The Anonymous Widower

Electrification Project’s Major Milestone Delivered On Time And Under Budget

The title of this post, is the same as this news item from Network Rail.

These four paragraphs give details of the electrification project.

The railway line between Kettering in Northamptonshire and Wigston near Leicester has reached a major milestone by being officially declared ready and safe for electric trains.

The certification for the 23-mile section is a massive achievement in Network Rail’s Midland Main Line Electrification Programme – the biggest programme of improvements to the line since its completion in 1870.

Electrification is a key part of the Government’s net zero carbon target by 2050, while also being quieter for passengers and residents living near the railway.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) issued the Authorisation to Place into Service (APiS) for the Kettering to Wigston section, which includes a new substation at Braybrooke, near Market Harborough, to provide extra power and resilience to the network.

This map from Open Railway Map shows the newly electrified section.

Note.

  1. Red tracks are electrified and black tracks are not.
  2. The triangular track in the North-West corner of the map is Wigston junction.
  3. The track going North from this junction is the Midland Main Line to Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield and other destinations served by East Midlands Railway.
  4. The track going West from this junction goes to Birmingham.
  5. The track going South from this junction is the Midland Main Line to Kettering and ultimately to London St. Pancras.
  6. The blue arrow indicates Kilby Bridge junction.

The electrification goes all the way between Wigston junction and London St. Pancras station.

I believe that what electrification has now been erected on the Midland Main Line can support battery-electric trains to the East Midlands Railway’s existing destinations.

Battery-Electric Trains Between St. Pancras And Leicester Stations

Real Time Trains reveal the following about current St. Pancras and Leicester services, that are run by the new Class 810 trains.

  • Trains switch between electric and diesel power at Kilby Bridge junction.
  • Between Kilby Bridge junction and St. Pancras station, overhead electrication provides train power.
  • Between Kilby Bridge junction and Leicester station diesel generators provide train power.
  • Kilby Bridge junction and Leicester station are 5.6 miles apart.

This would mean.

  • For a one-way journey a battery range of 5.6 miles would be needed.
  • For a return journey a battery range of 11.2 miles would be needed.

I suspect charging could be erected if required at Nottingham station.

Battery-Electric Trains Between St. Pancras And Nottingham Stations

Real Time Trains reveal the following about current St. Pancras and Nottingham services, that are run by the new Class 810 trains.

  • Trains switch between electric and diesel power at Kilby Bridge junction.
  • Between Kilby Bridge junction and St. Pancras station, overhead electrication provides train power.
  • Between Kilby Bridge junction and Nottingham station diesel generators provide train power.
  • Kilby Bridge junction and Nottingham station are 33.1 miles apart.

This would mean.

  • For a one-way journey a battery range of 33.1 miles would be needed.
  • For a return journey a battery range of 66.2 miles would be needed.
  • Leicester, Loughborough, East Midlands Parkway and Beeston stations would be served on battery power.

I suspect charging could be installed if required at Nottingham station.

Battery-Electric Trains Between St. Pancras And Sheffield Stations

Real Time Trains reveal the following about current St. Pancras and Sheffield services, that are run by the new Class 810 trains.

  • Trains switch between electric and diesel power at Kilby Bridge junction.
  • Between Kilby Bridge junction and St. Pancras station, overhead electrication provides train power.
  • Between Kilby Bridge junction and Sheffield station diesel generators provide train power.
  • Kilby Bridge junction and Sheffield station are 71.4 miles apart.

This would mean.

  • For a one-way journey a battery range of 71.4 miles would be needed.
  • For a return journey a battery range of 142.8 miles would be needed.
  • Leicester, Loughborough, East Midlands Parkway, Long Eaton, Derby and Chesterfield stations would be served on battery power.

I suspect charging could be installed if required at Sheffield station.

What Battery Range Would be Needed For Battery-Electric Trains To All Destinations?

Consider.

  • I will assume that trains will change between power sources, as they do now at Kilby Bridge junction.
  • Leicester is only a few miles from Kilby Bridge junction.
  • Sheffield is the largest distance from Kilby Bridge junction at 71.4 miles.
  • A return trip to Nottingham from Kilby Bridge junction at 66.2 miles is less than a one-way trip to Sheffield.
  • It would appear that so long as the battery-electric trains have a battery range of greater than 71.4 miles, Battery-electric trains could cover all destinations.

I would expect a battery range of between 80 and 90 miles would be ideal, as it would give a sensible reserve.

In addition, charging would be needed at Sheffield.

Charging At Sheffield Station

This OpenRailwayMap shows Platform 8 at Sheffield station.

Note.

  1. The pink tracks are the Sheffield Supertram, that runs on the East side of the station.
  2. The black tracks are those in the platforms of Sheffield station.
  3. The Easternmost platform in the station is Platform 8, which is 368 metres long.
  4. Platform 8 could hold two five-car Class 810 trains.

I believe that if Platform 8 were to be electrified, it could charge trains before they returned to London.

Could Pairs Of Five-Car Class 810 trains, Work Between St. Pancras And Sheffield Stations?

Consider.

  • Pairs of five-car Class 810 trains, were designed to be able to use St. Pancras station.
  • It appears Platform 8 at Sheffield could handle a pair of five-car Class 810 trains.
  • Hitachi’s IET trains have been designed to be converted into battery-electric express trains.
  • Battery-electric trains are likely to be quieter and have less vibration, than diesel trains.

What would a two battery-electric trains per hour service do for the City of Sheffield?

Conclusion

It does appear, that the Midland Main Line was designed for battery-electric operation.

The mathematical fit of trains, routes and stations is faultless.

October 9, 2026 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Problem Of Electrifying Leicester Station

This post is my attempt to try and explain the problem of electrifying the Midland Main Line through Leicester station.

This Google map shows the Southern end of the station.

This OpenRailwayMap shows the station.

Note.

  1. There appear to be five tunnels under the station buildings and London Road.
  2. What is the tunnel going underneath the tracks used for?

Leicester station has a Grade II Listed frontage.

Note.

  1. It is an impressive Victorian station.
  2. The station building is on a bridge over the tracks.
  3. The station is also on one of the main roads through Leicester.
  4. The road layout is very complicated.

This 3D Google Map, shows an aerial view of the station.

Note.

  1. There four platforms, which are numbered 1-4 from the left.
  2. The expresses between London and Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield use the two middle tracks.
  3. Other main line and East-West services  use the outside platforms.
  4. There is an avoiding line for freight services.
  5. 5. The step-free footbridge is clearly visible.

This second 3D Google Map, shows an enlargement of the frontage of the station.

These pictures show what is inside the building at the front of the station.

The building would appear to be a Grade II Listed taxi rank and free twenty-minute car park.

There are plans to increase the capacity of the station.

  • A fifth platform will be added.
  • Three miles of quadruple track will be be built South of the station.
  • The Midland Main Line was also to be electrified.

Real Time Trains indicates that the distance between Leicester and Wigston North  junction is 3.1 miles.

This OpenRailMap shows that section of track.

Note.

  1. Leiester station is at the top of the map.
  2. Wigston junction is the triangular junction at the bottom of the map.
  3. Wigston North Junction is indicated by the blue arrow.
  4. OpenRailwayMap only shows a 100 mph Northbound track and a 90 mph Southbound track on the route.

It looks to me, that four tracks between Leicester and Wigston North  junction would mean that trains could expedite arrivals to and departures from Leicester to and from the South.

South From Wigston Junction

Consider.

  • London St. Pancras and Kettering is a four-track railway as far as the Corby Branch.
  • North of Luton the slowest maximum speed is 100 mph, with much of the line rated at 110 mph plus.
  • Wigston North junction and Luton station is 65.8 miles.
  • Current Class 222 diesel trains typically take 40 minutes.
  • This is an average speed of 98.7 mph.
  • An average speed of  110 mph between Wigston North junction and Luton station would take 36 minutes.
  • An average speed of  125 mph between Wigston North junction and Luton station would take 31.6 minutes.
  • An average speed of  130 mph between Wigston North junction and Luton station would take 30.4 minutes.

I believe with track improvements and digital signalling, there are time savings to be gained between St. Pancras and Leicester stations.

Ultimately, if the 140 mph design speed of the Class 810 trains under digital signalling could be maintained, this would do the following.

  • Push the St. Pancras and Leicester times under an hour.
  • Push the St. Pancras and Nottingham times under ninety minutes.
  • Push the St. Pancras and Sheffield times under two hours.

Batteries would only be used on the three miles between Wigston North junction and Leicester station.

Could Bi-Mode Trains Be Used?

They could be used initially and to prove if the partial electrification works.

But each train has four diesel engines and sometimes they will be working in pairs through the stations between Leicester and Sheffield.

Passengers will take a dim view of being covered in lots of diesel smoke, when they have been promised clean, zero-carbon electric trains.

But the battery-electric trains will be much quieter and pollution-free.

This page on the Hitachi Rail web site is entitled Intercity Battery Trains.

New Infrastructure Needed

The only infrastructure needed will be that which will support the new trains.

The Class 810 trains will be maintained at Etches Park at Derby.

If they are battery-electric trains, there may be some strategically-placed chargers, which typically would be a short length of overhead wire.

 

July 18, 2025 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Midland Main Line Electrification – 4th Jan 2022

I took these pictures from the train today, as I went to Leicester.

Note.

  1. We overtook the Class 360 train to Corby, just before it left the main line at Kettering North junction.
  2. Once past Kettering North junction, the Midland Main Line is only two tracks as far as Leicester station.
  3. A lot of the gantries on the two slow lines seem tall.
  4. At least twenty gantries had been installed North of the junction.

Some of the new gantries looked to be lighter than those South of the junction, but then they are only supporting electrification for two tracks, rather than four.

This Google Map shows the junction.

In this section, my train overtook the train to Corby.

  • The track going North-West goes to Leicester.
  • The track going North-East goes to Corby.
  • The track going South goes to Kettering.
  • It looks like to the West of the Midland Main Line is a large electricity sub-station.

In the tenth of my pictures you can see the three vertical poles opposite the sub-station, which can be picked out in the map.

 

January 4, 2022 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , | 28 Comments

Testing Begins On Midland Main Line Electrification

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

  • From the article, it looks like the first part of mechanical testing has been completed as planned and unpowered pantograph runs have been performed at up to 110 mph.
  • It does seem to me, that this thirty  miles of electrification has avoided the troubles that have plagued similar projects in recent years.

Perhaps the good progress on this electrification, is making the government think again about early electrification of all of the  Midland Main Line

In Hopes Rekindled Of Full Midland Main Line Electrification. I showed how battery electric Class 810 trains would be able to work the route.

This was my conclusion of that earlier post.

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?

There was one thing, that wasn’t available, a month ago, when I wrote that post – A charging system for battery electric trains, that could be installed at Nottingham.

In Vivarail’s Plans For Zero-Emission Trains, I report on Adrian Shooter’s plans for Vivarail, which are outlined in a video by Modern Railways.

Ar one point he says this   see about Vivarail’s Fast Charge system.

The system has now been given preliminary approval to be installed as the UK’s standard charging system for any make of train.

I may have got the word’s slightly wrong, but I believe the overall message is correct.

So could we see a Hitachi Class 810 train using Vivarail’s patented Fast Charge system at Nottingham?

In Interview: Hitachi’s Nick Hughes On Driving Innovation In Rail Propulsion, Nick Hughes of Hitachi is quoted as saying.

Rail is going to become increasingly digitised and integrated into other sectors involved in smart cities, mobility-as-a-service and flexible green grid. Therefore, Hitachi Rail won’t be able to stay at the forefront of innovation by its self. This is why we are focused on building partnerships with other like-minded, innovative, clean tech companies like Hyperdrive Innovation, Perpetuum and Hitachi group companies such as Hitachi ABB.

Does Vivarail fit that philosophy? In my view, it does!

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

Note.

  1. The range on battery power is 90 km or 56 miles at up to 100 mph.
  2. Class 810 trains could be converted to battery electric trains by replacing the diesel engines with batteries.
  3. As the electrification has reached Kettering. there is only 55 miles between London St Pancras and Nottingham without electrification.

I could see Class 810 trains running between St. Pancras and Nottingham on delivery, provided the following projects have been completed.

  • Hitachi have been able to give the Class 810 trains a range of say 60 miles on batteries.
  • Hitachi have modified their trains, so they can be recharged by a Vivarail Fast Charge system in fifteen minutes.
  • Vivarail have installed a Fast Charge facility at Nottingham station.

Network Rail are planning to extend the electrification from Kettering to Market Harborough, which would reduce the distance without electrification to under 50 miles. This would make running battery electric trains between London St. Pancras and Nottingham even easier.

Expanding The Network

If I am putting two and two together correctly and Hitachi have turned to Vivarail to provide a charging system or a licence for the use of the technology, I am sure, it would be possible to create a comprehensive network of battery electric trains.

Consider.

  • Hitachi should be able to squeeze a sixty mile range at 90-100 mph from a battery-equipped Class 810 trains.
  • Market Harborough and Derby are about 47 miles apart.
  • Derby and Sheffield are about 36 miles apart
  • Sheffield and Leeds are about 48 miles apart
  • Corby and Leicester are about 41 miles apart.

Vivarail Fast Charge systems at Derby, Leicester and Sheffield would enable the following routes to be run using battery electric trains.

  • London St. Pancras and Sheffield via Derby – Fast Charging at Derby and Sheffield
  • London St. Pancras and Leeds via Derby and Sheffield – Fast Charging at Derby and Sheffield
  • London St. Pancras and Sheffield via the Erewash Valley Line – Fast Charging at Ilkeston (?) and Sheffield
  • London St. Pancras and Leicester via Corby – Fast Charging at Leicester

Note.

  1. The only extra electrification needed for the initial network would be between Kettering and Market Harborough.
  2. The Class 810 trains would all be identical.
  3. The Class 810 trains might even be built and delivered as battery electric trains
  4. Trains would also charge the batteries between London St. Pancras and Market Harborough, between London St. Pancras and Corby. and between Leeds and Wakefield Westgate.

The network can be extended by adding more electrification and Fast Charge systems.

Conclusion

The technologies of Hitachi and Vivarail seem complimentary and could result in a fully electric main line train network for East Midlands Railway.

 

 

October 19, 2020 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment