to where HS2 services will terminate or begin to minimise empty train movements.
Be accessible to the workforce and local transport network.
Be suitable for 24-hour working.
Have enough space to accommodate equipment for light maintenance activities.
Have enough space to accommodate the expected number of trains.

The site is also close to the M74.

A few of my thoughts.

The Location Of The Proposed Depot

This Google Map shows the area mentioned in the report.

Note.

The red arrow indicates Cranberry Farm, which will be just to the North of the site.
The West Coast Main Line passing just South of Cranberry Farm, going across the map.
The B 7076 and M74 will be to the South of the site.

It looks to meet many of the factors, I stated earlier. But it does appear to be a greenfield, rather than a brownfield site.

Distances And Times From The Depot

These are distances to places, where services will or might start.

Carlisle – 9 miles – 6 minutes
Edinburgh – 93 miles – 68 minutes
Glasgow – 94 miles – 59 minutes

I have used distances from Gretna Green Junction, which is just to the South of the proposed depot.

Will The Depot Be Only For Classic-Compatible Trains?

Consider.

All services North of Wigan North Western will be run by High Speed Two’s Classic-Compatible trains.
A simpler depot would surely be possible if it only handled High Speed Two’s Classic-Compatible trains.
With the possible exception of the occasional demonstration or test run High Speed Two;s full-size fleet will never be seen North of the Border.

The only thing this depot might have to do with the full-size fleet is turn-back a test train, which would only need a 400 metre long siding. A siding this length would probably be needed to turn a pair of High Speed Two’s Classic-Compatible trains.

Could The Depot Serve A Possible Irish Extension?

I believe that eventually High Speed Two will be extended across Southern Scotland and a bridge will connect it to Northern Ireland

In A Glimpse Of 2035, I gave a fictionalised version of the first journey from London Euston to Dublin, by high speed train.

I have just calculated the length of a high speed rail link between the proposed Annandale . Depot and a Belfast Parkway station. It is around 120 miles and the route would probably branch off between Lockerbie and Annandale Depot.

I feel that Annandale Depot could serve trains for Belfast, but there would probably need to be another depot in Dublin.

Extra HS2 Services To Scotland

Currently, TransPennine Express run services Between Liverpool and Manchester in England and Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland.

I can see High Speed Two replacing these services with a similar service to the one they are planning for Birmingham.

The current service is as follows,

One tp2h – Manchester Airport and Edinburgh Waverley via Manchester Piccadilly, Preston, Lancaster, Carlisle and Haymarket
One tp2h – Manchester Airport and Glasgow Central via Manchester Piccadilly, Preston, Lancaster, Carlisle and Motherwell
Four trains per day (tpd) – Liverpool Lime Street and Glasgow Central via Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster, Carlisle and Motherwell

Note.

They call at smaller stations like Wigan North Western, Lancaster, Oxenholme, Penrith and Lockerbie as appropriate, to even up the service.
These services probably share one path between Preston and Carstairs.
The Liverpool services are diverted Manchester services.

Could they be replaced by High Speed Two services?

The Manchester services could become.

One tp2h – Manchester Piccadilly and Edinburgh Waverley via Manchester Airport, Preston, Lancaster, Carlisle and Haymarket
One tp2h – Manchester Piccadilly and Glasgow Central via Manchester Airport, Preston, Lancaster, Carlisle and Motherwell.

Blackpool, Liverpool and other parts of the North West may be better served with high speed commuter services linking them to Preston.

Serving Scotland’s Seven Cities

Scotland has seven cities that are connected by Inter7City trains.

Aberdeen – Not Electrified
Dundee – Not Electrified
Edinburgh – Will be served by High Speed Two
Glasgow – Will be served by High Speed Two
Inverness – Not Electrified
Perth – Not Electrified
Stirling – Fully Electrified

Can we forget about serving Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness and Perth until they are fully electrified?

But Stirling must be a possibility.

There is a fully electrified route via Motherwell, Whifflet, Greenfaulds and Larbert

I estimate, that coming up from London will take four hours and five minutes, as against the current time of five hours and eighteen minutes.

Increasing Capacity On The West Coast Main Line In Scotland

Over the years, there have been several plans to run more and faster trains between England and Glasgow on the West Coast Main Line.

So would a High Speed Two service go to Stirling?

