A Special Weekend Timetable Has Been Put In Place For Lincoln Christmas Market
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Advent.
This is the first paragraph.
The timetable has been put in place for Lincoln Christmas Market with direct services from Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness.
It looks to be a clever piece of planning, whilst work is carried out on the East Coast Main Line between Doncaster and Peterborough.
- Services will be diverted onto the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line though Spalding, Sleaford and Lincoln.
- Will the trains be using the new tracks at the Werrington dive-under.
- Nine-car Class 800 bi-mode trains will be used.
- On the Saturday, there will be two trains per hour (tph) in both directions.
- Of these trains, five trains per day (tpd) in both directions will stop at Lincoln Central station.
It does appear that LNER are making the best of a difficult situation.
Passengers going to Lincoln for the Christmas Market will not be disappointed.
Grand Central Trains
Grand Central Trains are also using the diversion route.
Hull Trains
Hull Trains are also using the diversion route.
On the Saturday, there will be five tpd in both directions.
These can be doubled up to ten-car trains if the demand is there.
Lumo Trains
Lumo trains don’t appear to be running.
Conclusion
Network Rail seem to have done a cunning piece of timetabling.
There’ll be trainspotters galore in the centre of Lincoln.
London To Edinburgh On Lumo
Yesterday, I took the 10:45 Lumo service from King’s Cross to Edinburgh.
I took some pictures on the way.
I have split them into sepate topics.
Lumo’s Class 803 Train Arrives
Note.
- The train is in Platform 10 in the old suburban station.
- This has now been reduced to just two platforms.
- In the other platform is a Grand Central service to Bradford Interchange station.
At least it appears, that there could be space to reinstate a third platform, if it should prove necessary.
Seating On Lumo
Note.
- I didn’t get a seat with a proper window.
- The seat-back table is generously-sized.
- There is a light over the table.
- The luggage racks were well used.
- There is more than normal leg-room. My neighbour, who was taller than my 1.70 metres, also liked the leg-room.
Both of us, thought the seats were more comfortable than LNER.
I have a spine that curves outwards at the bottom and it often objects to train and car seats. But after four-and-a-half hours on Lumo, it wasn’t protesting.
York to Church Fenton Improvement Scheme
When the York To Church Fenton Improvement Scheme and the closely related Huddersfield To Westtown (Dewsbury) Upgrade are completed, the TransPennine route between Huddersfield and York will be fully-electrified.
These pictures show the electrification is underway.
York to Huddersfield will be over forty miles of electrified line, with a remaining gap of just eighteen miles to the electrification being installed between Stalybridge and Manchester Victoria.
Work At Reston Station
Reston station is being built North of Berwick-on-Tweed. I took these pictures as we passed through.
I describe the station in a post called A New Reston Station.
Arrival In Edinburgh
I took these pictures when we arrived in Edinburgh.
Note Edinburgh is not short of platforms that can take five- and ten-car trains.
These are a few other thoughts about the journey.
Non-Stop Between King’s Cross And Newcastle
It seemed to me, that a lot of passengers left the train at Newcastle.
- Times between King’s Cross And Newcastle are comparable betyween LNER and Lumo.
- Lumo is non-stop until Newcastle.
- Lumo is probably more affordable.
I can see Lumo picking up a lot of business on this leg.
Football At Newcastle
I have come across several Newcastle United season ticket holders in London.
Looking at Lumo’s full timetable, there are these two trains on a Saturday.
- A train leaves King’s Cross at 10:25 and arrives in Newcastle at 13:25.
- A train leaves Newcastle at 19:35 and arrives in King’s Cross at 22:29.
These could be ideal to see the match and get back to London.
Food
The full food service isn’t in operation yet, but we the trolley did come through twice.
Passenger Loading
Most seats were taken, as we left King’s Cross, but due to high number, who left at Newcastle, there were a few gaps as we ran between Newcastle and Edinburgh.
But then this is a shorter leg and perhaps travellers are more likely to drive.
I suspect that Lumo can’t wait to build up their service to the full five trains per day, as it does look like the demand is there.
Morpeth Station
There wasn’t many boarders and leavers at Morpeth station, but as services build up and travellers realise the system is there, will business increase?
Conclusion
I shall take another trip in the New Year, when the full service is implemented.
The Northern Ends Of The Platforms At Kings Cross Station
These pictures show the Northern ends of the platforms at Kings Cross station.
The two trains are both nine-car Hitachi Class 800 or Class 801 trains and I was standing in line with their noses.
I wonder what is the maximum length of trains that can be handled in these platforms.
- They can certainly handle ten-car trains, as LNER run these to Leeds.
- Hitachi have designed the trains, so they can be up to twelve-cars, which are 312 metre long trains.
- Looking at maps, I suspect that eleven-car trains would be the largest that can be handled.
But surely to maximum the number of passengers handled in the station, the platforms should be able to handle the longest Hitachi trains.
- Unless, the capacity of an individual train is limited by the gate-lines and Network Rail have said that ten-car trains are the longest allowed.
- Or would twelve-car trains be two far to walk with lots of luggage.
But ten-car trains would allow Lumo to double-up trains to increase capacity selectively, when perhaps, there is an important sporting event.
So when say the Culcutta Cup is taking place, an early morning train to the match and a late evening return could be doubled to add another four hundred seats.
But the current Lumo timetable only shows just two trains on a Saturday.
- London King’s Cross – Edinburgh, which leaves at 10:25 and arrives at 14:57.
- Edinburgh – London King’s Cross, which leaves at 08:49 and arrives at 13:17.
Not very good to go to the rugby or a birthday lunch with your mum.
But realtimetrains reveals two early morning paths allocated to Lumo.
- London King’s Cross – Edinburgh, which leaves at 05:45 and arrives at 10:06.
- Edinburgh – London King’s Cross, which leaves at 05:36 and arrives at 10:04.
So you can get to the other capital, but is there a later last train back?
Oh! Yes there is! And again they are revealed by realtimetrains.
- London King’s Cross – Edinburgh, which leaves at 18:27 and arrives at 22:56.
- Edinburgh – London King’s Cross, which leaves at 17:56 and arrives at 22:29.
Is the Southbound service earlier, as Murrayfield is closer to Waverly station, than Twickenham is to King’s Cross?
If the return was fifty pounds and the trains were doubles, that could be revenue of around £ 40,000. There would be more electricity and track access charges, and they’d need extra train crew, but Lumo would surely be quids in!
Lumo’s financial model has several nice little earners.
Lumo’s Seats Are OK
I went down to King’s Cross to see the 1348 Lumo arrival from Edinburgh arrive (At 1343 incidentally!)
The seats seemed to be a big topic with passengers I talked to, who’d just spent four-and-a-half hours sitting on them!
I will replace these pictures with better ones, when I use the trains. But they do show the basic design.
But all felt positive about them and said they were better than LNER.
One guy showed me a video of pushing his hand into the seat cushion. It appeared they would make bad ironing boards.
Report Finds London North Eastern Railway Can Aid UK’s Pandemic Recovery
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Technology Magazine.
It is a must-read article, that discusses a report by respected consultants; Steer.
The main conclusion is that LNER services are worth £ 2 billion per year to the UK.
Could similar figures be attributed to other train operating companies?
Could We See Between London And Much Of The North By Train In Under Two Hours?
I shall write about each route in order starting from Euston and working East.
Avanti West Coast And Euston
These are services from Euston, that I feel could be under two hours.
London Euston And Liverpool Lime Street
On Thursday, I went to Liverpool by train.
- My train took two hours and thirteen minutes between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street stations.
- There were stops at Stafford, Crewe and Runcorn.
- The Class 390 train was travelling at 125 mph for a lot of the way.
- The distance between the two terminals is 193.6 miles.
- The start to stop average including the stops was 87.3 mph.
So could London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street be achieved in the magic two hours?
A few thoughts.
Average Speed
To do the journey in this time would need an average speed of 96.8 mph.
Accelerating And Stopping
Ideally, the train will run as fast as it can only changing speed for the station stops.
- The train will accelerate from stop to cruising speed at Euston, Stafford, Crewe and Runcorn or four times.
- The train will decelerate from cruising speed to stop at Stafford, Crewe, Runcorn and Liverpool Lime Street or four times.
Effectively, the train goes through four complete station stops, although one will be split between the two ends of the journey.
These figures are from Wikipedia and the Internet
- The acceleration of the Class 390 train is 1.0 mph/sec which means that it takes 125 seconds to get to 125 mph.
- The deceleration of a Class 390 train is 2.0 mph/sec, which means that it takes 63 seconds to stop from 125 mph.
- The acceleration of a Class 801 train is 1.6 mph/sec which means that it takes 78 seconds to get to 125 mph.
- The deceleration of a Class 801 train is 2.2 mph/sec, which means that it takes 57 seconds to stop from 125 mph.
These figures would appear to show, that a Class 801 train can decelerate and accelerate at a stop in nearly a minute faster than a Class 390 train.
So how can we increase the acceleration and deceleration? The two obvious ways are more power and less weight.
Form the Internet, I estimate that the average car in a Class 390 train is around 52 tonnes, as opposed to 41 tonnes for the Hitachi trains.
So does this weight difference explain some of the difference in acceleration and deceleration times?
Consider.
- The Class 390 trains have all the extra weight of the tilt mechanism. More weight means slower acceleration.
- Avanti West Coast’s new Class 807 trains have no diesel engines or batteries. Have the trains been put on a diet?
- They also have a reprofiled nose. Is it more aerodynamic?
So if these trains can save time on the four accelerate/decelerate cycles compared to the Class 390 trains, they must be getting nearer to the magic two hours.
If two minutes a stop can be saved that would save eight minutes on the journey between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street.
140 Mph Running
The time to do a mile at various speeds are as follows.
- 100 mph – 36 seconds
- 125 mph – 29 seconds
- 140 mph – 26 seconds
So running at 140 mph, as opposed to the current 125 mph would save three seconds for every mile.
To save five minutes would mean the train would have to run for a hundred miles at 140 mph instead of 125 mph.
As Stafford is 133.5 miles from London, it could be that full digital signalling should be installed on the West Coast Main Line all the way to Stafford or even Crewe, which is 158 miles from London.
This schematic map of the West Coast Main Line was clipped from Wikipedia.
Note.
- Trains between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street take the Trent Valley Line through Nuneaton and Lichfield Trent Valley and stop at Stafford, Crewe and Runcorn.
- Trains between London Euston and Manchester take a variety of routes and all go via Stockport.
- One train per hour (tph) between London Euston and Glasgow Central takes the Trent Valley Line and goes non-stop between London Euston and Warrington Central.
- Norton Bridge Junction just to the North of Stafford has recently been remodelled.
I believe there is potential to enable up to at least a hundred miles of 140 mph running to the South of Crewe. Especially as most of the track South of Crewe is quadruple track.
This should enable the shaving of five or more minutes off the time of any train capable of 140 mph running that uses the Trent Valley Line through Nuneaton, Lichfield Trent Valley and Stafford.
Norton Bridge Junction
Norton Bridge junction, which is five miles North used to be a bottleneck, but it has now been remodelled.
I wrote about it in The New Norton Bridge Junction In Action.
The new junction has probably been designed so that it can save a few seconds for trains going between Stafford and Crewe, whether or not they stop at either or both stations.
Non-Stop Between London Euston and Runcorn
If you look at the times of a London Euston and Glasgow Central train via the Trent Valley Line , it travels the 174.7 miles between London Euston and Weaver Junction non-stop in one hour and forty minutes. This is an average speed of 104.8 mph.
By comparison, my train on Thursday took one hour and forty-seven minutes with the two stops at Stafford and Crewe.
So there is at least six minutes to be saved by going non-stop.
Two Trains Per Hour Between London Euston And Liverpool Lime Street
Wikipedia says this about an additional service.
Subject to approval by the Office of Rail and Road, an additional hourly service will be introduced between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street with a stop at Liverpool South Parkway from December 2022.
I have a few thoughts and questions on extra services between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street,
- In my view the second service is much needed.
- I also think, that a later train back to London is needed.
- Does the Wikipedia statement mean that only one train will stop at Liverpool South Parkway?
- Does Runcorn need two tph to and from London?
- Would the platforms at Liverpool South Parkway be lengthened to accept eleven-car Class 390 trains?
I feel that if a train stopped at both Liverpool South Parkway and Runcorn, this would make a two-hour journey more difficult to achieve.
London Euston And Liverpool Lime Street In Two Hours
The new Class 807 trains will be delivered by 2022. Because of the pandemic, I’ll assume that of the ten trains on order, some, but not all, will be available by the December 2022 timetable change.
The time savings needed for a two-hour journey will come from four improvements.
- The increased performance of the Class 807 trains.
- Full digital signalling South of Crewe.
- The track improvements already completed like Norton Bridge Junction.
- Cutting out stop on the second service.
There may also be time savings to be obtained at the intermediate stops, by better working practices.
I doubt that the full digital signalling will have been installed, but all trains will be capable of 125 mph running.
Avanti West Coast probably have a good idea of the time they could achieve without digital signalling and I feel that they could be about five minutes over two hours with the Class 807 trains.
As the eleven-car Class 390 trains are too long for Liverpool South Parkway station, could we see the following service?
- 1 tph – Class 390 train – London Euston And Liverpool Lime Street via Runcorn, Crewe and Stafford.
- 1 tph – Class 807 train – London Euston And Liverpool Lime Street via Liverpool South Parkway.
Note.
- The Class 390 train would run the existing timetable in two hours and thirteen minutes.
- The Class 807 train would be a two-hour express service if possible.
- Going from three stops to one could save the express at least seven minutes, as I showed earlier by looking at train timings South of Weaver Junction.
- There would be time savings of at least two minutes on the express service due to the better performance of the Class 807 train.
To save the final four minutes, there would need to be at least eighty miles of 140 mph running, as each mile saves three seconds.
I am fairly certain, that London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street can be regularly achieved in two hours.
London Euston And Warrington Bank Quay
The hourly London Euston and Glasgow Central expresses seem to take one hour and forty-five minutes for the non-stop trip of 182.1 miles, which is an average speed of 104 mph.
As this service is non-stop, I believe that this service would get the maximum benefit from digital signalling and this service will only get faster, as more and more of the route allowed 140 mph-running.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see almost ten minutes lopped off this service by signalling and other improvements.
I am fairly certain, that London Euston and Warrington Bank Quay can be regularly achieved in well under two hours, by a Class 390 train.
London Euston And Wigan North Western
The hourly London Euston and Glasgow Central expresses seem to take one hour and fifty-six minutes for the single-stop trip of 193.9 miles, which is an average speed of 100.3 mph.
As this service just a single stop at Warrington Bank Quay, I believe that this service would get the maximum benefit from digital signalling and this service will only get faster, as more and more of the route allowed 140 mph-running.
As with Warrington Bank Quay, I wouldn’t be surprised to see almost ten minutes lopped off this service by signalling and other improvements.
I am fairly certain, that London Euston and Wigan North Western can be regularly achieved in comfortably under two hours, by a Class 390 train.
London Euston And Preston
The hourly London Euston and Glasgow Central expresses seem to take two hours and eleven minutes for the two -stop trip of 209 miles, which is an average speed of 95.7 mph.
As this service just stops at Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan North Western, I believe that this service would get the maximum benefit from digital signalling and this service will only get faster, as more and more of the route allowed 140 mph-running.
As with Warrington Bank Quay and Wigan North Western, I wouldn’t be surprised to see almost ten minutes lopped off this service by signalling and other improvements.
I am fairly certain, that London Euston and Preston can be regularly achieved in just under two hours, by a Class 390 train.
London Euston And Blackpool North
Avanti West Coast have indicated that their new Class 807 trains will run between London Euston and Blackpool North.
Consider.
- I am fairly certain that a Class 390 train will be able to run between London Euston and Preston in under two hours, once digital signalling is installed South of Crewe.
- Currently, Class 390 trains take twenty minutes between Preston and Blackpool North stations.
- The Class 807 trains have better acceleration and deceleration and should be able to execute faster stops than the Class 390 trains.
I wonder if Avanti West Coast, Hitachi, Network Rail and Rock Rail have thought up a cunning plan to run Class 807 trains between London Euston And Blackpool North, in under two hours.
Trains would go via the Trent Valley.
Trains might only stop at perhaps Milton Keynes Central, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western and Preston.
Trains would run at up to 140 mph using digital signalling, in as many places as possible.
Is the performance of the Class 807 trains sufficient to achieve London Euston and Blackpool North in under two hours via the Trent Valley?
London Euston And Manchester Piccadilly via Wilmslow
Consider.
- Most trains between London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Wilmslow seem to take around six or seven minutes over two hours.
- I believe that if the 158 miles between London Euston and Crewe were to be digitally signalled, then this could save up to eight minutes by allowing trains to run at 140 mph rather than the current 125 mph.
This could be enough to bring the London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Wilmslow below two hours.
I am not surprised at this, as the trains were built for 140 mph and because there is no digital signalling, they are limited to 125 mph, which slows the trains by six or seven minutes.
London Euston And Manchester Piccadilly via Stoke-on-Trent
Everything I said about trains between London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Wilmslow probably apply, except that the services via Stoke-on-Trent are a few minutes slower.
But I do feel, that this could be enough to bring the London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Stoke-on-Trent below two hours.
East Midlands Railway And St. Pancras
These is only one service from St. Pancras, that is not comfortably under two hours.
London St. Pancras And Sheffield
A typical service between London St. Pancras And Sheffield takes a few minutes over two hours..
- There are two tph
- There are stops at Leicester, Loughborough, East Midlands Parkway, Long Eaton, Derby or Chesterfield depending on the service.
- The Class 222 trains travel at 125 mph for most of the way.
- The distance between the two terminals is 164.7 miles.
- The start to stop average including the stops is 81 mph.
I would suspect that East Midlands Railway’s new bi-mode Class 810 trains will be able to easily break the two-hour barrier.
- They have four diesel engines so they can cruise at 125 mph on diesel.
- They have electric power for South of Market Harborough.
- Some diesel engines will be changed for batteries.
As electrification increases on the Midland Main Line, these trains will use less and less diesel.
I also suspect that digital signalling will start to creep into the route, starting from Bedford, where it is used on Thameslink.
LNER And King’s Cross
These are services from King’s Cross, that are or I feel will be under two hours.
London King’s Cross And Doncaster
A typical service between London King’s Cross And Doncaster takes around one hour and thirty-seven minutes.
- There are four tph
- There are stops at Stevenage, Peterborough, Grantham, Newark and Retford depending on the service.
- The Class 80x trains travel at 125 mph for most of the way.
- The distance between the two stations is 156 miles.
- The start to stop average including the stops is 96.5 mph.
Digital signaling is being installed on this section of the East Coast Main Line and I suspect that this will reduce timings between London King’s Cross And Doncaster.
A simple estimate based on the maximum operating speed, indicates a time of one hour and twenty-six minutes should be possible.
But as a Control Engineer, I believe that digital signalling will lead to faster running over the Digswell Viaduct and through the flat crossing at Newark.
The timing will certainly be under one hour and thirty minutes between London King’s Cross And Doncaster.
London King’s Cross And York
A typical service between London King’s Cross And York takes around one hour and forty-eight minutes.
- There are two tph
- There are stops at Stevenage, Peterborough, Grantham, Newark, Retford and Doncaster depending on the service.
- The Class 80x trains travel at 125 mph for most of the way.
- The distance between the two stations is 188.5 miles.
- A non-stop service takes one hour and fifty-two minutes, which is a start to stop average including the stops is 101 mph.
If my crude estimate of time savings because of digital signalling South of Doncaster can be applied, this would imply a reduction in journey time of at least eleven minutes.
London King’s Cross And Leeds
A typical service between London King’s Cross And Leeds takes around two hours and thirteen minutes.
- There are three tph
- There are stops at Stevenage, Peterborough, Grantham, Newark, Doncaster and Wakefield Westgate depending on the service.
- The Class 80x trains travel at 125 mph for most of the way.
- The distance between the two terminals is 185.9 miles.
- This is a start to stop average including the stops is 83.9 mph.
If my crude estimate of time savings because of digital signalling South of Doncaster can be applied, this would imply a reduction in journey time of at least eleven minutes, which would put a time between London King’s Cross and Leeds of around two hours.
London King’s Cross And Bradford Forster Square
LNER run some services on this route
- The services take thirty minutes between Leeds and Bradford Forster Square stations.
- The services do not reverse at Leeds.
Given that two hours should be possible between London Kings Cross and Leeds, it would appear that two hours and thirty minutes should be possible between Leeds and Bradford Forster Square stations.
London King’s Cross And Bradford Interchange
Grand Central run some services on this route
- The services call at Doncaster, Wakefield Kirkgate, Mirfield, Brighouse and Low Moor
- The services take two hours and fifty-four minutes between London King’s Cross and Bradford Interchange stations.
- The services take one hour and seventeen minutes between Doncaster and Bradford Interchange stations.
The services are run by Class 180 diesel trains, which will have to be replaced to decarbonise the route.
I suspect that Hitachi will have a train for this route, that could use diesel or batteries to the North of Doncaster.
- My estimate for the best time between King’s Cross and Doncaster is one hour and twenty-six minutes.
- The current time between Doncaster and Bradford Interchange stations is one hour and seventeen minutes.
This gives a best time of perhaps two hours and forty-three minutes between Doncaster and Bradford Interchange stations.
The route to Bradford via Leeds is perhaps fifteen minutes faster, but it serves different stations.
London King’s Cross And Harrogate
LNER has been running to Harrogate for some time.
- There is one train per two hours (tp2h)
- The service calls at Stevenage, Grantham, Doncaster, Wakefield Westgate and Leeds.
- some services reverse at Leeds.
- The service takes two hours and fifty-five minutes between London King’s Cross and Harrogate stations.
- The service takes thirty minutes between Leeds and Harrogate stations.
Given that two hours should be possible between London Kings Cross and Leeds, it would appear that two hours and thirty minutes could be possible between London King’s Cross and Harrogate stations.
London King’s Cross And Huddersfield
In LNER Expands To Huddersfield, I described LNER’s new service to Huddersfield.
- There will be one train per day (tpd)
- The service will call at Peterborough, Newark North Gate, Doncaster, Wakefield Westgate, Leeds and Dewsbury.
- The service will split and join with the London King’s Cross and Skipton service at Leeds.
- The service will reverse at Leeds.
- The service take two hours and fifty-five minutes between London King’s Cross and Huddersfield stations.
- The service will take twenty-five minutes between Leeds and Huddersfield stations.
- Improvements are planned, which include electrification, between Dewsbury and Huddersfield
Given that two hours should be possible between London Kings Cross and Leeds, it would appear that two hours and thirty minutes could be possible between London King’s Cross and Huddersfield stations.
London King’s Cross And Hull
The fastest Hull Trains service between London King’s Cross And Hull takes around two hours and thirty minutes.
- There are seven tpd
- There are stops at Stevenage, Grantham, Retford, Doncaster, Selby, Howden and Brough depending on the service.
- The Class 80x trains travel at 125 mph for most of the way.
- The distance between the two terminals is 205.3 miles.
- This is a start to stop average including the stops is 82.1 mph.
If my crude estimate of time savings because of digital signalling South of Doncaster can be applied, this would imply a reduction in journey time of at least eleven minutes, which would put a time between London King’s Cross and Hull of around two hours and twenty minutes.
London King’s Cross And Middlesbrough
LNER have announced a Middlesbrough service, which I wrote about in LNER’s Middlesbrough And London Service. Starts On December 13th.
- There will be one tpd in both directions
- Intermediate stops will be at Thornaby and York.
- The Middlesbrough and London service will leave Middlesbrough from Platform 1 at 07:08 and arrive in King’s Cross at 10:22.
- The London and Middlesbrough service will leave King’s Cross at 15:25 and arrive in Middlesbrough in Platform 2 at 18:18.
There appear to be some curiosities in the timetabling of these trains, which I may explore later.
I would assume that is because LNER want a competitive time of three hours between King’s Cross and Middlesbrough.
These are Southbound times between Eaglescliffe and King’s Cross in the morning.
- Grand Central – Two hours and thirty-nine minutes
- LNER – Three hours and two minutes
Is this because the Class 180 train is a genuine 125 mph train on diesel and the Class 800 train is not?
If my crude estimate of time savings because of digital signalling South of Doncaster can be applied, this would imply a reduction in journey time of at least eleven minutes, which would put a time between London King’s Cross and Middlesbrough of around three hours.
Conclusion
Of the cities and towns in the North, that I have discussed only Bradford, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Hull and Middlesbrough, are ones that will be difficult to be provided with a two-hour journey time to and from London. But all should be possible in close to or under two hours and thirty minutes.
First Phase Of ‘Transformational’ Darlington Rail Station Upgrade Approved
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the North East Times.
This upgrade is on the Eastern side of the current station and will include a new entrance, station building, concourse and three new platforms.
This design should allow the following.
- LNER, High Speed Two and other expresses not stopping at the Darlington station to pass through at speeds of up to 125 mph or more.
- Expresses stopping in the station will slow and accelerate in less time than they do now.
- It will probably allow more local trains to Bishops Auckland, Middlesbrough and Saltburn
A seventy-five percent increase in platforms probably offers other advantages.
LNER’s Middlesbrough And London Service Starts On December 13th
Tucked at the bottom of the article entitled LNER Tickets For Christmas Getaway in Edition 939 of Rail Magazine, there is this paragraph separated from the article by a sole bullet point.
LNER has confirmed that from December 13 it will run a new weekday service between London King’s Cross and Middlesbrough.
It has already made an appearance on Real Time Trains and I can find the following details.
- There will be one train per day (tpd)
- Intermediate stops will be at Thornaby and York.
- The Middlesbrough and London service will leave Middlesbrough from Platform 1 at 07:08 and arrive in King’s Cross at 10:22.
- The London and Middlesbrough service will leave King’s Cross at 15:25 and arrive in Middlesbrough in Platform 2 at 18:18.
These are my thoughts.
Trains Per Day
One train per day, is obviously an introductory service and like services to Harrogate and Lincoln, the number of services will ramp up to perhaps four or five tpd, if the demand is there and the paths and trains are available.
Journey Times
Consider
- The Southbound journey takes three hours and fourteen minutes with a time of two hours and nine minutes between York and King’s Cross
- The Northbound journey takes two hours and fifty-three minutes with a time of one hour and fifty-six minutes between King’s Cross and York.
- Some services between King’s Cross and York are as fast as one hour and forty-eight minutes.
- Middlesbrough and York seems to take around 52-58 minutes.
- These Middlesbrough and York timings are consistent with TransPennine Express.
- Digital signalling could offer savings in journey time between York and London.
I think it is very likely as the timetable improves, that timings between Middlesbrough and London could be around two hours and forty minutes.
Electrification
The route is fully electrified except for between Middlesbrough and Longlands Junction, where it joins the electrification of the East Coast Main Line, which is a distance of twenty-two miles.
Hitachi are developing a battery-train, which they call the Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, which is described in this Hitachi infographic.
Note.
- LNER’s current Class 800 trains will probably be able to be converted to this train.
- A range on battery power of upwards of forty miles would be expected.
If the range on battery-power can be stretched to perhaps sixty miles, this train should be capable of serving Middlesbrough without the need for any extra charging at the terminus.
I am sure Hitachi would like to see their battery-electric trains running between King’s Cross and Middlesbrough, as it would be an ideal route on which to show the trains to prospective customers, given that their factory is at Newton Aycliffe.
Conclusion
This could be good demonstration battery-electric service for Hitachi and LNER.
LNER Tickets For Christmas Getaway
The title of this post, is the same as that of an article in Edition 939 of Rail Magazine.
These are the first two paragraphs.
LNER has made available thousands of Advance tickets for the festive period.
It follows research by the operator suggesting that some 48% of people are planning to travel this Christmas to see family and friends, with 30% of them looking to book at least six weeks in advance.
This is surely a good thing and will LNER eventually copy Lumo in allowing ticket purchases longer in advance?
The article says that LNER Internet enquiries and ridership are on the up, with the latter at over 90 % of pre-pandemic levels.
Open Access Operators And The Lumo Model
In the UK, there are only three established Open Access operators, who run UK train services.
- Grand Central
- Heathrow Express
- Hull Trains
From the 25th of October, they will be joined by Lumo.
We probably don’t think of Heathrow Express as an Open Access operator and as it is effectively a short distance special service with new trains between Heathrow and Paddington, it has its own business model, that may or may not survive.
But how will Lumo and their bold new business model affect Grand Central, Hull Trains and any future Open Access operators?
Grand Central Trains
Grand Central is a well-established Open Access operator.
- They run services between London King’s Cross and Bradford Interchange, Sunderland and several other convenient en-route stations.
- They are owned by Deutsche Bahn.
- They also regularly seem to apply for new routes and extra services.
But they have a big problem fast catching up on them; they have a diesel-only fleet and need to decarbonise.
I also think that all express passenger services on the East Coast Main Line will at some date need to be run by 140 mph trains capable of running with full digital signalling and a degree of Automatic Train Operation.
In Lumo: Why Won’t The New Train Service Stop At Yorkshire Stations?, I said that to continue to be successful, they probably need to embrace the Lumo model and acquire new trains.
I will repeat what I said in the related post.
This would entail.
- The ten diesel Class 180 trains would be replaced by new electric trains.
- The trains would need a 140 mph capability under digital signalling to fit in with the plans of Network Rail, LNER and Lumo to create a top-class high-speed high-capacity East Coast Main Line.
- The trains would need a battery capability as Grand Central’s routes are not fully electrified.
- They could copy Lumo’s green marketing philosophy, ticketing and catering offering.
As to the trains, I’m sure that Hitachi could offer a version of their Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, the specification of which is shown in this Hitachi infographic.
The trains would need a range of fifty miles on battery-power.
I have some other thoughts.
Financing
If you look at the finances of decarbonising Grand Central, they would need a new fleet of ten trains, which as Lumo’s fleet of five trains are reported to be costing £100 million, so that figure can be at least doubled.
There would also be costs for the two charging systems at Bradford Interchange and Sunderland. But at least there are several possible solutions for charging systems, so the price will probably not be more than a few million, if that.
Will Deutsche Bahn be prepared to stump up the extra finance?
A Service To Cleethorpes
In the Wikipedia entry for Grand Central, there is a section which is entitled London Kings Cross to Cleethorpes, which outlines a proposed service.
- It would split and join with the London King’s Cross and Bradford service at Doncaster.
- It would call at Crowle, Scunthorpe, Barnetby, Habrough and Grimsby.
- Doncaster and Cleethorpes is 52.1 miles and should be in range of a Battery-electric train with a charging system at Cleethorpes.
Using current times from LNER and TransPennine Express, I estimate that Hitachi Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Trains could travel between London and Cleethorpes in around two hours and twenty minutes.
With digital signalling on the East Coast Main Line to the South of Doncaster, the overall time could be much closer to two hours.
This could be a very viable service with battery-electric trains capable of running at 140 mph on the East Coast Main Line and for sixty miles at 100 mph on battery power.
Maximising The Use Use Of Train Paths By The Use Of Splitting And Joining
The proposed service to Cleethorpes is a classic use of splitting and joining, which enables two separate services to run a large part of their routes together.
- On the East Coast Main Line, it means that maximum use can be made of the paths available.
- Splitting and joining is part of the specification for the Hitachi trains and they do it automatically in under two minutes.
- LNER are already talking about using the technique to serve various destinations from Leeds.
I wouldn’t rule out Grand Central’s two services working as a pair between London King’s Cross and Doncaster, where they would split and join.
Conclusion On Grand Central Trains
Decarbonisation with high-speed battery-electric trains could ensure the future of Grand Central Trains.
Hull Trains
Hull Trains is another well-established Open Access operator.
- They run services between London King’s Cross and Hull and Beverley.
- They have a fleet of five bi-mode Class 802 trains.
- The company is part of First Group.
Hull Trains don’t have the decarbonisation problem of Grand Central Trains, as I suspect Hitachi will come up with a solution to turn Class 802 trains into a battery-electric train with a range of perhaps seventy miles on battery power.
- Beverley and Temple Hirst junction is a distance of 44.3 miles and is the only section of the route without electrification.
- Charging of the batteries will be needed at the Eastern end and probably would be best handled by a short length of electrification in Hull station or between Hull and Brough stations.
The Class 802 trains are also ready for updating to run under the new digital signalling of the East Coast Main Line.
First Harrogate Trains
First Harrogate Trains was a subsidiary of Hull Trains, which hoped to run the following services.
- London King’s Cross and Harrogate via York
- London King’s Cross and Cleethorpes via Peterborough, Spalding and Lincoln
Both these services could be run in conjunction with the current service with an appropriate split and join.
Conclusion On Hull Trains
As both Hull Trains and Lumo share London King’s Cross and are both owned by First Group, I would expect that both train operators would share some services, methods and ideas.
There may be advantages if Hull Trains’s Class 802 trains and Lumo’s Class 803 trains could run each other’s services.
Grand Union
Grand Union is a prospective open access operator who are proposing to operate train services from England to Wales and Scotland.
They are proposing two services.
London Paddington and Cardiff Central via Reading, Bristol Parkway, Severn Tunnel Junction, Newport and Cardiff Parkway, with a possible extension later to Swansea andLlanelli or Carmarthen.
London Euston and Stirling via Milton Keynes Central, Nuneaton, Crewe, Preston, Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell, Whifflet, Greenfaulds and Larbert.
Note.
- London Paddington and Cardiff Central is fully electrified, but there is no electrification West of Cardiff Central.
- Cardiff Central and Swansea are 45.7 miles apart.
- London Euston and Stirling is fully electrified.
Currently, the rolling stock for both services is proposed to be a tri-mode Class 93 locomotive hauling a rake of Mark 4 coaches and a driving van trailer.
The locomotive should be capable of handling the routes to Stirling and Cardiff using the electrification alone.
When the Cardiff route is extended, Grand Union would intend to use Class 802 trains, which could be fitted with batteries to serve Swansea, where the batteries would be charged.
There is no sign as yet, that the Office of Rail and Road have approved any of their possible services, but both services might be improved with some Lumo-style thinking.
Alliance Rail Holdings
Alliance Rail Holdings, which is a sister company to Grand Central, is ultimately owned by Deutsche Bahn, seems to have several ideas for new services, but only seems to have got approval to one.
They were given approval some years ago to run a service between London Euston and Blackpool North.
- Calls would be made at Poulton-le-Fylde, Kirkham and Wesham, Preston, Nuneaton and Milton Keynes Central.
- There will be six trains per day.
- Trains would be InterCity 225 trains.
- The approval is for seven years from 2018.
But because of the pandemic it hasn’t run.
Conclusion
The Lumo model will affect all these services.
The Anonymous Widower 