Electrification – The Baldrick Way
Electrification In England
There are two major electrification projects underway in England at the moment; the Midland Main Line to Sheffield and Nottingham and the TransPennine Upgrade between Church Fenton and Stalybridge via Leeds and Huddersfield.
In addition, there are other important routes, that need to be electrified around the UK.
- Edinburgh and Aberdeen
- Crewe and Holyhead
- Newbury and Taunton
- Cardiff and Fishguard
- Bristol and Penzance
- Peterborough and Birmingham
- Peterborough and Doncaster via Lincoln
- Felixstowe and Peterborough
There must be loads of other important routes.
Do We Need Electrification Or A Zero-Carbon Railway?
A zero-carbon Railway is probably sufficient, as that would include traditional electrification.
Are The Electrification On The Midland Main Line And The TransPennine Upgrade Working To Similar Objectives?
The Midland Main Line carries the following services.
- Long distance expresses between London St. Pancras and Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield, which will be run in the future, by Hitachi bi-mode express trains.
- Local suburban electrics between London St. Pancras and Bedford and Corby.
- A variety of heavy freight trains between Chesterfield and London.
- Various regional services run by diesel multiple units.
The Midland Main Line is a typical mixed railway.
It is electrified between London St. Pancras and Wigston Junction, which is a total of 95.3 miles.
Sheffield is a further 69.4 miles from Wigston and Nottingham is just 31.1 miles.
The maximum range needed by a battery-electric train is 69.4 miles.
The TransPennine Route carries the following services.
- Long distance expresses between Liverpool and Newcastle and Hull via Manchester, Huddersfield, Bradford and Leeds, which are run by Hitachi bi-mode express trains and diesel multiple units.
- Local suburban electrics around Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds
- A variety of heavy freight trains along the route.
- Various regional services run by diesel multiple units.
The TransPennine Route is another typical mixed railway and carries a similar traffic mix to the Midland Main Line.
Much of the TransPennine Route is electrified, with these exceptions.
- Cleethorpes and Doncaster 52.1 miles
- Doncaster and Manchester Piccadilly – 61.2 miles
- Manchester United FC and Liverpool South Parkway – 26.2 miles
- Hull and Leeds – 51.8 miles
- Redcar and Northallerton – 28.1 miles
- Scarborough and York – 42.1 miles
- Stalybridge and Church Fenton – 50 miles
The maximum range needed by a battery-electric train is 61.2 miles.
This brief analysis indicates to me, that Hitachi battery-electric bi-modes with a range of eighty miles on batteries and charging at selective stations like Cleethorpes, Hull, Nottingham, Redcar, Scarborough and Sheffield could run electric high speed trains on both the Midland Main Line and the TransPennine Route with very little extra infrastructure.
I asked Google AI what is the range of a Class 802 train on batteries and received this reply.
A Class 802 train converted for a battery-electric trial, known as BEMU, has demonstrated the capability to run up to 60 miles (approximately 97 km) on batteries in a trial setting, with real-world data suggesting potential future trains could achieve a range of 100 to 150 km (62 to 93 miles). This technology is intended to allow these trains to cover non-electrified sections of track, reducing the need for overhead wires and potentially saving on electrification costs for intercity routes.
In What Will Be The Range Of A Hitachi Class 800 Battery Train?, I came to this conclusion.
The first version of the battery-electric train will have a range of around a hundred miles, so that they can handle the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line diversion, which is 93.7 miles, on battery power.
But fairly soon after introduction into service, I will be very surprised if they don’t claim the Guinness world record by running farther than the Stadler FLIRT Akku’s 139 miles.
No-one likes being second!
The 93.7 miles needed for the East Coast Main Line diversion via the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line through Lincoln will be more than enough range for Hitachi’s battery-electric trains to run the full length of both the Midland Main Line and the TransPennine Route.
Electrifying A Route
I think that Network Rail have identified an efficient way to electrify an express route.
You start by doing these actions.
- Get the track layout right, so that trains can use the route at the optimal speed.
- Update the signalling to a high standard. I suspect digital signalling would be a good idea, to maximise the capacity of a route.
- Make sure, that the chosen battery-electric express trains can handle the route.
- Charging stations would be installed as required.
The battery-electric trains would be introduced as soon as the route is ready.
Hopefully with good project management, there would be the following benefits compared to traditional electrification.
- Difficult sections like tunnels could be left without electrification.
- Fewer bridges would need to be demolished and rebuilt.
- There would be less disruption to local residents.
- Siemens have developed a Rail Charging Converter, which connects to the domestic rather than the National Grid, so is easier to install.
But the big benefit is that new electric trains could probably be introduced earlier, which hopefully should increase ridership and revenue.
Once the expresses were working well, the best way to decarbonise the rest of the services on the route can be ascertained and actioned.
St. Pancras And Leicester Via Corby
This OpenRailwayMap shows the route between Kettering and Leicester via Corby.
Note.
- Kettering station is in the bottom right corner of the map.
- Kettering is on the Midland Main Line from St. Pancras.
- North of Kettering the route splits into two.
- The Midland Main Line goes North-West through Market Harborough to Wigston junction and Leicester.
- The Midland Main Line is electrified to Wigston junction.
- The Corby branch goes North-East to Corby, which is indicated by a blue arrow.
- The Corby branch is electrified to Corby.
On Saturday, I went to Leicester and because there were engineering works at Market Harborough, the train went via Corby.
Over The Welland Viaduct
After Corby, the train went over the Welland Viaduct and I took these pictures.
It is an impressive viaduct and is the longest viaduct across a valley in the United Kingdom.
I have some further thoughts.
Could The Corby Service Be Extended to Leicester?
Consider.
- Between Corby and Leicester is 40.8 miles of track without electrification.
- Trains could call at Oakham, Melton Mowbray and Syston stations.
- Oakham, Melton Mowbray and Syston stations, could be given an appropriate number of trains every day to Leicester, Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough, Bedford, Luton, Luton Airport Parkway and London St. Pancras International stations.
- No new infrastrructure would be needed.
- I suspect an hourly service would be sufficient.
I am fairly sure that a Class 810 train fitted with batteries could work the route.
Leicester, Oakham, Melton Mowbray And Syston Stations Would Get A Direct Connection To Luton Airport
Some travellers might find this very useful.
Leicester Station Would Have A Neat Passenger Drop-Off For Luton Airport
I wrote about this in Busiest UK Airports Raise Kiss-and-Fly Fees, Says RAC.
Every rail station needs a passenger drop-off as good and affordable as the one at Leicester station.
The Problem Of Electrifying Leicester Station
This post is my attempt to try and explain the problem of electrifying the Midland Main Line through Leicester station.
This Google map shows the Southern end of the station.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the station.
Note.
- There appear to be five tunnels under the station buildings and London Road.
- What is the tunnel going underneath the tracks used for?
Leicester station has a Grade II Listed frontage.
Note.
- It is an impressive Victorian station.
- The station building is on a bridge over the tracks.
- The station is also on one of the main roads through Leicester.
- The road layout is very complicated.
This 3D Google Map, shows an aerial view of the station.
Note.
- There four platforms, which are numbered 1-4 from the left.
- The expresses between London and Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield use the two middle tracks.
- Other main line and East-West services use the outside platforms.
- There is an avoiding line for freight services.
- 5. The step-free footbridge is clearly visible.
This second 3D Google Map, shows an enlargement of the frontage of the station.
These pictures show what is inside the building at the front of the station.
The building would appear to be a Grade II Listed taxi rank and free twenty-minute car park.
There are plans to increase the capacity of the station.
- A fifth platform will be added.
- Three miles of quadruple track will be be built South of the station.
- The Midland Main Line was also to be electrified.
Real Time Trains indicates that the distance between Leicester and Wigston North junction is 3.1 miles.
This OpenRailMap shows that section of track.
Note.
- Leiester station is at the top of the map.
- Wigston junction is the triangular junction at the bottom of the map.
- Wigston North Junction is indicated by the blue arrow.
- OpenRailwayMap only shows a 100 mph Northbound track and a 90 mph Southbound track on the route.
It looks to me, that four tracks between Leicester and Wigston North junction would mean that trains could expedite arrivals to and departures from Leicester to and from the South.
South From Wigston Junction
Consider.
- London St. Pancras and Kettering is a four-track railway as far as the Corby Branch.
- North of Luton the slowest maximum speed is 100 mph, with much of the line rated at 110 mph plus.
- Wigston North junction and Luton station is 65.8 miles.
- Current Class 222 diesel trains typically take 40 minutes.
- This is an average speed of 98.7 mph.
- An average speed of 110 mph between Wigston North junction and Luton station would take 36 minutes.
- An average speed of 125 mph between Wigston North junction and Luton station would take 31.6 minutes.
- An average speed of 130 mph between Wigston North junction and Luton station would take 30.4 minutes.
I believe with track improvements and digital signalling, there are time savings to be gained between St. Pancras and Leicester stations.
Ultimately, if the 140 mph design speed of the Class 810 trains under digital signalling could be maintained, this would do the following.
- Push the St. Pancras and Leicester times under an hour.
- Push the St. Pancras and Nottingham times under ninety minutes.
- Push the St. Pancras and Sheffield times under two hours.
Batteries would only be used on the three miles between Wigston North junction and Leicester station.
Could Bi-Mode Trains Be Used?
They could be used initially and to prove if the partial electrification works.
But each train has four diesel engines and sometimes they will be working in pairs through the stations between Leicester and Sheffield.
Passengers will take a dim view of being covered in lots of diesel smoke, when they have been promised clean, zero-carbon electric trains.
But the battery-electric trains will be much quieter and pollution-free.
This page on the Hitachi Rail web site is entitled Intercity Battery Trains.
New Infrastructure Needed
The only infrastructure needed will be that which will support the new trains.
The Class 810 trains will be maintained at Etches Park at Derby.
If they are battery-electric trains, there may be some strategically-placed chargers, which typically would be a short length of overhead wire.
Wigston Junction – 10th July 2025
It now appears that Wigston Junction, is as far North, as electrification will get on the Midland Main Line for some time.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the maximum speeds through the junction.
Note.
- Leicester station is to the North.
- London is to the South.
- Nuneaton is to the West.
- South Wigston station is indicated by a blue arrow.
- The Midland Main Line goes between the North and South points of the junction.
- Trains going North have a maximum speed of 100 mph.
- Trains going South have a maximum speed of 80 mph.
- Trains going along the North-West leg of the junction have a maximum speed of 40 mph.
- Trains going along the South-West leg of the junction have a maximum speed of 30 mph.
It would also appear that trains going North on the Midland Main Line can have a maximum speed of 100 mph or even 110 mph for most of the way between Market Harborough and just before Leicester, whilst going South is perhaps a couple of minutes slower.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the original plan for electrification through the junction.
Note.
- Red tracks are electrified.
- Black tracks are not electrified.
- Black/red dashed tracked were being electrified, but most are now paused.
- As before South Wigston station is indicated by a blue arrow.
Only the South point of the junction is electrified.
These pictures were taken from the train, as I passed Southwards from the North point of the junction to Market Harborough station.
Note.
- The first three pictures show the chord connecting to South Wigston station and on to Nuneaton.
- The next six pictures show the extra single track on the East side of the junction.
- There is a third track South of Wigston junction, that is about two miles long and electrified.
- All tracks South of Wigston junction are electrified.
It looks like a train could wait in the loop and be passed by a Northbound express.
Could the loop be used to charge trains in an emergency?
Conclusion
It would appear that Wigston junction could be a suitable place for the electrification to be paused.
All services to the North of Wigston junction would be on battery power, unless there is electrification.
Government Pauses Midland Main Line Electrification
This is the first paragraph of this article on Modern Railways.
The Government has paused the third phase of Midland main line electrification to Sheffield and Nottingham, plus the final phase of the South West Rail Resilience Programme (SWRRP), which involves strengthening cliffs at Holcombe.
Currently, the Midland Main Line electrification appears to have been installed between London St. Pancras and Wigston, where there is a triangular junction.
This article on Modern Railways is entitled MML Wires To Wigston energised, says this in the first paragraph.
A major milestones on the Midland Main Line has been achieved with the energisation of the newly installed overhead wires between Kettering and Wigston and the first trip for a new East Midlands Railway Aurora bi-mode unit to St Pancras.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the Midland Main Line between Leicester station and Wigston junction.
Note.
- Red tracks are electrified.
- Black tracks are not electrified.
- Black/red dashed tracked are being electrified.
- Wigston junction is at the bottom of the map.
- The red track indicates that the South of the junction is electrified.
- The North of the junction is now electrified according to the Modern Railways article.
- The West of the junction is not electrified and leads to the electrified Trent Valley Line at Nuneaton.
- The junction in the middle of the map is Knighton junction, that leads to Burton-on-Trent station.
- In the North-East corner of the map is Leicester station.
Distances from the electrified part of Wigston junction are as follows.
- Derby – 32.5 miles
- Leeds – 107.8 miles
- Leicester – 13.1 miles
- Nottingham – 30.5 miles
- Nuneaton – 15.6 miles
- Sheffield – 68.9 miles
I asked Google AI how far one of Hitachi’s Class 802 trains had gone during tests and got this reply.
A Class 802 train, when operating solely on battery power, can achieve a range of approximately 44 miles (70 km). This was demonstrated in a trial where a five-car Class 802/2 train reached a maximum speed of 87 mph using battery power alone, covering non-electrified sections. Hitachi Rail and Angel Trains are conducting trials to assess the viability of battery technology for longer distances and to reduce reliance on diesel power on non-electrified sections of routes.
Hitachi’s tests were performed with just one diesel engine replaced by a battery pack and it should be born in mind, that the Class 810 trains, that will be used on the Midland Main Line have four diesel engines.
As an electrical engineer, I feel battery range should be additive, so a three-battery train could have a range as much as 120 miles.
- This range would do nicely for a London and Leeds service, as Leeds station is fully-electrified to charge a train for return.
- As London and Sheffield return would be 137.8 miles, a charge at Sheffield would probably be needed to top-up the batteries.
On the other hand a two-battery and two-diesel unit, would have a battery range sufficient for the following services.
- London and Derby and return.
- London and Nottingham and return.
- London and Sheffield with return after a charge.
- London and Leeds with an intermediate charge at Sheffield.
We live in very electrifying times.
I am sure, that Hitachi and their battery-makers will find a solution to run all-electric services to the North of Wigston junction, without full electrification, but with just a charger at Sheffield.
The Electrification Problem At Leicester
Some years ago I came back to London from Leicester with a group of drivers. At one point, the conversation turned to electrification and they said that they had met a Network Rail engineer, who had told them, that the bridge was rather low for electrification and the track couldn’t be lowered because Leicester’s main sewer was underneath the railway.
In Leicester Station – 4th Jan 2022, I show a selection of pictures of Leicester station’s Grade II Listed frontage.
I doubt it would be possible to seriously alter Leicester station to electrify it, as the Heritage Taliban would have a field day.
But if I’m right that all services will be run North of Wigston on batteries, there will be no need to electrify through Leicester station.
Not only would using batter-electric trains probably be more affordable than electrification, but also because of the Leicester problem, it would be less inconvenient for passengers.
Could London and Leicester Be Run In An Hour Or Even Less?
Consider.
- The London and Sheffield services, which go non-stop between London and Leicester take around 64-66 minutes.
- The London and Nottingham services, which stop at Market Harborough take about 5-6 minutes longer.
- London and Leicester is 98.9 miles.
- The fastest trains average 93 mph between London and Leicester.
- Much of the route between London and Leicester has a maximum speed of 100 mph or more, with some sections of 125 mph running.
- Regenerative braking should reduce the time for the Market Harborough stop.
I can certainly see the non-stop Sheffield services being timed at under an hour between London and Leicester.
But I wouldn’t rule out all services between London and Leicester being timed at under an hour.
Could London and Sheffield Be Run In Two Hours Or Even Less?
Given that most services between London and Sheffield take two hours and four minutes and I reckon six minutes could be saved between London and Leicester, I suspect two hours or less is a very attainable target for London and Sheffield services.
Why Not Fit Four Batteries And Be Done With it?
I suspect it will be down to reliability and whether running the diesels on hydrotreated vegeatble oil is acceptable to some politicians.
Would This Be The World’s First Battery-Electric Main Line With 200 kph Running?
Quite possibly!
Conclusion
I can see no disadvantage in not electrifying North of Wigston junction and using battery-electric trains.
It could even be a lot more affordable.
Does Innovation Get Mr. Ed Miliband Better Prices To Doncaster?
The East Coast Main Line has ticketing unlike any other in the UK.
Turn up at any LNER station to go to any station that is served by trains from that station and you will be given a choice of the best prices at the ticket machines or at the booking office.
Effectively, you are sold your choice of the cheapest Advance tickets for your journey, at the time of booking.
In the last few months, I have taken three trips from London to Doncaster. All were priced between £20 and £25, with one trip on each of Grand Central, Hull Trains and LNER.
Some might argue it is because of the three Open Access operators on the route, that good value is available. But I would argue that it is down to the fact that because of the Open Access operators there is more seats on the route.
This ticketing model should be adopted on the West Coast Main Line and the Midland Main Line.
The ticketing has certainly modified my behaviour.
If I want to go to Sheffield, I go to Doncaster, as it’s a lot cheaper, then get a local train between Doncaster and Sheffield.
Ed Miliband Is A Doncaster MP
When he is going between his Doncaster North constituency and London, does he use last minute ticketing?
Could Wrightbus’s New Hydrogen Coach Do A London Scotland Round Trip On A Full Load Of Hydrogen?
Victoria Coach Station And Edinburgh
I have just looked up on the National Express web site and found that I can leave Victoria Coach Station at 22:00 and arrive in Edinburgh at 07:40 the following morning for a ticket price of £29.90.
The road distance would appear to be 638.1 km, which would be a 1276 km round trip. So I would expect that, there would need to be refueling in the round trip.
Victoria Coach Station And Glasgow
I have just looked up on the National Express web site and found that I can leave Victoria Coach Station at 23:00 and arrive in Glasgow at 07:40 the following morning for a ticket price of £23.90.
The road distance would appear to be 652.1 km, which would be a 1300 km round trip. So as with Edinburgh, I would expect that, there would need to be refueling in the round trip.
A Refuelling Strategy
Consider.
- I would expect that a refuelling strategy would minimise, the carrying of large amounts of hydrogen, through the centre of London or any other conurbation.
- The Southern Uplands of Scotland already host a lot of wind farms, including the UK’s largest onshore wind farm at Whitelee, which has a capacity of 539 MW.
- An electrolyser to produce hydrogen is being developed at Whitelee, which is 32.8 km South of Glasgow.
- Newport Pagnell services is 86.5 km. from the Southern end of the M1.
- Toddington services is 62 km. from the Southern end of the M1.
I wonder if two refuelling points, say 50-100 km. from each end of the route, would be a safe an efficient way to fuel the coaches?
Some Services Between London And Scotland
They are in South to North order.
Toddington Services
Toddington Services is 62 km. from the Southern end of the M1.
This map shows the services.
Note.
- There is land around the services that could be used to create more parking for hydrogen coaches.
- There doesn’t appear to be much space for a large wind farm to provide electricity to generate hydrogen.
- The Midland Main Line runs up the Eastern side of the map.
I wonder, if hydrogen could be brought to a refuelling site at Toddington services by the use of rail wagons.
Newport Pagnell Services
Newport PagnellServices is 86.5 km. from the Southern end of the M1.
This map shows the services.
Note.
- The services are labelled as Leicester Forest East.
- The services are tightly surrounded by houses.
I’m not sure the residents would like to have a hydrogen refuelling station in their midst.
Northampton Services
Northampton Services is 104.5 km. from the Southern end of the M1.
This map shows the services.
Note.
- It looks a rather complicated services.
- It might be too far from London.
- Provision of hydrogen might be difficult.
I think that this is another services that we can discount.
Watford Gap Services
Watford Gap Services is 120.8 km. from the Southern end of the M1.
This map shows the services.
Note.
- There is land around the services that could be used to create more parking for hydrogen coaches.
- There doesn’t appear to be much space for a large wind farm to provide electricity to generate hydrogen.
- The West Coast Main Line runs through the centre of the services.
I wonder, if hydrogen could be brought to a refuelling site at Watford Gap services by the use of rail wagons.
Rugby Services
Rugby Services is 137.8 km. from the Southern end of the M1.
This map shows the services.
Note.
- There is land around the services that could be used to create more parking for hydrogen coaches.
- It is at Junction 1 of the M6.
There is also a gas compressor station nearby, so I wonder, if a HiiROC system could be located here to extract hydrogen from the natural gas.
This map shows the location of the Churchover compressor station, with relation to Rugby services.
Note.
- The compressor station is in the North-West corner of the map.
- Rugby services are in the South-East corner of the map.
- From labels on the map it appears, a solar farm might be planned by the compressor station.
With a system like HiiROC creating turquoise hydrogen from natural gas, this could be a major filling station for hydrogen-powered trucks, coaches and cars.
Conclusion
It looks to me, that Toddington services would be best, but there would need to be a large increase in capacity, if a large number of hydrogen coaches, were going to fill up at Toddington for their trip into London.
The alternative would be to give the coach a large enough hydrogen tank for a complete round trip.
A Bespoke Tram-Train For The UK
Trams, tram-trains, trains and anything that runs on rails is generally very expensive.
Does this partly explain, why the UK has relatively few urban tramways and railways?
In Stadler Presents Mock-Up Of Tram-Trains For German And Austrian Operators, I discussed how five German and Austrian operators had got together to create a common tram-train design, that would be suitable for all the operators.
The mayor of one of the cities involved in the joint order, said savings of the order of a million euros per vehicle may have resulted from the common design.
I would also feel that savings in operational costs, design of infrastructure, spares inventory and other costs would also result.
Identical tram-trains would make through running between networks easier.
Where Could Tram-Trains Be Used In The UK?
Consider.
- Currently, tram-trains are running in Sheffield and a battery-electric version of the same Stadler Citylink tram-train will soon be running in Cardiff.
- Cardiff, is developing a Cardiff Crossrail on tram-train principles across the city.
- Sheffield have said that they will be replacing their trams and I believe they could use developments of their excellent Stadler tram-trains.
- Sheffield is likely to extend their tram system and might include tram-trains to Doncaster.
- Cities that have talked about adding tram-trains to their tram networks include Birmingham, Blackpool, Manchester and Nottingham.
- Leeds is developing a metro system, which could be developed using tram-train principles.
- Glasgow has talked about a tram-train to Glasgow Airport for some time.
- The East-West Rail Link is proposing a tram-train link between Ipswich and Felixstowe to allow more freight trains into the Port of Felixstowe.
There could be quite a number of tram-trains being used in the UK, especially if they are used as at Felixstowe, to increase freight capacity into ports.
These are a few of my thoughts.
Battery-Electric Tram-Trains
I would envisage, that a lot of the new tram-trains would operate using batteries. Especially, as battery-electric trains are showing quite long ranges of upwards of thirty miles.
Already trams in Birmingham and trains on Merseyside, are operating using batteries and it avoids the expense of putting up catenary, if enough exists to charge the trams.
Replacement of Diesel Multiple Units By Battery-Electric Tram-Trains
There are some branch lines, where diesel multiple units run off a branch of an electrified main line.These services could be decarbonised by changing the rolling stock.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the St. I’ves Bay Line in Cornwall.
Note.
- The St. Ives Bay Line is shown in yellow.
- The Southern terminal is St. Erth station, where it connects to the Cornish Main Line, which is shown in orange.
- The Northern terminal is St. Ives station, which is towards the top of the map.
- The St. Ives Bay Line is 4.25 miles long.
- No tracks are electrified.
- There are three intermediate stations.
This second OpenRailwayMap shows St. Erth station in more detail.
Note.
- The St. Ives Bay Line has its own platform at the side of the station.
- I am fairly certain, that some form of charging could be installed in this platform.
- At the other side of the Cornish Main Line are two sidings, which could be used for cleaning and maintenance.
A neat zero-carbon branch line could easily be created.
New Branch Lines To New Developments
In Sheffield Region Transport Plan 2019 – A New Tram-Train Route To A New Station At Waverley, I gave my view on a tram-train loop from the Sheffield-Lincoln Line to serve the Advanced Manufacturing Centre and new housing at Waverley.
The tram-train would run as a train to the branch line for the development and then run as a battery-electric tram, through the development.
As the Midland Main Line to Sheffield will be electrified, the tram-trains could be charged on the electrification in Sheffield station.
Build Them In Doncaster
Wabtec are closing Doncaster works.
Surely this would be the site to assemble the scores of tram-trains that could be needed in the UK.
Conclusion
Tram-trains could do a lot to improve the railways of the UK.
They would also help to decarbonise the existing system.
Council Opposes Six Track Plan For East West Rail
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
Councillors have voted to oppose part of a major railway line being built through their district.
These four paragraphs add detail to the story
Bedford Borough Council wants the East West Rail (EWR) line to be made up of four tracks, rather than six, in the Poets area north of the town.
Thirty-seven homes would need to be demolished in order to accommodate the two additional tracks.
However, in their full-council meeting on Wednesday, members agreed to support other parts of the project, such as the relocation of Stewartby station and the closure of Kempston Hardwick.
An EWR spokesperson said it was committed to working with local communities.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the Midland Main Line and the East-West Rail through Bedford.
Note.
- The solid orange line running from the North-West corner of the map to its Southern edge is the electrified Midland Main Line.
- The blue arrow on this line indicates Bedford station.
- The blue lettering to the South-East of Bedford station, indicates Bedford St. Johns station.
- The yellow line connecting the two stations is the Eastern end of the Marston Vale Line, which connects Bedford and Bletchley stations.
- The Marston Vale Line will be taken over by the East-West Rail.
- Just North of Bedford station is Bedford North junction.
The East-West Rail branches away from Bedford North junction to the North-East on its way to Cambridge. It is shown as a dotted orange line.
This OpenRailwayMap shows Bedford station to a larger scale.
Note,
- The Western pair of orange lines are the current fast lines of the Midland Main Line.
- The Eastern pair of orange lines are the current slow lines of the Midland Main Line.
- To the East the orange dotted line shows indicates a proposed route of the East-West Rail.
- There appear to be crossovers that allow East-West Rail services to use Platforms 1 and 2 through Bedford station.
Between the Midland Main Line and East-West Rail platforms, the current Platform 1A used by the Marston Vale Line can be seen.
This picture show the current Marston Vale Line platform at Bedford station,
Note.
- The Marston Vale Line platform is on the left.
- It is numbered 1A.
- The platform is electrified, so can it be it used to terminate some Thameslink services.
It could also be used to terminate East-West Rail services from the West and if they were battery-electric trains they could be charged.
Oxford and Bedford is 51 miles or 82 kilometers, which is within range of a modern battery-electric train. Es[ecially, if it did a ‘splash and dash’ at Milton Keynes Central or Bletchley!
This OpenRailwayMap shows the lines to the North of Bedford station.
Note.
- The current four-track Midland Main Line running diagonally across the map.
- The East-West Rail running along on the East side and branching off to Cambridge.
- Crossovers between the Midland Main Line and East-West Rail.
It looks to me, that operation of East-West Rail trains through Bedford station will be as follows.
- Oxford to Cambridge trains will use the crossovers to call in the existing Platform 2 at Bedford station.
- Cambridge to Oxford to will use the crossovers to call in the existing Platform 1 at Bedford station.
- Trains that are not stopping could use the avoiding line along the East side of the station.
- Oxford to Bedford terminating trains, would stop in Platform 1A.
Because there would be a crossover between the Midland Main Line slow lines and the East-West Rail to the South and North of Bedford station, I suspect for operatuional reasons and safety Network Rail want a double track avoiding line.
Thoughts On Tram-Trains In Manchester
The State Of Public Transport In the North
Over the last few years plans have been put in place to improv the state of the public transport of the major cities of the North and progress has started to happen, with new trains, trams and light rail systems being planned and in some cases coming into service.
Birmingham, Coventry And The West Midlands
A lot of investment has been made and it is continuing.
- Birmingham New Street station has been rebuilt.
- Coventry and Wolverhampton stations have been remodelled.
- Two new stations were built in Birmingham for the Commonwealth Games.
- A large number of new Class 730 local trains are being brought into service.
- Birmingham stations are being updated for High Speed Two.
- The West Midland Metro has been extended at both ends and a second line is under construction.
Transport in the wider West Midlands has been greatly improved.
Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield And The East Midlands
The major investment in this area is the electrification of the Midland Main Line and the provision of new Hitachi electric Class 810 trains.
In addition the following has been done.
- The Hope Valley line between Manchester and Sheffield has been improved.
- Derby station has been improved.
- The local trains have been refurbished.
- The power supply has been improved.
- An application for an Open Access service to Sheffield has been made.
The improvements in the East Midlands, will not be on the same scale as in the West Midlands, but they will make a difference.
Leeds, Bradford And West Yorkshire
For decades, West Yorkshire and especially Bradford has lagged behind the rest of the North.
But at least things are stirring.
- Plans have been laid to create a through station in Bradford.
- Leeds station has been refurbished.
- An extra platform is being added at Bradford Forster Square station.
- The TransPennine Upgrade is underway to electrify between Huddersfield and York.
- Hitachi have developed a battery-electric high speed train for the TransPennine route.
- Bradford is installing a hydrogen electrolyser, so that the city can have hydrogen buses to cope with the hills.
- Plans are now being developed to create a metro for Leeds and Bradford.
West Yorkshire is closing the gap to the rest of the North.
Liverpool And Merseyside
Again, a lot of investment has been made.
- The approaches to Liverpool Lime Street station have finally been sorted, with more tracks and new signalling.
- Liverpool Lime Street station has been improved and is now one of the finest stations in Europe.
- Trains are now approaching High Speed Two times between Crewe and Liverpool.
- More services between London and Liverpool can now be planned, with the arrival of new Class 807 trains.
- Some new stations have been built and more are planned.
- A large number of new Class 777 local trains are being brought into service.
Transport in the wider Merseyside has been greatly improved.
Newcastle, Tyneside And Northumberland
The area is getting investment, but not as much in proportion as others.
- The Metro trains are being replaced and the Metro itself, is getting a major update.
- The East Coast Main Line has received improvements to power supplies, signalling and some bottlenecks.
- The Northumberland Line to Ashington is being brought back into operation.
It’s a start, but if the Northumberland Line is a success, I can see a call for more line re openings.
Manchester And Greater Manchester
If you look at each of the areas, they generally have one or more large projects.
- Birmingham, Coventry And The West Midlands – Birmingham New Street station, Class 730 Trains, High Speed Two, West Midland Metro
- Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield And The East Midlands – Midland Main Line, Class 810 Trains, Hope Valley Line, Open Access To Sheffield
- Leeds, Bradford And West Yorkshire – Leeds station, Bradford improvements, TransPennine Upgrade, Battery-Ekectric Trains, Leeds Metro
- Liverpool And Merseyside – Liverpool Lime Street Improvements, Class 807 Trains, Class 777 Trains
- Newcastle, Tyneside And Northumberland – Metro upgrade with New Trains, Northumberland Line
So what improvements are in the pipeline for Greater Manchester?
This Wikipedia entry is entitled Proposed Developments Of Manchester Metrolink.
The proposed developments include in the Wikipedia order.
- New Metrolink Stop: Stop to serve new housing development proposed at Elton Reservoir on the Bury Line.
- New Metrolink Stop: Stop to serve new housing development proposed at Sandhills on the Bury Line.
- New Metrolink Stop: Stop to serve new housing development proposed at Cop Road on the Oldham and Rochdale Line.
- Airport Line extension to Terminal 2: A short extension of the Airport Line from the current Manchester Airport station to the site of the expanded Terminal 2.
- Airport Line extension to Davenport Green: An extension of the Airport Line from Roundthorn to the site of the proposed Manchester Airport High Speed station on the HS2 high speed network.
- Oldham–Heywood via Rochdale tram-train pathfinder: A tram-train service utilising the heavy rail Calder Valley line to connect Oldham to Heywood through Rochdale railway station.
- Manchester Airport–Wilmslow via Styal tram-train pathfinder: A tram-train service operating on the southern section of the heavy rail Styal Line between Manchester Airport and Wilmslow in Cheshire.
- South Manchester–Hale via Altrincham tram-train pathfinder: An extension of Metrolink’s Altrincham Line using tram-train to reach Hale on the heavy rail Mid-Cheshire line.
- Improved Metrolink frequency between Piccadilly and Victoria stations: Increasing capacity to provide a direct service from Rochdale and Oldham to Manchester Piccadilly.
- Interventions to improve Metrolink capacity and reliability: Includes improvements to turnback facilities and double-tracking currently single-track sections.
- Further interventions to improve Metrolink capacity and reliability: Includes longer vehicles, a third depot and double-tracking currently single-track sections.
- Manchester–Stalybridge extension: An extension of the East Manchester Line from Ashton-under-Lyne to Stalybridge.
- Manchester–Middleton extension: A proposed spur from the Bury Line connecting to the town of Middleton.
- Oldham–Middleton extension: A spur from Oldham to Middleton.
- MediaCityUK–Salford Crescent: A line connecting the MediaCityUK tram stop to the Salford Crescent railway station interchange. Further new Metrolink.
- Connections between Salford Crescent, Inner Salford and the City Centre: Extension of the MediaCityUK–Salford Crescent line into the regional centre.
- Completion of the Airport Line (Wythenshawe Loop): Completion of the Wythenshawe Loop by connecting the Metrolink lines between the Davenport Green and Manchester Airport Terminal 2 extensions.
- Port Salford/Salford Stadium extension: Extending the Trafford Park Line from the Trafford Centre to a proposed container terminal at Port Salford.
- Glossop tram-train: A tram-train service utilising the Glossop line between Manchester and Glossop in Derbyshire.
- Marple tram-train: A tram-train service utilising the Hope Valley line branches north of Marple towards Manchester.
- Manchester–Wigan via Atherton tram-train: A tram-train service utilising the Atherton section of the Manchester–Southport line between Manchester and Wigan.
- Manchester–Warrington tram-train: A tram-train service utilising the southern route of the Liverpool–Manchester lines between Manchester and Warrington.
- Stockport–Hazel Grove tram-train: A tram-train service between Stockport and the suburb of Hazel Grove.
- Stockport–Manchester Airport tram-train: A tram-train service between Stockport and Manchester Airport.
- Rochdale–Bury via Heywood tram-train: Extension of the Oldham–Heywood tram-train pathfinder from Heywood to Bury.
- Manchester Airport–Mid Cheshire tram-train: A tram-train service from Manchester Airport using a proposed Western Link rail line to the Mid-Cheshire line.
- Stockport–Ashton via Denton and Reddish tram-train: A tram-train service utilising the Stockport–Stalybridge line from Stockport to Ashton.
- Cornbrook–Manchester Airport via Timperley tram-train: A tram-train service from Cornbrook using the Altrincham line to Timperley, the Mid Cheshire line to Baguley, then the Wythenshawe Loop to Manchester Airport.
- Regional centre metro tunnel: Providing capacity for more services on the network.
- Oldham–Greenfield via Grotton extension: A Metrolink spur from Oldham town centre to Greenfield railway station on the Huddersfield line.
- Oldham–Royton extension: A Metrolink spur from the Oldham and Rochdale line to the town of Royton.
Note.
- The number of times that tram-trains are mentioned.
- But with its numerous rail and tram lines, Greater Manchester is ideally suited for conversion to tram-trains.
- There are three pathfinder routes for tram-trains, which will be converted first to prove the technology.
These are my detailed thoughts on tram-trains in Greater Manchester,
All Routes Could Be Run By Identical Tram-Trains
If this can be arranged, it is surely preferable from the operator, staff and passengers point-of-view.
Tram-Trains Can Run On Secondary Routes Like The Calder And Hope Valley Lines
In Manchester, this would enable some routes to be swapped from the rail to the tram network.
It would also allow trams to run between networks, so you could have a direct tram service between say Stockport and Sheffield on the Hope Valley Line.
Tram-Trains Can Be Faster
Tram-trains can be faster, when running on rail lines, so they don’t hold up expresses.
What Do Tram-Trains Look Like?
This is one of Sheffield’s Class 399 tram-trains at Rotherham Parkgate.
Note.
- This tram-train is a member of the Stadler Citylink family.
- this version can be powered by either 750 VDC or 25 KVAC.
- The Welsh version will also have battery-power.
- It is a three-car tram train.
- There is step-free access.
The Wikipedia entry for the Stadler Citylink has lots more details.
Stadler have just launched a new smaller one- or two-car tram-train.
This image from the press release shows the prototype hydrogen-powered one-car RS ZERO.
Note.
- The Regio-Shuttles can run as up to seven car trains.
- These RS ZERO are powered by overhead electrification, battery or hydrogen power.
- They can carry 170 passengers at 75 mph.
- They can run as train-trams using the Chemnitz model on compatible tram networks.
- The interiors are very flexible.
- An RS ZERO can be fitted with toilets for the posher parts of Manchester.
- Typically, a one-car RS ZERO handles a similar passenger load to a one-car Metrolink vehicle.
The more I compare the RS ZERO with the Metrolink’s trams, the more it looks like Stadler’s design has a Metrolink order firmly in its sights.
A Simple Tram-Train Example
The Altrincham Line of the Metrolink, runs between Altrincham and Deansgate-Castlefield in Central Manchester.
- Tram-trains would be capable of sharing the tracks with the current trams.
- Initially, they would run an identical service to the same destinations in the North.
- At either Navigation Road or Altrincham stations, they would switch to the heavy rail track.
- They would then travel to Hale or whatever station is determined to be the terminus.
Tram-trains would be a simple way of extending a tram service along a heavy eail line.
The Range Of The RS ZERO
This article on the Railway Gazette is entitled Prototype RS Zero Hydrogen Or Battery Railcar For Secondary Lines Unveiled At InnoTrans, has this paragraph.
The hydrogen powered RS Zero has a range of more than 700 km in the single car version, and a two-car version would offer more than 1 000 km. Battery trains will offer ranges of 80 to 110 km or 90 to 180 km. The maximum speed is 120 km/h.
As Chester and Manchester is only 45 miles or 72.4 kilometres, ways and means of running the battery versions on the route should be possible.
In fact, as Stockport and Manchester Piccadilly is already electrified at 25 KVAC and a return trip to Manchester Piccadilly from Stockport probably takes about twenty-five minutes, I would envisage that an RS ZERO would leave Stockport for Chester with a full battery. As Stockport and Chester is only 39.2 miles or 63 kilometres, the RS ZERO should do the trip if it started with a full battery and had a short length of electrification at Chester to top up the battery, if needed.
Other Possible Tram-Train Routes From Stockport
It is indicated the Metrolink would like to run other tram-train routes from Stockport.
- Ashton – Not sure of the route
- Buxton – 31.8 km
- Hazel Grove – 5 km – Electrified
- Manchester Piccadilly – 9 km – Electrified
- Manchester Airport – Not sure of the route
- Sheffield – 59 km – Will be electrified at Sheffield
Note.
- This would speed up Sheffield services.
- Buxton would be an interesting route and would probably use Newton’s friend to help on the return.
I suspect that nearly all local services from Manchester through Stockport could be run by battery-electric or hydrogen tram-trains.
The Glossop Line Could Be Converted To Tram-Train
It’s already electrified so why not?
Conclusion
It strikes me, that a lot of Manchester’s suburban rail network could be converted to RS ZERO tram-trains.
The RS ZERO tram-trains could also be used on existing tram routes to convert them to tram-train operation and extend them.
As a bonus Manchester’s trains would be substantially decarbonised.
The Anonymous Widower 