Azumas Everywhere!
I arrived in Peterborough twenty-five minutes late to the site of Azumas everywhere.
Something had obviously gone very wrong. Passengers for Inverness were even being moved from one train in Platform 2 to another in Platform 4.
Was this chaos and my post called Was The Queen’s Locomotive Acting As A Thunderbird? connected?
With hindsight and a bit of help from Real Time Trains, I think they probably were?
Arriving In Platform 0 At Kings Cross
I’ve arrived in Kings Cross station hundreds of times, but today, when i came back from Spalding via Peterborough, it could have been the first time, that I arrived in Platform 0.
I took these pictures of the island between Platform 0 and Platform 1, which contains the InterCity 225.
Note that it is a very long and wide platform.
I am getting more convinced that the answer to the question I asked in Is King’s Cross Station Ready For Parcel Trains?, is in the affirmative.
All Change As First Class Ditched By New Intercity Rail Service
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Rail bosses signalled the end of the first-class carriage today with plans for a new all-standard intercity train service between London and Edinburgh.
The new budget service will operate on the east coast mainline from October 25, with one-way fares starting from £14.90. In all, 60 per cent of single tickets will be below £30.
I find it interesting that The Times is making the lack of First Class, the most important point in the story.
In Thoughts On Seating In East Coast Trains’ New Class 803 trains, I looked at what the seats could be like and decided they could be generous with lots of tables given the number of seats and the size of the train.
The Times article confirms my analysis.
Having travelled to Liverpool a couple of years ago in Standard Class with two senior guys from Legal and General, I suspect that many business travellers who want to read and chat could turn to East Coast Trains from the airlines.
The article does give some previously-unknown information.
The Service Will Be Called Lumo
The name is unusual, but it is short, memorable and lumo.co.uk was available and is now up and under development as the East Coast Trains web site.
Lumo has also been used for an energy provider, which has now been merged into OVO Energy and is also a video game.
The Service Starts On October 25th
The times are still as I said in Thoughts On Seating In East Coast Trains’ New Class 803 trains, with London and Edinburgh services as follows.
King’s Cross and Edinburgh
- 05:45 – Arrives 10:10 – 4 hours 25 minutes – Stops at Stevenage
- 10:45 – Arrives 15:17 – 4 hours 32 minutes
- 12:18 – Arrives 16:41 – 4 hours 23 minutes – Stops at Stevenage
- 14:36 – Arrives 19:15 – 4 hours 39 minutes
- 20:18 – Arrives 00:46 – 4 hours 28 minutes
Edinburgh and King’s Cross
- 06:14 – Arrives 10:51 – 4 hours 37 minutes
- 09:11 – Arrives 13:48 – 4 hours 37 minutes
- 11:14 – Arrives 15:46 – 4 hours 32 minutes
- 16:12 – Arrives 20:47 – 4 hours 35 minutes – Stops at Stevenage
- 19:58 – Arrives 01:05 – 5 hours 7 minutes – Stops at Stevenage
Note.
- Times appear to be in-line with those of LNER.
- East Coast Trains’ objective of arriving by 10:00 is not met.
- Paths exist for East Coast Trains from the 7th June.
I got these times from Real Time Trains.
The Lumo Web Site
I have also tried to book a ticket on their web site.
They accept Railcards and I was able to get a one-way ticket for £13.30. But as the site doesn’t appear to be complete, I didn’t buy the ticket.
But if you can go between London and Edinburgh for £13.30, that is certainly good value.
The First Group Press Release
This Press Release from First Group gives more details and was the source of The Times article.
New Rail Service From Newcastle To Edinburgh To Stop At These Northumberland Stations
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Chronicle Live.
Details of the service are as follows.
- It will be run by TransPennine Express.
- It starts in December 2021.
- It will run five times per day (tpd)
- It will call at Cramlington, Morpeth, Widdrington, Alnmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Reston and Dunbar.
It is planned to run at least until May 2023.
These are my thoughts.
What Trains Will TransPennine Express Use?
The service will probably need a single train, if it was run by a dedicated fleet of trains, that just shuttled between Edinburgh and Newcastle. TransPennine could use either an electric Class 802 train or a diesel Class 185 train.
The diesel train might not be a good idea for operational reasons as TransPennine’s current services to Newcastle and Edinburgh use Class 802 trains.
But this service wouldn’t need a Class 802 train, as the route is fully electrified, so TransPennine might use a Class 800 train, if one were available from another company in the First Group.
TransPennine could also extend selected Manchester Airport and Newcastle services to Edinburgh, which might be the most efficient ways of using both trains and platforms in Newcastle.
This would give those using the intermediate stations between Edinburgh and Newcastle a service to and from Manchester Airport and the intervening stations, with a change at Newcastle, which would involve staying on the same train.
I’d organise the service as five tpd between Manchester Airport and Edinburgh with calls at Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester Victoria, Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Leeds, York, Northallerton, Darlington, Durham, Chester-le-Street, Newcastle, Cramlington, Morpeth, Widdrington, Alnmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Reston and Dunbar.
The big advantage of this, is that TransPennine could use the existing Class 802 trains, although they may need one more.
Reston Station
It looks like it will be a much needed service, that will get the new Reston station up and running.
I suspect that, passenger numbers at Reston station will determine the calling pattern after May 2023.
Will Other Services Continue?
TransPennine Express only has one service that stops between Newcastle and Edinburgh and that is the hourly service between Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh stations and that only stops at Morpeth.
I doubt this service will be changed, although after May 2023, it may make some extra stops depending on passenger numbers on the new service.
It should be noted that CrossCountry and LNER call irregularly at Alnmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed and Dunbar.
As LNER are in rather a mess over their new timetable, I suspect that after May 2023, there could be a bit of a sort out of services.
How Will The New Service Fit With The Reopened Northumberland Line?
Initially the Northumberland Line will run as far as Ashington and won’t open until 2023 at the earliest.
But plans exist to extend the Northumberland Line to Morpeth.
The new service would fit well with an extended Northumberland Line service.
How Will The New Service Fit With East Coast Trains New London And Edinburgh Service?
East Coast Trains will be running a new Open Access service between London and Edinburgh from this autumn.
- It will have a frequency of 5 tpd.
- It will stop at Newcastle, Morpeth and Stevenage.
- It will offer one way fares of £25.
East Coast Trains are another First Group company.
As both services are five tpd in both directions, will the two services co-ordinate stops, so that passengers between say London and Reston can take advantage?
Going North, the stopping train could follow the East Coast Trains express and going South the stopping train would be a few minutes in front of the express.
This would also help with maximising capacity between Edinburgh and Newcastle on the busy East Coast Main Line.
Conclusion
This new stopping service between Edinburgh and Newcastle looks to be a simple solution to improve passenger services for intermediate stations between the two important cities.
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.
Middlesbrough To London LNER Trains To Run From 13 December
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
The title is clear and these paragraphs give details of the train service.
The daily weekday service in each direction will also connect nearby Thornaby with London King’s Cross.
The services will depart Middlesbrough at 07:08 and Thornaby at 07:15, arriving at King’s Cross at 10:22.
Northbound from London will leave at 15:25, stopping at York, to Thornaby at 18:08 and Middlesbrough at 18:18.
This is obviously not a complete service.
- It will be impossible to use direct trains to spend a day on Teesside from London, as I have done many times over the years, usually with a change at Darlington station.
- It needs to run seven days a week.
But as the article says, more work needs to be done at Middlesbrough to turn the trains.
Currently, LNER run one train per two hours (1tp2h) to York, which alternates with a service to Lincoln at the same frequency.
LNER have said, that the Middlesbrough service will be an extension of the York service.
- As York trains can be nine-car trains, this could explain the need for works at Middlesbrough station.
- As York and Middlesbrough are 51 miles and an hour apart, it looks to me, that once Middlesbrough station has been updated, LNER can extend services to Middlesbrough according to passenger demand.
I suspect that eventually, the London and Middlesbrough service will have a similar frequency as the Harrogate and Lincoln services of five trains per day (tpd).
What Real Time Trains Says About The Service
Although it’s exactly four months before the service starts, it has already been entered into Real Time Trains.
The following information is given about the services.
- One seven-minute stop at York going South and a five-minute stop going North.
- Changeover between diesel and electric at Longlands junction, where the Teesside trains leave and join the East Coast Main Line.
- Services do not appear to pass through Northallerton station.
Train times are as given by the BBC.
Splitting And Joining At Newark
I think it would be possible to combine the Lincoln, Middlesbrough and York services into one service.
- A pair of five-car Azumas would run between Kings Cross and Newark North Gate, with stops at Stevenage, Peterborough and Grantham.
- They would split at Newark North Gate station.
- The front train would continue Northwards to Middlesbrough, with stops at Retford, Doncaster, York and Thornaby.
- The rear train would continue Eastwards to Lincoln, with a possible extension to Grimsby Town and Cleethorpes.
Returning South the trains would join at Newark North Gate.
Note.
- As TransPennine Express services to and from Middlesbrough, call at Northallerton, LNER services could do the same.
- As with splitting and joining at Newark, only a five-car train runs to and from Middlesbrough, this could be used before the new platform at Middlesbrough is constructed.
- if this service ran at a frequency of 1tp2h, there would be space in the timetable for a new 1tp2h service to perhaps Newcastle and Edinburgh.
There are a lot of possibilities.
Battery-Electric Trains Between London And Middlesbrough
Only the twenty miles between Northallerton and Middlesbrough on the route are without electrification.
Hitachi have announced the Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, which is described in this Hitachi infographic.
I believe that a version of this train could be given sufficient battery range to be able to achieve a round trip to Middlesbrough station from the electrification of the East Coast Main Line, without any need for charging at Middlesbrough.
It could be one of the first InterCity services in the world, run by battery-electric trains.
A New Timetable For The East Coast
The title of this post, is the same as that of an article in the August 2021 Edition of Modern Railways.
The Modern Railways article describes in detail the thinking behind the proposed timetable for the East Coast Main Line, that will be introduced in May 2022.
The new titletable would appear to be a compromise and judging by the number of complaints that have appeared in the media, the compromise doesn’t suit everyone.
A lot of my programming was concerned with the allocation of resources in large projects and that expertise convinces me, that the East Coast Main Line doesn’t have enough capacity to accommodate all the services that passengers need and train companies want to run.
These are my thoughts.
High Speed Two
When High Speed Two is completed to Leeds, it will add the following services to Leeds.
- Three trains per hour (tph) between London Euston and Leeds in a time of one hour and twenty-one minutes.
- Two tph between Birmingham Curzon Street and Leeds in a time of forty-nine minutes.
- One tph between Bedford and Leeds, run by Midlands Connect, in a time of one hour and thirty-six minutes.
Leeds will benefit from these services from the South on the new High Speed Two.
But the High Speed Two network has been designed to need to run three tph between York and Newcastle, which will have to share with other East Coast Main Line services.
Both High Speed Two and the aspiration of providing more services on the East Coast Main Line mean that more capacity must be provided between York and Newcastle.
High Speed Two is not mentioned in the Modern Railways article.
I know the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two is many years away, but surely, it should have an influence on the design of East Coast Main Line services.
For instance, destinations like Bradford, Cleethorpes, Doncaster, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Hull, Lincoln, Middlesbrough, Peterborough, Redcar, Scarborough, Skegness and Sunderland are unlikely to be served by High Speed Two services, so how does that determine our thinking, when planning train services to these destinations.
Perhaps, there should be lists of secondary destinations, that should be served by the various operators.
London And Leeds In Two Hours
This is mentioned in the Modern Railways article as being an aspiration of Virgin Trains East Coast, when they ran the franchise.
In Thoughts On Digital Signalling On The East Coast Main Line, I did a few rough calculations and said this.
Consider.
-
- The fastest current trains between London Kings Cross and Leeds take between two hours and twelve minutes and two hours and fifteen minutes.
- I suspect that the extra tracks into Kings Cross, that are currently being built will save a few minutes.
- There must be some savings to be made between Doncaster and Leeds
- There must be some savings to be made between London Kings Cross and Woolmer Green.
- There could be a rearrangement of stops.
I think it is highly likely that in the future, there will be at least one train per hour (tph) between London Kings Cross and Leeds, that does the trip in two hours.
It is my view, that any new East Coast Main Line timetable should include services between London Kings Cross and Leeds in a few minutes under two hours.
London And Edinburgh In Four Hours
This must be another objective of the train companies, as it is competitive with the airlines.
But it is not a simple process as cutting stops to save time, often annoys the locals.
So achieving the objective of a four-hour trip between London and Edinburgh probably needs some major upgrades to the East Coast Main Line.
Some of the improvements needed are detailed in Northern Powerhouse Rail – Significant Upgrades Of The East Coast Main Line From Leeds To Newcastle (Via York And Darlington) And Restoration Of The Leamside Line.
Projects in the related article include.
- Phase 2 Of The East Coast Main Line Power Supply Upgrade
- York to Church Fenton Improvement Scheme
- Darlington Station Remodelling
- The North Throat Of York Station Including Skelton Bridge Junction
- Use Of The Leamside Line
- Full Digital ERTMS signalling.
It would appear there’s a lot of work to do, but all of it, will be needed for High Speed Two.
The Modern Railways article does point out, that the new Hitachi trains have superior acceleration to the InterCity 225 trains, that they have replaced. So that will help!
Although it is a worthwhile objective, I think it will be some years before London and Edinburgh times of under four hours are obtained on the East Coast Main Line.
Hitachi’s Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train
These trains are described in this Hitachi infographic.
Within a couple of years these trains will start to be seen on the East Coast Main Line serving destinations like Cleethorpes, Grimsby, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Hull, Lincoln, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.
Although, it says batteries will replace one engine in the infographic, I believe the standard five-car train for the East Coast Main Line will have two battery packs and an emergency diesel engine. Before the end of the decade, they will be fully-decarbonised with three battery packs.
Splitting And Joining
Although the Hitachi trains can accomplish splitting and joining with ease, it is only mentioned once in the Modern Railways article and that is concerned with a service to Huddersfield, which will split and join at Leeds.
I can see this being used to make sure that each train running into Kings Cross is either a nine-car or a pair of five-car trains, as this would maximise capacity on the route.
Currently, trains to York and Lincoln share a path into Kings Cross, with trains alternating to each destination, so each destination gets one train per two hours (1tp2h).
It would surely be possible for a pair of trains to leave Kings Cross, that split at Newark, with one train going to York and the other to Lincoln.
- The Modern Railways article says that the Middlesbrough service will be an extension of the 1tp2h York service.
- This means Kings Cross and Middlesbrough would call at Stevenage, Peterborough, Grantham, Newark North Gate, Retford, Doncaster and York.
- So at some time in the future could the Middlesbrough and Lincoln services share a path, with a split and join at Newark?
If the Lincoln and Middlesbrough services were to be run at a frequency of 1tp2h, the intervening paths could be used for other destinations.
Theoretically, by using pairs of five-car trains and splitting and joining, four destinations can be given a service of 1tp2h to and from London, that all use the same path.
I think the following splits and joins would be feasible.
- Lincoln/Middlesbrough splitting and joining at Newark North Gate.
- Lincoln/Scarborough splitting and joining at Newark North Gate.
- Nottingham/Sheffield splitting and joining at Newark North Gate.
- Harrogate/Huddersfield splitting and joining at Leeds.
- Bradford/Skipton splitting and joining at Leeds.
- Hull/Leeds splitting and joining at Doncaster.
Note.
- The two Lincoln splits and joins at Newark North Gate could possibly be arranged, so that Middlesbrough got roughly 1tp2h and Scarborough got perhaps two trains per day (tpd).
- Hull would be a very useful destination, as it is a large station to the East of the East Coast Main Line.
- Nottingham and Sheffield could be useful destinations during any disruption on the Midland Main Line, perhaps due to installation of full electrification.
The permutations and combinations are endless.
All Fast Trains Must Have Similar Performance
East Coast Trains, Hull Trains, LNER and TransPennine Express all use trains with similar performance.
But other operators like Great Northern use slower trains on the East Coast Main Line.
As the Hitachi trains will be running at up to 140 mph under the control of full digital signalling, it strikes me that for safe, fast and efficient operation, the other operators will need faster trains, where they run on the fast lines of the East Coast Main Line.
Grand Central
Grand Central‘s fleet of Class 180 trains will need to be replaced to decarbonise the operator and will surely be replaced with more 140 mph trains to take advantage of the digitally-signalled East Coast Main Line.
As their routes are not fully-electrified, I suspect they’ll be using similar Hitachi battery-electric trains.
The Cambridge Effect
Cambridge is becoming one of the most important cities in the world, let alone England and the UK.
It is generating new businesses at a tremendous rate and it needs an expanded rail network to give access to housing and industrial premises in the surrounding cities and towns.
- Peterborough is in the same county and is developing alongside Cambridge.
- Bury St. Edmunds, Norwich and other towns are being drawn into Cambridge.
- East West Rail to Bedford, Milton Keynes and Oxford is coming.
Cambridge is well-connected to London, but needs better connections to the North and Midlands.
King’s Cross And King’s Lynn
Currently, this route is run by 110 mph Class 387 trains.
These trains are just not fast enough for Network Rail’s 140 mph digitally signalled railway between King’s Cross and Hitchin.
In Call For ETCS On King’s Lynn Route, I examine how 125 mph trains and full digital signalling could be used to run between King’s Cross and King’s Lynn via Cambridge.
This would allow the trains to use the fast lines into King’s Cross.
I also feel, that to maximise the use of paths into King’s Cross, that the King’s Lynn service could be paired with a new Norwich service. The two trains would split and join at Cambridge.
Liverpool Lime Street And Norwich
This service is currently run by Class 156 trains and needs decarbonising. It also runs on 125 mph lines between.
- Peterborough and Grantham
- Nottingham and Sheffield
It certainly needs a thorough redesign and modern rolling stock to replace the current rolling road blocks.
East West Rail will certainly increase Cambridge and Norwich services to two tph, so why not terminate this Liverpool service at Cambridge rather than Norwich?
- Cambridge station has a lot of space to add extra platforms.
- The service would not need to reverse at Ely.
- It would add much-needed capacity to the Cambridge and Peterborough route.
- The service could even terminate at the new Cambridge South station.
- There have been plans for some time to split this service at Nottingham.
As between Peterborough and Grantham is a fully-electrified four-track line, I suspect that a Cambridge and Nottingham service could be handled by a 110 mph battery-electric train based on a Class 350 or Class 379 train.
Similar battery-electric trains could probably handle the Northern section between Nottingham and Liverpool Lime Street.
Stansted Airport And Birmingham Via Cambridge
After the work to the North of Peterborough at Werrington, this service has a clear route away from the East Coast Main Line, so it can be ignored.
The service does need decarbonisation and I suspect that it could be run by a 110 mph battery-electric train based on a Class 350 or Class 379 train.
CrossCountry And TransPennine Express Services
CrossCountry and TransPennine Express also run services on the Northern section of the East Coast Main Line.
- CrossCountry – 1 tph – Leeds and Edinburgh via York, Darlington, Durham, Newcastle, Alnmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed and Dunbar (1tp2h)
- CrossCountry – 1 tph – Sheffield and Newcastle via Doncaster, York, Darlington and Durham.
- TransPennine Express – 1 tph – Liverpool Lime Street and Scarborough via Leeds, Garforth and York
- TransPennine Express – 1 tph – Manchester Airport and Redcar via Leeds, York, Thirsk, Northallerton, Yarm, Thornaby, and Middlesbrough.
- TransPennine Express – 1 tph – Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh via Leeds, York, Darlington, Durham, Newcastle and Morpeth.
- TransPennine Express – 1 tph – Manchester Airport and Newcastle via Leeds, York, Northallerton, Darlington, Durham and Chester-le-Street (1t2h)
In addition LNER and East Coast Trains also run these services on the same section.
- LNER – 1 tp2h – London Kings Cross and York
- LNER – 1 tph – London Kings Cross and Edinburgh via York, Darlington, Newcastle, Berwick-upon-Tweed
- LNER – 1 tph – London Kings Cross and Edinburgh via York, Northallerton (1tp2h), Darlington, Durham, Newcastle and Alnmouth (1tp2h)
- East Coast Trains – 5 tpd – London Kings Cross and Edinburgh via Newcastle and Morpeth.
Aggregating the stops gives the following.
- York – 8.5 tph
- Darlington – 6 tph
- Durham – 5 tph
- Chester-le-Street – 0.5 tph
- Newcastle – 6 tph and 5 tpd
- Morpeth – 1 tph and 5 tpd
- Almouth – 1.5 tph
- Berwick-on-Tweed – 2 tph
- Dunbar – 0.5 tph
Note.
- 1 tp2h = 0.5 tph
- Scotland is building two new stations at Reston and East Linton.
- Northern run trains between Newcastle and Morpeth.
It does appear from comments in the Modern Railways article, that the various train companies and passenger groups can’t agree on who calls where to the North of York.
Perhaps the Fat Controller should step in.
Between Newcastle and Berwick-on-Tweed
With the reopening of the Northumberland Line between Newcastle and Ashington, there may be an opportunity to reorganise services between Newcastle and Berwick-on-Tweed.
- Morpeth could be served via the Northumberland Line.
- Britishvolt are building a large gigafactory for batteries at Blyth.
- It would probably be a good idea to remove slow diesel services from the East Coast Main Line.
- Reston station will need a train service.
- Morpeth and Newcastle are under twenty miles apart on the East Coast Main Line and the route via Ashington is perhaps only ten miles longer.
It looks to me that local services on the Northumberland Line and between Newcastle and Reston on the East Coast Main Line could be run by a 110 mph battery-electric train.
Conclusion
There would appear to be a lot of scope to create a very much improved timetable for the East Coast Main Line.
I do think though that the following actions must be taken.
- Ensure, that all the long-distance train companies have trains capable of running at 140 mph under the control of digital signalling.
- Develop a 110 mph battery-electric train to work the local routes, that run on the East Coast Main Line.
- Get agreement between passengers and train companies about stopping patterns to the North of York.
- Use splitting and joining creatively to squeeze more trains into the available paths.
LNER would also need to increase their fleet.
LNER To Serve Cleethorpes
Under the proposed new LNER timetable, which will start in May 2022, there will be a new train service between London Kings Cross and Cleethorpes.
According to this article on the Lincolnite, which is entitled Direct Cleethorpes To London Rail Link ‘Close’ To Getting Go Ahead, there will be one service per day.
It will leave Cleethorpes at 06:24 and Grimsby Town at 06:32 before arriving at King’s Cross at 09:25.
The return will leave King’s Cross at 16:10 and arrive in Grimsby Town at 19:05 and Cleethorpes at 19:20.
The August 2021 Edition of Modern Railways makes these points about the service.
- The larger Azuma fleet makes this extension possible.
- ,A more regular service would require additional trains.
- LNER is examining whether other intermediate stations east of Lincoln could be served.
I would have thought, that Market Rasen station could be a possibility for an intermediate stop.
I have a few thoughts.
Extra Services
This single service is ideal for though living in Lincolnshire, but it doesn’t suit those people, who perhaps need to go to the area from London for business or family reasons.
- Lincoln appears to get around five or six trains per day in each direction to and from King’s Cross.
- Services are roughly one train per two hours.
- I suspect the Lincoln service can be run by a single train, that shuttles between King’s Cross and Lincoln stations.
I believe, that Cleethorpes needs at least a pair of services to and from London, so that travellers can spend a day in North-East Lincolnshire.
- This would probably need more trains.
- Services would go via Lincoln and Lincoln may get extra services to London.
- Selected services could stop at intermediate stations, like Market Rasen.
There are surely possibilities for a integrated timetable between King’s Cross and Lincoln, Market Rasen, Grimsby Town and Cleethorpes.
Battery-Electric Operation
Consider.
- LNER’s Class 800 trains are prime candidates for conversion to Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Trains, so they can run away from the overhead wires of the East Coast Main Line to places like Lincoln, by the use of battery power.
- These battery trains could charge using the electrification between King’s Cross and Newark North Gate stations.
- The distance between Lincoln Central station and the East Coast Main Line is 16.6 miles.
- In Plans To Introduce Battery Powered Trains In Scotland, I quote Hitachi, as saying they expect a sixty mile range for battery trains.
I am sure, that these trains would have sufficient range on battery to be able to work King’s Cross and Lincoln services without using diesel.
But could the Hitachi trains reach Cleethorpes with some well-positioned charging?
- The distance between Lincoln and Cleethorpes stations is 47.2 miles.
- In Solving The Electrification Conundrum, I describe Hitachi’s solution to running battery-electric trains, by using well-placed short lengths of 25 KVAC overhead electrification controlled by an intelligent power system.
With a range of sixty miles on batteries and charging at Lincoln and Cleethorpes stations, it would appear that battery electric operation of Class 800 trains between King’s Cross and Cleethorpes is a distinct possibility.
Lincoln Station
Lincoln station has three operational through platforms and I suspect all would need to be electrified, so that trains could be charged as they passed through.
These are distances from Lincoln station.
- Cleethorpes – 47.2 miles
- Doncaster – 36.9 miles
- Nottingham – 33.9 miles
- Peterborough – 56.9 miles
- Sheffield – 48.5 miles
It does appear that if Lincoln station were to be electrified, most services from the city could be run using battery-electric trains.
Cleethorpes Station
This picture shows Cleethorpes station with two TransPennine Express Class 185 trains in the station.
Note.
- The Class 185 trains are diesel, but could be replaced by Hitachi Class 802 trains, which could be converted to battery-electric operation.
- Cleethorpes and Doncaster are 52.1 miles apart, which could be in range of Hitachi’s battery-electric trains.
- It doesn’t look to be too challenging to electrify a couple of platforms to charge the battery-electric trains.
- Cleethorpes station could surely charge both the LNER and the TransPennine Express trains.
- The Cleethorpes and Barton-on-Humber service which is under fifty miles for a round trip could also be replaced with battery-electric trains.
Cleethorpes station could be totally served by battery-electric trains.
Battery-Electric Trains For Lincolnshire
At the present time, there is a surplus of good redundant electrical multiple units and the rolling stock leasing companies are looking for places where they can be used.
Porterbrook are already looking to convert their fleet of Class 350 trains to battery-electric operation and I am certain, that now that Hitachi and others have solved the charging problem, a lot more trains will be converted.
Most would appear to be four-car 100 mph trains, which will be very convenient and should fit most platforms.
Conclusion
Running battery-electric Class 800 trains to Lincoln, Grimsby Town and Cleethorpes could be the start of decarbonisation of Lincolnshire’s railways.
What would battery-electric trains do for the economy of Lincolnshire?
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.
A New Elizabethan
I can remember The Elizabethan, which was a steam-hauled non-stop express between London and Edinburgh between 1953 and 1961.
- The steam-hauled train took six-hours-and-a-half.
- It used to be the longest non-stop railway service in the world.
- Today, the service could be run by the current or refurbished Azumas or perhaps a new flagship train, built for the service.
- It could be easily under four hours.
It could be an interesting concept, to increase capacity between London and Edinburgh.
The Fastest Rail Journey Between London King’s Cross And Edinburgh
This section in the Wikipedia entry for the Class 91 locomotive is entitled Speed Record. This is the first paragraph.
A Class 91, 91010 (now 91110), holds the British locomotive speed record at 161.7 mph (260.2 km/h), set on 17 September 1989, just south of Little Bytham on a test run down Stoke Bank with the DVT leading. Although Class 370s, Class 373s and Class 374s have run faster, all are EMUs which means that the Electra is officially the fastest locomotive in Britain. Another loco (91031, now 91131), hauling five Mk4s and a DVT on a test run, ran between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh Waverley in 3 hours, 29 minutes and 30 seconds on 26 September 1991. This is still the current record. The set covered the route in an average speed of 112.5 mph (181.1 km/h) and reached the full 140 mph (225 km/h) several times during the run.
Seconds under three-and-a-half-hours was an amazing time nearly thirty years ago, from a short-formation InterCity 225, that went on to become the mainstay of the services on the route.
It makes High Speed Two’s proposed time of three hours and forty-eight minutes appear to lack ambition.
But to be fair to High Speed Two, train services have historically been faster on the the East side of Great Britain.
What Time Could Be Possible Between London King’s Cross And Edinburgh?
In What Is Possible On The East Coast Main Line?, I took a hard look at times on the route, taking into account improvements of the last thirty years and those that will happen in the next few.
This was my conclusion.
I started by asking what is possible on The East Coast Main Line?
As the time of three-and-a-half hours was achieved by a short-formation InterCity 225 train in 1991 before Covids, Hitchin, Kings Cross Remodelling, Power Upgrades, Werrington and lots of other work, I believe that some journeys between Kings Cross and Edinburgh could be around this time within perhaps five years.
To some, that might seem an extraordinary claim, but when you consider that the InterCity 225 train in 1991 did it with only a few sections of 140 mph running, I very much think it is a certainly at some point.
As to the ultimate time, earlier I showed that an average of 120 mph between King’s Cross and Edinburgh gives a time of 3:16 minutes.
Surely, an increase of fourteen minutes in thirty years is possible?
I believe that timings will decrease significantly on the East Coast Main Line with the current trains.
Extra Paths For LNER
In the December 2020 Edition of Modern Railways, there is an article, which is entitled LNER Seeks 10 More Bi-Modes.
This is the last paragraph.
Infrastructure upgrades are due to prompt a timetable recast in May 2022 (delayed from December 2021), from which point LNER will operate 6.5 trains per hour out of King’s Cross, compared to five today. As an interim measure LNER is retaining seven rakes of Mk. 4 coaches hauled by 12 Class 91 locomotives to supplement the Azuma fleet and support its timetable ambitions until new trains are delivered.
There would certainly appear to be a path available if LNER wanted to increase the frequency of trains between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh from the current two trains per hour (tph) to three.
What Would Be The Route?
I feel there could be three possible simple routes.
- A direct non-stop London King’s Cross and Edinburgh service.
- A London King’s Cross and Edinburgh service with a single stop at Newcastle.
- A London King’s Cross and Edinburgh service with stops at Leeds and Newcastle.
Each route would have its own advantages and drawbacks.
Route 1
My thoughts about Route 1.
- This would be the fastest route.
- It would be a serious challenge to the airlines on the London and Edinburgh route.
It would be a marketing man’s dream.
Route 2
My thoughts about Route 2.
- This would be the second fastest route.
- It would be a serious challenge to the airlines on the London and Edinburgh route.
- It would give Newcastle a third hourly service to the capital.
- It would give Newcastle a non-stop train to London every hour.
- It would probably be the fastest train between King’s Cross and Newcastle.
- It would beef up the challenge to the airlines on the London and Newcastle route.
Serving Newcastle may generate extra passengers.
Route 3
My thoughts about Route 3.
- This would be the slowest route as it is 23 miles longer.
- It would be a challenge to the airlines on the London and Edinburgh route.
- It would give Newcastle and Leeds a third hourly service to the capital.
- It would give Leeds a non-stop train to London every hour.
- It would probably be the fastest train between London and Leeds.
- It would beef up the challenge to the airlines on the London and Newcastle and London and Leeds routes.
- There could be an extra call at York
Serving Leeds and Newcastle may generate extra passengers.
Obviously, passenger numbers will determine the best route.
Conclusion
I very much feel that properly thought through, this service could be a success.
The Anonymous Widower 