The Anonymous Widower

Observing Trains At Stafford Station

I’m fairly certain, that I’ve only been to Stafford once in my life, in the past. That would be in 1968, when I went to English Electric in the town, when I was looking for a job on leaving Liverpool University.

In the end, my first job on leaving was at ICI in Runcorn.

As Stafford station, is on the West Coast Main Line, I’ve been through the station many times, on my way to Liverpool, Manchester, Preston, Scotland and other places in the North West of England.

I travelled North to Stafford in one of London Northwestern’s Class 350 trains, which definitely had ironing board seats. Some of these trains are being replaced with new Class 730 trains.

Stafford Station

This OpenRailwayMap shows the layout of platforms at the station.

Note.

  1. Platforms are numbered starting with Platform 1 in the East.
  2. There are five through tracks for passenger trains and a double-track goods loop.
  3. All tracks are electrified and bi-directional.
  4. The platforms are three hundred metres long, but I feel they could be lengthened to take the 400 metre long High Speed Two trains.
  5. The platforms are certainly long enough for pairs of 200 metre long High Speed Two trains, to split and join at the station.

These pictures show Stafford station.

Note.

  1. The station was built of concrete in the early 1960s.
  2. It has a unique feature, in that there is a waiting area above the tracks, so kids of all ages can watch the trains speed through.
  3. It has been improved several times in recent years.
  4. It is step-free with several lifts.

I feel, the station could be converted into a major High Speed Two hub station.

High Speed Two Services

This graphic shows High Speed Two services after Phase 2b is completed.

Note.

  1. Everything to the right of the vertical black line has now been cancelled
  2. Services shown in blue are run by High Speed Two Full Size trains.
  3. Services shown in yellow are run by High Speed Two Classic-Compatible  trains.
  4. Each of these trains will have a frequency of one train per hour (tph).

These High Speed Two trains pass through Stafford.

  1. London and Lancaster/Liverpool Lime Street – Split/Join at Crewe
  2. London and Crewe/Runcorn/Liverpool Lime Street
  3. London and Stafford/Stoke-on-Trent/Macclesfield
  4. London and Manchester Airport/Piccadilly
  5. London and Manchester Airport/Piccadilly
  6. London and Manchester Airport/Piccadilly
  7. London and Edinburgh/Glasgow – Split/Join at Carlisle
  8. London and Edinburgh/Glasgow – Split/Join at Carlisle
  9. Birmingham and Edinburgh/Glasgow
  10. Birmingham and Manchester Airport/Piccadilly
  11. Birmingham and Manchester Airport/Piccadilly

In addition space will need to be found for these other services.

  • Avanti – London and Chester/North Wales
  • Avanti – London and Blackpool
  • Freight – London and Liverpool/Manchester and Scotland

That gives a total of at least fourteen tph through Stafford station or one every 257 seconds.

Between Stafford and Crewe, with the completion of the flyover at Norton Bridge, there is effectively four tracks all the way, so this should give enough capacity to allow fourteen tph between Stafford and Crewe.

Between Stafford and Handsacre junction, where High Speed Two will join the Trent Valley Line about half the route is four-track with the rest being just two-track.

Will the two-track section be able to handle fourteen tph? I suspect it will, especially, as it is sandwiched between two four-track sections.

These are my thoughts about making the most of capacity through Stafford station.

Could Pairs Of High Speed Two Trains, Split And Join At Stafford?

Stafford station has 300 metre long platforms and pairs of High Speed Two Trains are 400 metres long.

Looking at maps and pictures of Stafford station, I suspect that lengthening the platforms at Stafford would be possible.

In the provisional High Speed Two service diagram, that I displayed earlier, these are two services.

  1. London and Crewe/Runcorn/Liverpool Lime Street
  2. London and Stafford/Stoke-on-Trent/Macclesfield

These could be run as a pair of trains between London and Stafford.

One advantage of running the two services as a pair, is that it would reduce the number of trains between Stafford and Handsacre junction by one, which might help the scheduling of trains through the double-track section, of the Trent Valley Line.

Fitting In The London and Chester/North Wales Services

Consider.

  • These important services will soon be run by five-car Class 805 trains.
  • The trains are diesel-electric.
  • A pair would be 260 m long.
  • There are ten trains per day (tpd) on the route.

The service has a few problems.

  • It takes up a path between Crewe and Handsacre junction via Stafford, where train paths are at a premium.
  • It is not zero-carbon.
  • If London and Holyhead times were reduced, it would probably attract more passengers to the route.

As there are plenty of spare paths on High Speed Two, due to the cancellation of the Eastern leg, the easiest way to speed up the service would be to use High Speed Two between Handsacre junction and London.

200 metre long High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains could be used, but this would need one of the following.

Electrification between Crewe and Holyhead. Although this was promised by the last government, I suspect the antis will stop it.

Partial electrification between Crewe and Holyhead. As Crewe and Holyhead is only 105.5 miles, I suspect a creditable scheme to use battery-electric trains could be developed. These trains could be useful in opening up High Speed Two to other destinations.

Could Other Services Piggy-Back On London and Chester/North Wales Services?

The London and Chester/North Wales services would all be run by 200 metre long High Speed Two trains.

There would be no reason, why on the London end of the journey, they could be paired with another High Speed Two train to and from another destination.

  • They could split and join with a Blackpool service at Crewe.
  • They could split and join with a Barrow service at Crewe.
  • They could split and join with a second Stoke-on-Trent/Macclesfield service at Stafford.

Services like these, would improve the coverage of High Speed Two.

As with the joining of the Liverpool Lime Street and Macclesfield services, the pairing of trains reduces the number of paths needed on the double-track section of the Trent Valley Line to the South of Stafford.

Other Splitting And Joining At Stafford

It may be possible to arrange other splitting and joining at Stafford.

By rearranging the Manchester and/or the Scottish services, it might be possible to reduce the number of trains, through the double-track section of the Trent Valley Line.

There are certainly several possibilities.

Conclusion

Stafford station could be crucial, in making High Speed Two Lite feasible.

August 28, 2024 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Destination Manchester

The title of this post is the same as the title of this page on the London North Western Railway web site.

The page introduces, the operator’s proposed new service to Manchester.

As a progressive rail operator we’re always looking to develop our services and timetables to provide a better travelling experience for our customers. We are ambitious and our team seek innovative solutions to create new journey opportunities.

That’s why we have developed proposals for our trains to begin serving Manchester for the first time. Under the plans, our existing hourly service between Crewe and London Euston would be extended to Manchester city centre from summer 2026.

Following the cancellation of the northern leg of HS2, these proposals will provide much-needed connectivity between Manchester, the West Midlands and London, with thousands of extra seats every day.

In more detail, the extended London Euston and Crewe service to Manchester Victoria station, will create the following.

  • Additional capacity and comfortable, affordable journeys to and from Manchester city centre
  • A great alternative to car and coach travel, with fares up to 50% cheaper than the main intercity train operator
  • New regular direct services to Warrington for passengers at Milton Keynes, Rugby and Lichfield
  • New regular direct services to Manchester for passengers at Rugeley, Lichfield, Tamworth and Atherstone

Note.

  1. The service will pass through Warrington Bank Quay, Stockport, Earlestown, Newton-le-Willows, Eccles and Salford Central to reach Manchester Victoria, so could be a comprehensive service to the Northern and Western parts of Manchester City Centre. It would just depend on the stopping pattern in the City Centre.
  2. There would be good connections to Manchester Metrolink at Eccles and Manchester Victoria.
  3. All stations on the Manchester Metrolink can be reached either direct or with a single change from Manchester Victoria.
  4. Manchester Metrolink is touch-in and out with a credit card.
  5. Manchester Victoria is very well connected by rail to cities and important destinations  across the North including Blackburn, Blackpool, Bradford, Burnley, Halifax, Hebden Bridge, Huddersfield, Leeds, Liverpool, Preston, Wigan and York.
  6. The page talks of a London Euston and Manchester Victoria time of three hours and ten minutes.
  7. Manchester Stations is a group of the four stations; Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester Victoria and Deansgate. Often a ticket to Manchester Stations is a few pounds cheaper and more convenient, if you are visiting several places in the City Centre.

The London Euston and Manchester Victoria service looks to me to be a well-thought out proposal.

A New Connection To Manchester Airport

Under a title of Anything Else on the page on the London North Western Railway web site, this is said.

As well as the proposal to extend our London Euston-Crewe services to Manchester Victoria, we are also proposing to begin running trains to Manchester Airport. This will involve extending our existing service between Stafford and Crewe, providing direct connectivity to the airport from Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire. More details on this proposal will be announced in due course.

Note.

  1. The extended Stafford and Manchester Airport service could call at Stone, Stoke-on-Trent, Longport, Kidsgrove, Alsager, Crewe, and possibly Wilmslow and Styal.
  2. Stafford, Stone, Stoke-on-Trent, Longport, Kidsgrove and Alsager would gain direct services to and from Manchester Airport.
  3. It would appear that the current Stafford and Crewe service waits in Stafford station for at least fifteen minutes.
  4. The current Stafford and Crewe service appears to always use platform 6 at Stafford.
  5. The current Euston and Crewe service appears to always use platform 3 at Stafford.
  6. The current Crewe and Euston service appears to always use platform 1 at Stafford.
  7. The current Birmingham and Liverpool service appears to always use platform 5 at Stafford.
  8. The current Liverpool and Birmingham service appears to always use platform 4 at Stafford.

I suspect that trains can be timetabled, so that the following is possible.

  • An hourly London Euston and Manchester Airport service with a quick step-free change at Stafford between the London Euston and Manchester Victoria service and the Stafford and Manchester Airport service.
  • An hourly Manchester Airport and London Euston service with a quick step-free change at Stafford between the Manchester Airport and Stafford service and the  Manchester Victoria and London Euston service.
  • An hourly Birmingham New Street and Manchester Airport service with a quick cross-platform change at Stafford between the Birmingham New Street and Liverpool Lime Street service and the Stafford and Manchester Airport service.
  • An hourly Manchester Airport and Birmingham New Street service with a quick step-free change at Stafford between the Manchester Airport and Stafford service and the  Liverpool Lime Street and Birmingham New Street service.

Note.

  1. I suspect more changes at Stafford could be cross-platform.
  2. I also suspect that it is possible to arrange that all services to the same destination, leave from the same platform, at the same time or times each hour.
  3. It would appear too, that if you want a cheap ticket price to Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Victoria or Stoke-on-Trent, then you may have to change at Stafford.

It appears all more affordable London Northwestern Railway trains will go via Stafford.

I have some further thoughts.

Stafford And Manchester Airport Timings

With all the stops, it looks like Stafford and Manchester Airport will take about 78 minutes, but if they used the West Coast Main Line and didn’t stop the time could be reduced to just under an hour.

The Class 730 Trains

The services will be run by 110 mph Class 730 trains.

In 2018, there was talk of a bi-mode 125 mph Aventra, which I wrote about in Bombardier Bi-Mode Aventra To Feature Battery Power.

Currently, the Class 730 trains are 110 mph trains.

Would it help timetabling and capacity if these trains could be stretched to 125 mph?

Avanti West Coast

Several Avanti West Coast services stop at Stafford.

Their services could be half-an-hour quicker to Stafford, but they wouldn’t have the same stopping patterns.

In response to the competition, Avanti West Coast might run a few Manchester Airport Expresses using their new Class 805 trains.

A Second Service Between Stoke And Manchester Airport

I feel this might be needed and perhaps it could be faster, by using the direct route between Stafford and Crewe.

Avanti West Coast could use it to create a one-change fast service between London Euston and Manchester Airport, if they felt such a service were to be needed.

Conclusion

I like this proposal.

But there is a lot of fine tuning to do!

 

 

 

 

 

July 2, 2024 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Bedford And Bletchley For £1.30 Return

I am not talking, rubbish, but that is the ticket price, I was charged to go between Bedford and Bletchley stations today.

Note.

  1. I bought the two tickets from the machine at Bedford station.
  2. I did get £0.70 pence off for my Senior Railcard.

These are some more pictures I took along the route.

Note.

  1. Platform 1a at Bedford station is electrified.
  2. The train was a Class 150 train, that had had a quality refurbishment.
  3. The stations were neat and tidy.
  4. The flyover and the extra platforms at Bletchley station seemed ready for the East West Railway.
  5. There were several level crossings.
  6. Platform 6 at Bletchley station is electrified.
  7. Trains took over fifteen minutes to turn at both ends of the journey.
  8. Bedford and Bletchley is 16.2 miles
  9. The train was moderately full both ways.

This press release from London Northwestern Railway is entitled London Northwestern Railway: Full Timetable To Resume On Marston Vale Line As £1 tickets Launched.

This is an extract.

The full hourly train service will resume on Monday 19 February. To celebrate its return and encourage passengers to return to the route, LNR is also announcing a major ticket offer today. For three months from Monday, a single journey between any two stations on the Marston Vale Line will cost just £1 (50p for children). The promotion represents a discount of up to 90% on the usual fare, depending on the journey.

Jonny Wiseman, LNR customer experience director, said: “The return of the full timetable to the Marston Vale Line is fantastic news and marks the end of a frustrating period for our customers.

“Our focus now is on encouraging passengers to make full use of their local train service, which is why we have reduced the cost of a trip on the line to £1 for the next three months.

When were tickets between Bedford and Bletchley, last this price?

Will Bedford And Bletchley Be Electrified?

It is not a question of will, as the route already is.

  • Platform 1a at Bedford is already electrified.
  • Platform 6 at Bletchley is already electrified.
  • The schedule gives battery-electric trains sufficient time to charge, whilst the driver changes ends at the two terminal stations.
  • Bedford and Bletchley is just 16.2 miles.
  • There is even electrified track from Platform 6 at Bletchley station to Bletchley depot, which is being extended.

All it needs is a small fleet of battery-electric trains, which have a 25 KVAC  overhead capability.

These pictures show a Class 321 Renatus.

Note.

  1. The trains were recently refurbished by Greater Anglia.
  2. In Eversholt Rail And Vivarail To Develop Class 321 BEMU, I talked about how Eversholt Rail planned to get Vivarail to convert the Class 321 Renatus trains into battery-electric multiple units.
  3. The Class 321 train is a 100 mph four-car train.
  4. Four-car trains would future proof the route for many years.
  5. Thirty trains were converted to the Renatus specification.

These trains converted to battery-electric multiple units could certainly handle Bletchley and Bedford services.

Could Four-Car Battery Electric Multiple Units Handle The Next Phase Of East West Rail?

It is likely, when the East West Rail opens that this could be the service.

  • Oxford and Milton Keynes – 2 tph – Calling at Oxford Parkway, Bicester Village, Winslow and Bletchley
  • Oxford and Bedford – 2 tph – Calling at Oxford Parkway, Bicester Village, Winslow, Bletchley, Woburn Sands, Ridgmont and Bedford St Johns
  • Bletchley and Bedford – 2 tph – Calling at Fenny Stratford, Bow Brickhill, Woburn Sands, Aspley Guise, Ridgmont, Lidlington, Millbrook, Stewartby, Kempston Hardwick and Bedford St Johns

Note.

  1. tph is trains per hour.
  2. I have assumed that the existing Bletchley and Bedford service is doubled in frequency.
  3. I estimate that Oxford and Milton Keynes Central is 41.6 miles.
  4. I estimate that Oxford and Bedford is 54.7 miles.

This would mean the following.

  • Oxford and Bletchley would have a frequency of 4 tph.
  • Bletchley and Bedford would have a frequency of 4 tph.
  • Oxford station would have to charge and turn 4 tph.
  • Bedford station would have to charge and turn 4 tph.
  • Bletchley station would have to charge and turn 2 tph.
  • Milton Keynes Central station would have to charge and turn 2 tph.

There would need to be some form of charging at Oxford.

But Oxford station has two North-facing bay platforms.

These platforms could be electrified or fitted with a Vivarail/GWR Fast Charger.

As it takes less than fifteen minutes to fully-charge a train, two platforms could charge eight tph.

February 20, 2024 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment