The Anonymous Widower

Ministers Sack Top Tail Adviser Who Spoke Out Over HS2 Train Debacle

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.

This is the sub-heading.

Chris Gibb, an industry veteran, said plans to shorten HS2 trains would likely inflate costs, slow services beyond Birmingham and result in fewer seats

These three paragraphs add more details.

A leading government adviser has been fired for criticising Whitehall plans to reduce the length of HS2 trains, it can be revealed.

Chris Gibb, a non-executive director of the nationalised train operator, is understood to have had his contract terminated by ministers this weekend after allegedly breaching media engagement rules.

Gibb was appointed to the board of the Department for Transport Operator Limited (DFTO) in 2020, having worked in the rail industry for more than 40 years. DFTO is the state-owned company that oversees train companies as they are brought into full public ownership.

This paragraph appears to detail what Gibb has said that caused offence.

Gibb said there was “no doubt that if HS2 opened by replacing 11-coach Pendolinos with eight-coach trains, these would be full and leave people behind on day one”.

So I will audit, what he said.

Now that Leeds is not going to be served by HS2, Manchester Piccadilly, is the only station other than Birmingham Curzon Street, that will terminate 400 m. trains, and the Birmingham station will be brand-new, so hopefully, that will be designed for the right capacity.

Manchester Piccadilly currently handles three trains per hour from London.

  1. Milton Keynes Central, Rugby, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield and Stockport
  2. Nuneaton, Stoke-on-Trent and Stockport
  3. Stafford, Crewe, Wilmslow and Stockport

Trains are usually Class 390 11-car Pendolino with 607 seats

These will be replaced by.

  1. 200m. train – Euston and Macclesfield via Old Oak Common, Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent.
  2. 400m. train – Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Old Oak Common, Birmingham International and Manchester Airport.
  3. 400m. train – Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Old Oak Common and Manchester Airport.
  4. 400m. train – Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Old Oak Common and Manchester Airport.

Trains will be 200m 8-car HS2 train which will have 504 seats. 400m trains will be two trains running as a pair.

I can add up the hourly seats.

 

Currently, if the three trains per hour are 11-car Pendolinos, then the hourly London-Manchester capacity is 1821 seats.

On HS2, if the four and a half trains per hour are 8-car HS2 trains, then the hourly London-Manchester capacity is 9 x 504 or 4536 seats, or a 149% increase in capacity.

  • And HS2 doesn’t serve Macclesfield, Stockport or Wilmslow!
  • Four 200m. HS2 trains would give a 121 % increase in capacity.
  • Perhaps, as there is spare capacity on HS2 between Crewe and London, another service could be fitted into the hourly scheme of things.

How about Blackpool?

How Many 8-car HS2 Trains Would Be Needed To Replace The Capacity Of The Current Service?

To provide an hourly London-Manchester capacity of 1821 seats with 8-car HS2 trains would need around 3.6 trains.

Even in the unreal world that in which politicians exist, I doubt fractions of a train exist.

So I suspect, a practical timetable could be.

  1. 200m. train – Euston and Macclesfield via Old Oak Common, Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent.
  2. 200m. train – Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Old Oak Common, Birmingham International and Manchester Airport.
  3. 200m. train – Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Old Oak Common and Manchester Airport.
  4. 200m. train – Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Old Oak Common and Manchester Airport.

This would be 2016 hourly seats, which is an increase of about 10 %

Please check my figures, as they could explain a lot.

 

 

 

April 19, 2026 Posted by | Design, Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Completing Northern Powerhouse Rail

The Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two Connection To Manchester Airport Station

This OpenRailwayMap shows the rail connections that terminate at Manchester Airport station.

Note.

  1. The two runways are clearly shown.
  2. Manchester Airport station is indicated by the blue arrow near the top of the map.
  3. The orange tracks are rail lines.
  4. The green lines are Manchester Metrolink tracks.
  5. Rail and tram services approach the airport station from the East.
  6. The red dotted line is the current proposed path of Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two
  7. The black dotted line appears to be an extension of the tram line to the airport.

This second OpenRailwayMap shows the lines around the airport station to a larger scale.

Note.

  1. Manchester Airport station is indicated by the blue arrow at the bottom of the map.
  2. The orange tracks are rail lines.
  3. The green lines are Manchester Metrolink tracks.
  4. The red dotted line is the current proposed path of Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two.
  5. The Manchester Metrolink now makes a loop around the Airport.

I think the following will happen.

  • A large proportion of passengers and staff travelling between Manchester Airport and Manchester City Centre will use Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two.
  • Passengers and staff, who live locally will use the Manchester Metro loop.
  • Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two will replace some of the current train services.
  • Some services on the Castlefield Corridor will migrate to Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two.

There could be as many as twelve trains per hour (tph) between Manchester Airport and Manchester City Centre on Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two. But a new urban line like that, which was mostly in a tunnel could probably handle 20 tph.

Manchester Airport And Crewe

This OpenRailwayMap shows the railways between Manchester Airport and Crewe stations.

Note.

  1. Manchester Airport station is indicated by the blue arrow at the top of the map.
  2. The orange tracks are rail lines.
  3. The red track going down the left hand side of the map is the West Coast Main Line.
  4. The green lines are Manchester Metrolink tracks.
  5. The red dotted line is the current proposed path of Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two.
  6. Crewe station is at the bottom of the map in the middle.

There could be as many as 12 tph between Manchester Airport and Crewe.

Manchester Airport And Manchester Piccadilly

This OpenRailwayMap shows the railways between Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly stations.

Note.

  1. Manchester Airport station is in the South-West corner of the map.
  2. The orange tracks are existing rail lines.
  3. The green lines are Manchester Metrolink tracks.
  4. The red dotted line going up the middle of the map is the current proposed path of Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two.
  5. Manchester Piccadilly station is at the Northern end of Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two.

This OpenRailwayMap shows the City Centre between Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria stations.

Note.

  1. Manchester Piccadilly station is in the South-East corner of the map.
  2. The red dotted lines creeping into the map is the current proposed path of Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two.
  3. All the platforms in Manchester Piccadilly station can be picked out, with the Castlefield Corridor breaking away to the West.
  4. The current plans will need demolition of buildings to the North of Manchester Piccadilly station.
  5. Manchester Victoria station is in the North-West corner of the map.
  6. The green line of the Manchester Metrolink route picks out the walking route between Manchester’s two main stations.
  7. About halfway between Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria stations is the open space of Piccadilly Gardens.

This Google Map shows Piccadilly Gardens.

Note.

  1. The Manchester Metrolink running through.
  2. There are two Metrolink stops ; Market Street and Piccadilly Gardens, in the area.
  3. It appears any stop on the Manchester Metrolink can be reached with no more than a single change from one of these two stops.

Looking at the map showing Victoria and Piccadilly stations, I wonder, if a Lizzie Line of the North could be built under Manchester City Centre.

  • There would be underground platforms at Piccadilly station, with two through platforms and two to terminate trains from the South.
  • Local services from Piccadilly station could continue as now, although services to Manchester Airport could be simplified.
  • There would be an underground station at Piccadilly Gardens with two through platforms , to connect with an expanded Manchester Metrolink, buses and walking routes.
  • There would be underground platforms at Victoria station, with two through platforms and two to terminate trains from the East.
  • Local services from Victoria could continue as now.
  • There could be as many as 12 tph between Manchester Victoria, Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport.

Just as the Lizzie Line was slotted into London, with the minimum of disruption, I am fairly certain, a similar but smaller construction process could be carried out in Manchester City Centre.

  • Manchester doesn’t have an Underground to avoid.
  • The stations could be very similar to each other and like Custom House station on the Lizzie Line, they could be built with giant concrete Lego.
  • There would only be four stations to create.
  • The tunnel would be about fifteen miles at most.
  • The tunnel would not need to be electrified as the trains could run on batteries.

As a Manchester Rail Tunnel has been talked about for decades, I suspect there is a big knowledge base of ground conditions, which would help with the design and construction.

Between Manchester Victoria And Leeds

Consider.

  • The electrification between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge stations has recently been switched on.
  • Part of the electrification between Leeds and York stations has been switched on.
  • Full electrification is being installed between Leeds and Manchester Victoria stations.

This OpenRailwayMap shows the Huddersfield Line between Manchester Victoria station and a few miles short of Huddersfield station.

Note.

  1. Manchester Victoria station is indicated by the blue arrow in the South-West corner of the map.
  2. Huddersfield station is just off the map in the North-East corner.
  3. Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge stations is fully electrified and shown in red.
  4. Stalybridge and Huddersfield stations is being electrified and is shown as black and red dotted.
  5. Electrification between Huddersfield and Leeds is underway under the TransPennine Upgrade.

This section will be completed, when the Manchester City Centre Rail Tunnel is connected to the Huddersfield Line.

Connecting The Manchester City Centre Rail Tunnel To The Huddersfield Line

This Google Map shows where the Huddersfield Line crosses the M60 Motorway to the West of Ashton-under-Lyme.

Note.

  1. The newly-electrified Huddersfield Line runs across the map.
  2. The M60 Motorway is on the left.
  3. There are facilities for athletics, cricket and football.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Eastern portal of the Manchester City Centre Rail Tunnel was in this area.

But looking at Google  Maps between this site and Manchester Victoria, there are other sites.

Conclusion

I now feel that it is possible to create a Northern Powerhouse Rail/High Speed Two route using a tunnel under Manchester.

Obviously, there is more work to be done.

August 15, 2025 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments