Leicester Station – 4th Jan 2022
Leicester station has a Grade II Listed frontage.
Note.
- It is an impressive Victorian station.
- The station building is on a bridge over the tracks.
- The station is also on one of the main roads through Leicester.
- The road layout is very complicated.
This 3D Google Map, shows an aerial view of the station.
Note.
- There four platforms, which are numbered 1-4 from the left.
- The expresses between London and Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield use the two middle tracks.
- Other main line and East-West services use the outside platforms.
- There is an avoiding line for freight services.
This second 3D Google Map, shows an enlargement of the frontage of the station.
There are plans to increase the capacity of the station.
A fifth platform will be added.
Three miles of quadruple track will be be built South of the station.
The Midland Main Line is also to be electrified.
This second set of pictures shows the platforms at Leicester station.
Note.
- The tunnels under the road and the station entrance.
- They are not very large.
- There are five tracks.
It is going to be a tight squeeze to electrify under the bridge.
Midland Main Line Electrification – 4th Jan 2022
I took these pictures from the train today, as I went to Leicester.
Note.
- We overtook the Class 360 train to Corby, just before it left the main line at Kettering North junction.
- Once past Kettering North junction, the Midland Main Line is only two tracks as far as Leicester station.
- A lot of the gantries on the two slow lines seem tall.
- At least twenty gantries had been installed North of the junction.
Some of the new gantries looked to be lighter than those South of the junction, but then they are only supporting electrification for two tracks, rather than four.
This Google Map shows the junction.
In this section, my train overtook the train to Corby.
- The track going North-West goes to Leicester.
- The track going North-East goes to Corby.
- The track going South goes to Kettering.
- It looks like to the West of the Midland Main Line is a large electricity sub-station.
In the tenth of my pictures you can see the three vertical poles opposite the sub-station, which can be picked out in the map.
Hitachi Rail And Angel Trains To Create Intercity Battery Hybrid Train On TransPennine Express
The title of this post, is the same as that of this Press Release from Hitachi Rail.
The press release starts with these three points.
- Hitachi Rail, Angel Trains and TransPeninne Express (TPE) agree to trial retrofitting battery on intercity train
- Trial, starting next year, can cut fuel usage by at least 20% and reduce emissions on Transpennine network from 2022 onwards
- Tri-mode service can cut noise pollution in urban areas and improve air quality.
Hitachi also point to this infographic.
This very much looks to be a step forward from the Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train that was announced in December 2020 in this press release from Hitachi which is entitled Hitachi And Eversholt Rail To Develop GWR Intercity Battery Hybrid Train – Offering Fuel Savings Of More Than 20%.
The Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train is described in this Hitachi infographic.
The specifications are very similar, except for the following.
- The battery range is given as five kilometres.
- Fuel savings are up to 30% instead of at least 20%.
- A performance increase of 30 % is claimed.
- The upgrade appears to be able to be fitted to Hitachi intercity trains, as opposed to a straight replacement of one engine by batteries.
It looks to me, that Hitachi have been working hard to improve their design.
I think this paragraph of the press release is key.
The trial will see a diesel engine replaced by batteries to help power a five-carriage train, along with the two remaining engines. The power provided by the batteries will help to reduce the amount of fuel required to operate the train.
Hitachi don’t say, but I suspect the trains and their batteries have a lot of energy saving features.
- Regenerative braking is already used to power some services like lighting and air-conditioning on the trains.
- But I suspect regenerative braking will also be used to recharge the batteries.
- A sophisticated computer system will drive the train in the most optimal manner.
- Hopefully, diesel will only be used as a last resort.
Features like these and others will enable the trains to jump gaps in the electrification. As more and more tricks are added and batteries hold more charge, the gaps the trains will be able to cross will get larger.
Five kilometres might not sound much, but I think it could be surprisingly useful.
I will use an example from the Midland Main Line to illustrate how the trains and discontinuous electrification might work.
In Discontinuous Electrification Through Leicester Station, I described the problems at Leicester station and how discontinuous electrification could solve the problem.
The following is a modified extract from that post.
This Google Map shows the bridge and the Southern end of the station.
It looks to me, that Leicester station and the road, would have to be closed to traffic for some time, if the bridge were to be rebuilt, to allow the erection of electrification through the area. Leicester and all train passengers would love that!
A solution could be discontinuous electrification.
- The electrification from the South, would finish on the South side of bridge.
- The electrification from the North, would finish at a convenient point in Leicester station or just to the North.
- Electric trains would cover the gap of up to five kilometres on battery power.
Note.
Pantographs could be raised and lowered, where the wires exist.
Trains would probably use a stopping profile in Leicester station, that ensured they stopped with full batteries.
This would mean they had enough electricity to get back up to speed and reconnect to the electrification on the other side of the station.
To get an idea at how long five kilometres is in the Centre of Leicester, this Google Map shows the Leicester station.
Note that the platforms are around three hundred metres long.
In other words the electrification can be kept well away from the station and its troublesome bridge.
How much money would be saved and disruption avoided?
Application To The TransPennine Express Routes
These are the various routes, where Class 802 trains could be used.
Liverpool Lime Street And Edinburgh, Newcastle, Scarborough Or York
Sections are as follows.
- Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Victoria – 31.7 miles – Electrified
- Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge – 8 miles – Electrified probably by 2024
- Stalybridge and Huddersfield – 18 miles – Diesel
- Huddersfield and Dewsbury – 8 miles – Electrified probably by 2024
- Dewsbury and Leeds – 9.2 miles – Diesel
- Leeds and York – 25.6 miles – Electrified probably by 2024
- York and Newcastle – 80.2 miles – Electrified
Note.
- All services take a common route between Liverpool Lime Street and York.
- A surprising amount is electrified.
- A further 42 miles are being electrified.
- The 3 km Morley Tunnel between Dewsbury and Leeds might not be electrified.
- The 5 km Standedge Tunnel between Huddersfield and Stalybridge might not be electrified.
It looks to me that the 5 km battery range will avoid electrification of two long Victorian tunnels.
Manchester Airport And Newcastle Or Redcar Central
Sections are as follows.
- Manchester Airport and Manchester Victoria – 13.2 miles – Electrified
- Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge – 8 miles – Electrified probably by 2024
- Stalybridge and Huddersfield – 18 miles – Diesel
- Huddersfield and Dewsbury – 8 miles – Electrified probably by 2024
- Dewsbury and Leeds – 9.2 miles – Diesel
- Leeds and York – 25.6 miles – Electrified probably by 2024
- York and Newcastle – 80.2 miles – Electrified
- Northallerton and Redcar Central – 29 miles – Diesel
The route goes through the Morley and Standedge tunnels.
Manchester Piccadilly And Hull
Sections are as follows.
- Manchester Piccadilly and Stalybridge – 7.5 miles – Electrified probably by 2024
- Stalybridge and Huddersfield – 18 miles – Diesel
- Huddersfield and Dewsbury – 8 miles – Electrified probably by 2024
- Dewsbury and Leeds – 9.2 miles – Diesel
- Leeds and Selby – 21 miles – Diesel
- Selby and Hull – 31miles – Diesel
The route goes through the Morley and Standedge tunnels.
Manchester Piccadilly And Huddersfield
The route goes through the Standedge tunnel.
Huddersfield And Leeds
The route goes through the Morley tunnel.
Manchester Airport And Cleethorpes
The Hope Valley Line which is part of this route has three tunnels.
Perhaps they will use a bit of diesel to get through Totley.
The Future
This paragraph sums up what Hitachi and Angel Trains could see as a possible future direction.
Once complete, the trial provides a pathway for Hitachi Rail, the train builder and maintainer, and Angel Trains, the train’s owner to develop plans to retrofit batteries to the wider fleet.
These plans will probably go in the directions like decarbonisation, more efficient operation and better standards for passengers.
Conclusion
This looks like a solution that has been helped by real ale in an appropriate hostelry.
- The battery range has been chosen so Network Rail don’t necessarily have to electrify the tunnels.
- Full electrification can be used either side of the tunnels.
- Will any stations not be electrified. After all if the trains are using battery power in stations do they need electrification?
- It might be useful to have some more bi-mode freight locomotives, that could traverse the tunnels on diesel or batteries.
Hitachi and Network Rail certainly seem to be cooking up a solution.
A Class 93 Locomotive Hauling A 1500 Tonne Train Between The Port Of Felixstowe And Nuneaton
I am writing this post to show how I believe the new Class 93 locomotive would haul a freight train between the Port of Felixstowe and Nuneaton, where it would join the West Coast Main Line for Liverpool, Manchester mor Scotland.
Why 1500 Tonnes?
This article on Rail Engineer, which is entitled, Re-Engineering Rail Freight, gives a few more details about the operation of the Class 93 locomotives.
This is said about performance.
As a result, the 86-tonne Class 93 is capable of hauling 1,500 tonnes on non-electrified routes and 2,500 tonnes on electrified routes. With a route availability (RA) of seven, it can be used on most of the rail network.
So as I’m talking about non-electrified routes, I’ll use 1500 tonnes.
Sections Of The Route
The route can be divided into these sections.
- Port of Felixstowe and Trimley – 2.3 miles – 7 minutes – 19.7 mph – Not Electrified
- Trimley and Ipswich Europa Junction – 13.5 miles – 43 minutes -18.8 mph – Not Electrified
- Ipswich Europa Junction and Haughley Junction – 12.1 miles – 24 minutes -30.2 mph – Electrified
- Haughley Junction and Ely – 38.3 miles – 77 minutes -29.8 mph – Not Electrified
- Ely and Peterborough – 30.5 miles – 58 minutes -31.6 mph – Not Electrified
- Peterborough and Werrington Junction – 3.1 miles – 5 minutes -37.2 mph – Electrified
- Werrington Junction and Leicester – 49.1 miles – 97 minutes -30.4 mph – Not Electrified
- Leicester and Nuneaton – 18.8 miles – 27 minutes -41.8 mph – Not Electrified
Note.
- The train only averages around 40 mph on two sections.
- There is electrification at between Europa Junction and Haughley Junction, at Ely and Peterborough, that could be used to fully charge the batteries.
- In Trimode Class 93 Locomotives Ordered By Rail Operations (UK), I calculated that the 80 kWh batteries in a Class 93 locomotive hauling a 1500 tonne load can accelerate the train to 40 mph.
I can see some innovative junctions being created, where electrification starts and finishes, so that batteries are fully charged as the trains pass through.
- There must be tremendous possibilities at Ely, Haughley and Werrington to take trains smartly through the junctions and send, them on their way with full batteries.
- All have modern electrification, hopefully with a strong power supply, so how far could the electrification be continued on the lines without electrification?
- Given that the pantographs on the Class 93 locomotives, will have all the alacrity and speed to go up and down like a whore’s drawers, I’m sure there will be many places on the UK rail network to top up the batteries.
Consider going between Ely and Peterborough.
- Leaving Ely, the train will have a battery containing enough energy to get them to forty mph.
- Once rolling along at forty, the Cat would take them to the East Coast Main Line, where they would arrive with an almost flat battery.
- It would then be a case of pan up and on to Peterborough.
These are my ideas for how the various sections would be handled.
Port of Felixstowe And Trimley
As I stated in Rail Access To The Port Of Felixstowe, I would electrify the short section between the Port of Felixstowe And Trimley. This would do the following.
- Charge the batteries on trains entering the Port, so they could operate in the Port without using diesel.
- Charge batteries on trains leaving the Port, so that they could have a power boost to Ipswich.
- The trains could be accelerated to operating speed using the electrification.
There would also be no use of diesel to the East of Trimley, which I’m sure the residents of Felixstowe would like.
Trimley and Ipswich Europa Junction
This section would be on diesel, with any energy left in the battery used to cut diesel running through Ipswich.
Ipswich Europa Junction and Haughley Junction
Consider.
- This is a 100 mph line.
- It is fully-electrified.
- All the passenger trains will be running at this speed.
If the freight ran at that speed, up to 17 minutes could be saved.
Haughley Junction And Ely
This section would be diesel hauled, with help from the batteries, which could be fully charged when entering the section.
There are also plans to improve Haughley Junction, which I wrote about in Haughley Junction Improvements.
One possibility would be to extend the electrification from Haughley Junction a few miles to the West, to cut down diesel use in both Greater Anglia’s Class 755 trains and any freight trains hauled by Class 93 locomotives.
As there are plans for an A14 Parkway station at Chippenham Junction, which is 25 miles to the West of Haughley Junction, it might be sensible to electrify around Chippenham Junction.
Ely and Peterborough
This section would be diesel hauled, with help from the batteries, which could be fully charged when entering the section.
It should also be noted that the tracks at Ely are to be remodelled.
- Would it not be sensible to have sufficient electrification at the station, so that a Class 93 locomotive leaves the area with full batteries?
- Acceleration to operating speed would be on battery power, thus further reducing diesel use.
It probably wouldn’t be the most difficult of projects at Peterborough to electrify between Peterborough East Junction and Werrington Junction on the Stamford Lines used by the freight trains.
On the other hand, I strongly believe that the route between Ely and Peterborough should be an early electrification project.
- It would give a second electrified route between London and Peterborough, which could be a valuable diversion route.
- It would allow bi-mode trains to work easier to and from Peterborough.
- It would be a great help to Class 93 locomotives hauling freight out of Felixstowe.
As the Ely-Peterborough Line has a 75 mph operating speed, it would Class 73 locomotive-hauled freights would save around thirty ,inutes.
Peterborough and Werrington Junction
This section looks to be being electrified during the building of the Werrington Dive Under.
Werrington Junction and Leicester
This section would be diesel hauled, with help from the batteries, which could be fully charged when entering the section.
Leicester and Nuneaton
This section would be diesel hauled, with help from the batteries,
As there is full electrification at Nuneaton, this electrification could be extended for a few miles towards Leicester.
Conclusion
This has only been a rough analysis, but it does show that Class 93 locomotives can offer advantages in running freight trains between Felixstowe and Nuneaton.
But selective lengths of electrification would bring time and diesel savings.
Hopes Rekindled Of Full Midland Main Line Electrification
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Magazine.
This is the key section of the article.
During a House of Commons debate on transport on September 17, HS2 Minister Andrew Stephenson said in response to a question from Alex Norris (Labour/Co-op, Nottingham North): “We are currently delivering the Midland Main Line upgrade, which includes electrification from London to Kettering, with additional electrification to Market Harborough being developed.
“Further electrification of the MML is currently at an early stage, but it is being examined by Network Rail.”
Stephenson said the DfT will continue to work closely with NR on the development of a proposal that would include approaches to advancing the delivery of electrification across the route.
The title of the article, probably sums it up well.
Electrification Of The Midland Main Line
Having read lots of stories about electrification of Midland Main Line, I think the following must be born in mind.
- Electrification on the line will reach as far North as Market Harborough station.
- The route between Sheffield station and Clay Cross North Junction will be shared with High Speed Two. It will obviously need to be electrified for High Speed Two.
- The section of the Midland Main Line between Derby and Clay Cross North Junction, runs through the World Heritage Site of the Derwent Valley Mills. The Heritage Taliban will love the electrification, with a vengeance.
- Electrification through Leicester station could be tricky, as the station building and the A6 road are over the tracks and there is limited clearance. Electrification could involve major disruption to the trains for some time.
These are some of the distances involved of sections of the route that are not electrified.
- Market Harborough and Derby are 54 miles apart.
- Market Harborough and Clay Cross North Junction are 67 miles apart.
- Market Harborough and Chesterfield are 70 miles apart.
- Market Harborough and Nottingham are 44 miles apart
- Market Harborough and Leicester are 16 miles apart.
- Derby and Clay Cross North Junction are 21 miles apart.
Since 2017, when electrification for the full route was originally abandoned, there have been big changes in rolling stock technology.
The biggest change has been the development of battery trains.
Hitachi’s Regional Battery Trains
This infographic from Hitachi gives the specification for their Regional Battery Train.
Note.
- The trains have a range of 56 miles on battery power.
- The trains can cruise at 100 mph on battery power.
- Hitachi have said that all of their AT-300 trains can be converted into Regional Battery Trains.
- Trains are converted by removing the diesel engines and replacing them with battery packs.
- I suspect these battery packs look like a diesel engine in terms of control inputs and performance to the driver and the train’s computer.
It is extremely likely, that the bi-mode Class 810 trains, which are a version of the AT-300 train, that have been ordered for the Midland Main Line can be converted into Regional Battery Trains.
These trains have four diesel engines, as opposed to the Class 800 and Class 802 trains, which only have three.
These are reasons, why the trains could need four engines.
- The trains need more power to work the Midland Main Line. I think this is unlikely.
- Four engine positions gives ,more flexibility when converting to Regional Battery Trains.
- Four battery packs could give a longer range of up to 120 kilometres or 75 miles.
It could just be, that Hitachi are just being conservative, as engines can easily be removed or replaced. The fifth-car might even be fitted with all the wiring and other gubbins, so that a fifth-engine or battery pack can be added.
I suspect the train’s computer works on a Plug-And-Play principle, so when the train is started, it looks round each car to see how many diesel engines and battery packs are available and it then controls the train according to what power is available.
London St. Pancras And Sheffield By Battery Electric Train
Any battery electric train going between London St. Pancras and Sheffield will need to be charged, at both ends of the route.
- At the London end, it will use the electrification currently being erected as far as Market Harborough station.
- At the Sheffield end, the easiest way to charge the trains, would be to bring forward the electrification and updating between Sheffield station and Clay Cross North Junction, that is needed for High Speed Two.
This will leave a 67 mile gap in the electrification between Market Harborough station and Clay Cross North junction.
It looks to me, the Class 810 trains should be able to run between London St. Pancras and Sheffield, after the following projects are undertaken.
- Class 810 trains are given four battery packs and a battery range of 75 miles.
- Electrification is installed between Sheffield station and Clay Cross North Junction.
Trains would need to leave Market Harborough station going North and Clay Cross Junction going South with full batteries.
Note.
- Trains currently take over an hour to go between Chesterfield to Sheffield and then back to Chesterfield, which would be more than enough to fully charge the batteries.
- Trains currently take around an hour to go between London St. Pancras and Market Harborough, which would be more than enough to fully charge the batteries.
- Chesterfield station is only three miles further, so if power changeover, needed to be in a station, it could be performed there.
- Leeds and Sheffield are under fifty miles apart and as both stations would be electrified, London St. Pancras and Sheffield services could be extended to start and finish at Leeds.
London St. Pancras and Sheffield can be run by battery electric trains.
London St. Pancras And Nottingham By Battery Electric Train
Could a battery electric train go from Market Harborough to Nottingham and back, after being fully-charged on the hour-long trip from London?
- The trip is 44 miles each way or 88 miles for a round trip.
- Services have either three or eight stops, of which two or three respectively are at stations without electrification.
- Trains seem to take over thirty minutes to turnback at Nottingham station.
Extra power North of Market Harborough will also be needed.
- To provide hotel power for the train, during turnback at Nottingham station.
- To compensate for power losses at station stops.
If 75 miles is the maximum battery range, I doubt that a round trip is possible.
I also believe, that Hitachi must be developing a practical solution to charging a train during turnback, at a station like Nottingham, where trains take nearly thirty minutes to turnback.
If the Class 810 trains have a battery range of 75 miles, they would be able to handle the London St. Pancras and Nottingham service, with charging at Nottingham.
Conclusion
It appears that both the Nottingham and Sheffield services can be run using battery electric Class 810 trains.
- All four diesel engines in the Class 810 trains would need to be replaced with batteries.
- The route between Clay Cross North Junction and Sheffield station, which will be shared with High Speed Two, will need to be electrified.
- Charging facilities for the battery electric trains will need to be provided at Nottingham.
On the other hand using battery electric trains mean the two tricky sections of the Derwent Valley Mills and Leicester station and possibly others, won’t need to be electrified to enable electric trains to run on the East Midlands Railway network.
Will it be the first main line service in the world, run by battery electric trains?
Beeching Reversal – Increased Services To Nottingham And Leicester, via Syston And Loughborough From Melton Mowbray
This is one of the Beeching Reversal projects that the Government and Network Rail are proposing to reverse some of the Beeching cuts.
It is one of a pair of submissions from the local MP; Alicia Kearns. The other is More Stopping Services At Radcliffe-on-Trent And Bottesford Stations On The Poacher Line Between Grantham And Nottingham.
When I heard of the MP’s submissions, I wrote MP Campaigns To Extend Train Services For Melton Borough and the following uses that post as a starting point.
Wikipedia says this about services at Melton Mowbray station.
- There is an hourly off-peak service in both directions between Stansted Airport and Birmingham, that calls at Cambridge, Peterborough, Oakham and Leicester.
- East Midlands Railway and their predescessor have added services to London via Corby and to Derby and East Midlands Parkway.
When you consider, that both Bottesford and Melton Mowbray are the same Council and Parliamentary constituency, it does seem that a more direct train service is needed between Bottesford and Melton Mowbray stations.
It does seem to me that some innovative thinking is needed.
If the current plans to fulfil British Rail’s ambition of an Ivanhoe Line running from Lincoln to Burton-on-Trent via Nottingham, East Midlands Parkway, Loughborough and Leicester, are carried out, that will give important towns to the West of Leicester much better rail connections.
Given that High Speed Two is coming to East Midlands Hub station at Toton and there will be a Bedford and Leeds service run by Midlands Connect using High Speed Two classic-compatible trains, that I wrote about in Classic-Compatible High Speed Two Trains At East Midlands Hub Station, I wonder if in the interim, there should be more trains between Derby and Melton.
- Intermediate stations would be Syston, Sileby, Barrow-upon-Soar, Loughborough, East Midlands Parkway Long Eaton and Spondon.
- An hourly frequency would double the service frequency at smaller stations like Sileby and Barrow-upon-Soar.
- The Southern terminal could be Melton station, but I feel Corby or Peterborough stations would be better, as this would improve services at Oakham station. We should not forget Rutland!
- As Corby will be an electrified two-platform station with a two trains per hour (tph) service to London, this could work quite well as a Southern terminus.
- Peterborough would have advantages and give a good connection to Cambridge, London and Scotland, but improvements to the current Birmingham and Stansted Airport service would have similar effects.
This route would be just as valuable after High Speed Two opens through the East Midlands Hub station, as it will give fast ongoing connections to Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle and York.
Electrification Of The Midland Main Line
I feel strongly, that full electrification of the Midland Main Line could be a step to far.
- Electrification, through Leicester station will mean a complete closure of the station for a couple of years.
- Electrification of the route North of Derby, through the Derwent Valley Mills, which is a World Heritage Site, will be opposed by the Heritage Taliban with all their might.
But.
- Electrification of the route between Clay Cross North Junction and Sheffield via Chesterfield will take place in conjunction with High Speed Two
- Electrification to Market Harborough, which is sixteen miles South of Leicester will happen.
- East Midlands Railway’s new Class 810 trains could be fitted with a battery option giving a range of between 55 and 65 miles.
- Pantographs on these trains can go up and down with all the alacrity of a whore’s drawers.
If the easier section of electrification between Leicester and Derby stations, were to be installed, this would enable the following routes to be run using battery-equipped Class 810 trains.
- London and Derby, where battery power would be used through Leicester.
- London and Nottingham, where battery power would be used through Leicester and between East Midlands Parkway and Nottingham.
- London and Sheffield, where battery power would be used through Leicester and between Derby and Clay Cross Junction.
- Lincoln and Burton-on-Trent, where battery power would be used South of Leicester and North of East Midlands Parkway.
- Derby and Corby, where battery power would be used between Syston and Corby.
There would also be the service between Derby and Norwich, which might be able to be run by a similar train.
Conclusion
I think the ideal way to achieve the MP’s objective would be to extend a proportion of London St. Pancras and Corby services to the Midland Main Line.
But the problem with this, is that the Corby trains will be Class 360 trains, which are electric, so the thirty-six mile route between Corby and the Midland Main Line would need to be electrified.
On the other hand, a shuttle train could be used between Corby and Leicester.
They would call at Oakham, Melton Mowbray and Syston stations.
If the Midland Main Line to the North of Leicester were to be electrified, Battery electric trains could be used on the route, with charging at Leicester and Corby.
Midlands Rail Hub
On the Midlands Connect web site, they have a page, which is entitled Midlands Rail Hub.
This is the introductory paragraph.
The Midlands Rail Hub – our flagship project – is the biggest upgrade of our rail network for a generation.
The page contains this helpful map.
There is also a table of journeys and the improvements to be made.
- Birmingham – Nottingham – +1 tph – 72 minutes – 59 minutes
- Birmingham – Leicester – +2 tph – 66 minutes – 42 minutes
- Birmingham – Hereford – +1 tph – 85 minutes – 65 minutes
- Bitmingham – Worcester – +1 tph – 40 minutes – 35 minutes
- Birmingham – Derby – +2 tph – 38 minutes – 38 minutes
- Coventry – Leicester – +2 tph – 57 minutes – 38 minutes
- Coventry – Nottingham -+2 tph – 99 minutes – 63 minutes
- Birmingham – Bristol – +1 tph – 85 minutes – 80 minutes
- Birmingham – Cardiff – +1 tph – 117 minutes – 112 minutes
- Birmingham – Kings Norton – +2 tph – 18 minutes – 14 minutes
Note that the data by each route is the increase in frequency in trains per hour (tph), the current journey time and the future journey time.
I’ll now look at each route in more detail.
Birmingham And Bristol
Consider.
- Birmingham New Street and Bristol Temple Meads stations are 90 miles apart.
- Current service is two tph, which is provided by CrossCountry and goes via Worcestershire Parkway, Cheltenham Spa and Bristol Parkway.
- There is to be an increase of one tph.
- Current journey time is 85 minutes
- Future journey time is 80 minutes
As CrossCrountry’s Birmingham and Bristol service goes through to Edinburgh, Glasgow or Manchester Piccadilly, would it not be convenient, if the service could use High Speed Two to the North of Birmingham?
Birmingham And Cardiff
Consider.
- Birmingham New Street and Cardiff Central stations are 108 miles apart.
- Current service is two tph, which is provided by CrossCountry and goes via Worcestershire Parkway, Cheltenham Spa. Gloucester and Newport.
- There is to be an increase of one tph.
- Current journey time is 85 minutes
- Future journey time is 80 minutes
As CrossCrountry’s Birmingham and Cardiff service goes through to Nottingham, would it not be convenient, if the service could use High Speed Two between Birmingham and Nottingham?
It would appear that both Bristol and Cardiff services could benefit from a High Speed Two connection.
This map from High Speed Two shows the line’s route through the Water Orton area.
Note.
- High Speed Two is shown in various colours.
- High Speed Two splits at the Eastern edge of the map, with the Northern link going to Northern destinations and the Southern link going to Birmingham Interchange and London.
- Curving across the map beneath it, is the M6 motorway, with Spaghetti Junction off the map to the West.
- Water Orton station is in the North East corner of the map.
- The Birmingham and Peterborough Line, which connects Leicester and Birmingham New Street stations via Water Orton runs just tom the North of the route of High Speed Two shown on the map.
This Google Map shows the area.
I wonder if it would be possible to provide links so that the following would be possible.
- Trains running East from New Street station could join High Speed Two to run to East Midlands Hub, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and York.
- Trains from the North could run into New Street station and then continue to Bristol, Cardiff and Cheltenham.
The trains would have to be classic-compatible High Speed Two trains. These would fit into New Street station, as they are shorter than Class 390 trains and will have a aimilar height and width.
Time savings could be as follows.
- Bristol/Cardiff and Edinburgh – 110 minutes
- Bristol/Cardiff and Manchester Piccadilly- 50 minutes
- Bristol/Cardiff and Newcastle – 80 minutes
- Bristol/Cardiff and Nottingham – 45 minutes
All trains would be direct.
Birmingham And Derby
Consider.
- Birmingham New Street and Derby stations are 41 miles apart.
- Current service is two tph, which is provided by CrossCountry and goes via Wilnecote, Tamworth and Burton-on-Trent
- There is to be an increase of two tph.
- Current journey time is 38 minutes
- Future journey time is 38 minutes
- High Speed Two will run three tph between Birmingham Curzon Street and East Midlands Hub station in 20 minutes.
- Midlands Connect will run one tph between Birmingham Curzon Street and Nottingham Station in 30 minutes. See Classic-Compatible High Speed Two Trains At East Midlands Hub Station
Will passengers between Birmingham and Derby use High Speed Two services, which will be four tph or the current ones?
Birmingham And Hereford Via Worcester
Consider.
- Birmingham New Street and Hereford stations are 55 miles apart.
- Current service is one tph, which is provided by West Midlands Trains, and goes via Bromsgrove, Malvern Link and Great Malvern.
- There is to be an increase of one tph.
- Current journey time is 85 minutes
- Future journey time is 65 minutes
- The track between Bromsgrove and Birmingham is electrified.
- Hereford and Bromsgrove are 41 miles apart.
- Worcester and Bromsgrove are 13 miles apart.
With charging facilities at Worcester, this route would be an ideal one for battery electric trains.
Birmingham And Leicester
Consider.
- Birmingham New Street and Leicester stations are 40 miles apart.
- Current service is two tph, which is provided by CrossCountry and goes via Water Orton, Coleshill Parkway, Nuneaton, Hinckley and Narborough.
- There is to be an increase of two tph.
- Current journey time is 66 minutes
- Future journey time is 42 minutes
Birmingham – Nottingham
Consider.
- Birmingham New Street and Nottingham stations are 57 miles apart.
- Current service is two tph, which is provided by CrossCountry and goes via Tamworth, Burton-on-Trent and Derby.
- There is to be an increase of one tph.
- Current journey time is 72 minutes
- Future journey time is 59 minutes
- High Speed Two will run three tph between Birmingham Curzon Street and East Midlands Hub station in 20 minutes.
- Midlands Connect will run one tph between Birmingham Curzon Street and Nottingham Station in 30 minutes. See Classic-Compatible High Speed Two Trains At East Midlands Hub Station
Will passengers between Birmingham and Nottingham use High Speed Two services, which will be four tph or the current ones?
Coventry And Leicester
Consider.
- Coventry and Leicester are 28 miles apart.
- There is currently no direct train and a change is needed at Nuneaton
- There is to be an increase of two tph.
- Current journey time is 57 minutes
- Future journey time is 38 minutes
I suspect that a direct Coventry and Leicester service is being provided that does one of the following.
- Reverses in Nuneaton station.
- Takes a new flyover to cross the West Coast Main Line.
Would the Southern terminus of the route be Coventry, Leamington Spa or Stratford-on-Avon?
Coventry And Nottingham
Consider.
- Coventry and Nottingham are 55 miles apart.
- There is currently no direct train and a change is needed at Birmingham New Street or at both Nuneaton and Leicester.
- There is to be an increase of two tph.
- Current journey time is 99 minutes
- Future journey time is 63 minutes
Would this service be an extension of the Coventry and Leicester service?
As Leicester and Nottingham takes around thirty minutes, this could be the case.
Birmingham And Kings Norton Via The Camp Hill Line
The Midlands Rail Hub page, says this about the Bordesley Chords, which will connect Birmingham Moor Street station to the Camp Hill Line.
Construction of the Bordesley Chords, two viaducts creating new paths to the East Midlands and South West from Birmingham Moor Street Station.
This Google Map shows where they will be built.
Note.
- The Football ground in the North-East corner of the map is St. Andrew’s, which is Birmingham City’s home ground.
- The rail line going North South across the map and passing to the West side of the ground is the Camp Hill Line, which leads to Water Orton station in the North and Kings Norton station in the South.
- The station in the middle of the map is Bordesley station.
- The rail line going NW-SE across the map through the station is the Chiltern Main Line into Birmingham Moor Street station, which is a couple of miles to the North-West.
The two Bordesley chords will be double-track chords linking the following routes.
- Moor Street station to the Camp Hill Line going South to Kings Norton via new stations at Moseley, Kings Heath and Hazelwell.
- Moor Street station to the Camp Hill Line going North to Water Orton station.
The initial service would appear to be two tph between Moor Street and Kings Norton stations.
CrossCountry Trains and Moor Street Station
Consider.
- Birmingham New Street station is very busy.
- Some CrossCountry trains take a Water Orton-Birmingham New Street-Kings Norton route across the city.
Could these trains go between Water Orton and Kings Norton, with a reverse in Moor Street station?
- Plymouth and Edinburgh Waverley
- Cardiff Central and Nottingham
And could these services terminate at Moor Street station?
- Birmingham New Street and Nottingham
- Birmingham New Street and Stansted Airport via Leicester
- Birmingham New Street and Leicester
It would seem there must be scope improve the operation of New Street station, by using Moor Street station and the Bordesley chords.
If all these trains used Moor Street station it would be a very busy station.
In an hour it would handle these trains via the Bordesley chords.
- CrossCountry – 1 tph – Cardiff Central
- CrossCountry – 1 tph – Edinburgh Waverley
- West Midlands Railway – 2 tph – Kings Norton
- CrossCountry – 2 tph – Leicester
- CrossCountry – 2 tph – Nottingham
- CrossCountry – 1 tph – Plymouth
- CrossCountry – 1 tph – Stansted Airport
That is a balanced five tph to the North and five tph to the South.
There would also be the existing services.
- Chiltern Trains – 2 tph – London Marylebone and Birmingham
- West Midlands Railway – 6 tph – Dorridge/Stratford-upon-Avon/Whittocks End and Stourbridge Junction
There would also be the proposed Moor Street and Oxford service.
Battery Electric Trains
If we assume that a battery electric train has a battery range equal to or longer than Hitachi’s quoted figure of 56 miles, these routes are possibilities for battery electric trains.
- Birmingham and Leicester with either electrification or charging at Leicester.
- Birmingham and Hereford with charging at Hereford
- Birmingham and Kings Norton
- Birmingham and Oxford with charging at Oxford and Banbury
- Coventry and Leicester
If the Midland Main Line is electrified in the Nottingham Area, then all services to Nottingham could be added.
CrossCountry And High Speed Two
Consider.
- There are up to half-a-dozen spare hourly paths on both the Northern legs of High Speed Two.
- Using High Speed Two tracks to the North of Birmingham can speed up services considerably.
- CrossCountry needs a new fleet of trains.
- Services could be run using classic-compatible High Speed Two trains.
- The trains might be shorter and would certainly have independent power sources.
It could be a large improvement in quality and journey times, with all current destinations served.
The only extra infrastructure needed would be a connecting junction near Water Orton station. A junction there would work, whether services used Moor Street or New Street station in Birmingham.
Cnnclusion
The concept of a Midlands Rail Hub is very sound.
Birmingham Airport Connectivity
On the Midlands Connect web site, they have a page, which is entitled Birmingham Airport Connectivity.
This is the introductory paragraph.
By using capacity released by HS2 and investing in new track south of Birmingham Airport, we can improve connections from the south of England, East Midlands, Yorkshire and the North East.
The page contains this helpful map.
It looks like Midlands Connect are thinking about improving the Reading and Newcastle service.
Points made on the page and related articles, like this one on Rail News include.
- Birmingham Airport has plans to increase passenger numbers to 18 million by 2033.
- Coventry and Leamington Spa via Kenilworth will be double-tracked.
- High Speed Two will release capacity in the area.
- It will open up rail capacity between Birmingham and Solihull.
- There will be a new service between Birmingham Moor Street and Oxford via Solihull and Warwick Parkway.
- It will improve local connections to Birmingham Airport.
- Birmingham and Reading services will be increased to two trains per hour (tph)
- The Government is being asked to chip in £20 million.
These are my thoughts.
Birmingham Airport
Birmingham Airport can become a true Heart of England Airport.
I feel that the future of aviation will be very different to the past.
- COVID-19 and the future pandemics, that we will endure from the East and the Americas, will mean that flying will be a very different experience with hygiene and social distancing to the fore.
- Smaller aircraft, for flights up to 500 miles, will be odd-looking zero-carbon machines with exotic power systems.
- Larger aircraft will be energy efficient planes powered by aviation biofuels produced from household and industrial waste, and biomass.
- Boeing 747s and Airbus A380s will only be talked about in tales from older people to the young.
- Airports will be important rail hubs to more than just the local area.
Wikipedia also says this about expansion of Birmingham Airport.
Plans for a second runway (a third when demand requires) on the other side of the M42 and a new terminal complex and business park have been published, and they could help to create around 250,000 jobs. It has been estimated that if these plans went ahead, the airport could handle around 70,000,000 passengers annually, and around 500,000 aircraft movements.
This Google Map shows the Airport.
Note the M42 motorway passing North-South to the East of the Airport.
Could Birmingham Airport develop towards Birmingham Interchange and High Speed Two?
It is worth looking at the distance to other airports.
- Aberdeen – 328 miles
- Amsterdam – 280 miles
- Dublin – 199 miles
- Frankfurt – 478 miles
- Geneva – 558 miles
- Paris – 304 miles
All could be within range of an electric aircraft like the under-development Eviation Alice.
I believe that large airports will develop low-noise zero-carbon secondary runways.
Birmingham Airport is well-situated to take advantage.
Adding A Second Track Between Leamington Spa And Coventry
This section of track is about ten miles long, with probably under half only single-track.
This Google Map shows the single-track through the new Kenilworth station.
And these are pictures I took soon after the station opened.
It is certainly one of the best of the current crop of new small stations.
I don’t think that adding a second track will be the most challenging of projects.
It should be noted that the Leamington Spa and Nuneaton service could be a candidate for a battery electric train.
- The route is twenty miles long
- Nuneaton and Coventry stations are fully electrified.
- There might be possibilities to extend this service at either or both ends.
- Nuneaton and Leicester are nineteen miles apart and a new Nuneaton Parkway station is proposed for the route. I wrote about this station in New Railway Station Between Hinckley And Nuneaton Receives Backing.
- Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon are fifteen miles apart and would need a reverse at Leamington Spa.
A battery electric train might give a faster and more passenger-friendly service, if the passenger numbers and forecasts would support an extended service.
A Birmingham Moor Street And Oxford Service
This Google Map shows Birmingham Moor Street station.
Note.
- The two Northern through platforms on the Snow Hill Lines, that continue under Birmingham to Birmingham Snow Hill station.
- At least two, but possibly three bay platforms, that can take Chiltern Railway’s longest trains.
- There is more space for possibly another two bay platforms to be reinstated or built.
Birmingham Moor Street station will also be a short walk from High Speed Two’s Birmingham Curzon Street station.
This Google Map shows Oxford station.
Note.
- Birmingham Moor Street station is to the North via Banbury and Warwick Parkway stations.
- The two long through platforms capable of taking a nine-car train.
- There are two bay platforms to the East of the two through platforms, at the Northern end of the station.
- The bay platforms handle Chiltern’s services from London Marylebone and could also handle the proposed service to Birmingham Moor Street.
Consider this about the proposed Birmingham Moor Street and Oxford service.
- The service could stop at Solihull, Warwick Parkway, Warwick, Leamington Spar and Banbury, as was thought necessary.
- I estimate that Birmingham Moor Street and Oxford are 66 miles apart and that a 100 mph train would take around 66 minutes.
- Birmingham Moor Street and Banbury are 43 miles apart.
- Oxford and Banbury are 23 miles apart.
With these timings and a few minutes to reverse at each end of the route, I would estimate that a 2.5 hour round trip would be possible.
But, I also think, that with charging facilities or short lengths of electrification at Birmingham Moor Street, Banbury and Oxford stations, this service could be run by battery electric trains.
- A three hour round trip should be possible.
- Three trains would be needed to provide an hourly service.
- Oxford, Banbury, Leamington Spa and Warwick would have a direct connection to High Speed Two.
It should also be noted
- Birmingham Moor Street and Stratford-upon-Avon stations are only 25 miles apart and the journey rakes 46 minutes
- Banbury and Stratford-upon-Avon are 35 miles apart. and the journey takes 57 minutes.
- Leamington Spa and Nuneaton are 20 miles apart and the journey takes 36 minutes.
There would appear to be tremendous potential for battery electric services between Birmingham and Oxford.
How many tourists would a Birmingham and Oxford service via Stratford-upon-Avon attract?
Improving The Reading And Newcastle Service
Currently, this is a one tph service between Reading and Newcastle stations.
- It is run by CrossCountry.
- Intermediate stops include Oxford, Banbury, Leamington Spa, Birmingham New Street, Derby, Sheffield, Doncaster, York, Darlington and Durham.
- It appears that the full journey takes four-and-a-half hours.
It looks like to run a two tph service would need as many as twenty trains.
There is an alternative route after High Speed Two opens.
- High Speed Two – Newcastle and Birmingham Curzon Street – 118 minutes
- Walk – Curzon Street and New Street – 10 minutes
- CrossCountry – Birmingham New Street and Reading – 90 minutes
This saves about forty-five minutes.
You could even do a double change.
- High Speed Two – Newcastle and East Midlands Hub – 96 minutes
- High Speed Two – East Midlands Hub and Birmingham Interchange – 17 minutes
- Walk – Birmingham Interchange and Birmingham International – 10 minutes
- CrossCountry – Birmingham International and Reading – 78 minutes
This gives a time of around three hours and twenty minutes.
High Speed Two certainly saves time.
But look at this map clipped from the High Speed Two web site.
Note.
- The blue dot shows the location of Curzon Street station.
The West Coast Main Line running into New Street station, is just to the South of Curzon Street station.
New Street station can be picked out to the West of Curzon Street station.
This Google Map shows a close-up of the current Curzon Street station site.
The same pattern of rail lines going past the Curzon Street site into New Street station can be picked out.
Surely, a connection could be made to allow trains from a couple of platforms in Curzon Street station to terminate trains from the West Coast Main Line.
To improve services between Newcastle and Reading, trains would do the following.
- Run on the current East Coast Main Line infrastructure between Newcastle and York. Station stops could be Durham, Darlington and York.
- Switch to new High Speed Two infrastructure South of York.
- Run on High Speed Two infrastructure to Birmingham Curzon Street station. Station stops could be Sheffield, Chesterfield and East Midlands Hub.
- The train would reverse at Birmingham Curzon Street station.
- Switch to the West Coast Main Line outside Birmingham Curzon Street station.
- Run on the West Coast Main Line to Birmingham International station.
- Take the route currently used by CrossCountry between Birmingham International and Reading. Station stops could be Leamington Spa, Warwick Parkway, Banbury and Oxford stations.
Timings would be as follows.
- Newcastle and Birmingham Curzon Street – 118 minutes – From High Speed Two web site.
- Birmingham Curzon Street and Reading – 90 minutes – Current CrossCountry timing.
Note.
- This saves about an hour over the current CrossCountry timings.
- It could use classic-compatible High Speed Two trains.
- Between Birmingham Curzon Street and Newcastle, it follows the same route as one of the current proposed High Speed Two services.
- The service could be extended to Edinburgh from Newcastle.
- The service could be extended to Southampton from Reading
- As there are only twelve tph planned to be running on the Eastern leg of High Speed Two, against a total capacity of eighteen tph, it should be possible to accommodate the extra service or services.
This would surely be a very useful High Speed Two service.
Conclusion
It is a comprehensive package of measures, some of which could have a high cost benefit ratio.
Discontinuous Electrification Through Leicester Station
Leicester station is an important station on the Midland Main Line
- Leicester is an urban area of half a million people.
- All of East Midlands Railway Intercity services call as they pass through the station.
- Leicester station is only sixteen miles North of the end of the Southern electrification at Market Harborough station.
- Birmingham New Street is 40 miles away.
- Clay Cross North Junction is 50 miles away.
- Derby is 29 miles away.
- East Midlands Parkway is 19 miles away.
- Long Eaton is 21 miles away.
- Nottingham is 27 miles away.
- Peterborough is 52 miles away.
- Sheffield is 66 miles away.
A sensible decision would probably be to extend the electrification from Market Harborough to a few miles North of Leicester, so that battery-electric trains could reach all the places in the above list.
Unfortunately, the following about the bridge at the Southern end of Leicester station, must be noted.
- The bridge doesn’t have sufficient clearance for electrification and would need to be rebuilt.
- It carries the main A6 road to London over the railway.
- The station building also spans the railway lines.
- To complicate matters, there is an important sewer either in or under the bridge.
This Google Map shows the bridge and the Southern end of the station.
It looks to me, that Leicester station and the road, would have to be closed to traffic for some time, if the bridge were to be rebuilt, to allow the erection of electrification through the area.
A solution could be discontinuous electrification.
- The electrification from the South, would finish on the South side of bridge.
- The electrification from the North, would finish in Leicester station.
- Electric trains would cover the gap of a few hundred metres on battery power.
Pantographs could be raised and lowered, where the wires exist.
- On the North side of the bridge, this could be in Leicester station, whilst passengers are getting off and on the train.
- On the South side of the bridge, this could be as far South as Market Harborough, which is sixteen miles away.
The other big problem area of electrification on the Midland Main Line is North of Derby, where the railway runs through the World Heritage Site of the Derwent Valley Mills. There might be serious opbjections to electrification in this area.
- But if electrification were to be installed between Leicester and Derby stations, the following would be possible.
- The Midland Main Line would be electrified at East Midlands Hub station.
- Power could be taken from High Speed Two’s supply at East Midland Hub station.
- Battery-electric trains could do a return trip to Nottingham from an electrified East Midlands Parkway, as it’s only sixteen miles in total.
- Battery-electric trains could reach the High Speed Two spur into Sheffield at Clay Cross from Derby, as it’s only twenty-one miles.
I am assuming, that Hitachi’s Class 810 trains will have range of over fifty miles on battery power, which fits with Hitachi’s statements.
Conclusion
Discontinuous electrification and batteries on trains can solve the problem of electrification through Leicester station.
Also. electric trains could run between London and Sheffield, if the following were done.
- The Class 810 trains were to be given a range of twenty-five miles
- Electrification were to be erected between Leicester and Derby stations.
- Electrification were to be erected between Sheffield and Clay Cross Junction, as required by High Speed Two.
The electrification could be brought forward, to bring Sheffield early benefits of High Speed Two.
Classic-Compatible High Speed Two Trains At East Midlands Hub Station
This article on Rail News, is entitled £2.7bn East Midlands Plan Unveiled For HS2 Links.
This is the first two paragraphs.
A bold plan costed at £2.7 billion for the area around the HS2 hub in the East Midlands has been published by a group of councils, transport bodies and East Midlands Airport.
The core of the scheme is the future East Midlands Hub at Toton, and the plan proposes direct access to the Hub from more than 20 cities, towns and villages in the East Midlands.
If you want to read the original report by Midlands Connect, there’s a download link on this page of their web site.
The original report has a section entitled Midlands Engine Rail, where this is said.
This project is fully integrated with Midlands Engine Rail, a rail improvement plan developed by Midlands Connect to revolutionise connectivity, mobility and productivity across the region. Midlands Engine Rail includes plans for two new HS2 classic-compatible services on an electrified Midland Main Line that will run direct from:
- Bedford and Leeds via Leicester and East Midlands Hub
- Nottingham and Birmingham Curzon Street via East Midlands Hub
These services can run on both electrified and high speed tracks, and would join the HS2 network at Toton, the HS2 East Midlands Hub, meaning that Nottingham and Leicester city centres are directly linked to HS2 without the need to change trains.
These improved connections will more than halve current journey times, with Leicester to Leeds dropping from 120 minutes to 46 minutes and Nottingham to Birmingham falling from 72 minutes to 33 minutes.
Note.
- Between Bedford and East Midland Hub stations, the Midland Main Line is or soon will be an almost a complete 125 mph rail line.
- It is likely, that with digital in-cab signalling, that faster running up to 140 mph may be permitted in places.
- Between Birmingham Curzon Street and East Midlands Hub stations, trains will use High Speed Two at up to 205 mph.
- Between Leeds and East Midlands Hub stations, trains will use High Speed Two at up to 205 mph.
- Leeds and Birmingham Curzon Street station will be new stations for High Speed Two.
The Classic-Compatible Trains
These are described in this section in Wikipedia, by this sentence.
The classic-compatible trains, capable of high speed but built to a British loading gauge, permitting them to leave the high speed track to join conventional routes such as the West Coast Main Line, Midland Main Line and East Coast Main Line. Such trains would allow running of HS2 services to the north of England and Scotland, although these non-tilting trains would run slower than existing tilting trains on conventional track. HS2 Ltd has stated that, because these trains must be specifically designed for the British network and cannot be bought “off-the-shelf”, these conventional trains were expected to be around 50% more expensive, costing around £40 million per train rather than £27 million for the captive stock.
The trains will have the same characteristics as the full-size trains.
- Maximum speed of 225 mph.
- Cruising speed of 205 mph on High Speed Two.
- Length of 200 metres.
- Ability to work in pairs.
- A passenger capacity around 500-600 passengers.
It should be noted that one of these trains will be shorter than a pair of East Midlands Railway’s five-car Class 810 trains, which should avoid any serious platform lengthening on existing lines.
Bedford and Leeds via Leicester and East Midlands Hub
A few facts and thoughts.
- The service is shown as stopping at Wellingborough, Kettering, Market Harborough, Leicester, Loughborough and East Midlands Hub.
- The service frequency could be hourly, but two trains per hour (tph) would be better.
- This service could be more important, than it appears, as by the time High Speed Two opens to Leeds, the East West Railway will be open through Bedford.
- Would a terminal platform need to be added at Bedford station? As the station could be rebuilt for the East West Railway, this shouldn’t be a problem.
- Leeds will have a new High Speed Two station or at least new platforms in the existing station.
- The Bedford and Leeds service would join High Speed Two at East Midlands Hub and go North.
- The Leeds and Bedford service would leave High Speed Two at East Midlands Hub and go South.
Leeds and Leicester will take 46 minutes, with High Speed Two’s journey time calculator, indicating twenty-seven minutes between East Midlands Hub and Leeds stations.
According to an article in the June 2020 Edition of Modern Railways High Speed Two is planning to run the following services on the Eastern leg of High Speed Two between East Midlands Hub and Leeds.
- Two tph – Birmingham Curzon Street and Leeds
- Three tph – London Euston and Leeds
There will be a Turn-Up-And-Go six tph service between East Midlands Hub and Leeds stations.
If the Bedford and Leeds service was an hourly service, when added to the current East Midlands Railway Inter-City services, it would give the following calling frequencies.
- Wellingborough – 2 tph
- Kettering – 2 tph
- Market Harborough – 3 tph
- Leicester – 5 tph
- Loughborough – 3 tph
- East Midlands Parkway – 2 tph
The calling pattern can be adjusted to the number of passengers.
Nottingham and Birmingham Curzon Street via East Midlands Hub
A few facts and thoughts.
- The service is shown as only stopping at East Midlands Hub.
- The service frequency could be hourly.
- The service would go between East Midlands Hub and Nottingham using the Trowell Curve route, which I discussed in Access To Toton – Scheme 6 – Trowell Curve.
- Nottingham station has long terminal platforms that take a full-length Inter-City 125.
- Birmingham Curzon Street will be a new High Speed Two station.
- The Nottingham and Birmingham Curzon Street service would join High Speed Two at East Midlands Hub and go South.
- The Birmingham Curzon Street and Nottingham service would leave High Speed Two at East Midlands Hub and go North.
Nottingham and Birmingham Curzon Street will take 33 minutes, with High Speed Two’s journey time calculator, indicating twenty minutes, between Birmingham Curzon Street and East Midlands Hub stations.
According to an article in the June 2020 Edition of Modern Railways High Speed Two is planning to run the following services on the Eastern leg of High Speed Two from Birmingham Curzon Street.
- Two tph – East Midlands Hub and Leeds
- One tph – East Midlands Hub, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle.
There will be a Turn-Up-And-Go four tph service between East Midlands Hub and Birmingham Curzon Street stations.
Midland Main Line Electrification
Midlands Connect is calling for full electrification of the Midland Main Line.
The problem is electrification through Leicester station, where there is a low bridge over the track.
In Discontinuous Electrification Through Leicester Station, I showed how the problem might be solved by discontinuous electrification and battery-equipped trains.
The Shared High Speed Two Path
If you look at the two previous sections you’ll see the following.
- The Birmingham Curzon Street and Nottingham service would leave High Speed Two at East Midlands Hub and go North.
- The Bedford and Leeds service would join High Speed Two at East Midlands Hub and go North.
- The Leeds and Bedford service would leave High Speed Two at East Midlands Hub and go South.
- The Nottingham and Birmingham Curzon Street service would join High Speed Two at East Midlands Hub and go South.
The two services are using the same path on High Speed Two.
I would design the East Midlands Hub, so that High Speed Two and classic services going in the same direction shared an island platform.
Southbound services would behave like this.
- The Nottingham to Birmingham Curzon Street train would arrive in the High Speed Two face of the platform.
- The Leeds to Bedford train would arrive in the classic face of the platform.
- Passengers who needed to change would walk across the platform.
- When ready both trains would go on their way.
Northbound services would do something similar.
It would be an efficient way to organise interchange between services.
- Train design would have to ensure, that all trains using the island platform had similar and preferably step-free access.
- If Greater Anglia and Merseyrail, can do step-free access, then no train designer has an excuse not to.
- Surely every High Speed Two train that arrives at East Midlands Hub, should be paired with a Midland Main Line service, if the timetable allows it.
The money being spent on High Speed Two means that the British public, won’t accept anything less than perfect.
Are There Any Other Possible Destinations For Classic-Compatible High Speed Two Trains From East Midlands Hub Station?
I will put these in alphabetical order.
Bedford
Consider.
- Bedford is already planned to have one classic-compatible service to and from Leeds.
- One of East Midlands Railway’s St. Pancras services calls at Bedford.
- Bedford has a four tph Thameslink service to a large proportion of Central London and the South East of England.
- Bedford has direct services to Gatwick Airport.
- Bedford station will be expanded to accommodate the East West Railway.
- In a few years, Bedford will be connected to Milton Keynes, Oxford and Reading by the East West Railway.
- When the East Midlands Hub station opens, Bedford will be connected to Cambridge, Ipswich and Norwich by the East West Railway.
I feel there is a need for a Turn-Up-And-Go four tph service between Bedford and East Midlands Hub stations.
I estimate that between Bedford and East Midlands Parkway stations will have a journey time of around 60 minutes.
Cambridge
I believe that the East West Railway should be built to the same standard as the East Coast, Great Western, Midland and West Coast Main Lines.
- Digitally signalled
- 125 mph-capable
- Electrified
This would enable classic-compatible services to be extended from Bedford to the UK’s Technology Powerhouse; Cambridge.
As Bedford and East Midlands Parkway could be 60 minutes, timings depend on the times of the East West Railway, between Bedford and Cambridge.
Edinburgh
Consider.
- Edinburgh is an important city; financially and politically.
- Edinburgh is planned to have a classic-compatible service from London via the West Coast Main Line.
- Newcastle is planned to have a classic-compatible service from East Midlands Hub
The city must be a possibility for a classic compatible service from East Midlands Hub.
I estimate that Edinburgh and East Midlands Parkway will have a journey time of a few minutes over two hours
Hull
This clip of a map from the Transport for the North report shows a schematic of the rail links in Yorkshire.
Hull is important for various reasons.
- It is large city.
- It is the Eastern terminus of an increasing number of routes.
- It is becoming a manufacturing centre for North Sea wind.
- The city will be the terminus of Northern Powerhouse Rail across the Pennines from Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds.
- Some reports have shown the city as a terminus of the Western leg of High Speed Two.
For these reasons, I will add Hull to the list.
I estimate that Hull and East Midlands Parkway will have a journey time of under an hour.
Lincoln
Looking forward to 2040, I wouldn’t bet against Lincoln being a very important city in the UK.
- It has history.
- It is becoming an important higher education centre.
- It has lots of space.
- Train operating companies like LNER and East Midlands Railway are improving services to the city.
But most importantly, as Aberdeen became Scotland’s centre for North Sea Oil and Gas, I believe that Lincoln could become England’s centre for North Sea renewable electricity and hydrogen.
I estimate that Lincoln and East Midlands Parkway will have a journey time of around an hour.
Milton Keynes
As I said for Cambridge, I believe that the East West Railway should be built to the same standard as the East Coast, Great Western, Midland and West Coast Main Lines.
This would enable classic-compatible services to be extended from Bedford to Milton Keynes.
As Bedford and East Midlands Parkway could be 60 minutes, timings depend on the times of the East West Railway, between Bedford and Milton Keynes.
Newcastle
As Newcastle already has a direct High Speed Two classic-compatible connection to and from East Midlands Hub station, this must be a possibility.
According to High Speed Two’s journey time calculator<, trains between Newcastle and East Midland Hub stations will take 96 minutes.
Northern Powerhouse Rail
The map I showed with Hull could indicate that a train could take High Speed Two to Leeds and then power its way across the Pennines calling at Leeds, Huddersfield, Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Airport and Liverpool.
East Midlands Railway would have found a replacement for the Western part of their Liverpool and Norwich service, which is one of the worst railway services in the UK.
Oxford And Reading
As I said for Cambridge, I believe that the East West Railway should be built to the same standard as the East Coast, Great Western, Midland and West Coast Main Lines.
This would enable classic-compatible services to be extended from Bedford to Oxford and Reading.
As Bedford and East Midlands Parkway could be 60 minutes, timings depend on the times of the East West Railway, between Bedford and Oxford and Reading.
Peterborough
I think Peterborough could be an interesting possibility.
- It is the gateway to the East of England.
- It is a fully-electrified station.
- It has seven platforms with space for more.
- Most platforms could take a two hundred metre long train.
East Midlands Railway’s Liverpool and Norwich service, links Peterborough with Nottingham.
- That section of the route is 52 miles long.
- 29 miles of the route on the East Coast Main Line are electrified.
- The 100 mph Class 158 trains take 67 minutes and 30 minutes to travel between the two stops at Grantham and Peterborough.
- Some of LNER’s 125 mph electric Class 800 trains are timetabled to travel between the two stops at Grantham and Peterborough as fast as 18 minutes.
What time will be achievable on this short length of electrified track, when digital signalling is fully-deployed and 140 mph running is possible?
I can certainly see a bi-mode Class 801 train going between Peterborough and Nottingham in under an hour.
I also think that they could equal East Midlands Railway’s times to Nottingham going from Kings Cross via Grantham.
In Access To Toton – Scheme 6 – Trowell Curve, I advocated the following electrification, to allow battery-electric trains to work the Nottingham and Skegness service.
- The Allington Chord between Bottesford and Ancaster stations.
- The line linking the chord to Grantham station.
As Nottingham station will surely be electrified to allow classic-compatible High Speed Two trains to run between the station and Birmingham using High Speed Two, there will only be sixteen miles of double-track between Bottesford and Nottingham station without electrification.
I have just flown my helicopter along the route and there are one or two bridges and Netherfield station, that will need a rebuild, but it wouldn’t be the most challenging of electrifications.
Especially, as there is High Speed Two and the East Coast Main Line to provide power at both ends of the route.
But as it is only sixteen miles would they use battery-electric high-speed trains.
Surely, that is a crazy idea?
In Will High Speed Two’s Classic-Compatible Trains Have Battery Operation?, I explain why you would use such a concept to create an efficient train.
- The batteries drive the train and they are charged from the electrification and regenerative braking.
- Batteries would give a train recovery capability in case of overhead catenary failure.
- Batteries would be used for depot movements.
In Will The Trains On High Speed Two Have Batteries For Regenerative Braking?, I do a calculation for the battery size needed for a 250 mph Spanish high speed train and the batteries are surprisingly small, at 100 kWh per carriage.
I firmly believe, that the mathematics say it is possible for a high speed train to use on-board battery power to perhaps do thirty miles at say 90 mph on a line without electrification.
Sheffield
As Sheffield station will have a direct High Speed Two connection to and from East Midlands Hub station, this must be a possibility.
According to High Speed Two’s journey time calculator, trains between Sheffield and East Midland Hub stations will take 27 minutes.
Note.
- An article in the June 2020 Edition of Modern Railways shows that the Eastern leg of High Speed Two is planned to have nine tph, against a theoretical limit of 18 tph.
- The Leeds-Bedford and Nottingham-Birmingham Curzon Street will use another path.
- Not all services would need to be hourly.
- Could some CrossCountry services be replaced with classic-compatible services?
I feel there is plenty of scope to develop more classic-compatible services along the Eastern leg of High Speed Two.
The Anonymous Widower 