At present the maximum operating speed on the route is 125 mph. Trains like Avanti West Coast’s Class 390 trains and Hitachi’s AT-300 trains, could run at 140 mph, if digital in-cab signalling were rolled out on the route.

It is absolutely essential before High Speed Two trains run to Scotland, that the West Coast Main Line is digitally signalled.

In addition to faster running, trains can be closer together, so more trains can be run in an hour.

There are also other things, that could be done to help.

Ensure, that all the many freight trains on the route are electrically-hauled and capable of operating at 100 mph or more.
Make sure that local trains sharing the routes into Glasgow and Edinburgh are fast enough to keep out of the way of the expresses.
Selectively, add extra tracks, so that fast trains can overtake slow ones.
Ideally, a line like the West Coast Main Line, needs to be quadruple track all the way.

There also must be scope for flighting.

Consider.

Class 390 trains take about 30 minutes between Edinburgh Waverley and Carstairs South Junction
Class 390 trains take about 30 minutes between Glasgow Central and Carstairs South Junction
Carstairs South Junction is where the two routes join.

Suppose two High Speed Two trains were to leave Edinburgh and Glasgow at similar times and run South from Carstairs South Junction, a safe distance apart.

The lead train would be travelling at 140 mph perhaps three to five minutes in front of the second train.
In-cab digital signalling would enforce the safe distance.

When the trains arrived in Carlisle, they would take a couple of minutes to join up physically for the high speed dash to London.

This Google Map shows Carstairs station and the splitting of the Glasgow and Edinburgh routes.

Note.

The tracks going North-West to Glasgow.
The tracks going North-East to Edinburgh.
The tracks going South-East to Glasgow
All tracks in the picture are electrified.

There might be a need for a passing loop to increase the efficiency of this junction.

It’s not just high speed passenger trains, that can use this technique, but it can be applied to trains with the same performance. So freight trains could form a convoy!

Flighting can decrease the number of train paths needed for a particular number of services and as digital in-cab signalling extends its reach across the UK, we’ll see more applications of the technique.

Effectively, by pathing the two London and Edinburgh/Glasgow trains and adding in one Birmingham and Manchester service, High Speed Two services would only need four paths between Carlisle and Carstairs.

But there would be.

Four tph between Preston/Carlisle and Scotland. So capacity would be good.
Three tph Between Carlisle and Edinburgh.
Three tph Between Carlisle and Glasgow.

As Birmingham Curzon Street, Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport all can handle a pair of High Speed Two’s Classic-Compatible trains, it might be possible in the future to serve both Edinburgh and Glasgow with the Birmingham and Manchester services, splitting the trains at Carlisle. This would mean.

Four tph between Preston/Carlisle and Scotland.
Four tph Between Preston/Carlisle and Edinburgh.
Four tph Between Preston/Carlisle and Glasgow.

That looks strange mathematics, but that’s what you get when a train can serve two places by splitting.

What About The Glasgow And South Western Line?

The Glasgow And South Western Line, runs between Glasgow and Carlisle via Dumfries.

Consider.

It is not electrified
It can be used as a diversion, when the West Coast Main Line is blocked.
It has always puzzled me, why this line wasn’t electrified, when the West Coast Main Line was electrified in the 1970s.
High Speed Two’s need for more paths and higher speeds on the West Coast Main Line, may chase some of the freight on that route on to the Glasgow and South Western, as an alternative.

Perhaps, a small part of the High Speed Two budget could be used to electrify the route.

It certainly could be used to take some freight traffic from the West Coast Main Line and to ease diversions, if High Speed Two needed to close the West Coast Main Line for improvements to track, electrification or signalling.

It is also a line, where alternative methods of powering the trains could be used.

It has electrification at both ends and with some electrification in the middle, battery electric passenger trains might be able to use the route.
The City of Glasgow is majoring on hydrogen and the route, which is 115 miles long, could be ideal for a hydrogen train.

On the other hand full electrification could enable the electric services to be run at times, when the West Coast Main Line was blocked.

It is certainly a route, that could benefit from improvement.

Extension Of The Borders Railway To Carlisle

It is looking increasingly likely that the Borders Railway will be extended to Carlisle.

This report from the High Speed Rail Group is entitled Cross-Border High-Speed Rail And The Borders Railway Project.

The first paragraph is firm about why the Edinburgh and Glasgow services should split and join at Carlisle.

It has taken a while for HS2 service plans to focus on Carlisle as the right place to divide and join Glasgow/Edinburgh high-speed train portions. Earlier plans used Carstairs – and left Carlisle with no HS2 London service.

I also think it will be considerably more affordable and less disruptive to extend Carlisle’s already long platforms, than to build a massive new station at Carstairs capable of handling 400 metre long trains.

This paragraph puts its case for extending the Borders Railway to Carlisle.

To get best use out of the enhanced services that will then be possible, and to fully utilise the additional line capacity along the West Coast Main Line, onward rail connectivity is crucial. That’s why we flagged the compatibility with the Borders Railways re-opening from Tweedbank via Hawick to Carlisle in our report. With Carlisle-London journey times reduced to a little over 2 hours, and the Borders Railway fully re-instated, journey times from the Borders towns could be dramatically shortened – to London as well as to other major cities in England. Inward travel for tourists to the Borders region would be dramatically enhanced too.

They also add that a Borders Railway could be an useful diversion route, during the increasing number of problems on UK rail networks caused by the weather.

I believe that the Borders Railway should be extended to Carlisle and it should also be electrified.

It would be a useful diversion route.
It could handle some freight trains.
It might be useful to move empty stock between Edinburgh and Annandale Depot, as the Borders Railway joins the West Coast Main Line not far from the depot.

We mustn’t underestimate how many passengers to and from the Borders will use the Borders Railway to catch High Speed Two at Carlisle.

Conclusion

Moving the depot to Annandale, may look to some like a way of giving the Scots a higher profile in High Speed Two.

But I do think it gives options to make a High Speed Network easier to run North of the border.

High Speed Two have total control of their depot.
It is well placed for Carlisle, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

It is also extremely well placed for the rail network of South Scotland.

October 11, 2020 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Borders Railway, Class 390 Train, Class AT-300 Train, High Speed Two, High Speed Two Annandale Depot, High Speed Two Classic-Compatible Trains, Manchester Airport, Stirling, West Coast Main Line | 1 Comment

London’s First Two HS2 Tunnelling Machines Ordered

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

The title gives a description of the story, but the article reveals a lot of details about the tunnels for High Speed Two.

There will be ten tunnel boring machines (TBMs) in total for High Speed Two.
The main tunnels are 42 % larger than those for Crossrail.
There will be three pairs of tunnels under London; West Ruislip and Greenford (5 miles), Greenford and Old Oak Common (3.4 miles) and Old Oak Common and Euston (4.5 miles).
It looks like these first two machines will bore the two outer tunnels and that two extra TBMs will be ordered for Greenford and Old Oak Common.

There are also two excellent infographics.

The first shows the route of the tunnels.
The second shows the three pairs of tunnels and the directions, they will be bored.
The third also discloses that the tunnels will be up to fifty metres deep.

There will also be a vent shaft at Greenford in Green Park Way, when the tunnel opens.

This Google Map shows the area.

Note.

The A 4127 runs North-South across the map.
The railways running across the map are Acton and Northolt Line and the Central Line, which serves Greenford station.
The Greenford Branch Line goes South from a triangular junction.

The green site squeezed in between the industrial buildings and just to the North of the railways could be the site for the vent shaft.

This second map is a clip of High Speed Two’s map of the area.

The black line is the route of the High Speed Two tunnel.

It is to the North of the Central Line.
It looks to be close to the vacant site.

When High Speed One was built through Hackney, they bored the tunnels under the North London Line, so High Speed Two only seem to be repeating, what worked successfully.

These pictures show some of the ventilation shafts for High Speed One in East London.

Crossrail’s vent shafts are smaller in number and less obtrusive. There is one disguised in this building; Moor House.

I would hope that High Speed Two could improve further and create a useful building on top, that adds value to the area and doesn’t follow the utilitarian constructions of High Speed One.

Boring the Tunnels

According to the infographics, the three tunnels will be built in the following directions.

West Ruislip and Green Park Way – Towards Green Park Way
Green Park Way and Old Oak Common – Towards Green Park Way
Old Oak Way and Euston – Towards Euston.

These High Speed Two tunnels will be the fourth set of large tunnels to be bored under London in recent years after High Speed One, Crossrail and the Thames Tideway Scheme and I suspect there will be those , who will have worked on all four, at every level.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see some innovative use of the TBMs, so that they are reused if possible.
As four TBMs start at Old Oak Common and four finish at Green Park Way, I wonder if the planners have sequenced the insertion and extraction of the TBMs to make best use of the very expensive cranes needed.
Two TBMs will be inserted at West Ruislip, where there is a public golf course that must give plenty of space.
Two TBMs will be extracted a short distance to the North of Euston station. Again, there appears to be space.

I suspect experience from previous projects and good project planning has contributed to the design.

The Work Has Started At Green Park Way

These pictures show the Greenford site on the 12th of October 2020.

These pictures were taken from a Central Line train.

The Tunnel Portal Works At West Ruislip Station

These pictures show the West Ruislip site on the 12th of October 2020.

Note.

This is where High Speed Two will emerge from the tunnels from Euston.
The first three pictures were taken from the bridge over the railway and show the Chiltern Main Line, Chiltern’s turnback siding and the High Speed Two site.
There is no sign of works around the car park and the L-shaped care home on the station side of the road, so I would assume, that they will be unaffected by the tunnel.

This Google Map shows West Ruislip station.

Note.

The Central Line terminating in West Ruislip station.
The Chiltern Main Line passing through the station.
The scar of the construction of High Speed Two alongside the Chiltern Main Line.

If you follow the Chiltern Main Line on Google Maps for a couple of miles, you can see the route of High Speed Two.

This second map is a clip of High Speed Two’s map of the area.

Note.

The black line is the High Speed Two tunnel, that surfaces, where it changes colour.
The L-shaped care home is still on the map, so it does appear the tunnel goes underneath.

It looks to me, that the bridge and Chiltern Trains going towards London, will offer good views of the tunnel works.

In the late 1950s, British Rail were increasing the number of tracks through Hadley Wood station, from two to four, by digging two extra tunnels.

I can remember my father taking me to see the works from Waggon Road or Wagon Road, which had and still had a few years ago, different names at either end.

October 10, 2020 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Crossrail, High Speed One, High Speed Two, Moor House, Thames Tideway Tunnel, Tunnels | Leave a comment

Hull Station

On my recent visit to Hull station I took these pictures.

This Google Map shows the station.

These are my thoughts on the station .

Platforms

Consider.

The station has seven platforms, which are numbers 1 to 7 from South to North.
My Hull Trains service from London arrived in the Northernmost platform, which is numbered 7.
Most Hull Trains services seem to use this platform.
LNER services also seem to use Platform 7.
Platforms 4, 5 and 6 seem to be the same length as Platform 7
A friendly station guy told me, that LNER have run nine-car Class 800 trains into the station. These trains are 234 metres long.
My pictures show that Platform 7 is more than adequate for Hull Train’s five-car Class 802 train, which is 130 metres long.
The platforms are wide.

This second Google Map shows the Western platform ends.

It looks to me, that the station should be capable of updating to have at least four platforms capable of taking trains, that are 200 metres long.

Current Long Distance Services To Hull Station

There are currently, two long distance services that terminate at Hull station.

One train per hour (tph) – Manchester Piccadilly – two hours
Eight trains per day (tpd) – London Kings Cross – two hours and forty-four minutes

Both services are run by modern trains.

Improvements To The Current London And Hull Service

I believe Hull Trains and LNER will run between London Kings Cross and Hull using battery-equipped versions of their Hitachi trains, within the next three years.

The trains will also be upgraded to make use of the digital in-cab signalling, that is being installed South of Doncaster, which will allow 140 mph running.

In Thoughts On Digital Signalling On The East Coast Main Line, I estimated that this could enable a two hours and thirty minute time between London Kings Cross and Hull.

It is very likely that the service will be hourly.

Hull Station As A High Speed Station

Plans for High Speed Two are still fluid, but as I said in Changes Signalled For HS2 Route In North, there is a possibility, that High Speed Two could be extended from Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly to Leeds and ultimately to Newcastle and Hull.

In that post, I felt that services across the Pennines could be something like.

High Speed Two – Two tph between London and Hull via Manchester Airport, Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds
High Speed Two – One tph between London and Edinburgh via Manchester Airport, Manchester Piccadilly, Leeds, York and Newcastle.
Northern Powerhouse Rail – One tph between Liverpool and Edinburgh via Manchester Airport, Manchester Piccadilly, Leeds, York and Newcastle.
Northern Powerhouse Rail – Two tph between Liverpool and Sheffield via Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly
Northern Powerhouse Rail – Two tph between Liverpool and Hull via Manchester Airport, Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds

There would be four tph between Manchester Airport and Hull via Manchester Piccadilly, Leeds and other intermediate stations.

I estimate that the following timings would be possible.

London Euston and Hull – two hours and 10 minutes – Currently two hours and forty-four minutes to London Kings Cross
Liverpool and Hull – one hour and thirty minutes – No direct service
Manchester and Hull – one hour and three minutes – Currently two hours

As I said earlier London Kings Cross and Hull could be only twenty minutes longer by the classic route on the East Coast Main Line.

I think it will be likely, that both High Speed Two and Northern Powerhouse Rail will use similar High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains, which will have the following characteristics.

Two hundred metres long
Ability to run in pairs
225 mph on High Speed Two
125 mph and up to 140 mph on Classic High Speed Lines like East Coast Main Line, Midland Main Line and West Coast Main Line and sections of Northern Powerhouse Rail.

It would appear that as Hull station can already handle a nine-car Class 800 train, which is 234 metre long, it could probably handle the proposed High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains.

I could see the following numbers of high speed trains terminating at Hull in a typical hour would be as follows.

Two High Speed Two trains from London Euston
Two Northern Powerhouse Trains from Liverpool Lime Street
One Hull Trains/LNER train from London Kings Cross

As Hull already has four platforms, that can accept 200 metre long trains, I don’t think the station will have any capacity problems.

Charging Battery Trains At Hull Station

If Hull Trains, LNER and TransPennine Express, decide to convert their Class 800 and Class 802 trains, that run to and from Hull to Hitachi Regional Battery Trains, they will need charging at Hull station, to be able to reach the electrification of the East Coast Main Line at Temple Hirst Junction.

In Thoughts On The Design Of Hitachi’s Battery Electric Trains, I said this about having a simple charger in a station.

At stations like Hull and Scarborough, this charger could be as simple as perhaps forty metres of 25 KVAC overhead electrification.

- The train would stop in the station at the appropriate place.
- The driver would raise the pantograph.
- Charging would start.
- When the battery is fully-charged, the driver would lower the pantograph.

This procedure could be easily automated and the overhead wire could be made electrically dead, if no train is connected.

Platforms 4 to 7 could be fitted out in this manner, to obtain maximum operational flexibility.

Full Electrification Of Hull Station

Full electrification of Hull station would also allow charging of any battery electric trains.

I would hope, that any partial electrification carried out to be able to charge trains would be expandable to a full electrification for the station and the connecting rail lines.

A Full Refurbishment

The station would need a full refurbishment and a possible sorting out of the approaches to the station.

But this type of project has been performed at Kings Cross and Liverpool Lime Street in recent years, so the expertise is certainly available.

These pictures are of Liverpool Lime Street station.

I could see Hull station being refurbished to this standard.

Conclusion

It is my belief that Hull would make a superb terminal station for both High Speed Two and Northern Powerhouse Rail

In the interim, it could be quickly developed as a modern terminal for long-distance battery electric trains to make services across the Pennines and to London zero carbon.

The work could also be organised as a series of smaller work packages, without interrupting train services to and from Hull.

October 9, 2020 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Charging Battery Trains, Class 800 Train, Class 802 Train, Digital Signalling, East Coast Main Line, Electrification, Global Warming/Zero-Carbon, High Speed Two, Hitachi Regional Battery Train, HS3/Northern Powerhouse Rail, Hull Station, Hull Trains, LNER, TransPennine Express | 1 Comment

Hopes Rekindled Of Full Midland Main Line Electrification

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

This is the key section of the article.

During a House of Commons debate on transport on September 17, HS2 Minister Andrew Stephenson said in response to a question from Alex Norris (Labour/Co-op, Nottingham North): “We are currently delivering the Midland Main Line upgrade, which includes electrification from London to Kettering, with additional electrification to Market Harborough being developed.

“Further electrification of the MML is currently at an early stage, but it is being examined by Network Rail.”

Stephenson said the DfT will continue to work closely with NR on the development of a proposal that would include approaches to advancing the delivery of electrification across the route.

The title of the article, probably sums it up well.

Electrification Of The Midland Main Line

Having read lots of stories about electrification of Midland Main Line, I think the following must be born in mind.

Electrification on the line will reach as far North as Market Harborough station.
The route between Sheffield station and Clay Cross North Junction will be shared with High Speed Two. It will obviously need to be electrified for High Speed Two.
The section of the Midland Main Line between Derby and Clay Cross North Junction, runs through the World Heritage Site of the Derwent Valley Mills. The Heritage Taliban will love the electrification, with a vengeance.
Electrification through Leicester station could be tricky, as the station building and the A6 road are over the tracks and there is limited clearance. Electrification could involve major disruption to the trains for some time.

These are some of the distances involved of sections of the route that are not electrified.

Market Harborough and Derby are 54 miles apart.
Market Harborough and Clay Cross North Junction are 67 miles apart.
Market Harborough and Chesterfield are 70 miles apart.
Market Harborough and Nottingham are 44 miles apart
Market Harborough and Leicester are 16 miles apart.
Derby and Clay Cross North Junction are 21 miles apart.

Since 2017, when electrification for the full route was originally abandoned, there have been big changes in rolling stock technology.

The biggest change has been the development of battery trains.

Hitachi’s Regional Battery Trains

This infographic from Hitachi gives the specification for their Regional Battery Train.

Note.

The trains have a range of 56 miles on battery power.
The trains can cruise at 100 mph on battery power.
Hitachi have said that all of their AT-300 trains can be converted into Regional Battery Trains.
Trains are converted by removing the diesel engines and replacing them with battery packs.
I suspect these battery packs look like a diesel engine in terms of control inputs and performance to the driver and the train’s computer.

It is extremely likely, that the bi-mode Class 810 trains, which are a version of the AT-300 train, that have been ordered for the Midland Main Line can be converted into Regional Battery Trains.

These trains have four diesel engines, as opposed to the Class 800 and Class 802 trains, which only have three.

These are reasons, why the trains could need four engines.

The trains need more power to work the Midland Main Line. I think this is unlikely.
Four engine positions gives ,more flexibility when converting to Regional Battery Trains.
Four battery packs could give a longer range of up to 120 kilometres or 75 miles.

It could just be, that Hitachi are just being conservative, as engines can easily be removed or replaced. The fifth-car might even be fitted with all the wiring and other gubbins, so that a fifth-engine or battery pack can be added.

I suspect the train’s computer works on a Plug-And-Play principle, so when the train is started, it looks round each car to see how many diesel engines and battery packs are available and it then controls the train according to what power is available.

London St. Pancras And Sheffield By Battery Electric Train

Any battery electric train going between London St. Pancras and Sheffield will need to be charged, at both ends of the route.

At the London end, it will use the electrification currently being erected as far as Market Harborough station.
At the Sheffield end, the easiest way to charge the trains, would be to bring forward the electrification and updating between Sheffield station and Clay Cross North Junction, that is needed for High Speed Two.

This will leave a 67 mile gap in the electrification between Market Harborough station and Clay Cross North junction.

It looks to me, the Class 810 trains should be able to run between London St. Pancras and Sheffield, after the following projects are undertaken.

Class 810 trains are given four battery packs and a battery range of 75 miles.
Electrification is installed between Sheffield station and Clay Cross North Junction.

Trains would need to leave Market Harborough station going North and Clay Cross Junction going South with full batteries.

Note.

Trains currently take over an hour to go between Chesterfield to Sheffield and then back to Chesterfield, which would be more than enough to fully charge the batteries.
Trains currently take around an hour to go between London St. Pancras and Market Harborough, which would be more than enough to fully charge the batteries.
Chesterfield station is only three miles further, so if power changeover, needed to be in a station, it could be performed there.
Leeds and Sheffield are under fifty miles apart and as both stations would be electrified, London St. Pancras and Sheffield services could be extended to start and finish at Leeds.

London St. Pancras and Sheffield can be run by battery electric trains.

London St. Pancras And Nottingham By Battery Electric Train

Could a battery electric train go from Market Harborough to Nottingham and back, after being fully-charged on the hour-long trip from London?

The trip is 44 miles each way or 88 miles for a round trip.
Services have either three or eight stops, of which two or three respectively are at stations without electrification.
Trains seem to take over thirty minutes to turnback at Nottingham station.

Extra power North of Market Harborough will also be needed.

To provide hotel power for the train, during turnback at Nottingham station.
To compensate for power losses at station stops.

If 75 miles is the maximum battery range, I doubt that a round trip is possible.

I also believe, that Hitachi must be developing a practical solution to charging a train during turnback, at a station like Nottingham, where trains take nearly thirty minutes to turnback.

If the Class 810 trains have a battery range of 75 miles, they would be able to handle the London St. Pancras and Nottingham service, with charging at Nottingham.

Conclusion

It appears that both the Nottingham and Sheffield services can be run using battery electric Class 810 trains.

All four diesel engines in the Class 810 trains would need to be replaced with batteries.
The route between Clay Cross North Junction and Sheffield station, which will be shared with High Speed Two, will need to be electrified.
Charging facilities for the battery electric trains will need to be provided at Nottingham.

On the other hand using battery electric trains mean the two tricky sections of the Derwent Valley Mills and Leicester station and possibly others, won’t need to be electrified to enable electric trains to run on the East Midlands Railway network.

Will it be the first main line service in the world, run by battery electric trains?

September 28, 2020 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Battery-Electric Trains, Charging Battery Trains, Class 810 Train, Clay Cross North Junction, Clay Cross North Junction And Sheffield Electrification, Derby Station, Discontinuous Electrification, East Midlands Railway, Electrification, High Speed Two, Hitachi Regional Battery Train, Leicester Station, Market Harborough Station, Midland Main Line, Nottingham Station, Sheffield Station, World Heritage Site | 1 Comment

Beeching Reversal – To Reinstate The Keswick To Penrith Railway

September 10th – This Beeching Reversal project appears to have been rejected.

Thoughts On The Design Of The Route

Consider.

Keswick and Penrith are around 17.3 miles apart by road.
The rail distance should be less than 20 miles.
There could be perhaps six intermediate stations.
A battery electric train typically has a range of 55-65 miles.
A quiet battery electric train would be ideal for this route.

I believe that a battery electric train could handle this route.

Charging would be mainly in Penrith station, using the existing 25 KVAC overhead electrification in Platform 3.
A charging station would be provided in Keswick station to be safe.

A battery electric train could go between the two stations, recharge the battery and be ready to return in under an hour.

The route would be single track, except for a short double track station in the middle to allow trains to pass.

The route would not be electrified.

All stations could be single track, except for the passing station.

Two trains would be needed to work an hourly service.

Four trains would be needed to work an two trains per hour (tph) service.

Could the track could be designed to these criteria?

No level crossings.
Gentle curves and gradients
80 mph operating speed.

I suspect modern computer technology, which was not available to the Victorians, would ease the design of an efficient track.

If a highly-efficient track could be created, it might be possible for a train to do a round trip from Penrith to Keswick, within an hour.
This would mean that one train could provide the hourly service.
Charging would only be at Penrith, using existing electrification.
The passing loop would not be built, but provision would be made to add it later, if the frequency were to be increased.

We could be seeing several of these highly-efficient branch lines run by 100 mph battery-electric trains, that are charged on existing electrified main lines.

The Effect Of High Speed Two

Consider.

Currently, there is a roughly hourly service in both directions on the West Coast Main Line at Penrith station.
High Speed Two will only provide an hourly service between Birmingham Curzon Street and Edinburgh or Glasgow via Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster and Carlisle.
Carlisle will have three tph on High Speed Two, between England and Scotland.
Carlisle will have scenic services to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds and Newcastle.
Services between Carlisle and Penrith take thirteen minutes.

But most importantly, High Speed Two could bring lots of extra tourists to the area.

So would it be better for the Keswick and Penrith service to terminate at Carlisle?

Charging would now be on the West Coast Main Line.
Trains would only make a typical two-minute stop in Penrith station.

This would probably mean that an hourly service could be provided with only one train on the branch at a time.

Conclusion

I feel the economics of this project could be transformed by using battery electric trains on this proposed route and terminating them at Carlisle.

September 10, 2020 Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Battery-Electric Trains, Beeching Reversal, Carlisle Station, High Speed Two, Keswick, Lake District, Penrith North Lakes Station, West Coast Main Line | 3 Comments

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What this blog will eventually be about I do not know.

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The Anonymous Widower

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