The Anonymous Widower

Green Light For Major Transpennine Improvements

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

These paragraphs outline the project.

Improvements on the Transpennine route in West Yorkshire have been given the green light, after a Transport and Works Act order was signed by the transport secretary on 27 June, six months earlier than planned.

The cost of the upgrades was described as ‘multi-billion’ by Network Rail, which said it was the ‘biggest milestone’ so far on the Transpennine Route Upgrade programme.

The improvements will be carried out between Huddersfield and Westtown in Dewsbury, and include quadrupling the double line and remodelling track layouts as well as major renovations at Huddersfield, Deighton and Mirfield and a new station at Ravensthorpe. In addition, there will be a flyover near Ravensthorpe to separate the Wakefield and Leeds lines and reduce conflicting movements.

Effectively, Grant Shapps fired the starting gun for this project four days ago.

I have written various posts on the upgrade and they can be read from this link.

The Transpennine Route Upgrade Web Site

The project now has its own comprehensive web site, which is named the Transpennine Route Upgrade.

A Reply To Peter Robins About Electrification

Peter Robins made this very perceptive comment.

The main point of TPU isn’t electrification, though, it’s upgrading the track to remove bottlenecks, improve lines speeds, add capacity. This is mainly what the Hudd-Dew TWA order is about. If you electrify the line while you’re doing that, then you increase the number of connecting places/lines which are within range of current batteries.

I think that Lds-CF will also have to wait for the post-IRP review, meaning the full upgrade will be a long time coming.

This Hitachi infographic shows the specification of their Regional Battery Train.

Note.

  1. It is a 100 mph train.
  2. Batteries can be charged when travelling under wires or 10-15 mins static.
  3. Range on batteries is 90 km. or 56 miles.
  4. My experience of Hitachi bi-modes is that pantographs on these trains can go up and down, with all the alacrity of a whore’s drawers.

Hitachi have stated that they will be testing a Class 802 train with batteries later this year.

Could Hitachi Battery Trains Be Charged On The Electrification Between Huddersfield And Dewsbury?

Looking at the data from RealTimeTrains for this route it appears that the fastest time I can find between Huddersfield And Dewsbury is eleven minutes.

Would this be enough time to fully-charge the battery? If not the electrification could perhaps be extended for a couple of miles.

How Many Of Transpennine Express (TPE)’s Services Could Be Decarbonised, if Huddersfield And Dewsbury Were To Be Electrified?

I’ll look at each service that uses this route.

Liverpool Lime Street And Newcastle

This is an hourly service that calls at Newton-le-Willows, Manchester Victoria, Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Leeds, York, Northallerton, Darlington and Durham.

  • Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Victoria is electrified.
  • Colton Junction and Newcastle is electrified.
  • Huddersfield and Dewsbury will be electrified by the Transpennine Route Upgrade.

This leaves the following sections without electrification.

  • Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield – 25.8 miles
  • Dewsbury and Colton Junction – 29.3 miles

Note.

  1. There are also stops under the wires, at Dewsbury, Huddersfield and Leeds, which could be used to top up the battery.
  2. The largest unelectrified section would be 29.3 miles.

It looks to me that Liverpool Lime Street And Newcastle could be served using a Hitachi Regional Battery Train or similar.

Manchester Airport And Redcar Central

This is an hourly service that calls at Gatley, Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester Victoria, Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Leeds, York, Thirsk, Northallerton, Yarm, Thornaby and Middlesbrough.

  • Manchester Airport and Manchester Victoria is electrified.
  • Colton Junction and Northallerton is electrified.
  • Huddersfield and Dewsbury will be electrified by the Transpennine Route Upgrade.

This leaves the following sections without electrification.

  • Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield – 25.8 miles
  • Dewsbury and Colton Junction – 29.3 miles
  • Northallerton and Redcar Central – 28.8 miles

Note.

  1. There are also stops under the wires, at Dewsbury, Huddersfield and Leeds, which could be used to top up the battery.
  2. The largest unelectrified section would be 29.3 miles.
  3. I suspect that charging could be needed at Redcar end of the route. Middlesbrough would probably be best, as it could also charge the LNER services, if they used battery power from Northallerton.

It looks to me that Manchester Airport And Redcar Central could be served using a Hitachi Regional Battery Train or similar.

Manchester Piccadilly And Hull

This is an hourly service that calls at Stalybridge, Huddersfield, Leeds, Selby and Brough.

  • Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria is electrified.
  • Huddersfield and Dewsbury will be electrified by the Transpennine Route Upgrade.
  • Leeds and Neville Hill Depot is electrified.

This leaves the following sections without electrification.

  • Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield – 25.8 miles
  • Dewsbury and Leeds – 29.3 miles
  • Neville Hill Depot and Hull – 50 miles

Note.

  1. There are also stops under the wires, at Huddersfield and Leeds, which could be used to top up the battery.
  2. The largest unelectrified section would be 50 miles.
  3. I am sure that charging would be needed at Hull end of the route. Hull would probably be best, as it could also charge the Hull Trains, LNER and Northern Trains services, if they used battery power from the East Coast Main Line.
  4. Alternatively, there could be electrification between Hull and Brough. or Neville Hill and Micklefield. The latter would knock eight miles off the unelectrified section and is needed to allow electric trains to access Neville Hill Depot under electric power.

It looks to me that Manchester Piccadilly and Hull could be served using a Hitachi Regional Battery Train or similar.

Manchester Piccadilly and Huddersfield

This is an hourly service that calls at Stalybridge, Mossley, Greenfield, Marsden, and Slaithwaite.

  • Manchester Piccadilly is electrified.
  • Huddersfield is electrified.

This leaves the following sections without electrification.

  • Manchester Piccadilly and Huddersfield – 25.5 miles

Note.

  1. There are also stops under the wires, at Manchester Piccadilly and Huddersfield, which would be used to top up the battery.
  2. The largest unelectrified section would be 25.5 miles.
  3. Trains would be charged at both ends of the route.

It looks to me that Manchester Piccadilly and Huddersfield could be served using a Hitachi Regional Battery Train or similar.

Huddersfield And Leeds

This is an hourly service that calls at Deighton, Mirfield, Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury, Batley, Morley and Cottingley

  • Huddersfield is electrified.
  • Leeds is electrified.

This leaves the following sections without electrification.

  • Dewsbury and Leeds – 29.3 miles

Note.

  1. There are also stops under the wires, at Manchester Piccadilly and Huddersfield, Deighton, Mirfield, Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury and Leeds, which would be used to top up the battery.
  2. The largest unelectrified section would be 29.3 miles.
  3. Trains would be charged at both ends of the route.

It looks to me that Huddersfield and Leeds could be served using a Hitachi Regional Battery Train or similar.

York And Scarborough

This is an hourly service that calls at Malton and Seamer

  • York is electrified.

This leaves the following sections without electrification.

  • York And Scarborough – 42.1 miles

Note.

  1. The largest unelectrified section would be 42.1 miles.
  2. Trains would be charged at both ends of the route.

It looks to me that York and Scarborough could be served using a Hitachi Regional Battery Train or similar.

How Many Of Northern Trains’s Services Could Be Decarbonised, if Huddersfield And Dewsbury Were To Be Electrified?

I’ll look at each service that uses this route.

Wigan North Western And Leeds

This is an hourly service that calls at Daisy Hill, Atherton, Walkden, Salford Crescent, Salford Central, Manchester Victoria, Rochdale, Smithy Bridge, Littleborough, Walsden, Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Sowerby Bridge, Brighouse, Mirfield, Dewsbury, Morley and Cottingley

  • Wigan North Western is electrified.
  • Salford Crescent and Manchester Victoria is electrified.
  • Heaton Lodge East junction and Dewsbury is electrified.
  • Leeds is electrified.

This leaves the following sections without electrification.

  • Wigan North Western and Salford Crescent – 16 miles
  • Manchester Victoria and Heaton Lodge East junction – 37.6 miles
  • Dewsbury and Leeds – 29.3 miles

Note.

  1. There are also stops under the wires, at Wigan North Western, Salford Crescent, Salford Central, Manchester Victoria, Mirfield, Dewsbury and Leeds, which would be used to top up the battery.
  2. The largest unelectrified section would be 37.6 miles.
  3. Trains would be charged at both ends of the route.

It looks to me that Wigan North Western and Leeds could be served using a Hitachi Regional Battery Train or similar.

Huddersfield And Castleford

This is an occasional service that calls at Deighton, Mirfield and Wakefield Kirkgate.

As it is run by buses at the moment, I can’t get the data to work out if it could be served using a Hitachi Regional Battery Train or similar.

But I suspect it can, after looking at a map.

How Many Of Grand Central’s Services Could Be Decarbonised, if Huddersfield And Dewsbury Were To Be Electrified?

I’ll look at each service that uses this route.

London King’s Cross And Bradford Interchange

This is a four trains per day service that calls at Doncaster, Pontefract Monkhill, Wakefield Kirkgate, Mirfield, Brighouse, Halifax and Low Moor.

  • King’s Cross and Doncaster is electrified.
  • Mirfield is electrified.

This leaves the following sections without electrification.

  • Doncaster and Mirfield – 34.8 miles
  • Mirfield and Bradford Interchange – 17.3 miles

Note.

  1. There are also stops under the wires, at Mirfield, which would be used to top up the battery.
  2. The largest unelectrified section would be 34.8 miles.
  3. Trains would need to be charged at Bradford Interchange, during the turnround of around an hour.
  4. It is likely, that some electrification will be erected in the Bradford area, to improve services to Leeds.

It looks to me that London King’s Cross and Bradford Interchange could be served using a Hitachi Regional Battery Train or similar.

Conclusion

It looks like electrifying between Huddersfield and Dewsbury will enable a Hitachi Regional Battery Train or similar to work all passenger routes, that run on that section of track.

 

July 1, 2022 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

How Much Electrification Will There Be In The TransPennine Route Upgrade?

My visit to Mirfield station which I wrote about in Mirfield Station – 16th December 2021, has prompted me to write this post.

This document on the Network Rail web site, which is entitled Transpennine Route Upgrade , says this about the Huddersfield to Westtown (Dewsbury) section of the project.

Throughout this eight-mile section of the route, we’re proposing to double the number of tracks from two-to-four, electrify from Huddersfield to Dewsbury and make big improvements to the four stations in this section – Huddersfield, Deighton, Mirfield and Ravensthorpe; where we also need to separate the lines going to/from Leeds from the lines going to/from Wakefield, with either a bridge or a tunnel.

This map of the lines was clipped from this article on Modern Railways, shows the proposed track layout.

Note.

  1. The fast lines are shown in pink.
  2. The slow lines are shown in blue.
  3. Huddersfield and Dewsbury stations are eight miles apart and trains typically take ten minutes.
  4. All fast trains stop at Huddersfield.
  5. The intermediate stations between Huddersfield and Dewsbury are all on the slow lines.

There will only two tracks West of Huddersfield and East of Dewsbury.

This would very much appear to be a layout built for speed.

These are my thoughts.

The Fastest Run Between Dewsbury And Huddersfield

There will be eight miles of electrified fast line between Dewsbury And Huddersfield and the time will depend on the following.

  • The operating speed of the new fast lines.
  • How long it takes the trains to accelerate to and decelerate from the operating speed.
  • The distance travelled during acceleration and deceleration.

This page on the Eversholt Rail web site, has a data sheet for a Class 802 train, which are used by TransPennine Express and is a bi-mode AT-300 train with three diesel engines.

The data sheet shows that a five-car train can accelerate to 125 mph and then decelerate to a stop in six minutes in electric mode.

A rough estimate gives a distance of 6.25 miles to accelerate and decelerate, so a train will only be at 125 mph for 1.75 miles, which would take 50 seconds.

As trains currently take ten minutes between Huddersfield and Dewsbury, it looks like a saving of three minutes is possible.

This saving could be increased if the trains were able to accelerate and decelerate faster or high speed running were to be possible further towards Leeds.

Will Between Leeds And Dewsbury Be Electrified?

It is likely, that the nine miles of double-track line between Dewsbury and Leeds will be electrified, as this would mean the following.

  • TransPennine Express’s Class 802 trains could use electricity all the way between Leeds and Huddersfield.
  • Electrification would allow the fast trains to accelerate and decelerate at a maximum rate to and from operating speed, whilst in the new section.
  • Electrification would also allow stopping trains to perform their stops on the double-track section to the East of Dewsbury faster.

Timetabling is going to be a challenge.

Will The Slow Lines Between Dewsbury and Huddersfield Be Electrified?

I feel it would be sensible to electrify the slow lines as this would help to make operation simpler and possibly allow stopping services to be run by electric or battery-electric trains.

Battery-Electric Trains Between Huddersfield And Castleford

The current service is as follows.

  • It is 21 miles long
  • It has a frequency of one train per hour (tph)
  • Intermediate stations are Deighton, Mirfield and Wakefield Kirkgate.
  • Services seem to take around forty minutes.
  • After the completion of the TransPennine Upgrade, all but fifteen miles at the Castleford end of the route, will be electrified.

It looks to me that a battery-electric train with a range of about thirty miles could handle this route.

Battery-Electric Trains Between Wigan And Leeds

The current service is as follows.

  • It is 68 miles long
  • It has a frequency of one train per hour (tph)
  • Intermediate stations are Daisy Hill, Atherton, Walkden, Salford Crescent, Salford Central, Manchester Victoria, Rochdale, Smithy Bridge, Littleborough, Walsden, Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Sowerby Bridge, Brighouse, Mirfield, Dewsbury, Morley and Cottingley
  • Services seem to take around two hours and nine minutes.
  • After the completion of the TransPennine Upgrade, the 12.2 mile section to the East of Mirfield station will be electrified.
  • Electrification is also planned at the Wigan end of the line and this would electrify the 17.7 mile section between Wigan and Manchester Victoria stations.
  • This would leave an electrification gap of 38.1 miles

It looks to me that a battery-electric train with a range of about forty miles could handle this route.

Battery-Electric Trains Between Leeds And Huddersfield

The current service is as follows.

  • It is 28 miles long
  • It has a frequency of one train per hour (tph)
  • Intermediate stations are Bramley, New Pudsey, Bradford Interchange, Low Moor, Halifax and Brighouse.
  • After the completion of the TransPennine Upgrade, Huddersfield station will be electrified.
  • Under the Integrated Rail Plan for the North And Midlands, it is planned to electrify between Leeds and Bradford Interchange stations.
  • This would leave an electrification gap of 18.6 miles

It looks to me that a battery-electric train with a range of about twenty-five miles could handle this route.

Conclusion

By electrifying all the lines in the TransPennine Upgrade, it would allow all the stopping and slower services to be run by battery-electric trains.

This Hitachi infographic shows the specification of the Hitachi Regional Battery Train.

Note that a range on batteries of 90 km is 56 miles.

This train would work all three routes.

I also suspect that CAF’s proposed battery train will have a similar range.

December 21, 2021 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Stalybridge Station – 16th December 2021

In my meandering along the TransPennine Route brought me to Stalybridge station.

This Google Map shows the station.

As the pictures and the maps show, there is space at Stalybridge station.

Timings Between Manchester Victoria And Huddersfield

There are these trains between Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield.

  • Liverpool Lime Street and Scarborough – stops at Stalybridge
  • Manchester Airport and Redcar Central
  • Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh
  • Manchester Airport and Newcastle.

That is four trains per hour (tph) between Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield.

  • They take around 9-14 minutes between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge.
  • They take around 31-32 minutes between Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield.
  • As Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge is 7.7 miles, the average speed on this section is 33-51 mph
  • As Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield is 25.7 miles, the average speed on this section is 48-50 mph

In this Transport for the North report , which is entitled At A Glance – Northern Powerhouse Rail, an objective of twenty-five minutes is given for Manchester and Leeds.

One possible way to achieve this time stated in the report is stated as.

Diggle upgrades akin to a new line.

Diggle is between Greenfield station and the Standedge tunnels.

Assuming a constant average speed between Manchester Victoria and Leeds, the twenty-minutes objective for this route means a timing of fifteen minutes between Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield.

I estimate that this would need an average speed of well over 100 mph to get anywhere near the required fifteen minutes.

But by rebuilding the line between Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield to High Speed Two construction standards, it appears to be possible.

Timings Between Manchester Piccadilly And Huddersfield

There are these trains between Manchester Piccadilly and Huddersfield.

  • Manchester Piccadilly and Huddersfield – stops at Stalybridge, Mossley, Greenfield, Marsden and Slaithwaite.
  • Manchester Piccadilly and Hull – stops at Stalybridge

That is two tph between Manchester Piccadilly and Huddersfield.

The direct train is a few minutes slower, but the stopping train is nearly ten minutes slower.

I feel some time improvements will be possible, but the Manchester Victoria services will probably be faster.

Conclusion

It is possible, there could be a unique high speed line between Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield through the Victorian tunnels at Standedge.

  • One possibility, I can see is to have two fast tracks for the main TransPennine expresses and a third bi-directional third-track to accommodate the stopping services.
  • The double track express route could probably handle six tph, as the only stops between Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield is two tph that stop at Stalybridge.
  • Operating speeds on the fast tracks could be up to perhaps 160 mph on slab track.
  • All trains stop at Huddersfield.
  • A single bi-directional track between Stalybridge and Huddersfield could easily handle two tph.

There would be engineering challenges, but I feel it would be possible.

December 18, 2021 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , | 9 Comments

Could The Standedge Tunnels Be Part Of A High Speed Line?

This article on Rail Technology Magazine is entitled Warrington Borough Council React To Integrated Rail Plan, where this is said about improvements between Liverpool and Manchester via Warrington.

One such promise is the delivery of a new high-speed line between Warrington, Manchester and Marsden as part of NPR.

The IRP will also introduce a fully electrified upgraded line between Liverpool and Warrington as part of NPR.

Note NPR is Northern Powerhouse Rail.

Where Is Marsden?

This Google Map shows the rail line between the Standedge Tunnels and Marsden station.

Note.

  1. Standedge Tunnels and the Visitor Centre in the West.
  2. Marsden station in the South-East corner of the map.
  3. The railway between them is the Huddersfield Line.
  4. The distance between Marsden station and the Eastern Portals of the Standedge Tunnels is about a mile.

Huddersfield station is seven miles to the East of Marsden station.

The Eastern End Of The Standedge Tunnels

This Google Map shows the Eastern end of the Standedge tunnels.

Note.

  1. This is a 3D image tilted to give a possibly better view.
  2. Only a double-track railway and a canal tunnel are in daily use.
  3. There are two other disused but intact single-track rail tunnels.
  4. I suspect that the Tunnel End Reservoir keeps the canal water at the right level.

It looks to me that the Standedge Tunnels will be part of the proposed high speed route.

Greenfield Station

Greenfield station is to the West of the Western portal of the Standedge tunnels.

The distance between Greenfield and Marsden stations is six miles.

The Standedge Tunnels

Wikipedia has a very comprehensive description of the canal tunnel and the three rail tunnels that form the Standedge tunnels complex.

These are points from the entry.

  • The canal tunnel is the oldest and was opened in 1811.
  • The two single-track rail tunnels were opened in 1848 and 1871
  • The double-track rail tunnel opened in 1894.
  • The rail tunnels were all built using the canal tunnel for access.
  • All the tunnels are parallel to each other.
  • The tunnels are level.
  • All tunnels appear to be connected together with cross passages.
  • For safety reasons some diesel-powered boats are towed through the canal tunnel using electric tugs.
  • The railway tunnels were the only level section of the route and were fitted with water troughs for steam engines.
  • Drainage of the rail tunnels appears to be good, with water draining into the canal.
  • Only the 1894 tunnel is in use by trains, but all three rail tunnels are maintained.
  • The 1848 tunnel can be used for emergency access and is accessible to fire engines and ambulances.

The complex appears to be a masterpiece of nineteenth century engineering.

There are several factors that could enable the conversion of the rail tunnels into a high-capacity modern railway with speeds up to at least 100 mph.

  • The tunnels are level.
  • The tunnels are well-drained.
  • The access to the tunnels is good.
  • Slab track, which allows higher speeds could be installed in the tunnels, as it was in the Bowshank Tunnel on the Borders Railway.

But the biggest factor could be the possibility of using battery-electric trains to avoid electrification of the main lines, which as now would probably be in the double-track tunnel.

This Hitachi infographic describes their Intercity Battery Hybrid Train, which is based on a Class 802 train and they are developing in partnership with TransPennine Express.

Note.

  1. Greenfield and Marsden stations are only six miles apart.
  2. The tunnels are only a few metres longer than 5000 metres.
  3. The train may only be able to cover 5 km now, but I believe this could be increased.

I also wonder, if the electrification on either side could get as close to the tunnel as possible.

This would enable trains to drop pantograph at speed and switch to battery power a few metres from the tunnel and get to the other side using a mix of battery-power and kinetic energy. Once under the wires at the other side of the tunnel and they had slowed to a safe speed at which they could raise the pantograph, it would be raised and trains would continue using the electrification.

The operating speed would probably be determined by any curves at the ends of the straight and level tunnel.

This method of operation may be OK for expresses, but what about other passenger and freight trains?

I wonder, if it would be possible to put a third track in one of the other rail tunnels.

  • Slab-track would probably be installed.
  • This third track could be electrified.
  • It would be signalled to allow bi-directional running.

This by-pass tunnel could keep the main lines free for the expresses.

Conclusion

I am fairly sure that the Standedge Tunnels could be incorporated in a high speed line.

 

November 23, 2021 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Battery-Electric Trains And The TransPennine Upgrade

In Is There Going To Be Full Electrification Between Leeds And Huddersfield?, I showed this map of the TransPennine Upgrade between Huddersfield and Westtown near Dewsbury.

Note.

  1. There will be electrification between Dewsbury and Huddersfield.
  2. Tracks will be doubled from two to four.
  3. Ravensthorpe, Mirfield, Deighton and Huddersfield stations will be electrified and probably upgraded.
  4. Dewsbury and Huddersfield stations are eight miles apart.

This page on the Network Rail website gives more information.

Click on Huddersfield and Westtown (Dewsbury) and you get this information.

On 31 March 2021, we submitted a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) application to the Secretary of State for Transport for the Huddersfield to Westtown (Dewsbury) scheme.

Throughout this eight-mile section of the route, we’re proposing to double the number of tracks from two-to-four, electrify from Huddersfield to Dewsbury and make big improvements to the four stations in this section – Huddersfield, Deighton, Mirfield and Ravensthorpe; where we also need to separate the lines going to/from Leeds from the lines going to/from Wakefield, with either a bridge or a tunnel.

It is a much larger scheme than the one between Bolton and Wigan, which I wrote about in Bolton-Wigan £78m Rail Electrification Project Announced.

  • Huddersfield-Westtown is eight miles, whereas Bolton-Wigan is 6.5 miles.
  • Both involve upgrading four stations.
  • Both involve full electrification.
  • Huddersfield-Westtown involves doubling the number of tracks, whereas Bolton-Wigan needs little work to the track.
  • Huddersfield-Westtown will need a bridge or a tunnel, whereas Bolton-Wigan might need minor work to a couple of flat junctions.
  • Huddersfield station is Grade 1 Listed, whereas Wigan Wallgate station has some good features.
  • The Huddersfield-Westtown scheme is costed at £2.9 billion, whereas Bolton-Wigan is just £78 million.

The Huddersfield-Westtown scheme is thirty-seven times larger in terms of money.

What Passenger Services Use The Route Between Huddersfield And Dewsbury?

These services use the route, all or in part.

  • Northern Trains – Wigan Wallgate and Leeds via Manchester Victoria, Hebden Bridge, Brighouse, Mirfield, Ravensthorpe and Dewsbury – 1 tph
  • Northern Trains – Huddersfield and Castleford via Deighton, Mirfield and Wakefield Kirkgate – 1 tph
  • TransPennine Express – Liverpool Lime Street and Scarborough via Manchester Victoria, Stalybridge, Huddersfield and Leeds – 1 tph
  • TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport and Redcar Central via Manchester Victoria, Stalybridge,  Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Leeds – 1 tph
  • TransPennine Express – Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh via Manchester Victoria, Huddersfield and Leeds – 1 tph
  • TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport and Newcastle via Manchester Victoria,  Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Leeds – 1 tph
  • TransPennine Express – Manchester Piccadilly and Hull via Stalybridge,  Huddersfield and Leeds – 1 tph
  • TransPennine Express – Huddersfield and Leeds via Deighton, Mirfield, Ravensthorpe and Dewsbury – 1 tph

Note.

  1. All trains are one train per hour (tph)
  2. Three tph run non-stop between Huddersfield and Leeds.
  3. Two tph stop at Deighton station, Mirfield and Ravensthorpe.

After completion of the Huddersfield and Westtown upgrade, there will be electrification at the following places.

  • West of Manchester Victoria station
  • Between Huddersfield and Westtown
  • Between Leeds and York – Currently being electrified between York and Church Fenton.

And these routes will not be electrified.

  • Dewsbury and Leeds – 9.2 miles
  • Leeds and Hull – 51.5 miles
  • Mirfield and Castleford – 16 miles
  • Manchester Piccadilly and Stalybridge – Could be electrified – 7.5 miles
  • Manchester Victoria and Heaton Lodge Junction via Hebden Bridge – 47.4 miles
  • Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge – Could be electrified – 7.7 miles
  • Redcar Central and Northallerton – 28.1 miles
  • Stalybridge and Huddersfield – 18 miles
  • York and Scarborough – 42.1 miles

Note that all routes except Mirfield and Castleford and Leeds and Hull have electrification at both ends.

Which Routes Between Huddersfield And Westtown Could Be Handled By Battery-Electric Trains?

I will assume that operators will have a battery-electric train capable of running 56 miles on batter ypower. This distance comes from Hitachi’s specification for the Hitachi Regional Battery Train, which is shown in this Hitachi infographic.

These are the routes and my answers.

Northern Trains – Wigan Wallgate and Leeds

The longest section without electrification is Manchester Victoria and Heaton Lodge Junction via Hebden Bridge, which is 47.4 miles.

I am sure this route is possible with battery-electric trains.

Northern Trains – Huddersfield and Castleford

The longest section without electrification is Mirfield and Castleford, which is 16 miles.

But it must be handled on both an out and back basis. So the train will cover 32 miles on battery power.

I am sure this route is possible with battery-electric trains.

TransPennine Express – Liverpool Lime Street and Scarborough

The longest section without electrification to the West of Leeds, is Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield, which is 25.7 miles.

At the Eastern end, as York and Scarborough is 42.1 miles without electrification, there would need to be some electrification or a charging system at Scarborough station.

I am sure this route is possible with battery-electric trains.

TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport and Redcar Central

The longest section without electrification to the West of Leeds,is Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield, which is 25.7 miles.

At the Eastern end, as Northallerton and Redcar Central is 28.1 miles without electrification, there may need to be some electrification or a charging system at Redcar Central station.

I am sure this route is possible with battery-electric trains.

TransPennine Express – Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh

The longest section without electrification is Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield, which is 25.7 miles.

Leeds and Edinburgh is fully electrified.

I am sure this route is possible with battery-electric trains.

TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport and Newcastle

The longest section without electrification is Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield, which is 25.7 miles.

Leeds and Newcastle is fully electrified.

I am sure this route is possible with battery-electric trains.

TransPennine Express – Manchester Piccadilly and Hull

The longest section without electrification to the West of Leeds, is Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield, which is 25.5 miles.

At the Eastern end, as Leeds and Hull is 51.5 miles, there would need to be some electrification or a charging system at Hull station.

I am sure this route is possible with battery-electric trains.

TransPennine Express – Huddersfield and Leeds

The longest section without electrification is Dewsbury and Leeds, which is 9.2 miles.

I am sure this route is possible with battery-electric trains.

Handling The Eastern Ends

At Hull, Redcar Central and Scarborough stations, there will need to be some means to recharge the trains, so they can get back to the electrification on the East Coast Main Line.

There could either be a short length of 25 KVAC overhead electrification or a special-purpose charging station.

There would need to be an allowance in the turnback, of perhaps 10-15 minutes to make sure trains started back with full batteries.

Will Huddersfield And Westtown Be Long Enough To Charge A Battery-Electric Train?

I have looked at train times between Huddersfield And Westtown and typically trains take around 11-12 minutes to go between Huddersfield and Dewsbury stations.

That should probably be enough, especially, as the trains will probably be using regenerative braking to batteries at any station stops.

Conclusion

I am absolutely certain that by completing the TransPennine Upgrade with full electrification between Huddersfield and Westtown, that all passenger services through the section could be run by battery-electric trains with a range of ninety kilometres or fifty-six miles.

There would probably need to be some electrification or a charging system at Hull, Redcar Central and Scarborough stations.

A Thought On Short Sections Of Electrification

As with the Bolton-Wigan scheme to the West of the Pennines, a length of electrified track that is less than ten miles, allows several services to be run by battery-electric trains and decarbonised.

How many other sections of less than ten miles of electrification can transform train services and reduce the use of diesel around the UK, by the introduction of fleets of battery-electric trains?

 

September 4, 2021 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

DfT To Have Final Say On Huddersfield Rebuild Of Rail Station And Bridges

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

This is the first paragraph.

As part of the £1.4bn Transpennine Route Upgrade. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is to rule on planned changes to Huddersfield’s 19th century rail station and not the Kirklees council, in what is to be a huge revamp of the line between Manchester and York.

According to the article eight bridges are to be replaced or seriously modified.

As Huddersfield station (shown) is Grade I listed and three other Grade II listed buildings and structures are involved, I can see this project ending up with a substantial bill for lawyers.

But then, to have a world-class railway across the Pennines, a few eggs will need to be broken.

Electric Trains Across The Pennine

This page on the Network Rail web site describes the Huddersfield To Westtown (Dewsbury) Upgrade.

When the upgrade and the related York To Church Fenton Improvement Scheme is completed, the TransPennine route between Huddersfield and York will be fully-electrified.

As Manchester To Stalybridge will also have been electrified, this will mean that the only section without electrification will be the eighteen miles across the Pennines between Stalybridge and Huddersfield.

Will this final eighteen miles ne electrified?

Eighteen miles with electrification at both ends will be a short jump for a Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, the specification of which is shown in this Hitachi infographic.

The Class 802 trains of TransPennine Express are able to be converted into these trains.

The trains could work these routes.

  • Liverpool Lime Street and Scarborough
  • Manchester Airport and Redcar
  • Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh via Newcastle
  • Manchester Airport and Newcastle
  • Manchester Piccadilly and Hull
  • Manchester Airport and Cleethorpes

Note.

  1. I suspect some more Class 802 trains with batteries will be needed.
  2. The trains would either use battery or diesel power to reach Hull, Redcar and Scarborough or there could be a few miles of electrification to stretch battery range.
  3. Will the Class 68 diesel locomotives be replaced with Class 93 tri-mode locomotives to haul the Mark 5A coaches to Scarborough.
  4. Manchester Airport and Cleethorpes could be a problem and will probably need some electrification around Sheffield and Grimsby.

This would just mean TransPennine’s two short routes to be decarbonised.

  • Manchester Piccadilly and Huddersfield
  • Huddersfield and Leeds

As except for the eighteen mile gap between Stalybridge and Huddersfield, these two routes are fully-electrified, I suspect that a battery-electric version of a 110 mph electric train like a Class 387 or Class 350 train could run these routes.

Conclusion

It looks like if these sections of the TransPennine Express network are upgraded and electrified.

  • York and Church Fenton
  • Huddersfield and Westtown
  • Manchester and Staylebridge

Together with a few extra miles of electrification at strategic points, that TransPennine Express will be able to decarbonise.

 

May 18, 2021 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Is A Crossrail For Leeds On The Way?

This article on Insider Media is entitled Schemes Totalling More Than £140m Backed By Investment Committee.

This is introductory paragraph.

Schemes totalling more than £140m to support the region’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, have have been backed by West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Investment Committee.

These are the two main schemes.

A £24.2m million (including £17m Combined Authority funding) rail station between Morley and Cotttingley on the Transpennine route at White Rose/

A 31.6m (including £13.9m of Combined Authority funding) parkway rail station at Thorpe Park on the Leeds to York section of the route.

There are also several other schemes for West Yorkshire.

White Rose Station

This Google Map shows the White Rose Centre.

The Huddersfield Line runs North-South alongside the Centre and there must be plenty of space for a new White Rose station.

From Wikipedia and other sources, the following seems to be on the agenda for the station.

  • Two platforms.
  • Ability to take six-car trains, with a possibility to extend to eight-cars.
  • Two trains per hour (tph) in both directions.
  • Up to 340,000 passengers per year.
  • Lots of parking.

The station would be about 3.5 miles to the South-West of Leeds station.

Thorpe Park Station

This Google Map shows the area where the station could be built.

Note.

  1. The Selby Line curving across the Northern side of the map.
  2. Cross Gates station is the next station to the West.
  3. Going East on the Selby Line, you pass through Garforth, East Garforth and Micklefield stations before the line divides for York to the North and Selby and Hull to the East.
  4. The M1 Motorway passing to the East of Leeds.

Other features of the proposed station and the area include.

  • Wikipedia says that the station will have two island platforms and the ability to handle inter-city trains.
  • The route through the station would be electrified.
  • High Speed Two could be routed to go close to the station.
  • Lots of parking.

The station would be about 4 miles to the East of Leeds station.

A Crossrail For Leeds

Could these two stations in the future become stations on a high-capacity route across Yorkshire centred on Leeds?

  • The Western end of the route could be Huddersfield.
  • The Eastern end of the route could be both York and Hull.
  • Plans exist and projects have started to fully electrify between Huddersfield and York.
  • Both stations will be Park-and-Ride stations with good connections to the motorway network.
  • Intermediate stations between Leeds and Huddersfield could include Cottingley, White Rose, Morley, Batley, Dewsbury, Ravensthorpe, Mirfield and Deighton
  • Intermediate stations between Leeds and York could include Cross Gates, Thorpe Park, Garforth, East Garforth, Micklefield, Church Fenton and Ulleskelf.
  • Intermediate stations between Leeds and Hull could include Cross Gates, Thorpe Park, Garforth, East Garforth, Micklefield, South Milford, Selby, Wrassle, Howden, Eastrington, Gilberdyke, Broomfleet, Brough, Ferriby and Hessle.

With the exception of the two new stations and the electrification, infrastructure needs would not appear to be large.

These are some thoughts.

Distances And Timings

These are some distances and estimated timings from Leeds.

  • Huddersfield – 27 miles – 32 minutes – 51 mph
  • Hull – 52 miles – 55 minutes – 57 mph
  • York – 15,5 miles – 23 minutes – 40 mph

Note.

  1. With full electrification, timings could be improved.
  2. York and Huddersfield would be under an hour.
  3. Kull and Huddersfield could be under ninety minutes.

These timings would certainly be achievable by a 125 mph Class 802 train, but I suspect, that they could be achieved by a 110 mph electric train like a Class 730/1 train.

Current Services Through White Road, Leeds and Thorpe Park Stations

These services currents pass through the three stations or their proposed sites.

  • TransPennine Express – Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh
  • TransPennine Express – Liverpool Lime Street and Scarborough
  • TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport and Newcastle
  • TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport and Redcar Central
  • TransPennine Express – Manchester Piccadilly and Hull

Note.

  1. All of these trains are one tph.
  2. There could be five quality tph on the route, most of which would be five-car Class 802 trains.

In addition the following services would pass through Leeds and Thorpe Park stations.

  • CrossCountry – Plymouth and Edinburgh/Glasgow
  • Northern Trains – Blackpool North and York via Bradford Interchange
  • Northern Trains – Halifax and Hull via Bradford Interchange
  •  

Note.

  1. All of these trains are one tph.
  2. Two trains serve Bradford Interchange.

These services could mean eight tph between Thorpe Park and Leeds stations.

In addition the following services would pass through Leeds and White Rose stations.

  • Northern Trains – Wigan Wallgate and Leeds
  • TransPennine Express – Huddersfield and Leeds

Note.

  1. All of these trains are one tph.

These services could mean seven tph between White Rose and Leeds stations.

A Possible Future Service

I believe that services across Leeds could be recast to give the City a network of railways that would satisfy the needs of the City.

Possible services could include.

Four tph – York and Huddersfield via Thorpe Park, Leeds and White Rose in under an hour.

Two tph – Hull and Huddersfield via Thorpe Park, Leeds and White Rose in under ninety minutes.

Two tph – Halifax and Thorpe Park via Leeds and Bradford

Note

  1. There are a lot of possibilities.
  2. Services would be timed to make interchange easy with other services at Leeds.

I would also arrange for East to West and West to East services to share the same island platform at Leeds.

Conclusion

Leeds will get the electrified local railway the city deserves.

February 14, 2021 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Overhauls for LNER’s Remaining Class 91s And Mk 4s

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

This is the introductory paragraph.

Eversholt Rail, which owns the trains, has confirmed that 12 London North Eastern Railway Class 91s and the remaining Mk 4 coaches will undergo overhauls at Wabtec Rail, Doncaster.

It had been expected, that LNER would purchase more trains, as I wrote about in More New Trains On LNER Wish List.

The article gives more details of the trains to be retained.

  • Twelve Class 91 locomotives, seven rakes of Mark 4 coaches and two spare coaches will be retained.
  • They will be confined to routes between London Kings Cross and Bradford, Leeds, Skipton and York.

How many trains will be needed to cover these routes?

  • Trains take two hours and fifteen minutes between London Kings Cross and Leeds and run at a frequency of two trains per hour (tph)
  • Trains take two hours and twenty-one minutes between London Kings Cross and York and run hourly.
  • I suspect that a round trip to Leeds or York can be five hours.

So a crude analysis says, that will mean fifteen trains will be needed,

But some of these trains will be extended past Leeds.

These are, electrification status and the times and distances between Leeds and the final destinations.

  • Bradford – Electrified – 22 minutes – 13.5 miles
  • Harrogate – Not Electrified – 40 minutes – 18 miles
  • Huddersfield – Not Electrified – 33 minutes – 17 miles
  • Skipton – Electrified  – 45 minutes – 26 miles

It appears that the following is true.

  • Trains serving Harrogate and Huddersfield must be worked by bi-mode Class 800 trains.
  • Trains serving Bradford and Skipton could be worked by InterCity 225 trains or an all-electric nine-car Class 801 train.

Note.

  1. Some times are those taken by LNER services and some are estimates from TransPennine Express.
  2. I have assumed 8-10 minutes for the Split-and-Join at Leeds and included it in the times.
  3. Class 800 trains seem to take around ten minutes to turnround at Harrogate.
  4. Times between London Kings Cross and Doncaster will decrease by a few minutes, with the addition of digital in-cab signalling on the route, which will allow 140 mph running by InterCity 225s, Class 800 trains and Class 801 trains.

I estimate that it will be possible for an InterCity 225, Class 800 train or Class 801 train to do a round trip between London Kings Cross and Bradford, Harrogate, Huddersfield or Skipton in six hours.

The round trip between London Kings Cross and York will be the five hours, I estimated earlier.

Wikipedia also says this.

LNER expects to introduce two-hourly services to Bradford and a daily service to Huddersfield in May 2020 when more Azuma trains have been introduced.

So would the pattern of trains to Leeds/York be as follows?

  • One tph – One pair of five-car Class 800 trains to Leeds, of which some or all split and join at Leeds, with one train going to and from Harrogate and the other going to and from Huddersfield.
  • One tph per two hours (tp2h) – An InterCity 225 or nine-car Class 801 train to Leeds, of which some or all are extended to Bradford.
  • One tp2h – An InterCity 225 or nine-car Class 801 train to Leeds, of which some or all are extended to Skipton.
  • One tph – An InterCity 225 or nine-car Class 801 train to York.

I estimate that it will be possible for an InterCity 225, Class 800 train or Class 801 train to do a round trip between London Kings Cross and Bradford, Harrogate, Huddersfield or Skipton in six hours.

This would need the following trains.

  • Six pairs of five-car Class 800 trains for the Harrogate and Huddersfield services.
  • Six full size all electric trains, which could be an InterCity 225, a nine-car Class 801 train or a pair of five Class 801 trains, for Bradford and Skipton services.
  • Five full size all electric trains, which could be an InterCity 225, a nine-car Class 801 train or a pair of Class 801 trains, for York services.

So why have LNER changed their mind and are retaining the InterCity 225?

Are InterCity 225 Trains Already Certified For 140 mph Running?

I wouldn’t be surprised, if a large part of the certification work for this had been done for 140 mph running and for it to be allowed, it needs digital in-cab signalling to be installed on the East Coast Main Line.

The Wikipedia entry for the InterCity 225 says this about the train’s performance.

The InterCity 225 has a top service speed of 140 mph (225 km/h); during a test run in 1989 on Stoke Bank between Peterborough and Grantham an InterCity 225 reached 162 mph (260.7 km/h). However, except on High Speed 1, which is equipped with cab signalling, British signalling does not allow trains to exceed 125 mph (201 km/h) in regular service, due to the impracticality of correctly observing lineside signals at high speed.

The Wikipedia entry for the East Coast Main Line says this about the future signalling.

A new Rail operating centre (ROC), with training facilities, opened in early 2014 at the “Engineer’s Triangle” in York. The ROC will enable signalling and day-to-day operations of the route to be undertaken in a single location. Signalling control/traffic management using ERTMS is scheduled to be introduced from 2020 on the ECML between London King’s Cross and Doncaster – managed from the York ROC.

A small fleet of InterCity 225 trains could be the ideal test fleet to find all the glitches in the new signalling.

Are InterCity 225 trains Already Certified To Run To Bradford and Skipton?

If they are, then that is another problem already solved.

A Fleet Of Seven Trains Would Cover Bradford And Skipton Services

Six trains are needed to run a one tp2h service to both Bradford and Skipton, so they could fully cover one tp2h to Bradford and occasional trains to Skipton with a spare train and one in maintenance.

Using InterCity 225s To Bradford and Skipton Would Not Require A Split-And-Join At Leeds

The number of trains that would Split-and-Join at Leeds would be only two tph instead  of four tph, which would be simpler with less to go wrong.

Not Enough Five-Car Bi-Mode Class 800 Trains

LNER’s full fleet of Azumas will be as follows.

  • 13 – Nine-car bi-mode Class 800 trains.
  • 10 – Five-car bi-mode Class 800 trains.
  • 30 – Nine-car electric Class 801 trains.
  • 12 – Five-car electric Class 801 trains.

This would appear to be a major problem, if Harrogate and Huddersfield were to be served hourly by Class 800 trains, existing services are to be maintained or even increased to Hull and Lincoln and extra services are to be added to Middlesbrough and perhaps Nottingham and other destinations.

The InterCity 225s only help indirectly, if they provided the London Kings Cross and Bradford and Skipton services.

Conversion Of Class 800 and Class 801 Trains To Regional Battery Trains

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

For LNER, they will be useful for any Journey under about 90 kilometres or 56 miles.

The trains should be able to serve these routes.

  • Leeds and Harrogate and back – 36 miles
  • Leeds and Huddersfield and back – 34 miles
  • Newark and Lincoln and back – 33 miles
  • Northallerton and Middlesbrough and back – 42 miles

Whilst Class 800 trains and Class 801 trains are converted, the InterCity 225 trains would act as valuable cover on services like London to Leeds and York.

Conclusion

I think it is a good plan.

September 14, 2020 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

LNER Expands To Huddersfield

This press release from LNER is entitled LNER Announces Direct Services Between Huddersfield And London.

These are the introductory paragraphs.

LNER is proud to announce new Azuma services will be introduced between Huddersfield and London King’s Cross from Monday 18 May 2020.

The daily weekday service in each direction will be LNER’s first direct link between the West Yorkshire market town and the capital.

They will also connect nearby Dewsbury directly with London King’s Cross, after more than a generation of no direct services between Huddersfield and London.

The timetable will be as follows.

The new southbound service will depart from Huddersfield at 05:50 and Dewsbury at 06:01. The Azuma service will arrive in Leeds at 06:16, where it will couple to another five-car Azuma to form the 06:40 Leeds to London King’s Cross service, which will arrive in the capital at 08:51 on weekdays.

The evening northbound service will depart from London King’s Cross at 18:03 and will be formed of two five-car Azuma trains, which will split in Leeds, with one train continuing to Skipton and the other to Dewsbury, arriving at 20:45 and then Huddersfield at 20:58.

Joining and splitting is definitely being brought to Yorkshire by LNER.

I wonder, if there will be a London to Huddersfield service in the reverse direction in a few months.

March 14, 2020 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Could Battery-Electric Hitachi Trains Work TransPennine Express’s Services?

Before I answer this question, I will lay out the battery-electric train’s specification.

Hitachi’s Proposed Battery Electric Train

Based on information in an article in Issue 898 of Rail Magazine, which is entitled Sparking A Revolution, the specification of Hitachi’s proposed battery-electric train is given as follows.

  • Based on Class 800-802/804 trains or Class 385 trains.
  • Range of 55-65 miles.
  • Operating speed of 90-100 mph
  • Recharge in ten minutes when static.
  • A battery life of 8-10 years.
  • Battery-only power for stations and urban areas.
  • Trains are designed to be created by conversion of existing Class 80x trains

For this post, I will assume that the train is five cars long. This is the length of TransPennine Express’s Class 802 trains.

TransPennine Express’s Services

These are TransPennine Express services that run in the North of England and to Scotland.

I shall go through all the services and see how they would be affected by Hitachi’s proposed battery-electric train.

Liverpool Lime Street And Edinburgh

  • The service runs at a frequency of one train per hour (tph)
  • Intermediate stations are Newton-le-Willows, Manchester Victoria, Huddersfield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Durham, Newcastle and Morpeth

The service is 305 miles long and takes four hours and 25 minutes.

The route can be divided into sections, some of which are electrified and some of which are not!

  • Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Victoria – 32 miles – Electrified
  • Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield  – 26 miles – Not Electrified
  • Huddersfield and Dewsbury – 8 miles – Not Electrified
  • Dewsbury and Leeds – 9 miles – Not Electrified
  • Leeds and Colton Junction – 20 miles – Not Electrified
  • Colton Junction and Edinburgh – 220 miles – Electrified

Note that the distance between Manchester Victoria and Colton Junction, which is the only section of the route without electrification is sixty-three miles, which is just within the 55-65 mile battery range of Hitachi’s proposed battery-electric train.

That is too close for my liking, as what happens, if the train gets delayed by an operational incident.

In this article on the BBC, which was published in August 2019 and is entitled Detailed TransPennine £2.9bn Rail Upgrade Plans Unveiled, the following is said.

  • The route between Huddersfield and Dewsbury will be electrified.
  • Parts of this route will have two extra tracks.
  • The plans will be going to full consultation, later in the year.

This would mean that a route summary would be like this.

  • Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Victoria – 32 miles – Electrified
  • Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield  – 26 miles – Not Electrified
  • Huddersfield and Dewsbury – 8 miles – Electrified
  • Dewsbury and Colton Junction – 29 miles – Not Electrified
  • Colton Junction and Edinburgh – 220 miles – Electrified

The two sections without electrification are well within the 55-65 mile battery range of Hitachi’s proposed battery electric train.

It should also be noted that the electrification between Newcastle and Edinburgh is rather down on power and needs upgrading.

I would suspect that Hitachi’s proposed battery electric train could handle this power deficiency by using the batteries.

Liverpool Lime Street And Scarborough

  • The service runs at a frequency of one tph
  • Intermediate stations are Lea Green, Manchester Victoria, Stalybridge, Huddersfield, Leeds, Garforth, York, Malton and Seamer

The service is 142 miles long and takes two hours and 58 minutes.

The route can be divided into sections, some of which are electrified and some of which are not!

  • Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Victoria – 32 miles – Electrified
  • Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield  – 26 miles – Not Electrified
  • Huddersfield and Dewsbury – 8 miles – Not Electrified
  • Dewsbury and Leeds – 9 miles – Not Electrified
  • Leeds and Colton Junction – 20 miles – Not Electrified
  • Colton Junction and York – 6 miles – Electrified
  • York and Scarborough – 42 miles – Not Electrified

Between Liverpool Lime Street and Colton Junction, the route is identical to the Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh service.

The improvement of the section between Huddersfield and Dewsbury will also benefit this service and mean that a route summary would be like this.

  • Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Victoria – 32 miles – Electrified
  • Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield  – 26 miles – Not Electrified
  • Huddersfield and Dewsbury – 8 miles – Electrified
  • Dewsbury and and Colton Junction – 29 miles – Not Electrified
  • Colton Junction and York – 6 miles – Electrified
  • York and Scarborough – 42 miles – Not Electrified

As Hitachi’s proposed battery-electric train has a range of 55-65 miles on battery power, it looks to me that this service could be handled by the train.

It would need a Fast Charge system at Scarborough to recharge the batteries to be able to return to York.

But, as the timetable allows a generous turn-round, fully-charging the batteries shouldn’t be a problem.

Manchester Airport And Newcastle

  • The service runs at a frequency of one tph
  • Intermediate stations are Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester Victoria, Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Leeds, York, Northallerton, Darlington, Durham and Chester-le-Street

The service is 162 miles long and takes three hours and one minute.

The route can be divided into sections, some of which are electrified and some of which are not!

  • Manchester Airport and Manchester Victoria – 13 miles – Electrified
  • Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield  – 26 miles – Not Electrified
  • Huddersfield and Dewsbury – 8 miles – Not Electrified
  • Dewsbury and Leeds – 9 miles – Not Electrified
  • Leeds and Colton Junction – 20 miles – Not Electrified
  • Colton Junction and Edinburgh – 86 miles – Electrified

Between Manchester Victoria and Colton Junction, the route is identical to the two Liverpool Lime Street services, that I discussed previously.

The improvement of the section between Huddersfield and Dewsbury will also benefit this service and mean that Hitachi’s proposed battery-electric train could handle this route with ease.

Manchester Airport And Redcar Central

  • The service runs at a frequency of one tph
  • Intermediate stations are Gatley, Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester Victoria, Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Leeds, York, Thirsk, Northallerton, Yarm, Thornaby and Middlesbrough

The service is 162 miles long and takes three hours and fifteen minutes.

The route can be divided into sections, some of which are electrified and some of which are not!

  • Manchester Airport and Manchester Victoria – 13 miles – Electrified
  • Manchester Victoria and Huddersfield  – 26 miles – Not Electrified
  • Huddersfield and Dewsbury – 8 miles – Not Electrified
  • Dewsbury and Leeds – 9 miles – Not Electrified
  • Leeds and Colton Junction – 20 miles – Not Electrified
  • Colton Junction and Northallerton – 35 miles – Electrified
  • Northallerton and Redcar Central – 29 miles – Not Electrified

Between Manchester Victoria and Colton Junction, the route is identical to the previously discussed services.

The improvement of the section between Huddersfield and Dewsbury will also benefit this service and mean that Hitachi’s proposed battery-electric train could handle this route with ease.

As with the Scarborough service, a Fast-Charge system would probably be needed at Redcar Central.

Manchester Piccadilly And Hull

  • The service runs at a frequency of one tph
  • Intermediate stations are Stalybridge, Huddersfield, Leeds, Selby and Brough

The service is 94 miles long and takes two hours and four minutes.

The route can be divided into sections, some of which are electrified and some of which are not!

  • Manchester Piccadilly and Huddersfield  – 25 miles – Not Electrified
  • Huddersfield and Dewsbury – 8 miles – Not Electrified
  • Dewsbury and Leeds – 9 miles – Not Electrified
  • Leeds and Hull – 52 miles – Not Electrified

Between Huddersfield and Leeds, the route is identical to the previously discussed services.

The improvement of the section between Huddersfield and Dewsbury will also benefit this service and mean that Hitachi’s proposed battery-electric train should be able to handle this route.

As with the Scarborough and Redcar Central services, a Fast-Charge system would probably be needed at Hull.

Manchester Piccadilly And Huddersfield

  • The service runs at a frequency of one tph
  • Intermediate stations are Stalybridge, Mossley, Greenfield, Marsden and Slaithwaite

The service is 25 miles long and takes forty-three minutes.

The route is without electrification.

Hitachi’s proposed battery-electric train should be able to handle this route with ease.

The train could charge at either end using the electrification.

Huddersfield And Leeds

  • The service runs at a frequency of one tph
  • Intermediate stations are Deighton, Mirfield, Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury, Batley, Morley and Cottingley

The service is 17 miles long and takes thirty-six minutes.

Hitachi’s proposed battery-electric train should be able to handle this route with ease.

The train could charge at Leeds using the electrification.

Manchester Airport And Cleethorpes

  • The service runs at a frequency of one tph
  • Intermediate stations are Manchester Piccadilly, Stockport, Sheffield, Meadowhall Interchange, Doncaster, Scunthorpe, Barnetby, Habrough and Grimsby Town

The service is 124 miles long and takes two hours and fifty-eight minutes.

he route can be divided into sections, some of which are electrified and some of which are not!

  • Manchester Airport and Stockport – 16 miles – Electrified
  • Stockport and Sheffield  – 37 miles – Not Electrified
  • Sheffield and Doncaster – 19 miles – Not Electrified
  • Doncaster and Cleethorpes – 52 miles – Not Electrified

There would need to be some en route charging and surely the easiest way to achieve this would be to extend the electrification at Doncaster to Sheffield.

As with the other services, a Fast-Charge system would probably be needed at Cleethorpes.

Manchester Airport And Glasgow Central Or Edinburgh Waverley Via Preston

This service is all-electric.

Conclusion

Hitachi’s proposed battery-electric train can handle all of TransPennine’s routes without using one drop of diesel.

What I have found interesting, is that the eight miles of electrification between Huddersfield and Dewsbury appears to make the operation of a battery-electric train a lot easier.

It looks like someone at Hitachi and Network Rail have taken a calculator to a decent hostelry and worked out a cunning plan!

 

 

 

February 25, 2020 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

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