Could Electric Trains Run Between St. Pancras International and Sheffield Stations With No More Electrification?
A reader suggested, that I look at this, so here goes!
- A couple of weeks ago, I took a Class 222 diesel train back from Sheffield to St. Pancras International and it seemed a few minutes quicker.
- Looking at the timetable today, at least one service on the route is now just under two hours and some others are just over.
So the new Class 810 trains may not be fully in service yet, but the trains have already had an effect on the timetable.
How Far North Is The Midland Main Line Being Electrified?
I asked Google AI this question and received this answer.
As of early 2026, the Midland Main Line (MML) is electrified as far north as Wigston, just south of Leicester.
- Northern Limit: The section from Kettering up to Wigston South Junction was energised in July 2024, representing the current northern limit of 25kV overhead line equipment (OLE).
- Pause in Further Electrification: Following a UK government spending review, the further, planned northward extension of electrification to Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, and Sheffield was indefinitely paused in July 2025.
- Current Operations: While electrification has stopped at Wigston, the line is served by new bi-mode (electro-diesel) trains, allowing for electric running from London St Pancras to Wigston before switching to diesel power.
- Previous Work: The line is also fully electrified from London St Pancras to Bedford, including the route to Corby.
Note.
- South Wigston Junction and Sheffield are 69.4 miles apart.
- The Hitachi trains can raise and lower pantographs on the move.
Distances without wires from London St. Pancras International to various destinations are as follows.
- Sheffield – 69.4 miles
- Leicester – 3.7 miles
- Derby – 36.4 miles
- Nottingham – 31.1 miles
As trains will have to go out and back to these destinations distances travelled will be doubled.
- Sheffield – 138.8 miles
- Leicester – 7.4 miles
- Derby – 72.8 miles
- Nottingham – 62.2 miles
It looks to me, that if the new Class 810 trains, can travel 138.8 miles on batteries and diesel engines as a tri-mode train, then the Midland Main Line is electrified.
Could The Sheffield Services Turn Round At Doncaster And Charge Their Batteries There?
Note.
- South Wigston Junction and Doncaster are 79.5 miles apart.
- Doncaster is a fully-electrified station.
- Sheffield and Doncaster would get two extra connecting trains per hour.
- The two services could also call at Meadowhall and/or Rotherham Central.
The Class 810 trains could charge their batteries, whilst passengers to and from Doncaster left and entered the trains.
Could A Simple Cross-Platform Change Be Arranged Between East Coast And Midland Main Line Services?
Doncaster station has two long island platforms, one of which is generally used for Northbound services and one for Southbound services.
Note.
- All electrified tracks are shown in red.
- The two wide island platforms, with Northbound on the West side and Southbound on the East side.
- Each island platform has an electrified platform face on both sides.
- The four platforms faces on the island platforms can hold pairs of five-car Hitachi trains.
- There are two through tracks or avoiding lines between the two island platforms for trains that aren’t stopping.
- There are bay platforms at the ends of the station for local trains.
- The station is fully step-free with a wide pedestrian underpass.
I know the station well and it looks to me, that East Midland Railway’s five-car services for St. Pancras could charge up in the Southern ends of the four faces of the island platforms and the two South-facing bay platforms.
I also believe that a pair of five-car Class 810 trains could be handled and charged, should it become necessary.
It looks to me, that the engineers updating the East Coast Main Line, know that they were caught out badly by High Speed Two, so the redesign for the next fifty or a hundred years will be completely future-proofed.
Doncaster and London could almost be considered to be twin main lines, with two pairs of high speed lines taking different routes, that serve different towns and cities.
How Many Travellers Go Between East Scotland And The North-East of England And The English Midlands?
It must be quite a few, as in the new East Coast Main Line timetable, more Scottish services stop at places like Doncaster and Newark.
But surely, if you could go between say Perth or Aberdeen and Derby or Nottingham in two battery-electric trains, with a relaxed change at Doncaster, you’d take it?
I certainly would!
East Coast And Midland Main Lines Compared
These are times between London and Doncaster.
- Current times between Doncaster and London are typically between 1 hour and 31-40 minutes going via the East Coast Main Line.
- I estimate times between Doncaster and London will be typically 2 hours and 22-27 minutes going via the Midland Main Line.
Note.
- Doncaster and London King’s Cross is 156 miles
- Doncaster and London St. Pancras International is 183.3 miles
- So the Midland Main Line route would appear to to be about 45 minutes slower.
- I suspect, that for passengers between between London and North of York, it will always be quicker to use an East Coast Main Line service.
These are times between London and Sheffield.
- Current times between Sheffield and London are typically between 2 hours and 4-9 minutes going via the Midland Main Line.
- I estimate times between Sheffield and London will be typically between 2 hours and 2 minutes going via the East Coast Main Line.
Note.
- Sheffield and London King’s Cross is via Retford.
- Sheffield and London King’s Cross is 162.1 miles
- Sheffield and London St. Pancras International is 183.3 miles
- Sheffield and Retford is 23.5 miles
- So the Midland Main Line route would appear to to be a few minutes slower.
I would feel that there is scope that under Great British Railways to optimise services between London and Doncaster and Sheffield.
The Master Cutler
The Master Cutler is a named train, that is described in this Wikipedia entry, that was introduced in 1947.
- Over its life it has run into both King’s Cross and St. Pancras.
- I can remember the train in the 1950s, running into King’s Cross.
- It has also been run to and from Leeds.
- It has been run as a Pullman service.
- There are reports of overcrowding in recent years.
It strikes me that the Master Cutler could do with a revamp.
- As St. Pancras can accept pairs of five-car Class 810 trains, ten-car trains could be run into King’s Cross or St. Pancras.
- An alternative would be to use a nine-car Hitachi Class 800/801 train.
- All trains would be battery electric.
- All trains would use the East Coast Main Line for a faster service.
- Services could terminate in the North at Leeds.
- The service could be run as a Pullman service.
- This article on Ian Visits, writes about East Coast Main Line trains using St. Pancras.
I would create a train service, that would attract passengers from all over the world.
Who knows?
If it was conceived in the right way, it might warrant a second service or similar service on other lines like these possibilities.
London and Blackpool via Crewe, Wigan and Preston.
- London and Aberystwyth via Birmingham and Shrewsbury.
- London and Bristol via Bath
- London and Fishguard via Cardiff and Swansea
- London and Holyhead via Birmingham and Chester
- London and Liverpool
- London and Manchester
- London and Newcastle via York and Durham
- London and Norwich via Colchester and Ipswich
- London and Plymouth via Exeter
Note.
- All routes could be run using electric or battery-electric trains.
- The Fishguard and Holyhead services would be zero-carbon routes to Ireland, connecting to appropriate zero-carbon ferries.
- Could services be arranged so that all parts of the country have at least one service in both directions every day?
- In the days of British Rail, London and Norwich had a very high-class service, that could serve a full English breakfast between Colchester and London, which certainly wasn’t like the regular joke.
Get the offering right and it could level-up the UK.
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.
RWE Opens ‘Grimsby Hub’ For Offshore Wind Operations And Maintenance
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
RWE officially opened its ‘Grimsby Hub’ offshore wind operations and maintenance (O&M) facility in the UK on 9 July. From the new O&M base, located at Associated British Ports’ (ABP) Port of Grimsby, RWE’s teams will maintain and operate the Triton Knoll and Sofia offshore wind farms.
These are the first two paragraphs.
The Grimsby Hub also houses RWE’s new UK Centralised Control Room (CCR), which has been set up to provide 24/7 monitoring of the company’s UK offshore wind farms and can provide services such as marine coordination, turbine operations, alarm management, high voltage monitoring and Emergency Response services with a team of twelve operatives, the developer says.
The O&M facility is already employing over 90 Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs), according to RWE, and is expected to employ around 140 RWE staff by 2027, as well as create approximately 60 new locally sourced jobs through the development of the CCR and ongoing offshore operations.
Note.
- Does RWE’s new UK Centralised Control Room control all their UK offshore wind farms?
- I have added them all up and there are almost 12 GW around our shores.
- I’ve read somewhere, that RWE are the UK’s largest power generator. From these figures, that would not surprise me.
This Google Map shows the location of RWE’s facilities in Grimsby.
Note.
- The bright red arrow at the top of the map indicates RWE Generation UK in Grimsby Docks.
- There is another RWE location to the right of the bright red arrow.
- There is a line of stations along the coast, which from left-to-right are Stallingborough, Healing, Great Coates, Grimsby Town, Grimsby Docks, New Clee and Cleethorpes.
- Cleethorpes is not shown on the map.
- Doncaster and Cleethorpes are 52.1 mile apart, which is within the range of a battery-electric Hitachi and other trains.
- Charging would be at Doncaster, which is fully electrified and at Cleethorpes, by a short length of electrification.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the layout of and the railways around Grimsby Dock.
Note.
- Cleethorpes station is indicated by the blue arrow, in the South-East corner of the map.
- Cleethorpes station has four platforms, but no electrification.
- Grimsby Docks are to the North of the railway to Cleethorpes.
- This Wikipedia entry for Cleethorpes station, shows other railways and light railways served the area. Some were even electric.
These are a few of my thoughts on the development of railways between Sheffield and Cleethorpes.
RWE Will Be A Large Driver Of Employment In Grimsby
Earlier I wrote.
- Does RWE’s new UK Centralised Control Room control all their UK offshore wind farms?
- I have added them all up and there are almost 12 GW around our shores.
- I’ve read somewhere, that RWE are the UK’s largest power generator. From these figures, that would not surprise me.
It’s a long time, since I’ve added resources to a large project, so I asked Google AI, “How many people are needed to support a 1 GW offshore wind farm in the UK?”, and received this answer.
Direct & Indirect Support: For a large-scale project, this often breaks down into approximately 100–150 direct, permanent, high-skilled roles (technicians, engineers, management) and hundreds more in indirect, contracted, or supply chain roles (vessel crews, port operations, logistics).
Industry Average: Studies suggest that for operations and maintenance (O&M), around 50–100 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs are generated per GW of installed capacity in terms of direct, permanent staff.
Key Takeaways for a 1 GW Farm:
- Direct Technicians/Operators: ~100–200+ (working on-site, turbines, or in control rooms).
- O&M Support Services: ~300–400+ (vessel operators, port logistics, supply chain).
- Total Operations Personnel: 300–600+ people.
Google AI appeared to have borrowed the figure from Ørsted and Hornsea 1 and 2.
So if it’s correct, there will be a total of 7,200 personnel supporting RWE’s wind farms in the UK. Even if only a third were employed in Grimsby, that is still a lot of people to accommodate and who will need to travel to work.
I also think a lot of personnel will come in by train, as the station is close to RWE’s locations.
Will Grimsby Have An Aberdeen-Sized Office-Shortage Problem?
One of the biggest problems, I was always hearing in the 1970s, was the shortage of offices in Aberdeen for the use of the oilmen.
In RWE Goes For An Additional 10 GW Of Offshore Wind In UK Waters In 2030, I talked about RWE’s plans for the future and published this table of new wind farms.
- Sofia – 1,400 MW
- Norfolk Boreas – 1380 MW
- Norfolk Vanguard East – 1380 MW
- Norfolk Vanguard West – 1380 MW
- Dogger Bank South – 3000 MW
- Awel y Môr – 500 MW
- Five Estuaries – 353 MW
- North Falls – 504 MW
Note.
- Sofia is nearly complete.
- Only the three Norfolk and the Dogger Bank South wind farms are on the East side of England and suitable to be serviced from Grimsby., but they still total 7,140 MW.
Has Grimsby got the office-space for all the people needed?
Could The Cleethorpes And Liverpool Lime Street Service Be Run By Battery-Electric Rolling Stock?
The various sections of this route are as follows.
- Cleethorpes and Doncaster – No Electrification – 52.1 miles
- Doncaster and Meadowhall – No Electrification – 15.2 miles
- Meadowhall and Sheffield – No Electrification – 3.4 miles
- Sheffield and Dore & Totley – No Electrification – 4.2 miles
- Dore & Totley and Hazel Grove – No Electrification – 29.2 miles
- Hazel Grove and Stockport – Electrification – 3.3 miles
- Stockport and Manchester Piccadilly – Electrification – 5.9 miles
- Manchester Piccadilly and Deansgate – Electrification – 0.8 miles
- Deansgate and Liverpool South Parkway -Not Electrified – 28.2 miles
- Liverpool South Parkway and Liverpool Lime Street – Electrified – 5.7 miles
Adding the sections together gives.
- Cleethorpes and Hazel Grove – No Electrification – 104.1 miles
- Hazel Grove and Deansgate – Electrification – 10 miles
- Deansgate and Liverpool South Parkway -Not Electrified – 28.2 miles
- Liverpool South Parkway and Liverpool Lime Street – Electrified – 5.7 miles
Note.
- To cover the 104.1 miles to Hazel Grove battery-electric trains would probably need to leave Cleethorpes with full batteries.
- Doncaster is a fully-electrified station and passing trains may be able to have a quick top-up.
- In South Yorkshire Now Has Better North-South Connections, I calculated that Doncaster is a very busy station with 173 express trains per day calling at the station or one every 8.5 minutes.
- Will trains be able to stop for a long period to charge batteries?
- It may be prudent to electrify between Meadowhall and Sheffield, under the Midland Mainline Electrification.
- Sheffield and Dore & Totley is shown that it will be electrified, under the Midland Mainline Electrification.
- Do we really want to have electrification marching along the Hope Valley Line?
- I believe that hydrogen-hybrid locomotives will be a better solution for freight trains on scenic lines like the Hope Valley, as they are zero-carbon, powerful and with a range comparable to diesel.
I believe CAF, Hitachi and Siemens have off the shelf rolling stock and factories in this country, who could build trains for the Cleethorpes and Liverpool Lime Street route.
How Would You Charge Battery-Electric Trains At Cleethorpes?
This picture shows Cleethorpes station
Note.
- The four long platforms without electrification.
- The platforms have recently been refurbished.
- The train in Platform 2 is a TransPennine Express Class 185 Siemens Desiro diesel train.
The simplest way to electrify the station would be to put up enough 25 KVAC overhead wires, so that battery-electric trains needing a charge could put up a pantograph and have a refreshing drink.
In Technology Behind Siemens Mobility’s British Battery Trains Hits The Tracks, I wrote about Siemens Rail Charging Converter.
This is a visualisation of a Siemens Rail Charging Converter in action.
Note.
- The track is electrified with standard 25 KVAC overhead electrification.
- The train is a standard Siemens electric or battery-electric train.
- Siemens Rail Charging Converter, which is the shed in the compound on the left is providing the electricity to energise the catenary.
- I suspect, it could power third rail electrification, if the Office of Rail and Road ever allowed it to be still installed.
- The Siemens Rail Charging Converter does have one piece of magic in the shed. I suspect it uses a battery or a large capacitor to help power the electrification, as it can be powered from any typical domestic grid supply.
- I also wonder, if it has safety devices that cut the power outside the shed if track workers or intruders are detected, where they shouldn’t be?
- It could even cut the power, when trains are not running to save power and increase safety.
This looks to me, that a Siemens Rail Charging Converter could be a superb example of out-of-the-box thinking.
Could The Cleethorpes And Barton-on-Humber Service Be Run By Battery-Electric Rolling Stock?
This OpenRailwayMap shows the railways of North-East Lincolnshire.
Note.
- Cleethorpes is in the South-East Corner of the map.
- Barton-on-Humber is in the North-West corner of the map and marked by a blue-arrow.
- Stations from South to North would be New Clee, Grimsby Docks, Grimsby Town, Great Coates, Healing, Stallingborough, Habrough, Ulceby, Thornton Abbey, Goxhill, New Holland and Barrow Haven.
- The line is double track.
- Cleethorpes and Barton-on-Humber is just 22.8 miles.
- A round trip would be under fifty miles, which would be well within range of a full-charge at one end.
- Service is one train per two hours (tp2h), which would only need a single train, shuttling between Cleethorpes and Barton-on-Humber.
- Two trains could provide an hourly service.
I would expect, that well-designed, solid and reliable German engineering could build a Siemens’ Rail Charging Connector that could charge four trains per hour (tph) at Cleethorpes station.
At present services are.
- TransPennineExpress – 1 tph to Liverpool Lime Street.
- East Midlands Railway – 1 tp2h to Barton-on-Humber
- East Midlands Railway – 1 tp2h to Matlock via Lincoln and Nottingham
- Northern Trains – 1 train per day (tpd) Sheffield via Brigg.
That is probably only about two tph.
Could The Cleethorpes And Sheffield Service Be Run By Battery-Electric Rolling Stock?
This is a description of the current Cleethorpes and Sheffield service.
- It is run by Northern Trains.
- The morning train leaves Sheffield at 09:54 and arrives in Cleethorpes at 11:40.
- The afternoon train leaves Cleethorpes at 13:20 and arrives in Sheffield at 15:10.
- The train is a Class 150 diesel train, which is a bit of a Joan Collins of a train – Of a certain age, but still scrubs up extremely well!
- Intermediate stations are Worksop, Retford, Gainsborough Central, Kirton Lindsey, Brigg, Barnetby and Grimsby Town
- The route length is 71.6 miles
- Trains take about 45-50 minutes.
It is also a parliamentary train.
The Wikipedia entry for parliamentary train gives this description of the Cleethorpes and Sheffield service.
Via Kirton Lindsey & Brigg. Became a parliamentary service when weekday services were withdrawn in 1993. Regular trains have operated between Gainsborough and Sheffield for most timetable periods since. Suspended January 2022 by Northern, who cited COVID-19 and staffing issues , but the service was reinstated in December 2022. Changed in May 2023 to be one return journey on weekdays only.
In the 1950s and 1960s I lived in Felixstowe part of the time and in the 1970s and 1980s I lived near Woodbridge and I observed first hand the development of the Port of Felixstowe and the effects it had on the surrounding countryside.
The development of the Port of Felixstowe, has brought the following.
- Improved roads and railways.
- Ipswich is now an hour from London by train.
- Ipswich is now a University town.
- New housing and other developments, both in Ipswich and Felixstowe and the surrounding countryside.
- Employment also has increased considerably, both in the Port and in surrounding towns.
- Ipswich’s football team is very much respected all over Europe and has won the English top division, the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup.
When you consider the jobs that RWE could create in the Port of Grimsby, I believe that this could have similar effects in Grimsby and Cleethorpes, as the Port of Felixstowe had in East Suffolk.
Already, the following are being talked about.
- A direct rail link between Cleethorpes and Grimsby to London.
- Battery-electric trains between Cleethorpes and Grimsby and Doncaster, Manchester and Liverpool Lime Street.
I believe that an improved rail link between Cleethorpes and Sheffield could be the catalyst for much needed housing along the route, which would be to the benefit of Cleethorpres, