Thoughts On The Eastern Leg Of High Speed Two
These are a few thoughts on the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two.
Serving The North-East Quarter Of England From London
In Anxiety Over HS2 Eastern Leg Future, I gave a table of timings from London to towns and cities in the North-East quarter of England from Lincoln and Nottingham Northwards.
I’ll repeat it here.
- Bradford – Will not be served by High Speed Two – One hour and fifty-four minutes
- Cleethorpes – Will not be served by High Speed Two – Two hours and fifty-one minutes
- Darlington – One hour and forty-nine minutes – One hour and forty-nine minutes
- Doncaster – Will not be served by High Speed Two – One hour
- Edinburgh – Three hours and forty minutes via Western Leg – Three hours and thirty minutes.
- Grimsby – Will not be served by High Speed Two – Two hours and thirty-six minutes
- Harrogate – Will not be served by High Speed Two – One hour and fifty-two minutes
- Huddersfield – Will not served by High Speed Two – Two hours and eight minutes
- Hull – Will not be served by High Speed Two – One hour and fifty minutes
- Leeds – One hour and twenty-one minutes – One hour and thirty minutes
- Lincoln – Will not be served by High Speed Two – One hour and fifty-one minutes
- Middlesbrough – Will not be served by High Speed Two – Two hours and twenty minutes
- Newcastle – Two hours and seventeen minutes – Two hours and sixteen minutes
- Nottingham – One hour and seven minutes – One hour and fifty minutes
- Scarborough – Will not be served by High Speed Two – Two hours and fifty-seven minutes
- Sheffield – One hour and twenty-seven minutes – One hour and twenty-seven minutes
- Skipton – Will not be served by High Speed Two – Two hours and seven minutes
- Sunderland – Will not be served by High Speed Two – Two hours and thirty minutes
- York – One hour and twenty-four minutes – One hour and twenty-four minutes
Note.
- I have included all destinations served by Grand Central, Hull Trains and LNER.
- I have included Nottingham and Sheffield for completeness and in case whilst electrification is installed on the Midland Main Line, LNER run services to the two cities.
- I suspect LNER services to Bradford, Harrogate, Huddersfield and Skipton will split and join at Leeds.
There are a total of nineteen destination in this table.
- Twelve are not served by High Speed Two.
- Six are not more than fifteen minutes slower by the East Coast Main Line.
Only Nottingham is substantially quicker by High Speed Two.
Serving The North-East Quarter Of England From Birmingham
Fenland Scouser felt the above table might be interesting to and from Birmingham with or without the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two.
I think, I can give more information than that and it should be possible to give for each destination the following.
- Whether of not the route exists on High Speed Two.
- Time on High Speed Two from Birmingham.
- Time on High Speed Two and Northern Powerhouse Rail from Birmingham via Manchester
- Time by current trains from Birmingham
In the following table, the fields are in the order of the previous table.
- Bradford – No direct route – No time – One hour and three minutes – Two hours and twenty-seven minutes
- Cleethorpes – No direct route – No time – Three hours and eight minutes – Three hours and eighteen minutes
- Darlington – Route Exists – One hour and twenty-three minutes – One hour and forty minutes – Two hours and fifty-five minutes
- Doncaster – No direct route – No time – One hour and thirty-six minutes – Two hours and nineteen minutes
- Edinburgh- Route Exists – Three hours and fourteen minutes – Four hours – Four hours and thirteen minutes
- Grimsby – No direct route – No time – Two hours and fifty-three minutes – Three hours and three minutes
- Harrogate – No direct route – No time – One hour and twenty-eight minutes – Three hours
- Huddersfield – No direct route – No time – Fifty-six minutes – Two hours and eleven minutes
- Hull – No direct route – No time – One hour and forty-four minutes – Three hours and two minutes
- Leeds – Route Exists – Forty-nine minutes – One hour and six minutes – One hour and fifty-nine minutes
- Lincoln – No direct route – No time – Two hours and fifty-three minutes – Two hours and thirteen minutes
- Middlesbrough – No direct route – No time – Two hours and twenty-nine minutes – Three hours and thirty-two minutes
- Newcastle – No direct route – No time – Two hours and four minutes – Three hours and twenty-six minutes
- Nottingham – Route Exists – Fifty-seven minutes – Two hours and fifty-five minutes – One hour and ten minutes
- Sheffield – Route Exists – Thirty-five minutes – One hour and thirty-four minutes – One hour and fifteen minutes
- Skipton – No direct route – No time – One hour and forty-three minutes – Two hours and fifty-two minutes
- Sunderland – No direct route – No time – Two hours and fifty-nine minutes – Three hours and fifty-eight minutes
- York – Route Exists – Fifty-seven minutes – One hour and twenty-eight minutes – Two hours and twenty-seven minutes
Note.
- No time means just that!
- One of the crucial times is that Birmingham Curzon Street and Leeds is just an hour and six minutes via High Speed Two and Northern Powerhouse Rail. This time gives good times to all destinations served from Leeds.
- Nottingham and Sheffield are both around an hour and fifteen minutes from Birmingham New Street, by the current trains.
I’ll now look at some routes in detail.
Birmingham And Leeds
The time of one hour and six minutes is derived from the following.
- Birmingham Curzon Street and Manchester Piccadilly by High Speed Two – Forty-one minutes
- Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds by Northern Powerhouse Rail – Twenty-five minutes
It would be seventeen minutes slower than the direct time of forty-nine minutes.
But it is quicker than the current time of one hour and fifty-nine minutes
Note.
- As Manchester Piccadilly will have a time to and from London of one hour and eleven minutes, Leeds will have a time of one hour and twenty-six minutes to London via Northern Powerhouse Rail and Manchester.
- If the Eastern Leg is built, The London and Leeds time will be one hour and twenty-one minutes.
- The Eastern Leg would therefore save just five minutes.
The Northern Powerhouse route could probably mean that Huddersfield, Bradford and Hull would be served by High Speed Two from London.
Manchester Airport, Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds would be connected by a tunnel deep under the Pennines.
- Manchester Piccadilly, Huddersfield and Bradford could be underground platforms added to existing stations.
- Piccadilly and Leeds would have a journey time of under 25 minutes and six trains per hour (tph).
- The tunnel would also carry freight.
- It would be modelled on the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland.
I wrote full details in Will HS2 And Northern Powerhouse Rail Go For The Big Bore?
Birmingham And Nottingham
The time of two hours and fifty-five minutes is derived from the following.
- Birmingham Curzon Street and Manchester Piccadilly by High Speed Two – Forty-one minutes
- Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds by Northern Powerhouse Rail – Twenty-five minutes
- Leeds and Nottingham – One hour and forty-nine minutes
It would be one hour and fifty-eight minutes slower than the direct time of fifty-nine minutes.
The current time of one hour and ten minutes is much quicker.
Birmingham And Sheffield
The time of two hours and thirty-four minutes is derived from the following.
- Birmingham Curzon Street and Manchester Piccadilly by High Speed Two – Forty-one minutes
- Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds by Northern Powerhouse Rail – Twenty-five minutes
- Leeds and Sheffield – One hour and twenty-eight minutes
It would be one hour and fifty-nine minutes slower than the direct time of thirty-five minutes.
The current time of one hour and fifteen minutes is much quicker.
Conclusions On The Timings
I am led to the following conclusions on the timings.
The building of the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two gives the fastest times between Birmingham and Leeds, Nottingham and Sheffield.
But if the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two is not built, then the following is true, if Northern Powerhouse Rail is created between Manchester and Leeds.
The time of an hour and six minutes between Birmingham Curzon Street and Leeds is probably an acceptable time.
This time probably enables acceptable times between Birmingham Curzon Street and destinations North of Leeds.
But with Nottingham and Sheffield the current CrossCountry service is faster than the route via Manchester.
The speed of the CrossCountry services surprised me, but then there is a section of 125 mph running between Derby and Birmingham, which is used by CrossCountry services between Birmingham New Street and Leeds, Nottingham and Sheffield.
This table gives details of these services.
- Birmingham New Street and Leeds – 116,4 miles – One hour and 58 minutes – 59.3 mph
- Birmingham New Street and Nottingham – 57.2 miles – One hour and 14 minutes – 46.4 mph
- Birmingham New Street and Sheffield – 77.6 miles – One hour and 18 minutes – 59.7 mph
Note.
- The Leeds and Sheffield services are run by 125 mph Class 220 trains.
- The Notting service is run by 100 mph Class 170 trains.
- All trains are diesel-powered.
As there is 125 mph running between Derby and Birmingham, the train performance probably accounts for the slower average speed of the Nottingham service.
CrossCountry And Decarbonisation
Consider.
- CrossCountry has an all-diesel fleet.
- All train companies in the UK are planning on decarbonising.
- Some of CrossCountry’s routes are partially electrified and have sections where 125 mph running is possible.
The only standard train that is built in the UK that would fit CrossCountry’s requirements, would appear to be one of Hitachi’s 125 mph trains like a bi-mode Class 802 train.
- These trains are available in various lengths
- Hitachi will be testing battery packs in the trains in the next year, with the aim of entering service in 2023.
- Hitachi have formed a company with ABB, which is called Hitachi ABB Power Grids to develop and install discontinuous electrification.
When CrossCountry do replace their fleet and run 125 mph trains on these services several stations will be connected to Birmingham for High Speed Two.
The route between Leeds and Birmingham via Sheffield is part of the Cross Country Route, for which electrification appears to have planned in the 1960s according to a section in Wikipedia called Abortive British Rail Proposals For Complete Electrification,
I suspect that the following times could be achieved with a frequency of two tph
- Birmingham New Street and Leeds – 90 minutes
- Birmingham New Street and Nottingham – 60 minutes
- Birmingham New Street and Sheffield – 60 minutes
It is not the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two, but it could do in the interim.
Electrification Of The Midland Main Line
I don’t believe that the Midland Main Line needs full electrification to speed up services to Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield, but I believe that by fitting batteries to Hitachi’s Class 810 trains, that will soon be running on the line and using the Hitachi ABB Power Grids system of discontinuous electrification, that the route can be decarbonised.
I would also apply full digital in-cab signalling to the Midland Main Line.
Conclusion
We will need the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two at some time in the future, but if we do the following we can do more than cope.
- Create Northern Powerhouse Rail between Manchester and Leeds, so that High Speed Two can serve Leeds and Hull via Manchester.
- Decarbonise CrossCountry with some 125 mph battery-electric trains.
- Electrify the Midland Main Line.
I would also deliver as much as possible before Phase 1 and 2a of High Speed Two opens.
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.
Should All High Speed Long Distance Services To Newcastle Extend To Edinburgh?
Look at this Google Map of Newcastle station.
Note.
- It is built on a curve.
- It is on a cramped site.
- Platforms are numbered from 1 at the top to 8 at the bottom.
- Platform 2 seems to be used for all express services going North.
- Platforms 3 and 4 seem to be used for all express services going South.
- Not all platforms would appear to be long enough for nine-car Class 80x trains.
I am certain, that any nation with a sophisticated railway system wouldn’t build a station on a curve with no avoiding lines like Newcastle these days.
Network Rail have a plan to sort out Darlington station and I’m sure they’d like to sort out Newcastle as well!
Current Long Distance Trains Through And To Newcastle
These include.
- CrossCountry – Plymouth and Edinburgh or Glasgow via Alnmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed and Dunbar.
- CrossCountry – Southampton Central or Reading and Newcastle.
- LNER – King’s Cross and Edinburgh via Berwick-upon-Tweed
- LNER – King’s Cross and Edinburgh via Alnmouth
- TransPennine Express – Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh via Morpeth
- TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport and Newcastle.
Note.
- All have a frequency of one train per hour (tph)
- All trains call at Newcastle.
- Two tph terminate at Newcastle and four tph terminate at Edinburgh or beyond.
There is also a new and Edinburgh service from East Coast Trains, that will start this year.
- It will run five trains per day (tpd).
- It will call at Newcastle.
- It will stop at Morpeth between Newcastle and Edinburgh.
There will also be High Speed Two services to Newcastle in a few years.
- There will be two tph between Euston and Newcastle
- There will be one tph between Birmingham Curzon Street and Newcastle.
Note.
- All services will be run by 200 metre long High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains.
- There is no High Speed Two service to Newcastle, that calls at Leeds.
- Only one High Speed Two service to Newcastle calls at East Midlands Hub.
I suspect High Speed Two services need a dedicated platform at Newcastle, especially, if another High Speed Two service were to be added.
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 King’s Cross and Edinburgh from the current two trains per hour (tph) to three.
I laid out how I would use this third path to Edinburgh in A New Elizabethan.
The Possible Long Distance Trains Through And To Newcastle
These trains can be summed up as follows.
- 1 tph – CrossCountry – Plymouth and Edinburgh or Glasgow via Alnmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed and Dunbar.
- 1 tph – CrossCountry – Southampton Central or Reading and Newcastle.
- 1 tph – LNER – King’s Cross and Edinburgh via Berwick-upon-Tweed
- 1 tph – LNER – King’s Cross and Edinburgh via Alnmouth
- 1 tph – TransPennine Express – Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh via Morpeth
- 1 tph – TransPennine Express – Manchester Airport and Newcastle.
- 5 tpd – East Coast Trains – King’s Cross and Edinburgh via Morpeth
- 2 tph – High Speed Two – Euston and Newcastle
- 1 tph – High Speed Two – Birmingham Curzon Street and Newcastle
- 1 tph – LNER – King’s Cross and Edinburgh – Extra service
This is ten tph and the five tpd of East Coast Trains.
Capacity Between Newcastle And Edinburgh
I wonder what capacity and linespeed would be possible on the East Coast Main Line between Newcastle and Edinburgh.
There are a few freight trains and some suburban electrics at the Northern end, but I suspect that the route could handle ten tph with some upgrades.
Edinburgh As A Terminal
Consider.
- Not all trains terminate at Edinburgh, but several tpd go through to places like Aberdeen, Glasgow, Inverness and Stirling.
- Edinburgh has several shorter East-facing bay platforms, that can take five-car Class 802 trains.
- Edinburgh has undergone a lot of reconstruction in recent years, so that it can turn more trains.
I very much feel that Edinburgh could handle, at least ten tph from the South.
Conclusion
I think it would be possible to extend all trains to Newcastle to at least Edinburgh.
Would it increase passenger capacity between the two capitals?
It would certainly avoid the difficult and expensive rebuilding at Newcastle station.
Through Settle And Carlisle Service Under Consideration
The title of this post, is the same as that of an article in the June 2021 Edition of Modern Railways.
This is the first paragraph.
Plans for a new Leeds to Glasgow through service via the Settle and Carlisle line are being developed, with CrossCountry and the Department for Transport starting to look at the possible scheme.
It sounds like a sensible idea to me.
The article also suggests the following.
- CrossCountry is a possible operator.
- CrossCountry are keen to improve services between Leeds and Glasgow
- The trains could be InterCity 125s, freed up, by a the arrival of Class 221 trains from Avanti West Coast, when they receive their new Class 805 trains.
- Maintenance of the trains wouldn’t be a problem, as this could be done at Neville Hill in Leeds or Craigentinny in Edinburgh.
- Services could start in December 2023.
I have a few thoughts of my own!
The Route
The route between Leeds and Carlisle is obvious, but there are two routes between Carlisle and Glasgow.
Trains would probably choose a route and call at stations to maximise passenger numbers.
These stations are on the various routes.
- Settle and Carlisle – Shipley, Bingley, Keighley, Skipton, Gargrave, Hellifield, Long Preston, Settle, Horton in Ribblesdale, Ribblehead, Dent, Garsdale, Kirkby Stephen, Appleby, Langwathby, Lazonby & Kirkoswald and Armathwaite
- Glasgow South Western – Dunlop, Stewarton, Kilmaurs, Kilmarnock, Auchinleck, New Cumnock, Kirkconnel, Sanquhar, Dumfries, Annan and Gretna Green
- West Coast Main – Motherwell, Carstairs and Lockerbie
There are certainly a lot of possibilities.
Upgrading The InterCity 125 Trains
CrossCountry appear to have enough InterCity 125 trains to muster five in a two Class 43 power car and seven Mark 3 coach formation.
They may not be fully in-line with the latest regulations and there may be a need for a certain degree of refurbishment.
These pictures show some details of a refurbished Great Western Railway Castle, which has been fitted with sliding doors.
Will The InterCity 125 Trains Be Shortened?
Scotrail’s Inter7City trains and Great Western Railway’s Castle trains have all been shortened to four or five coaches.
This picture shows a pair of Castles.
Journey Times, Timetable And Frequency
The current journey time between Leeds and Glasgow Central stations via the East Coast Main Line is four hours and eight minutes with nine stops.
The Modern Railways article says this about the current service.
The new service would be targeted at business and leisure travellers, with through journey times competitive with road and faster than the current direct CrossCountry Leeds to Glasgow services via the East Coast main line.
I would expect that CrossCountry are looking for a time of around four hours including the turn round.
- Stops could be removed to achieve the timing.
- The trains could run at 125 mph on the West Coast Main Line.
This could enable a train to have the following diagram.
- 0800 – Depart Leeds
- 1200 – Depart Glasgow Central
- 1600 – Depart Leeds
- 2000 – Depart Glasgow Central
- Before 2400 – Arrive Leeds
Note.
- A second train could start in Glasgow and perform the mirrored timetable.
- Timings would probably be ideal for train catering.
- Trains would leave both termini at 0800, 1200, 1600 and 2000.
- The timetable would need just two trains.
I also think, if a second pair of trains were to be worked into the timetable, there could be one train every two hours on the route, if the demand was there.
I certainly believe there could be a timetable, that would meet the objectives of attracting business and leisure passengers away from the roads.
Tourism And Leisure Potential
The Settle and Carlisle Line is known as one of the most scenic railway lines in England, if not the whole of the UK.
There are important tourist sites all along the route between Leeds and Glasgow
- Leeds – The station is well-connected in the City Centre.
- Saltaire – For the World Heritage Site and Salt’s Mill
- Keighley – For the Keighley and Worth Heritage Railway
- Settle – The town of Settle is worth a visit.
- Ribblehead – For the famous Ribblehead Viaduct
- Appleby – For the Horse Fair.
- Carlisle – The station is well-connected in the City Centre.
- Glasgow – Glasgow Central station is well-connected in the City Centre.
Many of the stations are used by walkers and others interested in country pursuits.
I believe that it is a route that needs a quality rail service.
Travel Between London and Towns Along The Settle And Carlisle Line
In Thoughts On Digital Signalling On The East Coast Main Line, I said this.
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 may seem fast compared to today, but I do believe it is possible.
With a timely connection at Leeds station, will this encourage passengers to places along the Settle and Carlisle line to use the train?
What About the Carbon Emissions?
The one problem with using InterCity 125 trains on this route, is that they are diesel-powered, using a pair of Class 43 locomotives.
But then there are over a hundred of these diesel-electric locomotives in service, nearly all of which are now powered by modern MTU diesel engines, which were fitted in the first decade of this century.
Consider.
- The locomotives and the coaches they haul have an iconic status.
- Great Western Railway and Scotrail have recently developed shorter versions of the trains for important routes.
- There are over a hundred of the locomotives in service.
- Companies like ULEMCo are developing technology to create diesel-powered vehicles that can run on diesel or hydrogen.
- There is plenty of space in the back of the locomotives for extra equipment.
- MTU have a very large number of diesel engines in service. It must be in the company’s interest to find an easy way to cut carbon emissions.
- I believe that the modern MTU diesel engines could run on biodiesel to reduce their carbon footprint.
And we shouldn’t forget JCB’s technology, which I wrote about in JCB Finds Cheap Way To Run Digger Using Hydrogen.
If they could develop a 2 MW hydrogen engine, it could be a shoe-in.
I believe that for these and other reasons, a solution will be found to reduce the carbon emissions of these locomotives to acceptable levels.
Conclusion
In this quick look, it appears to me that a Glasgow and Leeds service using InterCity 125 trains could be a very good idea.
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.
- The Selby Line curving across the Northern side of the map.
- Cross Gates station is the next station to the West.
- 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.
- 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.
- With full electrification, timings could be improved.
- York and Huddersfield would be under an hour.
- 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.
- All of these trains are one tph.
- 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.
- All of these trains are one tph.
- 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.
- 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
- There are a lot of possibilities.
- 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.
WYCA To Discuss Latest Plans For £24.2m White Rose Rail Station
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Technology Magazine.
I briefly commented on this proposed station in Is There Going To Be Full Electrification Between Leeds And Huddersfield?, where I said this.
White Rose Station
There are plans to build a new White Rose station in the next couple of years at the White Rose Centre..
This would be between Morley and Cottingley stations.
This station will surely increase the passenger numbers on the Huddersfield Line.
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.
These are my thoughts.
Will White Rose Station Be Electrified?
The Rail Technology Magazine article has a visualisation of the new White Road station and very swish it looks too!
But it doesn’t show any electrification through the station.
This document on the Network Rail web site is entitled Overhead Line Electrification – Huddersfield to Westtown (Dewsbury).
This is the first paragraph.
We’re proposing to electrify the railway between Huddersfield and Westtown (Dewsbury) – and right through to Leeds.
This will enable train operators to use electric – or bi-mode (hybrid) trains – along this section of the route.
I am pretty certain, this paragraph can be interpreted, as saying that Leeds and Huddersfield will be connected by a fully-electrified railway.
This Google Map shows the current Ravensthorpe station, where the line to and from Wakefield joins the Huddersfield and Leeds Line.
This document on the Network Rail web site is entitled Scheme Proposals – Huddersfield to Westtown (Dewsbury).
It indicates that the triangle of land between the two lines will be used for a sub-station to provide power for the electrification.
It says this.
We propose to build an electricity substation within the Ravensthorpe and Westtown area, to provide power for the electrification of the railway (known as traction power). To facilitate this work, a temporary construction compound which will provide essential welfare facilities for staff will be established in an area of land occupying the current landfill site to the east of Ravensthorpe Station. Access to the facilities will be made via Forge Lane or the existing Thornhill Power Station access road. In addition, Northern Powergrid will be undertaking extensive works to their overhead network within the Ravensthorpe area.
This looks like a convenient place to build a sub-station.
- Northern Powergrid would be able to combine one of their projects, with one for Network Rail.
- It looks like the location of the sub-station gives both good road and rail access.
It would also be ideal to provide power to the line to Wakefield Kirkgate station, which is only ten miles away.
Services At White Rose Station
Currently, the following services would appear to go through the site of White Rose station.
- Northern Trains – Wigan Wallgate and Leeds
- TransPennine Express – Huddersfield and Leeds
- 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.
- All services are one tph.
- The first two services are stopping services, that stop at the two stations, that will be either side of White Rose station; Cottingley and Morley.
- Dewsbury station, which will be three stations away, has a service of three tph.
There may also be an LNER service between London and Huddersfield via Leeds, which might go through White Rose station.
When sources like Wikipedia, say the station will get two tph, they are probably basing this on the two stopping services.
Does White Rose Station Need A Direct Manchester Airport Service?
I think if the station becomes important, it will certainly need a direct service to Manchester Airport.
If one of TransPennine’s Manchester Airport services stopped at White Rose station it would give a direct fast hourly service to Manchester Airport.
- It would take about eighty minutes on current timings.
- In addition the service would call at Manchester Piccadilly, Leeds and York.
In my view it would be a very useful service.
Does White Rose Station Need A Direct London Service?
The reasoning for Manchester Airport, would probably apply to London.
Consider.
- Leeds currently has a two tph LNER service to London.
- I believe that LNER’s Leeds and London service could be uprated to three tph.
- Huddersfield should be getting a daily service or perhaps better to London.
- White Rose station is only planned to have a two tph service to Leeds.
I think there is scope to improve the service between White Rose and London.
- Stopping services between Leeds and Huddersfield should connect conveniently with the London trains at Leeds.
- If a third tph between Leeds and Huddersfield stopped at White Rose, that might help.
- Perhaps, some or all services between Huddersfield and London, should stop at White Rose.
It would all depend on the needs of passengers, once the station opened.
White Rose Station And Elland Road Stadium
This Google Map shows the distance between the White Rose Centre and Elland Road stadium.
Note.
- Elland Road stadium is in the North-East of the map
- The White Rose Shopping Centre is towards the South of the map.
- The Huddersfield Line runs down the Western side of the White Rose shopping centre.
- Cottingley station in North-West corner of the map is the nearest station to Elland Road stadium.
- I estimate it is about a mile-and-a-half walk, which is typical for many football grounds.
Would it be sensible on match days to run longer trains to White Rose station?
I also feel, that thought be given to the walking route between White Rose Station and Elland Road Stadium.
Would it also be better, if the new station was towards the North of the shopping centre?
Platform Length At White Rose Station
Platform length at White Rose station is stated that it will initially take six-car trains, with a possibility to extend to eight-cars.
Consider the lengths of trains likely to call at White Rose station.
- Three-car Class 185 trains are 71.3 metres.
- Three-car Class 195 trains are 71.4 metres.
- Three-car Class 331 trains are 71.4 metres.
- Four-car Class 331 trains are 94.5 metres.
- Five-car Class 802 trains are 130 metres.
- A Class 68 locomotive and five Mark 5 coaches are 131 metres
To handle pairs of three-car Class 185, Class 195 and Class 331 trains, it looks like 150 metre long platforms will be needed.
But to handle pairs of four-car Class 195 and Class 331 trains, it looks like 200 metre long platforms will be needed.
I suspect that because of the proximity of Elland Road and there is a lot of shopping in the build up to Christmas, that a thorough analysis of platform length should be done, before White Rose station is built.
Will A Cross-Leeds Service Serve White Rose Station?
If you look at Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Newcastle, suburban lines fan out all around the city.
If you look at Leeds, you find the following routes.
- Bradford – West – Electrified
- Harrogate -North – No Electrification
- Dewsbury and Huddersfield – South-West – Electrification planned
- Ilkley – North – Electrified
- Skipton – North-West – Electrified
- Wakefield – South-East – Electrified
- York and Selby – North-East and East – No Electrification
It appears to me, that the suburban routes are better on the Western side of the City, with more electrification in operation or planned.
The planned electrification between Leeds and Huddersfield via White Rose station can only make matters more uneven.
The Rail Technology Magazine article also says this.
The Investment Committee will also consider plans for a new £31.9m parkway rail station at Thorpe Park on the Leeds to York section of the Transpennine route.
Wikipedia says that proposed Thorpe Park station, will be built on the Selby Line to the East of Leeds, in the Thorpe Park are of the city. Wikipedia also says this about the operation of the station.
It would be served by trains from the west of Leeds which would normally terminate at Leeds station; by continuing eastwards to this station, it is hoped that extra capacity for through trains would be created at Leeds. The station would also form the first phase of electrifying the railway line to the east of Leeds. As a parkway station (an early name was East Leeds Parkway), the intention would be to allow for a park-and-ride service and the plans include parking for 500 cars.
This Google Map shows the area where the station could be built.
Note.
- The Selby Line curving across the Northern side of the map.
- Cross Gates station is the next station to the West.
- 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.
- 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.
Currently, the following services would appear to go through the site of Thorpe Park station.
- CrossCountry – Plymouth and Edinburgh/Glasgow
- LNER – Leeds and Edinburgh
- Northern Trains – Blackpool North and York
- Northern Trains – Halifax and Hull
- Northern Trains – Leeds and York
- 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.
- Most of these trains are one tph.
- I believe that LNER, when they get extra paths on the East Coast Main Line, could run a London, Leeds and Edinburgh service to increase frequency to the two Northern destinations to three tph.
- All the TransPennine Express services will pass through White Rose, Leeds and Thorpe Park stations.
I can see a high-capacity Leeds Crossrail service emerging.
These could be some example frequencies.
- Leeds and York – 6 tph
- Leeds and Thorpe Park – 10 tph
- Leeds and Hull – 2 tph
- Leeds and Huddersfield – 6 tph
- Leeds and Manchester Victoria/Piccadilly – 6 tph
- Leeds and Manchester Airport – 2 tph
- Leeds and White Rose – 4 tph
A four-track electrified route could be developed through Leeds station.
Are Two Platforms Enough At White Rose Station?
Superficially White Rose and Thorpe Park stations seem aimed at similar purposes in different parts of Leeds.
But White Rose station will only have two platforms and it appears that Thorpe Park could have four.
So does White Rose station need more platforms?
Conclusion
White Rose and Thorpe Park stations could be the start of something very big in Leeds.
Is The Eastern Leg Of High Speed Two Under Threat?
This page on the High Speed Two web site is entitled HS2 Phase 2b Eastern Leg.
These are the opening three paragraphs.
Earlier this year the government made clear in its response to the Oakervee Review its commitment to Phase 2b of HS2, ensuring we boost capacity, improve connectivity between our regions and share prosperity.
As part of this, the government plans to present an Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands by the end of the year, informed by an assessment from the National Infrastructure Commission, which will look at how to deliver HS2 Phase 2b, Northern Powerhouse Rail, Midlands Rail Hub and other rail programmes better and more effectively.
In the meantime, the government has asked HS2 Ltd to pause work on the Eastern Leg. We recognise that this causes uncertainty and our Eastern Leg community engagement teams remain in place to support you.
The page then says that the work on the Western Leg should proceed, with the aim of a Western Leg Bill in early 2022.
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, I showed that the current and future upgrades to the East Coast Main Line, required by the East Coast Main Line, Northern Powerhouse Rail and High Speed Two, will greatly reduce the times on services from London Kings Cross to Doncaster, Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland.
I said this on timings on the East Coast Main Line.
- London Kings Cross and Doncaster could be around an hour.
- London Kings Cross and Leeds could be around one hour and thirty minutes, using the current Doncaster and Leeds time, as against the one hour and twenty-one minutes for High Speed Two.
- London Kings Cross and York could be around one hour and twenty-three minutes, using the current Doncaster and York time, as against the one hour and twenty-four minutes for High Speed Two.
- Timings between York and Newcastle would be the same fifty-two minutes as High Speed Two, as the track will be the limitation for both services.
- High Speed Two’s timing for York and Newcastle is given as fifty-two minutes, with York and Darlington as twenty-five minutes.
- London Kings Cross and Darlington could be around one hour and forty-nine minutes
- London Kings Cross and Newcastle could be around two hours and sixteen minutes.
- London Kings Cross and Edinburgh would be under three-and-a-half hours, as against the proposed three hours and forty-eight minutes for High Speed Two.
LNER’s Azuma cavalry will hold the fort for as long as is needed.
I’ll now look at how various stations, will be affected if the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two is not built, until a couple of decades in the future.
Leeds
Current Long Distance Services At Leeds Station
Leeds station has the following long distance services in trains per hour (tph)
- CrossCountry – 1
- LNER – 2
- TransPennine Express – 5
It is a bit thin compared to say Birmingham or Manchester.
Northern Powerhouse Rail And Leeds
Northern Powerhouse Rail has plans for Leeds with these services to other Northern cities.
- Hull – two tph in 38 minutes
- Manchester – six tph in 25 minutes
- Newcastle – four tph in 58 minutes
- Sheffield – four tph in 28 minutes.
From what they have written, the following could also be possible.
- Bradford – six tph in a few minutes
- Liverpool – four or more tph in 51 minutes
- Manchester Airport – four or more tph in 35 minutes
It is an ambitious plan.
High Speed Two And Leeds
High Speed Two is planning to run the following trains to Leeds in every hour.
- Birmingham Curzon Street and Leeds – 200 metre train
- Birmingham Curzon Street and Leeds via East Midlands Hub – 200 metre train
- London Euston and Leeds via Old Oak Common and East Midlands Hub – 200 metre train
- London Euston and Leeds via Old Oak Common and East Midlands Hub – 400 metre train
- London Euston and Leeds via Old Oak Common, Birmingham Interchange and East Midlands Hub – 400 metre train
Timings will be as follows.
- Birmingham Curzon Street and Leeds – 49 minutes.
- London Euston and Leeds – One hour and 21 minutes.
There will be about 1000 seats per hour between Birmingham Curzon Street and Leeds and 2500 seats per hour Between London Euston and Leeds.
High Speed Two And Leeds Via Manchester
This report on the Transport for the North web site, is entitled At A Glance – Northern Powerhouse Rail.
This map shows Transport for the North’s ideas for connections in the West linking Crewe, Liverpool, Manchester, Manchester Airport, Warrington and Wigan.
A black line goes East from Manchester to link it to Leeds via Huddersfield and Bradford.
- This is proposed as a route shared between High Speed Two and Northern Powerhouse Rail.
- High Speed Two are promising that London Euston and Manchester will be timed at one hour and eleven minutes.
- London Euston and Manchester will have a frequency of three tph and will all be 400 metre High Speed Two Full Size trains, with about a thousand seats.
- Northern Powerhouse Rail have an objective of a twenty-five minute journey time between Manchester and Leeds.
I would also build the Manchester and Leeds route with the following characteristics.
- As a full-size tunnel capable of taking High Speed Two Full Size trains and the largest freight trains.
- Intermediate and underground stations at Huddersfield and Bradford.
- It could be built as a base tunnel, like the similarly-sized Gotthard base tunnel in Switzerland.
- The Swiss tunnel has a maximum operating speed for passenger trains of 125 mph.
If it can be built for a reasonable cost and in a reasonable time-scale, it could be a way of doing the following.
- Creating a straight 150 mph plus route across the Pennines, with a capacity of 18 tph.
- Running high-capacity fast trains between London Euston and Leeds via Manchester Airport and Manchester.
- Running freight trains between the two sides of the Pennines.
- Creating a high frequency route between Liverpool and Hull via Manchester Airport, Manchester, Huddersfield and Bradford and Leeds.
The passenger service between Liverpool and Hull could be the world’s first high speed metro.
If the London Euston and Manchester trains, were to be extended to Leeds, London Euston and Leeds would take one hour and thirty-six minutes, which would only be fifteen minutes slower, than is promised for the route going via the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two.
London Kings Cross And Leeds
When the in-cab digital signalling is complete between London Kings Cross and Leeds, I am fairly confident that with a few other improvements and more zoom from the Azumas, that a London Kings Cross and Leeds time of one hour and fifty minutes will be possible.
But will two nine-car or pairs of five-car trains per hour (tph), be enough capacity? Especially, as pairs of five-car trains will split and join to serve a wider catchment area, which will harvest more passengers.
LNER will in a couple of years have an extra path every hour into Kings Cross.
I would feel that best use of this path would be to run between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh via Leeds and Newcastle.
- Leeds and Newcastle could be the only intermediate stops.
- Leeds would be the ideal place to change to Northern Powerhouse Rail for anywhere in the North of England.
- My estimates, say it could run between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh in around three-and-a-half hours.
- It would run non-stop between London Kings Cross and Leeds, Leeds and Newcastle and Newcastle and Edinburgh.
It would increase capacity, between the four major destinations on the route; London Kings Cross, Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh.
It could start running, once the digital signalling and current improvements to the East Coast Main Line are complete.
London St. Pancras And Leeds
I discussed, Northern Powerhouse Rail’s plan for Sheffield and Leeds in Northern Powerhouse Rail – Connecting Sheffield To HS2 And On To Leeds.
This could see the following new infrastructure.
- Electrification between Clay Cross North Junction and Sheffield station of the route shared by the Midland Main Line and High Speed Two.
- Electrification through Sheffield and on to Leeds, via the Wakefield Line
- New stations for High Speed trains at Rotherham and Barnsley Dearne Valley.
I could see East Midlands Railway taking advantage of this route, with their new Class 810 trains and running a regular Leeds and St. Pancras service.
- It would call at Wakefield Westgate, Barnsley Dearne Valley, Rotherham and Meadowhall. between Leeds and Sheffield stations.
- It would take twenty-eight minutes between Leeds and Sheffield, if it met Northern Powerhouse Rail’s objective.
- Perhaps one of the two tph between London St. Pancras and Sheffield could be extended to Leeds.
As the current time between London St. Pancras and Sheffield, is a few minutes under two hours, I can see a time of comfortably under two-and-a-half hours between London St. Pancras and Leeds.
A Summary Of Journey Times Between London And Leeds
I can summarise my estimates, between London and Leeds.
- High Speed Two – Direct via Eastern Leg – One hour and twenty-one minutes.
- High Speed Two – via Manchester – One hour and thirty-six minutes.
- East Coast Main Line – via Doncaster – One hour and thirty minutes.
- Midland Main Line – via Derby and Sheffield – Two hours and twenty minutes.
The direct High Speed Two route is the fastest., but others could be viable alternatives for some passengers.
Bradford
Consider.
- Under current plans Bradford won’t be getting any high speed service from High Speed Two.
- The best it can get under current plans is several direct services per day, between Bradford Forster Square and London Kings Cross in perhaps two hours.
- The layout of the city and its two stations doesn’t give good connectivity.
Bradford, Harrogate, Huddersfield and Skipton could probably be served by trains to and from London Kings Cross that join and split at Leeds.
But if Northern Powerhouse Rail goes for a tunnel between Manchester and Leeds with Bradford as an underground station, it could be served by High Speed Two services going between London Euston and Leeds via Manchester.
I would estimate that if London Euston and Leeds via Manchester took around one hour and thirty-six minutes, London Euston and Bradford could take around an hour-and-a-half.
Darlington
I can summarise my estimates, between London and Darlington.
- High Speed Two – Direct via Eastern Leg – One hour and forty-nine minutes.
- High Speed Two – via Manchester and Leeds – Two hours and six minutes.
- East Coast Main Line – via Doncaster – One hour and forty-nine minutes.
Improvements on the East Coast Main Line, needed to enable and speed-up High Speed Two services to York, Darlington and Newcastle; will speed up East Coast Main Line services to Darlington.
Edinburgh
I can summarise my estimates, between London and Edinburgh.
- High Speed Two – Direct via Western Leg – Three hours and forty minutes.
- High Speed Two – via Manchester and Leeds – Three hours and forty-eight minutes.
- East Coast Main Line – via Doncaster – Three hours and thirty minutes.
Improvements on the East Coast Main Line, needed to enable and speed-up High Speed Two services to York, Darlington and Newcastle; will speed up East Coast Main Line services to Newcastle.
Harrogate
Consider.
- Under current plans Harrogate won’t be getting any high speed service from High Speed Two.
- The best it can get under current plans is several direct services per day, between Harrogate and London Kings Cross in perhaps two hours.
Bradford, Harrogate, Huddersfield and Skipton could possibly be served by trains to and from London Kings Cross that join and split at Leeds.
Huddersfield
- If Huddersfield is served by underground platforms beneath the current Huddersfield station, a lot of what I said for Bradford would apply to Huddersfield.
- The timings would probably be around an-hour-and-a-half from London Euston.
Bradford, Harrogate, Huddersfield and Skipton could possibly be served by trains to and from London Kings Cross that join and split at Leeds.
Hull
Hull is an interesting destination.
- Reaching Hull from the current High Speed Two network will need a change at Leeds or another station.
- Using Northern Powerhouse Rail’s objectives on timings, London Euston and Hull via Manchester on High Speed Two, would be a few minutes under two-and-a-half hours.
- I strongly feel, that London Kings Cross and Hull via Selby could be reduced to below two hours.
Hull would also make a superb Eastern terminal station for both Northern Powerhouse Rail and a High Speed Two service from London via Manchester and Leeds.
You pays your money and takes your choice.
Middlesbrough
Reaching Middlesbrough from the proposed High Speed Two network will need a change at York or another station.
But a time of two hours and twenty minutes, should be possible using the East Coast Main Line via Doncaster.
Improvements on the East Coast Main Line, needed to enable and speed-up High Speed Two services to York, Darlington and Newcastle, will speed up East Coast Main Line services to Middlesbrough.
Newcastle
I can summarise my estimates, between London and Newcastle.
- High Speed Two – Direct via Eastern Leg – Two hours and seventeen minutes.
- High Speed Two – via Manchester and Leeds – Two hours and thirty-four minutes.
- East Coast Main Line – via Doncaster – Two hours and sixteen minutes.
Improvements on the East Coast Main Line, needed to enable and speed-up High Speed Two services to York, Darlington and Newcastle; will speed up East Coast Main Line services to Newcastle.
Nottingham
I will compare average speeds on the Midland Main Line between London St. Pancras and Nottingham and on the East Coast Main Line, between London Kings Cross and Leeds.
Currently.
- London St. Pancras and Nottingham services, over the 126 mile route, take one hour and fifty minutes. which is an average speed of 69 mph.
- London Kings Cross and Leeds services, over the 186 mile route, take two hours and thirteen minutes, which is an average speed of 94 mph.
Note.
- The two routes are of similar character and are fairly straight with large sections of 125 mph running and quadruple tracks.
- The East Coast Main Line to Leeds is fully electrified, whereas the Midland Main Line is only partially electrified.
- Both routes have a small number of stops.
- In a few years time, services on both routes will be run by different members of the Hitachi AT-300 train family.
I don’t feel it would be unreasonable to assume that a London St. Pancras and Nottingham service could be run at an average speed of 94 mph, if the Midland Main Line were upgraded to the same standard as the East Coast Main Line.
This could mean a time of around one hour and twenty-one minutes between London St. Pancras and Nottingham, or a saving of twenty-nine minutes.
Is that possible?
- The new Class 810 trains, will have four engines instead of the normal three for a five-car AT-300 train. Will they be able to be closer to the 125 mph line-speed on diesel power, where it is available on the Midland Main Line.
- The trains will be able to use electrification between London St. Pancras and Market Harborough.
- There have been hints, that more electrification may be installed on the Midland Main Line.
- Hitachi have announced a battery electric version of the AT-300 train called an Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, where one or more of the diesel engines are replaced by battery packs.
- The new trains will be ready to accept in-cab ERTMS digital signalling, so they could be able to run at up to 140 mph, if the track were to be upgraded.
I certainly feel, that substantial time savings could be possible between London St. Pancras and Nottingham.
Eighty-one minutes would be very convenient, as it would comfortably allow a three hour round trip, which would mean just six trains or more likely pairs of trains would be needed for the current two tph service.
Eighty-one minutes would not be the fifty-two minute service promised by High Speed Two!
But!
- The new trains are planned to be introduced from 2023.
- Who knows, when High Speed Two will arrive at the East Midlands Hub station?
- They won’t need any new substantial infrastructure to replace the current trains.
I also suspect the new trains will have more seats, but, the capacity of the Class 810 train, has not been published.
Nottingham could also be served by a high speed service from London Kings Cross via Grantham, which I estimate would take about one hour and twenty minutes.
Sheffield
A lot of what I said for Nottingham can be applied to Sheffield.
- Currently, London St. Pancras and Sheffield services, over the 165 mile route, take two hours, which is an average speed of 82.5 mph.
- High Speed Two is promising a journey time of one hour and twenty-seven minutes.
- An average speed of 90 mph, would mean a journey time of one hour and fifty minutes.
- This would allow a four hour round trip, which would mean just eight trains or more likely pairs of trains would be needed for the current two tph service.
It would be very convenient for the operator.
It looks like if pairs of trains were to be run on both the Nottingham and Sheffield routes, that twenty-eight trains would be needed to run both services.
This fits well with a fleet size of thirty-three trains.
The only caveat, is that to get the required journey times, it might be necessary to rebuild and electrify the tracks, between Sheffield and Clay Cross North Junction.
- These tracks will be shared with the future Sheffield Branch of High Speed Two.
- It would only be 15.5 miles of double-track to rebuild and electrify.
- It could be rebuilt to allow 140 mph running. Several minutes could be saved!
The electrification could allow Hitachi’s Intercity Tri-Mode Battery trains to be able to run the Sheffield service.
These trains would certainly be a way of avoiding the tricky electrification of the Derby and Clay Cross section of the route, which goes through the World Heritage Site of the Derwent Valley Mills.
Sheffield could also be served by a high speed service from London Kings Cross via Doncaster, which I estimate would take about one hour and thirty minutes.
Skipton
Consider.
- Under current plans Skipton won’t be getting any high speed service from High Speed Two.
- The best it can get under current plans is several direct services per day, between Skipton and London Kings Cross in perhaps two hours.
Bradford, Harrogate, Huddersfield and Skipton could possibly be served by trains to and from London Kings Cross that join and split at Leeds.
Sunderland
Reaching Sunderland from the proposed High Speed Two network will need a change at York or another station.
But a time of two hours and thirty minutes, should be possible using the East Coast Main Line via Doncaster.
Improvements on the East Coast Main Line, needed to enable and speed-up High Speed Two services to York, Darlington and Newcastle, will speed up East Coast Main Line services to Sunderland.
York
I can summarise my estimates, between London and York.
- High Speed Two – Direct via Eastern Leg – One hour and twenty-four minutes.
- High Speed Two – via Manchester and Leeds – One hour and forty-two minutes.
- East Coast Main Line – via Doncaster – One hour and twenty-four minutes.
Improvements on the East Coast Main Line, needed to enable and speed-up High Speed Two services to York, Darlington and Newcastle; will speed up East Coast Main Line services to York.
I believe strongly, that York would be about as fast from London, by either of the direct routes, but both would serve different intermediate destinations.
Conclusion
My first conclusion is a surprising one, but the promised timings from High Speed Two and the current timings in the timetable make it clear.
To achieve the required timings for High Speed Two, major improvements must be made to existing track and these improvements will mean that existing services will be competitive with High Speed Two on time.
These improvements fall into this category.
- Improving the East Coast Main Line between York and Newcastle, will make East Coast Main Line services to York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle competitive with High Speed Two services.
- Improving the East Coast Main Line between York and Newcastle, may also mean that London Kings Cross and Edinburgh will be faster than the High Speed Two service between London Euston and Edinburgh.
- Electrifying the route shared between Sheffield and Clay Cross North Junction, will speed up London St. Pancras and Sheffield services and make them more competitive with High Speed Two.
I suspect there may be similar mutual improvements on the Western leg of High Speed Two.
Other smaller conclusions from my analysis of the improvements include.
- These improvements will create some extra capacity on the East Coast and Midland Main Lines, by removing bottlenecks and improving line speeds.
- Electrification, even if it is only partial or discontinuous, will improve services on the Midland Main Line.
- Some places like Harrogate, Middlesbrough and Skipton will never be served directly by High Speed Two, but are easily served by East Coast Main Line services from London Kings Cross.
- Northern Powerhouse Rail is very much part of the North-South capacity for England.
- In-cab ERTMS signalling will play a large part in increasing capacity and line speeds.
Perhaps in our planning of High Speed Two, we should plan all the routes in the North and Midlands in a much more holistic way.
If we look at the capacity between London and the North, I feel that with the addition of Phase 1 of High Speed Two to Birmingham in 2029-2033 and hopefully Phase 2a soon afterwards, that Phase 2b will not be needed for reasons of speed and capacity until years later.
So, I would pause most construction of the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two until Phase 1 and Phase 2a are complete.
I would make exceptions for the following.
- Improvements to the shared section of the East Coast Main Line and High Speed Two, between York and Newcastle.
- Building a high speed connection between Leeds and York for the use of Northern Powerhouse Rail and the East Coast Main Line.
- Rebuilding and electrification of the shared section of the Midland Main Line and High Speed Two, between Clay Cross North Junction and Sheffield.
- Improve and electrify the route between Sheffield and Leeds.
But I would continue with the design, as I feel that East of Leeds is very much sub-optimal at the present time.
The route of the Eastern leg of High Speed Two would be safeguarded.
But the biggest problem with the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two to Leeds, is that however it is built travellers to and from Leeds, York and further North will not see any improvements for some years, but improving the East Coast Main Line wouldn’t exactly see jam tomorrow, but tons of it by 2024.
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
In this article on Transport for the North, which is entitled Northern Powerhouse Rail Progress As Recommendations Made To Government, one of the recommendations proposed for Northern Powerhouse Rail is significant upgrades to the East Coast Main Line and reopening of the Leamside Line.
Northern Powerhouse Rail’s Objective For The Leeds and Newcastle Route
Wikipedia, other sources and my calculations say this about the trains between Leeds and Newcastle.
- The distance between the two stations is 106 miles
- The current service takes around 85 minutes and has a frequency of three trains per hour (tph)
- This gives an average speed of 75 mph for the fastest journey.
- The proposed service with Northern Powerhouse Rail will take 58 minutes and have a frequency of four tph.
- This gives an average speed of 110 mph for the journey.
This last figure of 110 mph, indicates to me that a faster route will be needed.
These are example average speeds on the East Coast Main Line.
- London Kings Cross and Doncaster – 156 miles – 98 minutes – 95.5 mph
- London Kings Cross and Leeds – 186 miles – 133 minutes – 84 mph
- London Kings Cross and York – 188.5 miles – 140 minutes – 81 mph
- London Kings Cross and Hull – 205.3 miles – 176 minutes – 70 mph
- York and Newcastle – 80 miles – 66 minutes – 73 mph
I also predicted in Thoughts On Digital Signalling On The East Coast Main Line, that with full digital in-cab ERTMS signalling and other improvements, that both London Kings Cross and Leeds and York would be two-hour services, with Hull a two-and-a-half service.
- London Kings Cross and Leeds in two hours would be an average speed of 93 mph.
- London Kings Cross and York in two hours would be an average speed of 94.2 mph.
- London Kings Cross and Hull in two-and-a-half hours would be an average speed of 94.2 mph.
I am fairly certain, that to achieve the required 110 mph average between Leeds and Newcastle to meet Northern Powerhouse Rail’s objective of four tph in under an hour will need, at least the following.
- Full digital in-cab ERTMS signalling
- Completion of the electrification between Leeds and York.
- Ability to run at up to 140 mph in places.
- Significant track upgrades.
It could also eliminate diesel traction on passenger services on the route.
High Speed Two’s Objective For The York and Newcastle Route
At the present time, High Speed Two is not planning to run any direct trains between Leeds and Newcastle, so I’ll look at its proposed service between York and Newcastle instead.
- Current Service – 80 miles – 66 minutes – 73 mph
- High Speed Two – 80 miles – 52 minutes – 92 mph
Note.
- High Speed Two will be running three tph between York and Newcastle.
- Northern Powerhouse Rail have an objective of 58 minutes for Leeds and Newcastle.
High Speed Two and Northern Powerhouse Rail do not not have incompatible ambitions.
Current Direct Leeds And Newcastle Services
These are the current direct Leeds and Newcastle services.
- TransPennine Express – 1 tph – Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh
- TransPennine Express – 1 tph – Manchester Airport and Newcastle.
- CrossCountry – 1 tph – Plymouth and Edinburgh
Timings appear to be between 81 and 91 minutes.
What Would A Leeds And Newcastle In Under An Hour Do For London Kings Cross And Edinburgh Timings?
This question has to be asked, as a 58 minute time between Leeds and Newcastle will mean that timings between York and Newcastle must reduce.
York And Newcastle at various average speeds give the following times.
- 73 mph (current average) – 66 minutes
- 80 mph – 60 minutes
- 90 mph – 53 minutes
- 92 mph – 52 minutes (High Speed Two promise)
- 100 mph – 48 minutes
- 110 mph – 44 minutes
If any speed over 90 mph can be averaged between York and Newcastle, this means that with a London and York time of under two hours the following times are possible.
- London Kings Cross and Newcastle in under three hours. – High Speed Two are promising two hours and seventeen minutes.
- London Kings Cross and Edinburgh in under four hours. – High Speed Two are promising three hours and forty minutes.
Consider.
- An InterCity 225 achieved a time of under three-and-a-half hours between London and Edinburgh. in 1991.
- That record journey was at an average speed of 112 mph.
- There must be opportunities for speed improvements North of Newcastle.
- Train and signalling technology is improving.
- High Speed Two is promising three hours and forty minutes between London and Edinburgh.
I can see a fascinating rivalry between trains on High Speed Two and the East Coast Main Line, developing, about who can be faster between London and Edinburgh.
Current Projects Between Leeds And Newcastle
These projects are in planning or under way on the section of the East Coast Main Line between Leeds and Newcastle.
Phase 2 Of The East Coast Main Line Power Supply Upgrade
Phase 1 between London and Doncaster should have been completed, if the covids allowed and now work can be concentrated on Phase 2 to the North of Doncaster.
This page on the Network Rail web site describes the project. These paragraphs are the introduction to Phase 2.
Phase 2 of the project will involve the installation of feeder and substations along the route, capacity upgrades, new 132kv connection at Hambleton junction and upgrades to existing power supply connections.
The second phase of the project is currently in design stages and dates for carrying out the work are still being finalised.
Phase 2 will be delivering upgraded power to the East Coast Mainline railway between Bawtry and Edinburgh.
This project may not improve speeds on the railway, but it will certainly improve reliability and reduce the use of diesel power.
I do wonder, that as the reliability of the East Coast Main Line increases, this will reduce the need for the electric Class 801 trains, to have diesel engines for when the power supply fails.
It is known, that the Class 803 trains, that are under construction for East Coast Trains, will have only a small battery for emergency use.
A sensible weight saving would surely improve the acceleration and deceleration of the trains.
York to Church Fenton Improvement Scheme
This page of the Network Rail web site, describes the project. These paragraphs introduce the project.
Our work between York and Church Fenton is in preparation for the Transpennine Upgrade, which will provide more capacity and faster journeys between Manchester Victoria and York, via Leeds and Huddersfield.
The five mile stretch between Church Fenton and Colton Junction – the major junction where trains from Leeds join the East Coast Main Line towards York – sees over 100 trains each day, with up to one freight or passenger train passing through every five minutes. This is one of the busiest stretches of railway in the North.
The work will include.
- Modernising the signalling.
- Replacing about five miles of track between Holgate (York) and Colton Junction.
- Completing the eleven miles of electrification between York and Church Fenton stations.
I estimate that when the project is completed, there will be only around thirteen miles of track without electrification between Church Fenton station and Neville Hill TMD in Leeds.
The route between Church Fenton and Garforth stations, is shown in this map clipped from High Speed Two.
Note.
- York is just off the North-East corner of the map.
- Garforth is in the South-West corner of the map.
- Shown in orange is the new route of High Speed Two from East of Leeds towards York.
- Shown in blue is existing tracks, that will be used to take High Speed Two Trains to York and further North.
- The rail line running North-South on the edge of the map is the Selby Diversion, which opened in 1983 and was built to avoid possible subsidence from the Selby coalfield.
- The pre-Selby Diversion route of the East Coast Main Line goes South from the join of the blue and orange sections of High Speed Two.
- At Church Fenton station, this route splits, with one route going West through Micklefield, East Garforth and Garforth stations to Neville Hill TMD and Leeds.
- The main road going North-South is the A1 (M).
It seems to me, that High Speed Two’s and Northern Powerhouse Rail’s plans in this area, are still being developed.
- There has been no decision on the electrification between Church Fenton and Neville Hill TMD.
- How do Northern Powerhouse Rail trains go between Leeds and Hull?
- How do Northern Powerhouse Rail trains go between Leeds and York?
- How do High Speed Two trains go between Leeds and York?
I suspect, when the full plans are published, it will answer a lot of questions.
Darlington Station Remodelling
A remodelling of Darlington station is under consideration.
I outlined this in £100m Station Revamp Could Double Local Train Services.
This was my conclusion in the related article.
I think that this will happen.
-
- The Tees Valley Line trains will be greatly improved by this project.
- Trains will generally run at up to 140 mph on the East Coast Main Line, under full digital control, like a slower High Speed Two.
- There will be two high speed platforms to the East of the current station, where most if not all of the High Speed Two, LNER and other fast services will stop.
- There could be up to 15 tph on the high speed lines.
With full step-free access between the high speed and the local platforms in the current station, this will be a great improvement.
It will create a major interchange, where high speed trains from High Speed Two, LNER and Northern Powerhouse Rail will do the following.
- Approach at 140 mph or more.
- Perform a controlled stop in the station.
- Drop and pick-up passengers.
- Accelerate back up to linespeed.
The station stop will be highly-automated and monitored by the driver.
One of the objectives would be to save time for all fast trains.
Capacity And Other Problems Between Leeds And Newcastle Listed In Wikipedia
These problems are listed in a section called Capacity Problems in the Wikipedia entry for the East Coast Main Line.
The North Throat Of York Station Including Skelton Bridge Junction
I describe this problem and my solution in Improving The North Throat Of York Station Including Skelton Bridge Junction.
Use Of The Leamside Line
Wikipedia says this about capacity to the South of Newcastle.
South of Newcastle to Northallerton (which is also predominately double track), leading to proposals to reopen the Leamside line to passenger and freight traffic.
I could have included it in the previous section, but as it such a important topic, it probably deserves its own section.
Looking at maps, reopening is more than a a possibility. Especially, as reopening is proposed by Northern Powerhouse Rail and mentioned in the title of this post.
I discussed the Leamside Line in detail in Boris Johnson Backs Station Opening Which Could See Metro Link To County Durham, which I wrote in June this year.
These are some extra thoughts, that update the original post.
Ferryhill Station
I was prompted to write the related post, by something Boris Johnson said at PMQs and it was mainly about Ferryhill station.
In the latest copy of this document on the Government web site, which is entitled Restoring Your Railway: Successful Bids, a new station at Ferryhill has been successful. Another bid in the same area to restore rail services between Consett and Newcastle has also been successful.
This map shows the East Coast Main Line as it goes North South between Durham and Darlington.
Note.
- Ferryhill is in the South-West of the map opposite the sand-pits in the South-East
- The East Coast Main Line runs North-South between the village an d the sand-pits.
- Follow the railway North and you come to Tursdale, where there is a junction between the East Coast Main Line and the Leamside Line.
- The East Coast Main Line goes North-Westerly towards Durham and Newcastle.
- The Leamside Line goes North to Washington and Newcastle.
- There is also the Stillington Freight Line going South-Easterly to Sedgefield and Stockton from Ferryhill.
Could Ferryhill be a useful interchange to local services connecting to Newcastle, Sunderland and Washington in the North and Hartlepool, Middlesbrough and Stockton in the South?
The Leamside Line As An East Coast Main Line Diversion
I didn’t discuss using the line as a diversion for the East Coast Main Line in my original post, but if the infrastructure is to the required standard, I don’t see why it can’t take diverted traffic, even if it is also used for the Tyne and Wear Metro.
It should be remembered, that to create extra capacity on the East Coast Main Line between Peterborough and Doncaster, the route of the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway, was upgraded. I first wrote about this line six years ago in Project Managers Having Fun In The East and the route seems to be working well. It is now being augmented by the addition of the £200 million Werrington Dive Under. See Werrington Dive-Under – 8th November 2018, for more details of this project, which will speed up all trains on the East Coast Main Line.
After the undoubted success of the upgrade of the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway, surely the team responsible for it, should be given the task of devising a similar plan for the Leamside Line, to take pressure off the East Coast Main Line between Newcastle and Northallerton.
Sharing The Leamside Line
The Tyne and Wear Metro also has its eyes on the Leamside Line for an extension.
It should be noted that the Extension To Wearside, uses the Karlsruhe Model to allow the Metro trains to share with freight and other passenger trains.
The new Stadler trains will probably make this even easier, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see a reopened Leamside Line handling a varied assortment of trains of all types.
The Sunderland Example
Sunderland station is a station, which has both Metro and mainline services from the same platforms.
Could a station at Washington be built to similar principles, so that some long distance services to Newcastle used this station?
A Terminal Station On The Leamside Line
Newcastle station may be a Grade One Listed station, but it is built on a curve and would be a nightmare to expand with more platforms.
Sunderland station is already used as a terminal for London trains, so would it be sensible to provide a terminal at somewhere like Washington?
My Final Thought On The Leamside Line
Reopen it!
A Few Random Final Thoughts
This post has got me thinking.
Newcastle Station Capacity
I have seen reports over the years that Newcastle station, is lacking in capacity.
- There could be extra services, as High Speed Two is proposing two tph from London Euston stations and one tph from Birmingham Curzon Street station.
- There may be extra services because of Northern Powerhouse Rail, which has an objective of four tph from Leeds station.
- There may be extra services because of new services to Ashington and Blyth.
- There may be extra services because of new services to Consett.
Note.
- The first two services could use two hundred metre long trains.
- Some platforms can accept 234 metre long Class 800 trains.
- The last two services might use the Metro platforms.
As the station has twelve platforms, I feel with careful operation, that the station will have enough capacity.
This Google Map shows the station.
And this second Google Map shows the station, its position with relation to the Tyne and the lines rail routes to and from the station.
Note.
- Trains from the South arrive over the King Edward VII Bridge and enter Newcastle station from the West.
- Trains from England to Scotland go through the station from West to East and then go straight on and turn North for Berwick and Scotland.
- Next to the King Edward VII Bridge is the blue-coloured Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which takes the Tyne and Wear Metro across the Tyne, where it uses two platforms underneath Newcastle station.
- The next bridge is the High Level Bridge, which connects the East end of the station to the rail network, South of the Tyne. It connects to the Durham Coast Line to Teeside and the Leamside Line.
History has delivered Newcastle a comprehensive track layout through and around Newcastle station.
- Services from the East can be run back-to-back with services from the West.
- The Metro and its two underground platforms removes a lot of traffic from the main station.
- There are seven through platforms, of which at least three are over two hundred metres long.
- There are four West-facing bay platforms and one facing East.
But most intriguingly, it looks like it will be possible for trains to loop through the station from the South, by perhaps arriving over the King Edward VII bridge and leaving over the High Level bridge. Or they could go the other way.
Could this be why reoopening the Leamside Line is important?
LNER’s Extra Paths
The sentence, from an article entitled LNER Seeks 10 More Bi-Modes, in the December 2020 Edition of Modern Railways indicates that more capacity will be available to LNER.
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 Kings Cross, compared to five today.
I suspect that LNER could use the half path to run a one train per two hour (tp2h) service to Hull.
- Currently, London Kings Cross and Hull takes a few minutes under three hours.
- Currently, Doncaster and Hull takes around 55 minutes.
- I have estimated that once full digital in-cab signalling is operational, that London Kings Cross and Hull could take a few minutes under two-and-a-half hours.
The full path to Hull could be shared with Hull Trains to provide an hourly service between London Kings Cross and Hull.
LNER could do something special with the full extra path.
Consider.
- Some train operating companies have said, that they’ll be looking to attract customers from the budget airlines.
- There could be a need for more capacity between London Kings Cross and all of Edinburgh, Leeds and Newcastle.
- Faster services would be attractive to passengers.
- York and Leeds will be fully electrified or trains could be fitted with batteries to bridge the thirteen mile gap in the electrification.
A limited-stop service between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh via Leeds could be an interesting addition.
- The train would only stop at Leeds and possibly Newcastle.
- One objective would be a time under three-and-a-half hours between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh.
- What time could be achieved between London Kings Cross and Leeds?
It would certainly give High Speed Two a run for its money!
A New Elizabethan
I can remember The Elizabethan, which was a steam-hauled non-stop express between London and Edinburgh between 1953 and 1961.
I have laid out my ideas for a modern express train of the same name in A New Elizabethan.
It could be an interesting concept, to increase capacity between London and Edinburgh.
As I indicated in the previous section, LNER certainly have a path, that could be used to their advantage.
High Speed Two
The East Coast Main Line and High Speed Two have a lot in common.
- The two routes will share tracks between a junction near Ulleskelf station and Newcastle station.
- High Speed Two Classic Compatible trains could be based on Hitachi AT-300 train technology.
- High Speed Two Classic Compatible trains would probably be able to run on the East Coast Main Line between London Kings Cross And Edinburgh.
- Trains from both routes will share platforms at York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle stations.
- I would hope that the signalling systems on both routes are compatible.
From a project management point of view, this commonality means that in an ideal world the new route of both High Speed Two and Northern Powerhouse Rail, and the upgrades to the East Coast Main Line should be planned together.
I believe there are still details on the design of the joint route, that have not been disclosed, or perhaps not even decided.
- Will between Church Fenton station and Neville Hill depot be electrified?
- How will Northern Powerhouse Rail connect Leeds and Hull stations?
- How will Northern Powerhouse Rail connect Leeds and York stations?
- Will High Speed Two connect Leeds and York stations?
- What will be the operating speed of the joint section of the East Coast Main Line?
- What will be the capacity in trains per hour of the joint section of the East Coast Main Line?
- Will Newcastle station need an extra platform to handle three High Speed Two tph from London Euston
Two projects have been discussed in this post.
- The unlocking of the bottleneck at Skelton Bridge.
- The reopening of the Leamside Line.
I feel that these projects are important and will probably be needed for efficient operation of High Speed Two.
Other early projects could include.
- Upgrading and electrification of the chosen route between Leeds and Hull,
- Installation of the chosen system of in-cab ERTMS digital signalling on the route.
- Electrification between Church Fenton station and Neville Hill depot.
I would deliver these and other joint projects early, so that travellers see a positive benefit from High Speed Two before the main work has even started.
High Speed East Coast
I wonder what is the maximum speed of the Class 80x trains, that are the backbone of services on the East Coast Main Line.
Consider.
- It is known, that with in-cab digital ERTMS signalling, these trains will be capable of 140 mph, but could they go even faster.
- High Speed Two Classic Compatible trains will be capable of 225 mph.
- Will Hitachi’s offering for these trains, be based on the Class 80x trains?
I would think, that it is fairly likely, that the existing Class 80x trains could be updated to an operating speed in the range of 150-160 mph.
In Thoughts On Digital Signalling On The East Coast Main Line, I said this.
The combined affect of both track and signalling improvements is illustrated by this simple calculation.
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- As Dalton-on-Tees is North of Doncaster, the route between Woolmer Green and Doncaster should be possible to be run at 140 mph
- Woolmer Green and Doncaster stations are 132.1 miles apart.
- Non-stop York and London Kings Cross trains are currently timed at 70 minutes between Doncaster and Woolmer Green stations.
- This is an average speed of 113.2 mph.
If 140 mph could be maintained between Doncaster and Woolmer Green, the section of the journey would take 56.6 minutes, which is a saving of 13.4 minutes.
I can do this calculation for higher speeds.
- 150 mph would take 52.8 minutes
- 160 mph would take 49.5 minutes
- 170 mph would take 46.6 minutes
- 180 mph would take 44 minutes
- 200 mph would take 39.6 minutes
Note.
- Eurostar’s latest Class 374 trains are capable of operating at 200 mph.
- A Class 395 train, which is closely related to the Class 80x trains, has attained a record speed of 157 mph.
There may be worthwhile time savings to be made, on some of the straighter sections of the East Coast Main Line.
Other improvements will also be needed.
- A solution to the Newark crossing problem, which could be solved by the use of in-cab ERTMS digital signalling. See Could ERTMS And ETCS Solve The Newark Crossing Problem?
- Some extra four-tracking of the route.
- Upgrading of Cambridge and Kings Lynn services for faster running. See Call For ETCS On King’s Lynn Route.
Note, that I am assuming, that the Digswell Viaduct section would not be updated, as it would cause too much disruption.
I also believe that by using selective joining and splitting at Edinburgh, Leeds and perhaps Doncaster, Grantham, Newark or York, that a very comprehensive network of direct trains to and from London can be built from Grantham Northwards.
Beverley, Bradford, Cleethorpes, Glasgow, Grimsby, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Hull, Lincoln, Middlesbrough, Nottingham, Perth, Redcar, Sheffield, Skipton, Sunderland and Washington could all be served at an appropriate frequency.
- Some like Bradford, Glasgow, Harrogate, Hull, Lincoln and Middlesbrough would have several trains per day.
- Others might have a much more limited service.
What sort of timings will be possible.
- London Kings Cross and Doncaster could be around an hour.
- London Kings Cross and Leeds could be around one hour and thirty minutes, using the current Doncaster and Leeds time, as against the one hour and twenty-one minutes for High Speed Two.
- London Kings Cross and York could be around one hour and twenty-three minutes, using the current Doncaster and York time, as against the one hour and twenty-four minutes for High Speed Two.
- Timings between York and Newcastle would be the same fifty-two minutes as High Speed Two, as the track will be the limitation for both services.
- High Speed Two’s timing for York and Newcastle is given as fifty-two minutes, with York and Darlington as twenty-five minutes.
- London Kings Cross and Darlington could be around one hour and forty-nine minutes
- London Kings Cross and Newcastle could be around two hours and sixteen minutes.
- London Kings Cross and Edinburgh would be under three-and-a-half hours, as against the proposed three hours and forty-eight minutes for High Speed Two.
High Speed East Coast would be a serious and viable alternative to High Speed Two for the Eastern side of England and Scotland.
Conclusion
This is an important joint project for Northern Powerhouse Rail, High Speed Two and the East Coast Main Line.
Project Management Recommendations
This project divides neatly into several smaller projects..
- Upgrade the power supply on the East Coast Main Line.
- Finish the York to Church Fenton Improvement Scheme
- Remodel Darlington station.
- Install of in-cab ERTMS digital signalling.
- Complete the electrification between Neville Hill TMD and York.
- Solve the problem of Skelton Bridge and its complicated track layout.
- Reopen the Leamside Line.
Most of these projects are independent of each other and all would give early benefits to the East Coast Main Line.
When complete, we’ll see the following timing improvements.
- Leeds and Newcastle will drop from 85 minutes to 56 minutes, with an increase in frequency from three to four tph.
- York and Newcastle will drop from 57-66 minutes to 52 minutes.
- There could be ten minutes savings on Edinburgh services.
Passengers and operators would welcome this group of projects being started early.
Northern Powerhouse Rail – Significant Upgrades And Electrification Of The Rail Lines From Leeds And Sheffield To Hull
In this article on Transport for the North, which is entitled Northern Powerhouse Rail Progress As Recommendations Made To Government, one of the recommendations proposed for Northern Powerhouse Rail is significant upgrades and electrification of the rail lines from Leeds and Sheffield to Hull.
Northern Powerhouse Rail’s Objective For The Leeds and Hull Route
Wikipedia, other sources and my calculations say this about the trains between Leeds and Hull.
- The distance between the two stations is 51.7 miles
- The current service takes around 57 minutes and has a frequency of one train per hour (tph)
- This gives an average speed of 54.4 mph for the fastest journey.
- The proposed service with Northern Powerhouse Rail will take 38 minutes and have a frequency of two tph.
- This gives an average speed of 81.6 mph for the journey.
This last figure of nearly 82 mph, indicates to me that a 100 mph train will be able to meet Northern Powerhouse Rail’s objective.
Northern Powerhouse Rail’s Objective For The Sheffield and Hull Route
Wikipedia, other sources and my calculations say this about the trains between Sheffield and Hull.
- The distance between the two stations is 59.4 miles
- The current service takes around 80 minutes and has a frequency of one tph.
- This gives an average speed of 44.6 mph for the fastest journey.
- The proposed service with Northern Powerhouse Rail will take 50 minutes and have a frequency of two tph.
- This gives an average speed of 71,3 mph for the journey.
This last figure of over 70 mph, indicates to me that a 90 mph train will be able to meet Northern Powerhouse Rail’s objective.
Services From Hull Station
Hull station is a full interchange, which includes a large bus station.
- Currently, the station has seven platforms.
- There appears to be space for more platforms.
- Some platforms are long enough to take nine-car Class 800 trains, which are 234 metres long.
- There are some good architectural features.
If ever there was a station, that had basic infrastructure, that with appropriate care and refurbishment, could still be handling the needs of its passengers in a hundred years, it is Hull.
- It would be able to handle a 200 metre long High Speed Two Classic-Compatible train, tomorrow.
- It would probably be as no more difficult to electrify than Kings Cross, Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Piccadilly or Paddington.
- It would not be difficult to install charging facilities for battery electric trains.
These are some pictures of the station.
Currently, these are the services at the station, that go between Hull and Leeds, Selby or Sheffield.
- Hull Trains – 7 trains per day (tpd) – Hull and London via Brough, Selby and Doncaster.
- LNER – 1 tpd – Hull and London via Brough, Selby and Doncaster.
- Northern Trains – 1 tph – Hull and Halifax via Brough, Selby, Leeds and Bradford Interchange.
- Northern Trains – 1 tph – Hull and Sheffield via Brough, Gilberdyke, Goole, Doncaster, Rotherham Central and Meadowhall.
- Northern Trains – 1 tph – Hull and York via Brough and Selby.
- Northern Trains – 1 tph – Bridlington and Sheffield via Hull, Brough, Goole, Doncaster and Meadowhall.
- TransPennine Express – 1 tph – Hull and Manchester Piccadilly or Manchester Airport via Brough, Selby, Leeds, Huddersfield and Stalybridge.
Note.
- I have included services through Selby, as the station is on the way to Leeds and is a notorious bottleneck.
- All services go through Brough.
- All trains work on diesel power to and from Hull.
- Hull Trains and LNER use Hitachi bi-mode trains, that work most of the route to and from London, using the 25 KVAC overhead electrification.
- Northern use a variety of diesel trains only some of which have a 100 mph operating speed.
There would also appear to be freight trains working some of the route between Hull and Brough stations.
Upgrading The Tracks
I very much believe that to meet Northern Powerhouse Rail’s objectives as to time, that the lines to Hull from Leeds and Sheffield must have a 100 mph operating speed.
Hull And Leeds And On To London
This Google Map shows a typical section of track.
Note.
- Broomfleet station is in the North-West corner of the map.
- Brough station is just to the East of the middle of the map.
- Ferriby station is in the South-East corner of the map.
The Hull and Selby Line is fairly straight for most of its route.
The Selby Swing Bridge
The main problem is the Selby swing bridge, which is shown in this Google Map.
Note.
- The bridge was opened in 1891.
- It is a Grade II Listed structure.
- It is a double-track bridge.
- It swings through ninety degrees to allow ships to pass through.
- It has a low speed limit of 25 mph.
- The bridge regularly carries the biomass trains to Drax power station.
This page on the Fairfield Control Systems web site, describes the major refurbishment of the bridge.
- The bridge structure has been fully refurbished.
- A modern control system has been installed.
- The page says the bridge glides to an exact stop.
Network Rail are claiming, it will be several decades before any more work needs to be done on parts of the bridge.
It looks to me, that Network Rail have decided to live with the problems caused by the bridge and automate their way round it, if possible.
Level Crossings
One general problem with the route between Hull and Selby is that it has around a dozen level crossing, some of which are just simple farm crossings.
The main route West from Selby goes to Leeds and it is double track, fairly straight with around a dozen level crossings.
West from Selby, the route to the East Coast Main Line to and from London is also double track and reasonably straight.
But it does have level crossings at Common Lane and Burn Lane.
The Google Map show Burn Lane level crossing, which is typical of many in the area.
Hull And Sheffield
The other route West from Hull goes via Goole and Doncaster.
This Google Map shows the Hull and Doncaster Branch between Goole and Saltmarshe stations.
Note.
- The Hull and Doncaster Branch runs diagonally across the map.
- Goole and its station is in the South West corner of the map.
- The Hull and Doncaster Branch goes leaves the map at the North-East corner and then joins the Selby Line to the West of Gilberdyke station.
This Google Map shows that where the railway crosses the River Ouse there is another swing bridge.
This is the Goole Railway Swing Bridge.
- The bridge was opened in 1869.
- The maximum speed for any train is 60 mph, but some are slower.
- It is a Grade II* Listed structure.
- In the first decade of this century the bridge was strengthened.
- It appears to carry a lesser number of freight trains than the Selby bridge
As with the Selby bridge, it appears to be working at a reasonable operational standard.
I’ve followed the line as far as Doncaster and it is fairly straight, mostly double-track with about a half-a-dozen level crossings.
Updating To 100 mph
It looks to my naïve eyes, that updating the lines to an operating speed of 100 mph, should be possible.
But possibly a much larger problem is the up to thirty level crossings on the triangle of lines between Hull, Leeds and Sheffield.
Full ERTMS In-Cab Digital Signalling
This is currently, being installed between London and Doncaster and will allow 140 mph running, which could save several minutes on the route.
The next phase could logically extend the digital signalling as far as York and Leeds.
Extending this signalling to Hull and Sheffield, and all the lines connecting the cities and towns of East Yorkshire could be a sensible development.
It might even help with swing bridges by controlling the speed of approaching trains, so that they arrive at the optimal times to cross.
Electrification
Eventually, all of these routes will be fully electrified.
- Hull and Leeds via Brough, Selby and Garforth.
- Hull and Scarborough via Beverley and Seamer.
- Hull and Sheffield via Brough, Goole, Doncaster and Rotherham.
- Hull and York via Brough and Selby.
- York and Scarborough via Seamer.
But there are two problems which make the electrification of the routes to Hull challenging.
- The Grade II Listed Selby swing bridge.
- The Grade II* Listed Goole Railway swing bridge.
There will be diehard members of the Heritage Lobby, who will resist electrification of these bridges.
Consider.
- Both bridges appear to work reliably.
- Adding the complication of electrification may compromise this reliability.
- Train manufacturers have developed alternative zero-carbon traction systems that don’t need continuous electrification.
- Hitachi have developed battery electric versions of the Class 800 and Class 802 trains, that regularly run to and from Hull.
- Other manufacturers are developing hydrogen-powered trains, that can use both hydrogen and overhead electrification for traction power.
My Project Management experience tells me, that electrification of these two bridges could be the major cost and the most likely cause of delay to the completion of the electrification.
It should also be noted that Network Rail are already planning to electrify these routes.
- Huddersfield and Dewsbury on the TransPennine Route, which might be extended to between Huddersfield and Leeds.
- York and Church Fenton
There is also electrification at Doncaster, Leeds and York on the East Coast Main Line, which would probably have enough power to feed the extra electrification.
Hitachi’s Regional Battery Trains
Hitachi and Hyperdrive Innovation are developing a Regional Battery Train.
This Hitachi infographic gives the specification.
Note.
- The train has a range of 90 kilometres or 56 miles on battery power.
- It has an operating speed of 100 mph on battery power.
- Class 800 and Class 802 trains can be converted to Hitachi Regional Battery Trains, by swapping the diesel engines for battery packs.
When running on electrification, they retain the performance of the train, that was converted.
Discontinuous Electrification
I would propose using discontinuous electrification. by electrifying these sections.
- Hull and Brough – 10.5 miles
- Hull and Beverley – 13 miles
- Doncaster and Sheffield – 20 miles
- Selby and Leeds – 21 miles
- Selby and Temple Hirst Junction – 5 miles
- Seamer and Scarborough – 3 miles
This would leave these gaps in the electrification in East Yorkshire.
- Brough and Doncaster – 30 miles
- Brough and Selby – 21 miles
- Brough and Church Fenton – 31 miles
- Seamer and Beverley – 42 miles
- Seamer and York – 39 miles
A battery electric train with a range of fifty miles would bridge these gaps easily.
This approach would have some advantages.
- There would only need to be 72.5 miles of double-track electrification.
- The swing bridges would be untouched.
- TransPennine services terminating in Hull and Scarborough would be zero-carbon, once Huddersfield and Dewsbury is electrified.
- LNER and Hull Trains services to London Kings Cross would be zero-carbon and a few minutes faster.
- LNER could run a zero-carbon service between London Kings Cross and Scarborough.
But above all, it would cost less and could be delivered quicker.
Collateral Benefits Of Doncaster and Sheffield Electrication
The extra electrification between Doncaster and Sheffield, would enable other services.
- A zero-carbon service between London Kings Cross and Sheffield.
- Extension of Sheffield’s tram-train to Doncaster and Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
- A possible electric service along the Dearne Valley.
As plans for Sheffield’s rail and tram system develop, this electrification could have a substantial enabling effect.
Hydrogen
This map shows the Zero Carbon Humber pipeline layout.
Note.
- The orange line is a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline
- The black line alongside it, is a proposed hydrogen pipeline.
- Drax, Keadby and Saltend are power stations.
- Easington gas terminal is connected to gas fields in the North Sea and also imports natural gas from Norway using the Langeled pipeline.
- There are fourteen gas feels connected to Easington terminal. Some have been converted to gas storage.
I can see hydrogen being used to power trains and buses around the Humber.
Conclusion
Discontinuous electrification could be the key to fast provision of electric train services between Leeds and Sheffield and Hull.
If long journeys from Hull were run using battery electric trains, like the Hitachi Regional Battery Train, perhaps hydrogen trains could be used for the local services all over the area.
Project Management Recommendations
I have proposed six sections of electrification, to create a network to allow all services that serve Hull and Scarborough to be run by battery electric trains.
Obviously with discontinuous electrification each section or group of sections to be electrified is an independent project.
I proposed that these sections would need to be electrified.
- Hull and Brough – 10.5 miles
- Hull and Beverley – 13 miles
- Doncaster and Sheffield – 20 miles
- Selby and Leeds – 21 miles
- Selby and Temple Hirst Junction – 5 miles
- Seamer and Scarborough – 3 miles
They could be broken down down into four sections.
- Hull station, Hull and Brough and Hull and Beverley
- Doncaster and Sheffield
- Selby station, Selby and Leeds and Selby and Temple Hirst Junction.
- Scarborough station and Scarborough and Seamer.
I have split the electrification, so that hopefully none is challenging.
The Anonymous Widower 