Mayors Head To Parliament With Plan For Northern Arc To Deliver Green Growth
The title of this post, is the same as that of this news item from Liverpool City Region.
These four bullet points act as sub-headings.
- Steve Rotheram and Andy Burnham take case for backing Northern Arc to Treasury – as new data shows North can drive green growth and unlock £90bn for UK economy
- Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester Mayors will meet with ministers and MPs today, and Andy Burnham will give evidence at Business and Trade Select Committee on the UK’s industrial strategy
- Economic analysis shows that investing in transport infrastructure and a pipeline of projects across the North would benefit the whole UK economy, improving living standards and closing the North-South productivity gap
- Mayors will also address Innovation Zero World Congress in London, showing how city-regions can create high quality jobs by pioneering low-carbon innovation
These two paragraphs add a bit more detail.
The right investment would create a growth corridor, stretching from the Mersey to the Pennines and connecting into West and South Yorkshire, underpinned by transport networks that would include a new railway linking Liverpool and Manchester.
The Northern Arc area spans regions with close economic ties to Lancashire, North Wales, Hull and the North East. With international connections through the Port of Liverpool and Manchester Airport, it’s well positioned for global trade.
If I have a problem with the mayors’ thoughts, the plan outlined in the news item is rather Liverpool/Manchester-based with Hull being the only city outside that area getting a mention. Do Blackburn, Blackpool, Bradford, Burnley, Doncaster, Huddersfield, Leeds, Preston, Rotherham, Scunthorpe, Stockport, Wigan and York exist?
For instance you would expert a report from Liverpool and Manchester’s Mayors to call for a new railway between their two cities. And of course they do!
The current TransPennine Lines has two main routes across the Pennines between East and West.
If ever there was a rail route, designed by Topsy, it is the North TransPennine Route.
- There are six separate services, if you ignore Newcastle and Edinburgh Waverley, which is a shuttle to fill a gap in rail services.
- In the West trains terminate at Huddersfield, Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Airport, Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria
- In the East trains terminate at Edinburgh Waverley, Hull, Leeds, Newcastle, Redcar Central, Scarborough and York.
- Terminals like Huddersfield, Hull, Liverpool Lime Street, Newcastle and York are some of the best terminal stations in the UK, but others are very second rate.
I suspect, this North TransPennine Route structure brought about the demise of TransPennine Express.
The South TransPennine Route on the other hand, although it was built by several different railway companies, they were all intent on the same thing. An East-West route across the Pennines through Doncaster, Manchester and Sheffield.
- The Western terminal is Liverpool Lime Street, which in my view is the finest grand terminus in the UK, in terms of architecture, onward connections and operation. It is also the oldest still-operating grand terminus mainline station in the world, in that it dates from 1836.
- The Eastern terminal is Cleethorpes, which is an efficient four-platform recently-refurbished station, that is within a hundred metres of some of the best gluten-free fish and chips, I’ve ever tasted on the pier.
- Intermediate stations include Liverpool South Parkway, Warrington Central, Birchwood, Irlam, Urmston, Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester Piccadilly, Stockport, Sheffield, Meadowhall, Doncaster, Scunthorpe, Barnetby, Habrough and Grimsby Town.
- Liverpool South Parkway has a bus connection to Liverpool Airport
- Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester Piccadilly, Stockport, Sheffield and Doncaster are stations with comprehensive onward connections.
- The route is electrified between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly and at Doncaster.Liverpool Lime Street and Cleethorpes is 148.2 miles
- Hazel Grove and Doncaster is without electrification and is 52.3 miles long.
- Cleethorpes and Doncaster is without electrification and is 52.1 miles long.
- I believe that Hitachi, Siemens and Stadler could supply battery-electric trains, that would be able to work the route, with the addition of a short length of overhead wires at Cleethorpes, so that trains could return to Doncaster.
- Trains go straight through all the intermediate stations, so there are no time-wasting reverses.
- Journey time is just over three and a half hours.
I believe that a mouse-quiet battery-electric train would pack in the punters, if only for the novelty.
But.
A battery-electric train would probably knock perhaps thirty minutes off the journey.
The timetable would be an hourly train at all stations.
The service would pass the mother’s birthday test, in that you could easily visit any station from any other and buy your mother lunch before returning on a convenient train.
There are connections to and from London at Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Stockport, Sheffield and Doncaster.
It could be a very useful East-West train service.
Mayors Propose New Staffordshire To Manchester Rail Line
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.
These five paragraphs introduce the article.
The mayors of the West Midlands and Greater Manchester have set out proposals for a new railway line between Staffordshire and Manchester Airport in a bid to improve connections to the north.
Work commission by West Midlands mayor Andy Street and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has concluded the new line is the preferred option to tackle congestion on the West Coast Mainline, following the government’s decision to curtail HS2 beyond Birmingham.
A private sector group – chaired by infrastructure expert Sir David Higgins – had been looking at three potential options to improve connectivity between Birmingham and Manchester.
The options included undertaking significant engineering upgrades to the West Coast Main Line, building bypasses at the pinch points on the line and building a new railway between Handsacre and Manchester Airport.
The group, convened by the mayors, is led by global engineering firm Arup with input from over 60 partners from six other firms – Arcadis, Addleshaw Goddard, EY, Dragados, Mace and Skanska.
This paragraph gives the conclusion.
The group has provisionally concluded that a new line – running approximately 70 miles between HS2 at Handsacre and Northern Powerhouse Rail at High Legh – is likely to offer the best combination of costs and benefits.
It looks to me, that this professional approach has led to a sensible answer.
I will now look at the route.
This Open Railway Map shows the tracks to the South of Handsacre.
Note.
- The blue arrow in the North-West corner of the map, indicates the location of the former Armitage station, which had the village of Handsacre to its North-East.
- The red line through Armitage station is the Trent Valley Line.
- Lichfield Trent Valley station is at the bottom of the map.
- The line drawn with large dashes from the South-East corner of the map is the proposed line of High Speed Two. Red indicates under construction and black indicates proposed.
High Speed Two splits into two.
One branch goes North-West to join the Trent Valley Line, whilst the other just stops after about a kilometre.
- All trains for Liverpool, Manchester, North Wales, The North and Scotland will take the Trent Valley Line, when High Speed Two opens.
- Trains for Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield and some to Manchester will leave the Trent Valley Line at Colwich Junction.
- All other trains, will take the same route as now and proceed to Crewe via Stafford.
The red dotted line leading from the cancelled branch of High Speed Two shows where the original fast line to Crewe was planned to go.
This Open Railway Map shows the tracks around Crewe.
Note.
- Crewe is the important junction station towards the North-West corner of the map.
- The orange line going South is the West Coast Main Line to The South and London.
- The red dotted line running along the West side of the West Coast Main Line was the proposed route of High Speed Two from Birmingham, London and the South.
This Open Railway Map shows the originally proposed direct route of High Speed Two between Crewe and Handsacre.
Note.
- Crewe is in the North-West corner of the map.
- The blue arrow in the South-East corner of the map, indicates the location of the former Armitage station, which had the village of Handsacre to its North-East.
- The dotted red line was the originally proposed route of High Speed Two.
I feel that this route between Handsacre and Crewe has advantages if it were to be chosen as part of a route between Handsacre and Northern Powerhouse Rail, as recommended by the Mayors and their consultants.
- The route seems to stay well clear of large conurbations.
- A lot of the design work has been at least started and major problems will be known.
- Crewe is the only station on the route, which will need to be upgraded.
- Services to Liverpool, Manchester, North Wales, The North and Scotland will be speeded up.
- With Crewe, Liverpool and North Wales, times could be as High Speed Two promised in the first place.
I feel that building the Handsacre and Crewe section, as originally envisaged, will score high in a benefit/cost analysis
This OpenRailwayMap shows the originally proposed route of High Speed Two between Crewe and Manchester Airport.
Note.
- Crewe is towards the South-West corner of the map.
- Manchester Airport is in the North-East corner of the map.
- The red line going North from Crewe is the West Coast Main Line.
- The dotted red line was the originally proposed route of High Speed Two, between the West Coast Main Line and Manchester Airport.
Northern Powerhouse Rail will go West from Manchester Airport towards Warrington and Liverpool and will join with High Speed Two at a junction at High Legh.
Northern Powerhouse Rail is currently being planned, but surely, if High Speed Two and Northern Powerhouse Rail share a line from High Legh to Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly, this will be a more affordable project.
Services To Crewe
In Could The High Speed Two Link Between Lichfield And Crewe Still Be Built?, which I wrote after much of High Speed Two was chopped in 2023, I said this.
Currently, Avanti West Coast trains take around one hour and thirty minutes between London and Crewe.
The Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two gives these times between London and Crewe.
- Fastest time before High Speed Two – one hour and thirty minutes.
- Time after Phase 2a of High Speed Two opens – fifty-six minutes.
Note.
- That is a time saving of thirty-four minutes.
- High Speed Two Trains will use the direct line between Lichfield and Crewe.
- High Speed Two will also add eighteen tph to the capacity between London and Crewe.
This would seem to mean that any trains going to or through Crewe will be thirty-four minutes faster, if they use High Speed Two between London and Crewe.
If the Handsacre and Crewe direct line is built, it looks like London and Crewe will be the full High Speed Two time of 56 minutes.
Services To Liverpool
Consider.
- Liverpool Lime Street was originally planned to get two trains per hour (tph) to and from London using High Speed Two.
- The approaches into Liverpool were improved a few years ago.
- No more improvements are planned between Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street stations.
- Between Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street stations currently takes 38 minutes.
- There could be time savings on the 16.3 miles between Crewe and Weaver Junction, which currently takes 21 minutes.
It looks like a time of one hour and 34 minutes could be possible, with under one hour and 30 minutes not being impossible.
Services To Manchester
Consider.
- Manchester was originally planned to get three tph to and from London using High Speed Two.
- No improvements are planned between Crewe and the Manchester stations.
- Between Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly stations currently takes 34 minutes.
It looks like a time of one hour and 30 minutes could be possible.
But there is still the option of building a new line between Crewe and Northern Powerhouse Rail at High Legh.
I showed this OpenRailwayMap earlier and it shows the originally proposed route of High Speed Two between Crewe and Manchester Airport.
Note.
- Crewe is towards the South-West corner of the map.
- Manchester Airport is in the North-East corner of the map.
