Anxiety Over HS2 Eastern Leg Future
I did think about giving this post a title of Here We Go Again, as it yet another story about delaying or cancelling the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two.
But in the end I decided to use the title of the article in the September 2021 Edition of Modern Railways.
I wrote about this subject in Is The Eastern Leg Of High Speed Two Under Threat? in December 2020.
In that post, this was my major conclusion.
To achieve the required timings for High Speed Two, major improvements must be made to existing track on the East Coast Main Line and these improvements will mean that existing services will be competitive with High Speed Two on time.
It is backed up by the timings in the following table., which show the direct time by High Speed Two and my best estimate of time on an improved East Coast Main Line.
- Bradford – Will not served by High Speed Two – One hour and fifty-four minutes
- Cleethorpes – Will not served by High Speed Two – Two hours and fifty-one minutes
- Darlington – One hour and forty-nine minutes – One hour and forty-nine minutes
- Doncaster – Will not served by High Speed Two – One hour
- Edinburgh – Three hours and forty minutes via Western Leg – Three hours and thirty minutes.
- Grimsby – Will not served by High Speed Two – Two hours and thirty-six minutes
- Harrogate – Will not served by High Speed Two – One hour and fifty-two minutes
- Huddersfield – Will not served by High Speed Two – Two hours and eight minutes
- Hull – Will not served by High Speed Two – One hour and fifty minutes
- Leeds – One hour and twenty-one minutes – One hour and thirty minutes
- Lincoln – Will not served by High Speed Two – One hour and fifty-one minutes
- Middlesbrough – Will not served by High Speed Two – Two hours and twenty minutes
- Newcastle – Two hours and seventeen minutes – Two hours and sixteen minutes
- Nottingham – One hour and seven minutes – One hour and fifty minutes
- Scarborough – Will not served by High Speed Two – Two hours and fifty-seven minutes
- Sheffield – One hour and twenty-seven minutes – One hour and twenty-seven minutes
- Skipton – Will not served by High Speed Two – Two hours and seven minutes
- Sunderland – Will not served by High Speed Two – Two hours and thirty minutes
- York – One hour and twenty-four minutes – One hour and twenty-four minutes
Note.
- I have included all destinations served by Grand Central, Hull Trains and LNER.
- I have included Nottingham and Sheffield for completeness and in case whilst electrification is installed on the Midland Main Line, LNER run services to the two cities.
- I suspect LNER services to Bradford, Harrogate, Huddersfield and Skipton will split and join at Leeds.
There are a total of nineteen destination in this table.
- Twelve are not served by High Speed Two.
- Six are not more than fifteen minutes slower by the East Coast Main Line.
Only Nottingham is substantially quicker by High Speed Two.
In Is The Eastern Leg Of High Speed Two Under Threat?, I said that if Nottingham services ran at the sort of speed on the East Coast Main Line, that a time of one hour and twenty-one minutes between London St. Pancras and Nottingham could be possible. That would be just fourteen minutes slower than the time on High Speed Two with a change at East Midlands Hub.
Conclusion
I am getting more convinced that we don’t need the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two to East Midlands Hub and Leeds for a few years yet, as by uprating the East Coast and Midland Main Lines we can handle the traffic that we currently are generating with ease.
A New Timetable For The East Coast
The title of this post, is the same as that of an article in the August 2021 Edition of Modern Railways.
The Modern Railways article describes in detail the thinking behind the proposed timetable for the East Coast Main Line, that will be introduced in May 2022.
The new titletable would appear to be a compromise and judging by the number of complaints that have appeared in the media, the compromise doesn’t suit everyone.
A lot of my programming was concerned with the allocation of resources in large projects and that expertise convinces me, that the East Coast Main Line doesn’t have enough capacity to accommodate all the services that passengers need and train companies want to run.
These are my thoughts.
High Speed Two
When High Speed Two is completed to Leeds, it will add the following services to Leeds.
- Three trains per hour (tph) between London Euston and Leeds in a time of one hour and twenty-one minutes.
- Two tph between Birmingham Curzon Street and Leeds in a time of forty-nine minutes.
- One tph between Bedford and Leeds, run by Midlands Connect, in a time of one hour and thirty-six minutes.
Leeds will benefit from these services from the South on the new High Speed Two.
But the High Speed Two network has been designed to need to run three tph between York and Newcastle, which will have to share with other East Coast Main Line services.
Both High Speed Two and the aspiration of providing more services on the East Coast Main Line mean that more capacity must be provided between York and Newcastle.
High Speed Two is not mentioned in the Modern Railways article.
I know the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two is many years away, but surely, it should have an influence on the design of East Coast Main Line services.
For instance, destinations like Bradford, Cleethorpes, Doncaster, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Hull, Lincoln, Middlesbrough, Peterborough, Redcar, Scarborough, Skegness and Sunderland are unlikely to be served by High Speed Two services, so how does that determine our thinking, when planning train services to these destinations.
Perhaps, there should be lists of secondary destinations, that should be served by the various operators.
London And Leeds In Two Hours
This is mentioned in the Modern Railways article as being an aspiration of Virgin Trains East Coast, when they ran the franchise.
In Thoughts On Digital Signalling On The East Coast Main Line, I did a few rough calculations and said this.
Consider.
-
- The fastest current trains between London Kings Cross and Leeds take between two hours and twelve minutes and two hours and fifteen minutes.
- I suspect that the extra tracks into Kings Cross, that are currently being built will save a few minutes.
- There must be some savings to be made between Doncaster and Leeds
- There must be some savings to be made between London Kings Cross and Woolmer Green.
- There could be a rearrangement of stops.
I think it is highly likely that in the future, there will be at least one train per hour (tph) between London Kings Cross and Leeds, that does the trip in two hours.
It is my view, that any new East Coast Main Line timetable should include services between London Kings Cross and Leeds in a few minutes under two hours.
London And Edinburgh In Four Hours
This must be another objective of the train companies, as it is competitive with the airlines.
But it is not a simple process as cutting stops to save time, often annoys the locals.
So achieving the objective of a four-hour trip between London and Edinburgh probably needs some major upgrades to the East Coast Main Line.
Some of the improvements needed are detailed in Northern Powerhouse Rail – Significant Upgrades Of The East Coast Main Line From Leeds To Newcastle (Via York And Darlington) And Restoration Of The Leamside Line.
Projects in the related article include.
- Phase 2 Of The East Coast Main Line Power Supply Upgrade
- York to Church Fenton Improvement Scheme
- Darlington Station Remodelling
- The North Throat Of York Station Including Skelton Bridge Junction
- Use Of The Leamside Line
- Full Digital ERTMS signalling.
It would appear there’s a lot of work to do, but all of it, will be needed for High Speed Two.
The Modern Railways article does point out, that the new Hitachi trains have superior acceleration to the InterCity 225 trains, that they have replaced. So that will help!
Although it is a worthwhile objective, I think it will be some years before London and Edinburgh times of under four hours are obtained on the East Coast Main Line.
Hitachi’s Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train
These trains are described in this Hitachi infographic.
Within a couple of years these trains will start to be seen on the East Coast Main Line serving destinations like Cleethorpes, Grimsby, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Hull, Lincoln, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.
Although, it says batteries will replace one engine in the infographic, I believe the standard five-car train for the East Coast Main Line will have two battery packs and an emergency diesel engine. Before the end of the decade, they will be fully-decarbonised with three battery packs.
Splitting And Joining
Although the Hitachi trains can accomplish splitting and joining with ease, it is only mentioned once in the Modern Railways article and that is concerned with a service to Huddersfield, which will split and join at Leeds.
I can see this being used to make sure that each train running into Kings Cross is either a nine-car or a pair of five-car trains, as this would maximise capacity on the route.
Currently, trains to York and Lincoln share a path into Kings Cross, with trains alternating to each destination, so each destination gets one train per two hours (1tp2h).
It would surely be possible for a pair of trains to leave Kings Cross, that split at Newark, with one train going to York and the other to Lincoln.
- The Modern Railways article says that the Middlesbrough service will be an extension of the 1tp2h York service.
- This means Kings Cross and Middlesbrough would call at Stevenage, Peterborough, Grantham, Newark North Gate, Retford, Doncaster and York.
- So at some time in the future could the Middlesbrough and Lincoln services share a path, with a split and join at Newark?
If the Lincoln and Middlesbrough services were to be run at a frequency of 1tp2h, the intervening paths could be used for other destinations.
Theoretically, by using pairs of five-car trains and splitting and joining, four destinations can be given a service of 1tp2h to and from London, that all use the same path.
I think the following splits and joins would be feasible.
- Lincoln/Middlesbrough splitting and joining at Newark North Gate.
- Lincoln/Scarborough splitting and joining at Newark North Gate.
- Nottingham/Sheffield splitting and joining at Newark North Gate.
- Harrogate/Huddersfield splitting and joining at Leeds.
- Bradford/Skipton splitting and joining at Leeds.
- Hull/Leeds splitting and joining at Doncaster.
Note.
- The two Lincoln splits and joins at Newark North Gate could possibly be arranged, so that Middlesbrough got roughly 1tp2h and Scarborough got perhaps two trains per day (tpd).
- Hull would be a very useful destination, as it is a large station to the East of the East Coast Main Line.
- Nottingham and Sheffield could be useful destinations during any disruption on the Midland Main Line, perhaps due to installation of full electrification.
The permutations and combinations are endless.
All Fast Trains Must Have Similar Performance
East Coast Trains, Hull Trains, LNER and TransPennine Express all use trains with similar performance.
But other operators like Great Northern use slower trains on the East Coast Main Line.
As the Hitachi trains will be running at up to 140 mph under the control of full digital signalling, it strikes me that for safe, fast and efficient operation, the other operators will need faster trains, where they run on the fast lines of the East Coast Main Line.
Grand Central
Grand Central‘s fleet of Class 180 trains will need to be replaced to decarbonise the operator and will surely be replaced with more 140 mph trains to take advantage of the digitally-signalled East Coast Main Line.
As their routes are not fully-electrified, I suspect they’ll be using similar Hitachi battery-electric trains.
The Cambridge Effect
Cambridge is becoming one of the most important cities in the world, let alone England and the UK.
It is generating new businesses at a tremendous rate and it needs an expanded rail network to give access to housing and industrial premises in the surrounding cities and towns.
- Peterborough is in the same county and is developing alongside Cambridge.
- Bury St. Edmunds, Norwich and other towns are being drawn into Cambridge.
- East West Rail to Bedford, Milton Keynes and Oxford is coming.
Cambridge is well-connected to London, but needs better connections to the North and Midlands.
King’s Cross And King’s Lynn
Currently, this route is run by 110 mph Class 387 trains.
These trains are just not fast enough for Network Rail’s 140 mph digitally signalled railway between King’s Cross and Hitchin.
In Call For ETCS On King’s Lynn Route, I examine how 125 mph trains and full digital signalling could be used to run between King’s Cross and King’s Lynn via Cambridge.
This would allow the trains to use the fast lines into King’s Cross.
I also feel, that to maximise the use of paths into King’s Cross, that the King’s Lynn service could be paired with a new Norwich service. The two trains would split and join at Cambridge.
Liverpool Lime Street And Norwich
This service is currently run by Class 156 trains and needs decarbonising. It also runs on 125 mph lines between.
- Peterborough and Grantham
- Nottingham and Sheffield
It certainly needs a thorough redesign and modern rolling stock to replace the current rolling road blocks.
East West Rail will certainly increase Cambridge and Norwich services to two tph, so why not terminate this Liverpool service at Cambridge rather than Norwich?
- Cambridge station has a lot of space to add extra platforms.
- The service would not need to reverse at Ely.
- It would add much-needed capacity to the Cambridge and Peterborough route.
- The service could even terminate at the new Cambridge South station.
- There have been plans for some time to split this service at Nottingham.
As between Peterborough and Grantham is a fully-electrified four-track line, I suspect that a Cambridge and Nottingham service could be handled by a 110 mph battery-electric train based on a Class 350 or Class 379 train.
Similar battery-electric trains could probably handle the Northern section between Nottingham and Liverpool Lime Street.
Stansted Airport And Birmingham Via Cambridge
After the work to the North of Peterborough at Werrington, this service has a clear route away from the East Coast Main Line, so it can be ignored.
The service does need decarbonisation and I suspect that it could be run by a 110 mph battery-electric train based on a Class 350 or Class 379 train.
CrossCountry And TransPennine Express Services
CrossCountry and TransPennine Express also run services on the Northern section of the East Coast Main Line.
- CrossCountry – 1 tph – Leeds and Edinburgh via York, Darlington, Durham, Newcastle, Alnmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed and Dunbar (1tp2h)
- CrossCountry – 1 tph – Sheffield and Newcastle via Doncaster, York, Darlington and Durham.
- TransPennine Express – 1 tph – Liverpool Lime Street and Scarborough via Leeds, Garforth and York
- TransPennine Express – 1 tph – Manchester Airport and Redcar via Leeds, York, Thirsk, Northallerton, Yarm, Thornaby, and Middlesbrough.
- TransPennine Express – 1 tph – Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh via Leeds, York, Darlington, Durham, Newcastle and Morpeth.
- TransPennine Express – 1 tph – Manchester Airport and Newcastle via Leeds, York, Northallerton, Darlington, Durham and Chester-le-Street (1t2h)
In addition LNER and East Coast Trains also run these services on the same section.
- LNER – 1 tp2h – London Kings Cross and York
- LNER – 1 tph – London Kings Cross and Edinburgh via York, Darlington, Newcastle, Berwick-upon-Tweed
- LNER – 1 tph – London Kings Cross and Edinburgh via York, Northallerton (1tp2h), Darlington, Durham, Newcastle and Alnmouth (1tp2h)
- East Coast Trains – 5 tpd – London Kings Cross and Edinburgh via Newcastle and Morpeth.
Aggregating the stops gives the following.
- York – 8.5 tph
- Darlington – 6 tph
- Durham – 5 tph
- Chester-le-Street – 0.5 tph
- Newcastle – 6 tph and 5 tpd
- Morpeth – 1 tph and 5 tpd
- Almouth – 1.5 tph
- Berwick-on-Tweed – 2 tph
- Dunbar – 0.5 tph
Note.
- 1 tp2h = 0.5 tph
- Scotland is building two new stations at Reston and East Linton.
- Northern run trains between Newcastle and Morpeth.
It does appear from comments in the Modern Railways article, that the various train companies and passenger groups can’t agree on who calls where to the North of York.
Perhaps the Fat Controller should step in.
Between Newcastle and Berwick-on-Tweed
With the reopening of the Northumberland Line between Newcastle and Ashington, there may be an opportunity to reorganise services between Newcastle and Berwick-on-Tweed.
- Morpeth could be served via the Northumberland Line.
- Britishvolt are building a large gigafactory for batteries at Blyth.
- It would probably be a good idea to remove slow diesel services from the East Coast Main Line.
- Reston station will need a train service.
- Morpeth and Newcastle are under twenty miles apart on the East Coast Main Line and the route via Ashington is perhaps only ten miles longer.
It looks to me that local services on the Northumberland Line and between Newcastle and Reston on the East Coast Main Line could be run by a 110 mph battery-electric train.
Conclusion
There would appear to be a lot of scope to create a very much improved timetable for the East Coast Main Line.
I do think though that the following actions must be taken.
- Ensure, that all the long-distance train companies have trains capable of running at 140 mph under the control of digital signalling.
- Develop a 110 mph battery-electric train to work the local routes, that run on the East Coast Main Line.
- Get agreement between passengers and train companies about stopping patterns to the North of York.
- Use splitting and joining creatively to squeeze more trains into the available paths.
LNER would also need to increase their fleet.
LNER To Serve Cleethorpes
Under the proposed new LNER timetable, which will start in May 2022, there will be a new train service between London Kings Cross and Cleethorpes.
According to this article on the Lincolnite, which is entitled Direct Cleethorpes To London Rail Link ‘Close’ To Getting Go Ahead, there will be one service per day.
It will leave Cleethorpes at 06:24 and Grimsby Town at 06:32 before arriving at King’s Cross at 09:25.
The return will leave King’s Cross at 16:10 and arrive in Grimsby Town at 19:05 and Cleethorpes at 19:20.
The August 2021 Edition of Modern Railways makes these points about the service.
- The larger Azuma fleet makes this extension possible.
- ,A more regular service would require additional trains.
- LNER is examining whether other intermediate stations east of Lincoln could be served.
I would have thought, that Market Rasen station could be a possibility for an intermediate stop.
I have a few thoughts.
Extra Services
This single service is ideal for though living in Lincolnshire, but it doesn’t suit those people, who perhaps need to go to the area from London for business or family reasons.
- Lincoln appears to get around five or six trains per day in each direction to and from King’s Cross.
- Services are roughly one train per two hours.
- I suspect the Lincoln service can be run by a single train, that shuttles between King’s Cross and Lincoln stations.
I believe, that Cleethorpes needs at least a pair of services to and from London, so that travellers can spend a day in North-East Lincolnshire.
- This would probably need more trains.
- Services would go via Lincoln and Lincoln may get extra services to London.
- Selected services could stop at intermediate stations, like Market Rasen.
There are surely possibilities for a integrated timetable between King’s Cross and Lincoln, Market Rasen, Grimsby Town and Cleethorpes.
Battery-Electric Operation
Consider.
- LNER’s Class 800 trains are prime candidates for conversion to Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Trains, so they can run away from the overhead wires of the East Coast Main Line to places like Lincoln, by the use of battery power.
- These battery trains could charge using the electrification between King’s Cross and Newark North Gate stations.
- The distance between Lincoln Central station and the East Coast Main Line is 16.6 miles.
- In Plans To Introduce Battery Powered Trains In Scotland, I quote Hitachi, as saying they expect a sixty mile range for battery trains.
I am sure, that these trains would have sufficient range on battery to be able to work King’s Cross and Lincoln services without using diesel.
But could the Hitachi trains reach Cleethorpes with some well-positioned charging?
- The distance between Lincoln and Cleethorpes stations is 47.2 miles.
- In Solving The Electrification Conundrum, I describe Hitachi’s solution to running battery-electric trains, by using well-placed short lengths of 25 KVAC overhead electrification controlled by an intelligent power system.
With a range of sixty miles on batteries and charging at Lincoln and Cleethorpes stations, it would appear that battery electric operation of Class 800 trains between King’s Cross and Cleethorpes is a distinct possibility.
Lincoln Station
Lincoln station has three operational through platforms and I suspect all would need to be electrified, so that trains could be charged as they passed through.
These are distances from Lincoln station.
- Cleethorpes – 47.2 miles
- Doncaster – 36.9 miles
- Nottingham – 33.9 miles
- Peterborough – 56.9 miles
- Sheffield – 48.5 miles
It does appear that if Lincoln station were to be electrified, most services from the city could be run using battery-electric trains.
Cleethorpes Station
This picture shows Cleethorpes station with two TransPennine Express Class 185 trains in the station.
Note.
- The Class 185 trains are diesel, but could be replaced by Hitachi Class 802 trains, which could be converted to battery-electric operation.
- Cleethorpes and Doncaster are 52.1 miles apart, which could be in range of Hitachi’s battery-electric trains.
- It doesn’t look to be too challenging to electrify a couple of platforms to charge the battery-electric trains.
- Cleethorpes station could surely charge both the LNER and the TransPennine Express trains.
- The Cleethorpes and Barton-on-Humber service which is under fifty miles for a round trip could also be replaced with battery-electric trains.
Cleethorpes station could be totally served by battery-electric trains.
Battery-Electric Trains For Lincolnshire
At the present time, there is a surplus of good redundant electrical multiple units and the rolling stock leasing companies are looking for places where they can be used.
Porterbrook are already looking to convert their fleet of Class 350 trains to battery-electric operation and I am certain, that now that Hitachi and others have solved the charging problem, a lot more trains will be converted.
Most would appear to be four-car 100 mph trains, which will be very convenient and should fit most platforms.
Conclusion
Running battery-electric Class 800 trains to Lincoln, Grimsby Town and Cleethorpes could be the start of decarbonisation of Lincolnshire’s railways.
What would battery-electric trains do for the economy of Lincolnshire?
Is King’s Cross Station Ready For Parcel Trains?
In Is This The Shape Of Freight To Come?, I wrote about the converting of redundant electrical multiple units into 100 mph freight and parcel trains.
A couple of days ago, I was walking through Kings Cross station and took these pictures.
Note.
- The wide platforms.
- The gates in the ticket barriers to allow vehicles through.
- The passenger entrances line up with the gates in the ticket barriers.
It does look like everything is setup to efficiently get cargo between the trains and the road network outside.
A collateral benefit, is that access to the trains for passengers is step-free.
A Day Trip On East Coast Trains
Over the years, I’ve done plenty of day trips to Scotland.
In the days of Artemis, I would regularly go North to sort out a problem and since I’ve retired, I’ve gone North for various reasons.
Usually, now I take the sleeper and then come back on the last train. After all, if I fall asleep travelling to King’s Cross, I would hope I get chucked out by staff and can take a ten-minute taxi home.
But in a few weeks, there will be another practical way.
- Take the 05:45 from King’s Cross and arrive in Edinburgh at 10:10.
- The last train home leaves Edinburgh at 19:58 and arrives in London at 01:05 on the next day.
And all for a total fare of £50 courtesy of East Coast Trains.
There will also be corresponding trains that run in the opposite direction.
- Take the 06:14 from Edinburgh and arrive in King’s Cross at 10:51.
- The last train North leaves King’s Cross at 20:18 and arrives in Edinburgh at 00:46 on the next day.
Combining one of East Coast Train’s services with a sleeper must surely give some interesting possibilities.
Approaching Kings Cross – 5th July 2021
I took these pictures approaching Kings Cross.
Reports say most of the work of the remodelling is now complete. Although, it did look to me that in places more tracks could be laid.
The Length Of The Long Platforms At Kings Cross
This repeat of the last picture in the gallery shows the length of the nine long platforms.
Note.
- The train is in Platform 3.
- The train is an eight-car Class 700 train.
- Eight-car units are 162 metres long.
- Twelve-car units are 242.6 metres long.
Platform 3 is obviously long enough to take the following trains.
- Twelve-car Class 700 train – 242.6 metres
- Two Class 800 trains working as a pair – 260 metres
- A nine-car Class 800 train – 234 metres
- An InterCity 225 train – 245.2 metres
- A twelve-car Class 319 train or Class 321 train – 240 metres.
This Google Map shows the ends of the platforms at Kings Cross.
Note.
- The long platforms at the right are 2 and 3.
- Platform 2 and 3 are wide.
- Two LNER Azumas are in Platforms 5 and 6.
It looks to me that whilst all platforms can probably handle the standard British Rail length of 240 metres, those on the right may be able to handle longer trains. But what trains? These are my thoughts.
Longer LNER Azumas
This document on the Hitachi Rail web site is entitled Development of Class 800/801 High-speed Rolling Stock for UK Intercity Express Programme.
The document says that Class 80x trains have a sophisticated Train Control and Management System (TCMS).
The document says that this is one of the functions of the TCMS.
To simplify the rearrangement and management of train configurations, functions are provided for
identifying the train (Class 800/801), for automatically determining the cars in the trainset and its total length,
and for coupling and uncoupling up to 12 cars in normal and 24 cars in rescue or emergency mode.
I would assume that with the purchase of extra cars, that it might be possible to lengthen trains to up to twelve cars.
Lengths would be as follows.
- Ten-car Class 80x train – 260 metres.
- Eleven-car Class 80x train – 276 metres.
- Twelve-car Class 80x train – 312 metres.
To add extra capacity on the routes to Leeds and Edinburgh services, there must be a balance between these factors.
- The cost of extra cars.
- The cost of platform lengthening.
There must of course be space for any platform lengthening.
It would seem to me, that common sense should allow twelve-car trains to be handled at King’s Cross, as this must be one of the best ways of adding capacity to East Coast Main Line services.
Caledonian Sleeper
The Caledonian Sleeper doesn’t normally run into King’s Cross, but during the rebuilding Euston for High Speed Two, it may be necessary to provide an alternative platform.
Unfortunately, the sixteen-car Caledonian sleeper trains are 352 metres long. So it would appear that Kings Cross would not be a temporary alternative.
But given the amount of money being invested in sleeper trains in Europe by the likes of Midnight Trains and NightJet, I can see that the Caledonian Sleeper might have another problem – success and the need for more capacity.
So I wouldn’t rule out an East Coast Main Line sleeper train between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh.
It might call at Stevenage, Newcastle and Berwick to widen its passenger base, just as the current sleeper calls at Watford, Carlisle and Carstairs.
The train could be extended to Aberdeen, to simplify services in Scotland.
Obviously, traffic and finance would decide, but I wouldn’t rule out the Caledonian Sleeper running to and from King’s Cross for a few years yet.
A Night Light Freight Terminal
In Is This The Shape Of Freight To Come?, I wrote about the new generation of fast electric freight trains, based on redundant electric multiple units.
- If you look at Real Time Trains, you will find that few trains use King’s Cross station between two and five in the morning.
- Platforms can take a twelve-car version of these electric freight trains.
- The new platforms are wide and level.
- Local delivery could use electric vehicles and bikes.
I think King’s Cross has possibilities for handling goods like food, parcels and shop supplies.
The Short Platforms At Kings Cross
When I was a child, King’s Cross had four short suburban platforms, where N2 steam tank engines hauled suburban services in and out of the station.
The suburban platforms have now been reduced to two platforms, that fit in with the current uses of the station.
- The two platforms are numbered 9 and 10.
- They can handle an eight-car Class 700 train, which is 162 metres long.
- They can handle a five-car Class 800 train, which is 130 metres long.
- Some five-car services run by the new Hitachi trains use these platforms.
These pictures show the platforms.
Note.
- The platforms are wide.
- The picture of the Azuma in Platform 9 was taken before the centre track was removed recently.
- Today, one LNER Azuma departed from Platform 9 to go to Lincoln, but both platforms were busy with Great Northern services to Cambridge, Ely and Kings Lynn.
I do wonder if the platforms could be used for light freight, during the night.
Conclusion
King’s Cross is not just one of the UK’s finest railway stations, which is recognised by its Grade I Listed status, but it is now moving towards an efficient, high-capacity station that works around the clock!
Thoughts On Seating In East Coast Trains’ New Class 803 trains
This page on RailAdvent contains this YouTube video of one of East Coast Trains’ New Class 803 trains under test.
On this page on the First Group web site, they give some details of the service.
- Five trains per day, seven days per week in both directions.
- One class of travel
- Offer tickets at an average price of less than £25.
- At seat catering on every train.
- Introduce an additional 1.5 million seats on the route every year.
They also expect 80 % of passengers to be new to rail.
The internet doesn’t give the number of seats on the train, so I will estimate a number.
The number of trains per year will be at least 365 * 2 * 5, which is an easy 3650 trains.
Dividing this into 1.5 million gives 410.9 seats per train. I’ll call that 411.
After I made that estimate, I found this page on the Beacon Rail Leasing web site.
It gives this information.
- Power – 4.5 MW
- Speed – 125 mph
- Passenger Capacity – 400
- Weight – 228.5 tonnes
Using the figure of 400 passengers and 3650 trains per year, that gives a total number of 1,460,000 passengers per year, which is probably within the margin of error for the arithmetic of marketing experts.
If you watch the video, the following can be ascertained.
- The two driver cars have six large windows each.
- The three centre cars have nine large windows each.
- It looks like the seating in the train is three on one side and two on the other.
This picture shows the Standard Class seating bay layout on a Great Western Railway Class 802 train.
Note.
- The seats are arranged either side of the window.
- There are lots of tables.
- If the blind was up, passengers will get a good view.
If as I surmised from the video, seating is two+three and there are 39 bays, that means that the train has a base seating capacity of 390 seats.
That leaves ten seats to find places for, or just two per car.
With two+two seating, there would be 312 seats in the bays under windows, so there would be a need to fit in another 86 seats.
It appears to me that to meet their objective of 1.5 million additional seats that a two+three layout is needed.
But it could be that most passengers will get a proper table and possibly reasonable leg room. Try getting that on a budget airline!
A Few Questions
These are a few questions.
When Will The Service Start?
Your guess is as good as mine, but First Group are saying Autumn 2021.
Is The Service Geared For Group Or Family Travel?
Each train has thirty-nine groups of six seats and the same number of groups of four seats.
If say it was granny’s birthday in Edinburgh or a group of six friends were going to Scotland-England at Murrayfield, the layout would accommodate groups and families well.
They certainly need a good seat allocation algorithm.
Will I Be Able To Use My Railcard?
I would suspect not!
But then it would only save £8.33!
What About Delay Repay?
This will be automatic! I can’t ever be bothered to claim otherwise!
Will There Be Disabled Toilets?
It’s the law! But I have seen some much smaller ones that are well-designed and meet all aspects of the law in some new trains, so I would expect to find innovative designs.
Will There Be Single Seats?
I can sleep anywhere and regularly find myself returning to London curled in the corner of my seat fast asleep.
A single seat in the corner of the carriage might be ideal for some passengers.
Will Everybody Get A Table?
If I’m right about each seating bay having a table, then it would look like around ninety-seven percent of passengers would get a proper table. Not big enough for a copy of the Daily Telegraph, but they should have enough space for a laptop and/or a few beers.
What Food And Drink Will Be Offered?
I suspect, it will mainly be drinks and snacks like crisps or nutrition bars, which can be easily served from a trolley.
It should be noted that the three major stations on the route King’s Cross, Newcastle and Edinburgh all have a good selection of places to buy a carry-on!
But unlike at an airport, I suspect passengers won’t turn up two or three hours before departure, so will be unlikely to eat before departure.
I do think, that we could see improvements in the food offerings for taking on the train at Stevenage and Morpeth.
East Coast Trains may also contribute to the development of carry-on shops at some stations.
Will The Trains Accept Bicycles?
This is a tricky one and personally I feel that offering a decent bike hire service could be better value all round.
Using The Fleet Of Five Trains
Wikipedia and other sources indicate that the fleet is just five trains.
We know these facts or proposals.
- King’s Cross and Edinburgh are 393.15 miles apart.
- LNER run trains between King’s Cross and Edinburgh in four hours and twenty minutes (4 stops) and four hours and forty minutes (9 stops)
- The record time between King’s Cross and Edinburgh was set in 1991 by a shortened all-electric InterCity 225 train at three hours twenty-nine minutes and thirty seconds, which represented an average speed of 112.5 mph.
- Trains start leaving King’s Cross and Edinburgh about 05:45.
- The Werrington Dive-Under will, be completed in 2021.
- The King’s Cross Remodelling should be completed this year.
- Full digital in-cab signalling is being installed between King’s Cross and Doncaster. This will allow 140 mph running and as a Control Engineer, I believe it could ease the bottlenecks at Newark and over the Digswell Viaduct.
- East Coast Trains’ Class 803 trains appear to have been designed for sparkling acceleration.
- East Coast Trains will only make three stops.
- East Coast Trains intend to compete with the budget airlines.
- East Coast Trains intend their first train to arrive in London by 10:00. Does that mean Edinburgh as well?
I have just checked on Real Time Trains and this East Coast Trains timetable can be found.
King’s Cross and Edinburgh
- 05:45 – Arrives 10:10 – 4 hours 25 minutes – Stops at Stevenage
- 10:45 – Arrives 15:17 – 4 hours 32 minutes
- 12:18 – Arrives 16:41 – 4 hours 23 minutes – Stops at Stevenage
- 14:36 – Arrives 19:15 – 4 hours 39 minutes
- 20:18 – Arrives 00:46 – 4 hours 28 minutes
Edinburgh and King’s Cross
- 06:14 – Arrives 10:51 – 4 hours 37 minutes
- 09:11 – Arrives 13:48 – 4 hours 37 minutes
- 11:14 – Arrives 15:46 – 4 hours 32 minutes
- 16:12 – Arrives 20:47 – 4 hours 35 minutes – Stops at Stevenage
- 19:58 – Arrives 01:05 – 5 hours 7 minutes – Stops at Stevenage
Note.
- Times appear to be in-line with those of LNER.
- East Coast Trains’ objective of arriving by 10:00 is not met.
- Paths exist for East Coast Trains from the 7th June.
I believe this timetable is based on what is possible today without the improvements at King’s Cross and Werrington, and the digital signalling.
What Could Be Possible?
Consider.
- The improvements that are underway will help to reduce journey times.
- I also believe that by being clever, East Coast Trains could reduce turn-round times at King’s Cross and Edinburgh.
I think it is likely, that East Coast Trains could probably run between King’s Cross and Edinburgh in a time of around four hours.
I can also see a turn-round time of five minutes, if East Coast Trains use all their First Group experience.
Could this mean, a train starting from King’s Cross doing the following trips in a day?
- 05:50 – King’s Cross to Edinburgh – Arrives 09:50
- 09:55 – Edinburgh to King’s Cross – Arrives 13:55
- 14:00 – King’s Cross to Edinburgh – Arrives 18:00
- 18:05 – Edinburgh to King’s Cross – Arrives 22:05
- 22:10 – King’s Cross to Edinburgh – Arrives 02:10
Note.
- A second train would mirror this time-table starting in Edinburgh.
- Every minute saved on each journey between King’s Cross and Edinburgh will bring the final arrival forward.
- There is tremendous potential to speed up services.
This time-table would be straight out of Michael O’Leary’s notebook about making assets sweat.
Conclusion
I think that East Coast Trains have done a Ryanair and designed the train to accommodate the maximum number of passengers. But the quoted £25 fare does appear to be good value.
I am certain that two+three seating will be used.
A New Elizabethan
I can remember The Elizabethan, which was a steam-hauled non-stop express between London and Edinburgh between 1953 and 1961.
- The steam-hauled train took six-hours-and-a-half.
- It used to be the longest non-stop railway service in the world.
- Today, the service could be run by the current or refurbished Azumas or perhaps a new flagship train, built for the service.
- It could be easily under four hours.
It could be an interesting concept, to increase capacity between London and Edinburgh.
The Fastest Rail Journey Between London King’s Cross And Edinburgh
This section in the Wikipedia entry for the Class 91 locomotive is entitled Speed Record. This is the first paragraph.
A Class 91, 91010 (now 91110), holds the British locomotive speed record at 161.7 mph (260.2 km/h), set on 17 September 1989, just south of Little Bytham on a test run down Stoke Bank with the DVT leading. Although Class 370s, Class 373s and Class 374s have run faster, all are EMUs which means that the Electra is officially the fastest locomotive in Britain. Another loco (91031, now 91131), hauling five Mk4s and a DVT on a test run, ran between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh Waverley in 3 hours, 29 minutes and 30 seconds on 26 September 1991. This is still the current record. The set covered the route in an average speed of 112.5 mph (181.1 km/h) and reached the full 140 mph (225 km/h) several times during the run.
Seconds under three-and-a-half-hours was an amazing time nearly thirty years ago, from a short-formation InterCity 225, that went on to become the mainstay of the services on the route.
It makes High Speed Two’s proposed time of three hours and forty-eight minutes appear to lack ambition.
But to be fair to High Speed Two, train services have historically been faster on the the East side of Great Britain.
What Time Could Be Possible Between London King’s Cross And Edinburgh?
In What Is Possible On The East Coast Main Line?, I took a hard look at times on the route, taking into account improvements of the last thirty years and those that will happen in the next few.
This was my conclusion.
I started by asking what is possible on The East Coast Main Line?
As the time of three-and-a-half hours was achieved by a short-formation InterCity 225 train in 1991 before Covids, Hitchin, Kings Cross Remodelling, Power Upgrades, Werrington and lots of other work, I believe that some journeys between Kings Cross and Edinburgh could be around this time within perhaps five years.
To some, that might seem an extraordinary claim, but when you consider that the InterCity 225 train in 1991 did it with only a few sections of 140 mph running, I very much think it is a certainly at some point.
As to the ultimate time, earlier I showed that an average of 120 mph between King’s Cross and Edinburgh gives a time of 3:16 minutes.
Surely, an increase of fourteen minutes in thirty years is possible?
I believe that timings will decrease significantly on the East Coast Main Line with the current trains.
Extra Paths For LNER
In the December 2020 Edition of Modern Railways, there is an article, which is entitled LNER Seeks 10 More Bi-Modes.
This is the last paragraph.
Infrastructure upgrades are due to prompt a timetable recast in May 2022 (delayed from December 2021), from which point LNER will operate 6.5 trains per hour out of King’s Cross, compared to five today. As an interim measure LNER is retaining seven rakes of Mk. 4 coaches hauled by 12 Class 91 locomotives to supplement the Azuma fleet and support its timetable ambitions until new trains are delivered.
There would certainly appear to be a path available if LNER wanted to increase the frequency of trains between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh from the current two trains per hour (tph) to three.
What Would Be The Route?
I feel there could be three possible simple routes.
- A direct non-stop London King’s Cross and Edinburgh service.
- A London King’s Cross and Edinburgh service with a single stop at Newcastle.
- A London King’s Cross and Edinburgh service with stops at Leeds and Newcastle.
Each route would have its own advantages and drawbacks.
Route 1
My thoughts about Route 1.
- This would be the fastest route.
- It would be a serious challenge to the airlines on the London and Edinburgh route.
It would be a marketing man’s dream.
Route 2
My thoughts about Route 2.
- This would be the second fastest route.
- It would be a serious challenge to the airlines on the London and Edinburgh route.
- It would give Newcastle a third hourly service to the capital.
- It would give Newcastle a non-stop train to London every hour.
- It would probably be the fastest train between King’s Cross and Newcastle.
- It would beef up the challenge to the airlines on the London and Newcastle route.
Serving Newcastle may generate extra passengers.
Route 3
My thoughts about Route 3.
- This would be the slowest route as it is 23 miles longer.
- It would be a challenge to the airlines on the London and Edinburgh route.
- It would give Newcastle and Leeds a third hourly service to the capital.
- It would give Leeds a non-stop train to London every hour.
- It would probably be the fastest train between London and Leeds.
- It would beef up the challenge to the airlines on the London and Newcastle and London and Leeds routes.
- There could be an extra call at York
Serving Leeds and Newcastle may generate extra passengers.
Obviously, passenger numbers will determine the best route.
Conclusion
I very much feel that properly thought through, this service could be a success.
What Is Possible On The East Coast Main Line?
In the Wikipedia entry for the Class 91 locomotive, there is an amazing story.
This picture shows one of these locomotives at Kings Cross.
Note.
- They have a design speed of 140 mph.
- They have a power output of 4.8 MW.
- They were built around 1990 by British Rail at Crewe.
They were designed to run services between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh as fast as possible, as the motive power of the InterCity 225 trains.
This section in the Wikipedia entry for the Class 91 locomotive is entitled Speed Record. This is the first paragraph.
A Class 91, 91010 (now 91110), holds the British locomotive speed record at 161.7 mph (260.2 km/h), set on 17 September 1989, just south of Little Bytham on a test run down Stoke Bank with the DVT leading. Although Class 370s, Class 373s and Class 374s have run faster, all are EMUs which means that the Electra is officially the fastest locomotive in Britain. Another loco (91031, now 91131), hauling five Mk4s and a DVT on a test run, ran between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh Waverley in 3 hours, 29 minutes and 30 seconds on 26 September 1991. This is still the current record. The set covered the route in an average speed of 112.5 mph (181.1 km/h) and reached the full 140 mph (225 km/h) several times during the run.
Note.
- For the British locomotive speed record, locomotive was actually pushing the train and going backwards, as the driving van trailer (DVT) was leading.
- How many speed records of any sort, where the direction isn’t part of the record, have been set going backwards?
- I feel that this record could stand for many years, as it is not very likely anybody will build another 140 mph locomotive in the foreseeable future. Unless a maverick idea for a high speed freight locomotive is proposed.
I have a few general thoughts on the record run between Kings Cross and Edinburgh in three-and-a-half hours.
- I would assume that as in normal operation of these trains, the Class 91 locomotive was leading on the run to the North.
- For various reasons, they would surely have had at least two of British Rail’s most experienced drivers in the cab.
- At that time, 125 mph InterCity 125 trains had been the workhorse of East Coast Main Line for well over ten years, so British Rail wouldn’t have been short of experienced high speed drivers.
- It was a Thursday, so they must have been running amongst normal traffic.
- On Monday, a typical run between Kings Cross and Edinburgh is timetabled to take four hours and twenty minutes.
- High Speed Two are predicting a time of three hours and forty-eight minutes between Euston and Edinburgh via High Speed Two and the West Coast Main Line.
The more you look at it, a sub-three-and-and-a-half hour time, by 1980s-technology on a less-than-perfect railway was truly remarkable.
So how did they do it?
Superb Timetabling
In Norwich-In-Ninety Is A Lot More Than Passengers Think!, I talk about how Network Rail and Greater Anglia created a fast service between Liverpool Street and Norwich.
I suspect that British Rail put their best timetablers on the project, so that the test train could speed through unhindered.
Just as they did for Norwich-in-Ninety and probably will be doing to the East Coast Main Line to increase services and decrease journey times.
A Good As ERTMS Signalling
Obviously in 1991, there was no modern digital in-cab signalling and I don’t know the standard of communication between the drivers and the signallers.
On the tricky sections like Digswell Viaduct, through Hitchin and the Newark Crossing were other trains stopped well clear of any difficult area, as modern digital signalling can anticipate and take action?
I would expect the test train got a signalling service as good as any modern train, even if parts of it like driver to signaller communication may have been a bit experimental.
There may even have been a back-up driver in the cab with the latest mobile phone.
It must have been about 1991, when I did a pre-arranged airways join in my Cessna 340 on the ground at Ipswich Airport before take-off on a direct flight to Rome. Air Traffic Control had suggested it to avoid an intermediate stop at say Southend.
The technology was arriving and did it help the drivers on that memorable run North ensure a safe and fast passage of the train?
It would be interesting to know, what other equipment was being tested by this test train.
A Possible Plan
I suspect that the plan in 1991 was to use a plan not unlike one that would be used by Lewis Hamilton, or in those days Stirling Moss to win a race.
Drive a steady race not taking any chances and where the track allows speed up.
So did British Rail drive a steady 125 mph sticking to the standard timetable between Kings Cross and Edinburgh?
Then as the Wikipedia extract indicated, at several times during the journey did they increase the speed of the train to 140 mph.
And the rest as they say was an historic time of 3 hours, 29 minutes and 30 seconds. Call it three-and-a-half-hours.
This represented a start-to-stop average speed of 112.5 mph over the 393 miles of the East Coast Main Line.
Can The Current Trains Achieve Three-And-A-Half-Hours Be Possible Today?
Consider.
- The best four hours and twenty minutes timings of the Class 801 trains, represents an average speed of 90.7 mph.
- The Class 801 trains and the InterCity 225 trains have similar performance.
- There have been improvements to the route like the Hitchin Flyover.
- Full ERTMS in-cab signalling is being installed South of Doncaster.
- I believe ERTMS and ETC could solve the Newark Crossing problem! See Could ERTMS And ETCS Solve The Newark Crossing Problem?
- I am a trained Control Engineer and I believe if ERTMS and ETC can solve the Newark Crossing problem, I suspect they can solve the Digswell Viaduct problem.
- The Werrington Dive Under is being built.
- The approaches to Kings Cross are being remodelled.
I can’t quite say easy-peasy. but I’m fairly certain the Kings Cross and Edinburgh record is under serious threat.
- A massive power supply upgrade to the North of Doncaster is continuing. See this page on the Network Rail web site.
- ERTMS and ETC probably needs to be installed all the way between Kings Cross and Edinburgh.
- There may be a need to minimise the number of slower passenger trains on the East Coast Main Line.
- The Northumberland Line and the Leamside Line may be needed to take some trains from the East Coast Main Line.
Recent Developments Concerning the Hitachi Trains
There have been several developments since the Hitachi Class 800 and Class 801 trains were ordered.
- Serious engineers and commentators like Roger Ford of Modern Railways have criticised the lugging of heavy diesel engines around the country.
- Network Rail have upgraded the power supply South of Doncaster and have recently started to upgrade it between Doncaster and Edinburgh. Will this extensive upgrade cut the need to use the diesel power-packs?
- Hitachi and their operators must have collected extensive in-service statistics about the detailed performance of the trains and the use of the diesel power-packs.
- Hitachi have signed an agreement with Hyperdrive Innovation of Sunderland to produce battery-packs for the trains and two new versions of the trains have been announced; a Regional Battery Train and an Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train.
- East Coast Trains have ordered five five-car Class 803 trains, each of which will have a small battery for emergency use and no diesel power-packs.
- Avanti West Coast have ordered ten seven-car Class 807 trains, each of which have no battery or diesel power-packs.
And these are just the ones we know about.
The Class 807 Trains And Liverpool
I find Avanti West Coast’s Class 807 trains the most interesting development.
- They have been partly financed by Rock Rail, who seem to organise train finance, so that the train operator, the train manufacturer all get the best value, by finding good technical solutions.
- I believe that these trains have been designed so they can run between Euston and Liverpool Lime Street stations in under two hours.
- Does the absence of battery or diesel power-packs save weight and improve performance?
- Euston and Liverpool Lime Street in two hours would be an average of only 96.8 mph.
- If the Class 807 trains could achieve the same start-stop average of 112.5 mph achieved by the InterCity 225 test run between Kings Cross and Edinburgh, that would mean a Euston and Liverpool Lime Street time of one hour and forty-three minutes.
- Does Thunderbird provision on the West Coast Main Line for the Class 390 trains mean that the Class 807 trains don’t need emergency power?
- Have diesel power-packs been rarely used in emergency by the Hitachi trains?
I believe the mathematics show that excellent sub-two hour times between Euston and Liverpool Lime Street are possible by Avanti West Coast’s new Class 807 trains.
The Class 803 Trains And Edinburgh
East Coast Trains ordered their Class 803 trains in March 2019, nine months before Avanti West Coast ordered their Class 807 trains.
In Trains Ordered For 2021 Launch Of ‘High-Quality, Low Fare’ London – Edinburgh Service, I outlined brief details of the trains and the proposed service.
- FirstGroup is targeting the two-thirds of passengers, who fly between London and Edinburgh.
- They are also targeting business passengers, as the first train arrives in Edinburgh at 10:00.
- The trains are five-cars.
- The trains are one class with onboard catering, air-conditioning, power sockets and free wi-fi.
- Stops will be five trains per day with stops at Stevenage, Newcastle and Morpeth.
- The trains will take around four hours.
- The service will start in Autumn 2021.
I also thought it would be a successful service
As I know Edinburgh, Liverpool and London well, I believe there are similarities between the Euston-Liverpool Lime Street and Kings Cross-Edinburgh routes.
- Both routes are between two cities known all over the world.
- Both routes are fully-electrified.
- Both routes have the potential to attract passengers from other transport modes.
The two services could even be run at similar speeds.
- Euston-Liverpool Lime Street in two hours will be at 96.8 mph
- Kings Cross-Edinburgh in four hours will be at 98.3 mph.
Does this explain the similar lightweight trains?
Could Lightweight Trains Help LNER?
There is one important factor, I haven’t talked about in detail in this post. Batteries and diesel power-packs on the Hitachi trains.
I have only mentioned them in the following circumstances.
- When trains are not fitted with battery and/or diesel power-packs.
- When battery developments are being undertaken.
Let’s consider the LNER fleet.
- LNER has thirteen nine-car Class 800 trains, each of which has five diesel power-packs
- LNER has ten five-car Class 800 trains, each of which has three diesel power-packs
- LNER has thirty nine-car Class 801 trains, each of which has one diesel power-pack
- LNER has twelve five-car Class 801 trains, each of which has one diesel power-pack
There are sixty-five trains, 497 coaches and 137 diesel power-packs.
And look at their destinations.
- Aberdeen – No Electrification from Edinburgh
- Alnmouth – Fully Electrified
- Berwick-upon-Tweed – Fully Electrified
- Bradford Forster Square – Fully Electrified
- Darlington – Fully Electrified
- Doncaster – Fully Electrified
- Durham – Fully Electrified
- Edinburgh – Fully Electrified
- Glasgow – Fully Electrified
- Grantham – Fully Electrified
- Harrogate – No Electrification from Leeds – Possible Battery Destination
- Huddersfield – No Electrification from Leeds – Possible Battery Destination – Probable Electrification
- Hull – No Electrification from Temple Hirst Junction – Possible Battery Destination
- Inverness – No Electrification from Stirling
- Leeds – Fully Electrified
- Lincoln – No Electrification from Newark North Gate – Possible Battery Destination
- Middlesbrough – No Electrification from Northallerton – Possible Battery Destination
- Newcastle – Fully Electrified
- Newark North Gate – Fully Electrified
- Northallerton – Fully Electrified
- Peterborough – Fully Electrified
- Skipton – Fully Electrified
- Retford – Fully Electrified
- Stevenage – Fully Electrified
- Stirling – Fully Electrified
- Sunderland – No Electrification from Northallerton – Possible Battery Destination
- Wakefield Westgate – Fully Electrified
- York – Fully Electrified
The destinations can be summarised as followed.
- Not Electrified – 2
- Possible Battery Destination – 6
- Fully Electrified – 20
This gives a total of 28.
Could the trains be matched better to the destinations?
- Some routes like Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle and Stirling could possibly be beneficially handled by lightweight trains without any diesel or battery power-packs.
- Only Aberdeen and Inverness can’t be reached by all-electric or battery-electric trains.
- In LNER Seeks 10 More Bi-Modes, I proposed a hydrogen-electric flagship train, that would use hydrogen North of the existing electrification.
There certainly appear to be possibilities.
Example Journey Times To Edinburgh
This table shows the various time for particular start-stop average speeds between Kings Cross and Edinburgh.
- 80 mph – 4:54
- 85 mph – 4:37
- 90 mph – 4:12
- 98.2 mph – 4:00
- 100 mph – 3:56
- 110 mph – 3:34
- 120 mph – 3:16
- 125 mph – 3:08
Note.
- Times are given in h:mm.
- A few mph increase in average speed reduces journey time by a considerable amount.
The figures certainly show the value of high speed trains and of removing bottlenecks, as average speed is so important.
Decarbonisation Of LNER
LNER Seeks 10 More Bi-Modes was based on an article in the December 2020 Edition of Modern Railways, with the same title. These are the first two paragraphs of the article.
LNER has launched the procurement of at least 10 new trains to supplement its Azuma fleet on East Coast main line services.
In a Prior Information Notice published on 27 October, the operator states it is seeking trains capable of operating under 25kW overhead power with ‘significant self-power capability’ for operation away from overhead wires. ‘On-board Energy Storage for traction will be specified as a mandatory requirement to reduce, and wherever practical eliminate, diesel usage where it would otherwise be necessary, although LNER anticipates some degree of diesel traction may be required to meet some self-power requirements. Suppliers tendering are asked to detail their experience of designing and manufacturing a fleet of multi-mode trains with a range of traction options including battery-electric, diesel-electric, hydrogen-electric, battery-diesel, dual fuel and tri-mode.
From this, LNER would appear to be serious about decarbonisation and from the destination list I published earlier, most services South of the Scottish Central Belt can be decarbonised by replacing diesel-power packs with battery power-packs.
That last bit, sounds like a call for innovation to provide a solution to the difficult routes to Aberdeen and Inverness. It also looks as if it has been carefully worded not to rule anybody out.
This press release from Hitachi is entitled Hitachi And Eversholt Rail To Develop GWR Intercity Battery Hybrid Train – Offering Fuel Savings Of More Than 20%.
It announces the Hitachi Intercity Tri-mode Battery Train, which is described in this Hitachi infographic.
As the Hitachi press release is dated the 15th of December 2020, which is after the publication of the magazine, it strikes me that LNER and Hitachi had been talking.
At no point have Hitachi stated what the range of the train is on battery power.
To serve the North of Scotland these gaps must be bridged.
- Aberdeen and Edinburgh Haymarket – 130 miles
- Inverness and Stirling – 146 miles
It should also be noted that distances in Scotland are such, that if these gaps could be bridged by battery technology, then probably all of the North of Scotland’s railways could be decarbonised. As Hitachi are the major supplier of Scotland’s local and regional electric trains, was the original Prior Information Notice, written to make sure Hitachi responded?
LNER run nine-car Class 800 trains on the two long routes to Aberdeen and Inverness.
- These trains have five diesel power-packs under coaches 2,3, 5, 7 and 8.
- As five-car Class 800 trains have diesel power-packs under coaches 2, 3 and 4, does this mean that Hitachi can fit diesel power-packs under all cars except for the driver cars?
- As the diesel and battery power-packs appear to be interchangeable, does this mean that Hitachi could theoretically build some very unusual trains?
- Hitachi’s trains can be up to twelve-cars in normal mode and twenty-four cars in rescue mode.
- LNER would probably prefer an all Azuma fleet, even if a few trains were a bit longer.
Imagine a ten-car train with two driver and eight intermediate cars, with all of the intermediate cars having maximum-size battery-packs.
Supposing, one or two of the battery power-packs were to be replaced with a diesel power-pack.
There are a lot of possibilities and I suspect LNER, Hitachi and Hyperdrive Innovation are working on a train capable of running to and from the North of Scotland.
Conclusion
I started by asking what is possible on The East Coast Main Line?
As the time of three-and-a-half hours was achieved by a short-formation InterCity 225 train in 1991 before Covids, Hitchin, Kings Cross Remodelling, Power Upgrades, Werrington and lots of other work, I believe that some journeys between Kings Cross and Edinburgh could be around this time within perhaps five years.
To some, that might seem an extraordinary claim, but when you consider that the InterCity 225 train in 1991 did it with only a few sections of 140 mph running, I very much think it is a certainly at some point.
As to the ultimate time, earlier I showed that an average of 120 mph between King’s Cross and Edinburgh gives a time of 3:16 minutes.
Surely, an increase of fourteen minutes in thirty years is possible?
Approaching Kings Cross – 2nd April 2021
I took these pictures approaching Kings Cross.
Comparing these pictures to those in Approaching Kings Cross – 19th February 2021, show that work is progressing.
It should be finished by the Summer.
The Anonymous Widower 