- The red line going North from Crewe is the West Coast Main Line.
- The dotted red line was the originally proposed route of High Speed Two, between the West Coast Main Line and Manchester Airport.
Northern Powerhouse Rail is currently being planned. and will go West from Manchester Airport towards Warrington and Liverpool and will be built first.
A junction at High Legh will be built to link the West Coast Main Line to Northern Powerhouse Rail.
Services To North Wales
Why Not? With the cancellation of the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two, there must be a path available for North Wales.
Consider.
- The North Wales Main Line has been promised electrification.
- As Holyhead and Crewe is only 105.5 miles, it could even be in battery high speed train range in a few years.
- All times to and from Crewe are assumed to be as Avanti West Coast achieve now.
- As Crewe and Chester currently takes 23 minutes, London and Chester would take 1 hour and 19 minutes.
- As Crewe and Llandudno Junction currently takes 1 hour and 22 minutes, London and Llandudno Junction would take 2 hours and 18 minutes.
- As Crewe and Holyhead currently takes 2 hours and 7 minutes, London and Holyhead would take 3 hours and 3 minutes.
Could this open up a fast zero-carbon route between London and Dublin?
Services To Blackpool, Lancaster, Preston, Warrington And Wigan
Why Not, Blackpool? With the cancellation of the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two, there must be an extra path available, if it is needed.
Cpnsider.
- All routes are electrified.
- All times to and from Crewe are assumed to be as Avanti West Coast achieve now.
- As Crewe and Blackpool currently takes 1 hour and 20 minutes, London and Blackpool would take 2 hour and 16 minutes.
- As Crewe and Lancaster currently takes 60 minutes, London and Lancaster would take 1 hour and 56 minutes.
- As Crewe and Preston currently takes 40 minutes, London and Preston would take 1 hour and 36 minutes.
- As Crewe and Warrington Bank Quay currently takes 22 minutes, London and Warrington Bank Quay would take 1 hour and 18 minutes.
- As Crewe and Wigan North Western currently takes 33 minutes, London and Wigan North Western would take 1 hour and 29 minutes.
Note.
- Lancaster in under two hours will help the Eden Project Morecambe.
- For some areas of the North West, it might be more convenient to change at Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western or Preston.
Improvements to track and signalling could probably bring benefits.
Services To Carlisle And Central Scotland
Cpnsider.
- All routes are electrified.
- All times to and from Crewe are assumed to be as Avanti West Coast achieve now.
- As Crewe and Carlisle currently takes 1 hour and 55 minutes, London and Carlisle would take 2 hours and 51 minutes.
- As Crewe and Lockerbie currently takes 2 hours and 6 minutes, London and Lockerbie would take 3 hours and 1 minute.
- As Crewe and Motherwell currently takes 2 hours and 45 minutes, London and Motherwell would take 3 hours and 41 minutes.
- As Crewe and Edinburgh currently takes 3 hours and 9 minutes, London and Edinburgh would take 4 hours and 5 minutes.
- As Crewe and Glasgow Central currently takes 3 hours and 3 minutes, London and Glasgow Central would take 3 hours and 59 minutes.
Note.
- Just under four hours to Glasgow Central would please the Marketing Department.
- Selective splitting and joining could increase the number of destinations.
Improvements to track and signalling could probably bring benefits.
Services To Stirling
In ORR: Open Access Services Given Green Light Between London And Stirling, I wrote about Grand Union Trains’s new open access service to Stirling.
There has been good feedback on this service, so perhaps one of the spare paths on High Speed Two could be allocated to Open Access Operators, so that more of the country could have a high speed service to London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street stations.
In the related post, I showed that London Euston and Stirling takes forty five minutes longer than a London Euston and Motherwell service.
This would mean that a London Euston and Stirling service via High Speed Two would take four hours and 26 minutes.
Services Between Birmingham Curzon Street and the North West
Under the plans for High Speed Two, the following services would have run North from Birmingham Curzon Street.
- One tph to Edinburgh or Motherwell and Glasgow via Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme, Penrith, Carlisle, Lockerbie and Carstairs.
- Two tph to Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly.
But there are now spare paths South of Crewe, so Could a one tph Birmingham Curzon Street and Liverpool Lime Street service be squeezed in?
Could The Line Be Privately Financed?
I suspect that building the section between Handsacre and Crewe could be financed in perhaps a similar way, to the Chiltern improvements or the M6 Toll Road were financed.
- The Handsacre and Crewe section is just a simple stretch of rail, with a number of trains passing along it.
- The number of trains passing through, is likely to increase.
- Every train passing through would pay a track charge, just as they do to Network Rail.
- Those with lots of money to lend, like simple projects like wind farms or road tunnels, but think very hard about anything complicated like nuclear power stations or High Speed Two’s station at Euston.
Certainly, my late and very good friend, David, who dealt with the finance of some of London’s largest projects and was on the top table of London’s bankers, would have found a way. It might though have been unorthodox.
But then David was a rogue. But a rogue on the side of the angels.
Conclusion
I have come to these conclusions.
- Building the direct route between Handsacre and Crewe could be good value as it improves all routes that will pass through Crewe.
- Combining High Speed Two and Northern Powerhouse Rail could substantially cut the costs of both routes to the centre of Manchester.
- London and Crewe times should be 56 minutes.
- London and Liverpool Lime Street times could be under one hour and thirty minutes.
- London and Manchester Piccadilly times could start at one hour and thirty minutes and reduce when Northern Powerhouse Rail is built and linked to the West Coast Main Line.
- London and Holyhead could be just over three hours and could open up a fast zero-carbon route between London and Dublin.
- London and Lancaster in under two hours could help the Eden Project Morecambe.
It’s certainly not a bad plan and it should be looked at in more detail.
Liverpool’s Vision For Rail
This document on the Liverpool City Region web site is entitled Metro Mayor’s Vision Of A Merseyrail for All Takes Vital Step Forward With Successful Trial Of New Battery-Powered Trains.
It makes these points in the first part of the document.
- Game-changing technology paves way for Merseyrail network expansion across the Liverpool City Region and beyond
- Merseyrail services could reach as far as Wrexham and Preston
- City Region is at the forefront of the introduction of pioneering energy efficient technology.
The new battery-powered trains would certainly go a long way to enable, these objectives.
- Battery-powered trains would need a range of 26.9 miles to go between Bidston and Wrexham stations.
- Battery-powered trains would need a range of 15.3 miles to go between Ormskirk and Preston stations.
This link is to the North Cheshire Rail User Group’s Newsletter for Spring 2021.
This is said about battery range of the new Class 777 trains.
Later model Class 777’s have the ability to leave the 3rd rail and operate under battery power for 20 miles or more with a full load thus
permitting expansion of the Merseyrail network beyond its current limits.
I suspect they will also have regenerative braking to batteries, which will increase the range and allow Preston and Wrexham stations to be achieved without charge.
It certainly sounds like Preston and Wrexham and all the intermediate stations, will be added to the Merseyrail network.
As to the third point above about the introduction of pioneering energy efficient technology, I suspect this is mainly regenerative braking to batteries and replacement of elderly worn-out power supply equipment.
There is more in the Liverpool City Region document.
Expanding Merseyrail
This is said.
The game-changing technology could allow the Merseyrail network to extend across all six city region boroughs to places like Rainhill in St Helens, Woodchurch on the Wirral and Widnes in Halton.
It could also allow the new fleet to operate as far afield as Skelmersdale, Wrexham, Warrington and Runcorn.
Note.
- A 25 KVAC capability could well be needed. But that is built into the Class 777 trains.
- Chargers could be needed at some of these stations. I suspect Stadler have a Swiss manufacturer in mind.
In the run-up to May’s elections, the Mayor pledged to deliver ‘Merseyrail for All, a commitment to connecting under-served communities to the Merseyrail network.
New Stations
Initially the battery-powered trains, which are considerably greener, using up to 30% less energy than the existing fleet, are set to run on services to a planned new station at Headbolt Lane, Kirkby.
The wider Merseyrail for All programme could ensure every community is well served by an integrated public transport network and new and refurbished train stations are also high on the agenda.
They could include:
- The Baltic Triangle in Liverpool
- Carr Mill in St Helens
- Woodchurch on the Wirral
Note.
- The Baltic Triangle station will be built on the site of the former Liverpool St. James station.
- The Carr Mill station will probably be built on the site of the former Carr Mill station.
- Woodchurch station is likely to be built on the Borderlands Line between Upton and Heswall stations.
Tram-Trains And Trackless Trams
The document says this.
Tram-Train technology and trackless trams will also be looked at as potential means of extending the Merseyrail network into hard-to-reach places. The technology could benefit areas such as Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Speke, Kirkby Town Centre, Southport Town Centre, Wirral Waters and the Knowledge Quarter.
Tram-trains built by Stadler in Valencia are already running in Sheffield and in the next few years they should be deployed on the South Wales Metro.
TStadler are also building Merseyrail’s new Class 777 trains, so I suspect they’ll go together like peaches and cream.
The Belgian firm; Van Hool have a product called Exquicity. This video shows them working in Pau in France.
These tram buses run on rubber types and are powered by hydrogen.
Similar buses running in Belfast are diesel-electric.
Could these be what the document refers to as trackless trams?
Battery Train Trials
The article finishes with this summary of the battery train trials. This is said.
Under the battery trials, financed by the Transforming Cities Fund, one of the new class 777 trains fitted with the battery technology was tested on the Northern line.
The batteries exceeded expectations with the trains travelling up to 20 miles per run without the need for re-charging.
The battery trains would remove the need for the third ‘electric’ rail, enabling the trains to travel beyond the existing network without major track investment.
The units passed all tests during four weeks of trials on the City Region’s rail network in May and June.
The Combined Authority and partners are still assessing the full impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on the programme and will provide more information regarding the roll out as soon as it has been agreed.
It looks to me, if all these plans get implemented successfully, Liverpool City Region will have one of the best public transport systems of any similar-sized cities in the world.
The Full Plan As A Map
This article on the BBC is entitled Battery-Powered Trains Part Of Merseyrail Expansion Plan.
The article contains this map.
There is no key or explanation, but it appears that the pink lines are new routes, where Merseyrail will run trains.
Before I discuss each of the possible routes, I will discuss two big factors, that will affect a lot of my thinking.
The West Coast Main Line
Avanti West Coast have the following stops in trains per hour (tph) at these stations on the West Coast Main Line as its trains pass the East of Merseyside to and from London Euston.
- Crewe – At least 5 tph
- Warrington Bank Quay – At least 2 tph
- Preston – At least 1 tph
These frequencies are in addition to these direct trains from London Euston.
- 1 tph to Liverpool Lime Street, which will rise to 2 tph in the December 2022, with a call at Liverpool South Parkway station.
- Occasional services to Chester throughout the day.
Passengers do not have to go via Liverpool Lime Street to travel to London.
In addition. there are useful services run by TransPennine Express between Liverpool Lime Street and Scotland, that call at Preston.
In Future; High Speed Two
This will call at Crewe, Liverpool Lime Street, Liverpool South Parkway, Preston and Warrington.
Northern Trains
Northern Trains were in all sorts of troubles and the service is now run directly by the Government’s Operator of Last Resort. I suspect that any reasonable offer to takeover over a service will be looked at favourably.
I will now look at Merseyrail’s new routes.
Ormskirk And Southport Via The Burscough Curve
Consider.
- This route has been a long term aspiration of Merseyrail.
- A curve between Burscough Bridge and Burscough Junction will have to be rebuilt on a former alignment.
- Southport and Ormskirk are about 13 miles apart.
- Southport and Ormskirk have third-rail electrified lines to Liverpool and the South.
It would be an ideal route for battery-electric trains with a range of 20 miles.
What would it do for passengers?
- It gives those living near five stations a direct link to Liverpool.
- It gives Southport a town of over 91,000 people more capacity to the city of Liverpool for jobs, leisure and shopping.
- Will it open up more opportunities for new housing in villages like Burscough?
It will certainly give Merseyrail operational advantages to Southport.
Ormskirk And Preston
Consider.
- Takeover of this Northern Trains route has been a long term aspiration of Merseyrail.
- Preston and Ormskirk are about 15.3 miles and 32 minutes apart.
- Omskirk has 750 VDC third-rail electrification and Preston has 25 KVAC overhead electrification.
- The Class 777 trains have been built so they can be updated to dual voltage.
It certainly looks to be a route that could be handled by a battery-electric Class 777 train.
What would it do for passengers?
- It gives those living near the Ormskirk and Preston Line a direct link to Liverpool.
- It creates a direct link in modern electric trains between North Liverpool and Preston, for onward travel on West Coast Main Line services and High Speed Two in the future.
- The journey time could be reduced to under thirty minutes.
As football is so important to the Liverpool economy, would a time around forty-five minutes between Preston and Sandhills station tempt football supporters going to Anfield and Goodison Park to use the train and then perhaps a trackless tram to the stadium?
This Google map shows the location of Anfield, Goodison Park and Sandhills station.
Note.
- Anfield is in the bottom-right corner of the map and is marked by a red arrow.
- Goodison is in the top-right corner of the map, slightly to the West of Anfield.
- Sandhills station is in the bottom-left corner of the map.
Both stadia are around a mile and a half from the station.
Southport And Preston
Once the Ormskirk and Southport and Ormskirk and Preston services are up and running, it would surely be possible to run a Southport and Preston service.
- There would be a reverse at Ormskirk.
- The two sections of Ormskirk and Southport and Ormskirk and Preston would both need battery power.
- Whilst the driver changed ends at Ormskirk, the train would be recharged using a fast and efficient charger.
- Times between Southport and Preston would be under an hour.
It certainly looks to be a route that could be handled by a battery-electric Class 777 train.
What would it do for passengers?
- It gives those living in Southport, a direct link to Preston.
- It creates a direct link in modern electric trains between Southport and Preston, for onward travel on West Coast Main Line services and High Speed Two in the future.
This service could be very valuable for passengers, but I suspect the route could be implemented with minimal infrastructure changes at Ormskirk station.
Ormskirk Station
This picture shows Ormskirk’s single platform from the Merseyrail end.
Note.
- The Liverpool train in the foreground.
- The Preston train in the background.
- The solid barrier between the trains.
I wonder if the following would be possible with the barrier removed.
- The long platform would be treated as one platform divided into two.
- Perhaps they will be the Liverpool and Preston/Southport platform,
- Trains that will leave the station for Liverpool will stop in the Liverpool platform.
- Trains that will leave the station for Preston or Southport will stop in the Preston/Southport platform.
- Through trains between Liverpool and Preston or Southport would be possible.
- A train between Preston and Southport could reverse in the Preston/Southport platform, whilst trains for Liverpool used the Liverpool platform.
It looks like it’s an efficient layout borrowed from somewhere else. and Stadler have probably seen it before.
Headbolt Lane Station
In Headbolt Lane Station Fly-Through, I described the new Headbolt Lane station.
This screen capture is from the video in that post,
Note.
- Two platforms going away from the camera and one platform and what looks to be a siding going towards the camera.
- There appears to be no direct connection between the two different sets of tracks.
Until proven wrong, I believe that the camera is looking towards Liverpool, as it would mean that Liverpool services had two platforms. But they currently make do with one at Kirkby.
There is a walk through between the tracks, which
- Enables passengers to access the second platform.
- Allows passengers to enter the station from the other side.
- Allows non-passengers to cross the tracks on the level.
- Avoids the need to build a bridge.
It is certainly an innovative design.
If occasional trains need to go through, could there be a lift-out section of the walk-through?
But as there are buffer stops on the tracks in the three platforms, that are either side of the walk-through, I suspect it will never happen, as it’s too much hassle.
In the Wikipedia entry for Headbolt Lane station this is said.
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority announced in July 2021 that a trial of a battery electric multiple unit (BEMU) version of the new Class 777 will serve the new station, when it opens. This will not require all of the line extension to Headbolt Lane to be electrified.
Merseyrail would appear to have neatly side-stepped, the Office of Road and Rail’s policy of no more third-rail electrification.
But I’m sure Merseyrail could put an approved train-charging system in the station.
- They would need one if a Class 777 train arrived with a flat battery.
- They would need one to charge trains on the Headbolt Lane and Skelmersdale service, if the service were to be run by battery-electric trains.
- They would need one to charge trains on the Headbolt Lane and Wigan Wallgate service, if the service were to be run by battery-electric trains.
The system could be based on a short length of overhead wire and a slim pantograph or a system like Railbaar from Furrer + Frey.
But does it give any clues as to the orientation of the station in the video?
- As there are three platforms and a siding, that meet at Headbolt Lane station, all could be fitted with chargers. to make sure the services are reliable.
- Liverpool services could be handled at either end, as it only needs one platform.
- Skelmersdale and Wigan services could probably share a platform, but they would be better surely using two platforms.
- The siding could be created into a platform for extra services to be added to the Merseyrail network
So there is no pressing reason, why the station cannot be North or South of the railway.
I suspect road layout and land use issues will eventually decide, the orientation of the station.
Headbolt Lane And Skelmersdale
Consider.
- This has been a long term aspiration of Merseyrail and Lancashire County Council.
- Headbolt Lane and Skelmersdale are just a few miles apart.
- Direct running between Liverpool and Skelmersdale will not be possible, but it will be a step-free change between trains.
The Wikipedia entry for Headbolt Lane station seems to indicate a proposed extension of the Northern Line with the next stop being the existing Rainford station. This would surely not add greatly to costs and bring Merseyrail to more fare-paying customers.
It certainly looks to be a route that could be handled by a battery-electric Class 777 train.
What would it do for passengers?
- Skelmersdale is a town of nearly 39,000 and is said to be one of the largest towns in England without a rail connection.
- At Headbolt Lane passengers will be able to change for Liverpool or Manchester.
A lot of passengers will have received a modern train service.
Headbolt Lane And Wigan
Consider.
- This service is currently run by Northern trains.
- Kirkby and Wigan Wallgate stations are just over twelve miles apart.
- Someone, who should know told me that by the time High Speed Two starts running through Wigan at a frequency of two tph, the two Wigan stations will have been combined.
- Headbolt Lane station could be the drop-off point for those needing to go to Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London on both the current West Coast Main Line and the future High Speed Two.
What better way to start that journey than on one of Merseyrail’s battery-electric Class 777 trains.
What would it do for passengers?
With modern battery-electric trains linking Headbolt Lane station to the combined Wigan station complex, this route could be the zero-carbon route between large parts of Liverpool and cantres of tourism and employment along and to the East of the M6 and the West Coast Main Line.
Liverpool South Parkway And Warrington Central
Consider.
- This would be takeover of part of the current Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Oxford Road service.
- The map shows the service going at least as far as Warrington Central station.
- Stations between Hunts Cross and Warrington Central include Halewood, Hough Green, Widnes, Sankey and the new Warrington West stations.
Distances are as follows.
- Liverpool South Parkway and Liverpool Lime Street – 5.5 miles
- Liverpool South Parkway and Warrington Central – 12.7 miles
- Liverpool South Parkway and Trafford Park – 25.4 miles
- Liverpool South Parkway and Manchester Oxford Road – 28.7 miles
The following sections of the route have 25 KVAC overhead electrification.
- Liverpool South Parkway and Liverpool Lime Street
- East of Trafford Park.
With a bit more electrification at either end, the whole route should be in range of a battery-electric Class 777 train.
Or the Class 777 trains could be fitted with bigger batteries!
It certainly looks to be a route that could be handled by a battery-electric Class 777 train.
What would it do for passengers?
- This is a route that has needed decent trains for years and has finally got new Class 195 trains.
- But, in addition, the battery-electric Class 777 trains would decarbonise the route.
The major problem, though is not infrastructure or trains, but surely Andy Burnham, who is the outspoken Mayor of Greater Manchester and could object to Merseyrail invading his patch.
Merseyrail’s Cheshire Ambitions
This is a section of the map shown on the BBC article, showing Cheshire.
It looks like there could be as many as three routes.
- Chester and Crewe
- Chester and Runcorn East
- Ellesmere Port and Runcorn East
I’ll now cover the routes in detail.
Chester And Crewe
Consider.
- This would be a takeover by Merseyrail of the existing Trains for Wales service.
- Chester And Crewe are about 21,2 miles and 25 minutes apart.
- Chester has 750 VDC third-rail electrification and Crewe has 25 KVAC overhead electrification.
- The Class 777 trains have been built so they can be updated to dual voltage.
- There is a proposal, that Beeston Castle and Tarporley station be re-opened.
It certainly looks to be a route that could be handled by a battery-electric Class 777 train.
What would it do for passengers?
- If trains will run between Crewe and Liverpool, this creates a second route between the two major stations.
- It creates a direct link in modern electric trains between The Wirral and Crewe, for onward travel on West Coast Main Line services and High Speed Two in the future.
- The journey time could be reduced by enough to increase service frequency on the route.
I This would be a very useful extension of the Merseyrail network.
Chester And Runcorn East
Consider.
- This would be a takeover by Merseyrail of the existing Trains for Wales service.
- Chester And Runcorn East are about 13.1 miles apart.
- Two stations and five miles further on is Warrington Bank Quay station.
- Chester has 750 VDC third-rail electrification and Warrington Bank Quay has 25 KVAC overhead electrification.
- The Class 777 trains have been built so they can be updated to dual voltage.
It certainly looks to be a route that could be handled by a battery-electric Class 777 train.
What would it do for passengers?
- It would enable a Merseyrail circular route from Liverpool Lime Street to Chester via Edge Hill, Wavertree Technology Park, Broad Green, Roby, Huyton, Whiston, Rainhill, Lea Green, St Helens Junction, Warrington Bank Quay, Frodsham, Runcorn East and Helsby.
- After Chester, it could take the Wirral Line back to Liverpool to make it a true Mersey Circular service.
Would a Mersey Circular service be a good idea?
Ellesmere Port And Runcorn East
Consider.
- This been a long term aspiration of Merseyrail.
- This would be a takeover by Merseyrail of the infrequent Northern Rail service.
- Ellesmere Port And Runcorn East are about 10.8 miles apart.
- Two stations and five miles further on is Warrington Bank Quay station.
- Ellesmere Port has 750 VDC third-rail electrification and Warrington Bank Quay has 25 KVAC overhead electrification.
- The Class 777 trains have been built so they can be updated to dual voltage.
It certainly looks to be a route that could be handled by a battery-electric Class 777 train.
What would it do for passengers?
- It would certainly improve rail transport along the South Bank of the Mersey from Ellesmere Port to Warrington Bank Quay or Runcorn East depending on the Eastern terminus.
- If the terminal were to be Warrington Bank Quay that would sort out the charging.
- It could create a direct link in modern electric trains between Ellesmere Port and Warrington Bank Quay, for onward travel on West Coast Main Line services and High Speed Two in the future.
I feel that an Ellesmere Port and Warrington Bank Quay service would be good for the area.
The Borderlands Line
I’ve left the Borderlands Line to last, as I feel it will be a lot more than commuter and leisure line between Liverpool and Wrexham.
- It crosses the border between England and Wales
- The line is 26.9 miles of double track, with a single-track extension of under two miles between the two Wrexham stations.
- It has over twenty stations with more planned in both countries
- It crosses a couple of rivers on long steel bridges.
- It brings commuters to Liverpool and takes workers to the high-tech factories of companies like Airbus and Toyota on Deeside.
- It connects to a lot of golf courses, one of which is the Open Championship course at Royal Liverpool.
- Once in Wales it has two connections to the North Wales Coast Line, which runs between Chester and holyhead.
It is no ordinary railway and is ripe for improvement to bridge passengers to employment sites and leisure areas along its route.
The line has one big problem in that passengers need to change trains at Bidston between Liverpool and Wrexham stations.
- Between Bidston and Liverpool the Merseyrail electric trains to and from Hoylake are used and they turn in the Liverpool Loop under Liverpool City Centre calling at four stations before returning.
- Between Bidston and Wrexham, diesel multiple units are used.
It is a route design straight out of the 1970s of men with minds without imagination. Even British Rail were designing battery-electric trains in the 1950s, which I wrote about in Did The Queen Ever Ride In This Train?.
Merseyrail intend to right the wrongs of the past using battery-electric Class 777 trains.
- As electric versions of these trains will be used on the Liverpool and Hoylake service, there would be no need to change trains at Bidston if the Liverpool and Wrexham trains were just a battery-electric version of the same train.
- The Wrexham trains would drive round the Liverpool Loop tunnel as hundreds of trains do every day.
- The trains would be charged on the existing third-rail electrification at the Liverpool end.
- I’m fairly certain that a frequency of two tph would be possible on the route, if the Liverpool Loop tunnel signalling could cope,
- Trains would need to be charged at the Wexham end of the route and I’m sure Stadler have a solution.
It would be an efficient and cost effective way to decarbonise a tricky but useful branch line.
Conclusion
Stadler are playing their full orchestra of ideas on Merseyrail.
When completed, it will be one of the best metros of any urban areas up to a million people in the world.
This metro could do for Liverpool, what the Beatles did for the city in the 1960s.
Expanding The Manchester Metrolink
In my view the Manchester Metrolink has not grown as fast as it should have done. A good proportion of the system opened in the early 1990s and nothing really seemed to open until the last few years.
For a lot of that twenty year gap, the government was one that you’d think would be sympathetic to expanding public transport in areas, where they could count on the vote. Perhaps, though Blair and Brown were more interested in war abroad than looking after the North!
There have been various plans to extend the Metrolink to places like Middleton, Salford, Stalybridge, Stockport and Trafford Park, but strangely not Bolton. Only the extension to Trafford Park has been funded.
Now I don’t know Manchester politics, but I do feel that if there had been a Manchester mayor for say the last ten years, I suspect with someone batting for Manchester, some of these extensions would have been progressed. Now that one should be there in 2017, hopefully progress will be quicker.
On this post there are comments about the non-extension of the tram from East Didsbury to Stockport.
So can this line be easily built, as it seems to me, as someone who only knows the area from the 1960s and a good map, that it would be of benefit to a lot of people?
Also if the Metrolink went to Stockport rail station, it would surely give an alternative Manchester station for those living on the tram network, just as Watford, Stratford, Ealing Broadway, Wimbledon and others do for the London Underground/Overground. Travellers should be given the choice of as many different routes as possible.
So I looked up how this line would get from East Didsbury to Stockport and found this article, which describes a route as proposed in 2004.
Reading the article, the route seems to be rather complicated and expensive, as it crosses the River Mersey several times and it doesn’t go to the rail station.
So perhaps if Stockport, is ever linked to the Metrolink, it will use a different route.
It all illustrates that extending the Metrolink isn’t as easy as it might first appear. I hope Manchester has got some good transport planners, who know the city well.
As an aside here, it is worth thinking about how the Northern Hub and in particular, the Ordsall Curve linking Manchester Piccadilly and Victoria, will indirectly affect the Metrolink. There could be at least four trains per hour both ways between the two stations and six going towards Bolton and Preston according to Wikipedia. So as some of these services will go south towards Stockport and the Airport, Manchester will probably see a high-frequency service between Piccadilly, Victoria, Bolton, Stockport, Salford and other places in the Greater Manchester area. The trains will all be electric and probably something like the ex-Thameslink Class 319. These trains will extend journeys all round the area to Blackpool, Huddersfield, Leeds, Liverpool, Preston, Warrington and Wigan. With not a lot more electrification, places like Blackburn, Burnley, Sheffield and Southport could be brought into an electrified network, where high-capacity trains run at least four times an hour on all routes.
One thing that would need to be done is improve the interchange between the Metrolink and some of the central Manchester rail stations. Victoria is showing glimpses of being superb, Piccadilly needs to be a much shorter walk and perhaps Salford Crescent needs to be linked to the tram.
I don’t drive and suspect will never do so again, but one thing that always worries me about city transport systems is, are there enough Park-and-Ride spaces and especially close to the motorways? I know London lacks badly in this area and suffers because of it. So how does Manchester stack up?
By the end of this decade, Manchester could be getting the transport system it needs and deserves.
Devo Manc Explained
I found this article on the OpenDemocracy web site, which explains proposed political changes in Greater Manchester and the creation of a mayor over the whole area. This is the lead paragraph.
The announced Mayor for Greater Manchester doesn’t overturn the will of the people of Manchester. It is a new solution, designed in Greater Manchester, for Greater Manchester.
It does also seem that other commentators are using the term; Devo Manc.
I’ll believe it happens, when he or she is finally sworn in.
Manchester To Get a Borken or Kenbor?
In my view the London Mayor has been a success. And I don’t just mean one of them!
They have fought for London and have won the battles to get improvements to London’s transport system.
Two years ago, I put forward my reasons why Manchester needs a mayor, with responsibility for the wider area.
Yesterday, George Osborne said he’d agreed that Manchester should have a mayor.
I’ll believe it when it happens!
But it is certainly overdue and also overdue in Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham and Newcastle.
I would also add cities and towns with a large population and transport system and probably major strengths or weaknesses.
So that would include at least Blackpool, Brighton and Cambridge!
A Mayor For Manchester?
Rochdale though sums up one of the problems of Manchester. You have all these individual towns, that it would seem don’t talk to each other. Some are proposing that there needs to be a mayor for Greater Manchester. There was a big article in The Times yesterday about a mayor for Manchester.
Recently,on my travels to the 92 football grounds in the UK in alphabetical order by public transport, I put England under a savage microscope. Some places like Exeter, Sheffield and Newcastle were no problem, as everything was signed and easy to understand.
But the biggest contrast was between Hartlepool and Manchester. I’d expected a post-industrial dump in the first and a modern city in the second.
I was so wrong about the first and was surprised to see a town that had pulled itself out of the abyss, with the help of a mayor who fought for the town. Manchester may have some nice new buildings and attractions, but it has the most disintegrated public transport system in the UK. Try turning up at Piccadilly station in a wheelchair and getting to Oldham hospital to see your mother, who’s fallen and broken her hip, without using a taxi! I know London isn’t perfect, but try getting from Euston to Barnet General.
Where was Manchester buses, welcoming booth at the station? Why didn’t the buses talk me through their route? Where were the street and bus maps at every bus stop? Where were the wheel-chair accessible buses with separate doors for entrance and exit?
London’s bus system has improved so much over the last few years and this is probably down to one person being in charge of the whole system, who reports directly to the mayor.
We are having a mayoral election in London in May. Manchester could do a lot worse than ask the one who comes second to be their interim mayor, with a major responsibility to sort out their transport system and make it friendly and understandable to everybody and especially visitors and the disabled.
The Anonymous Widower 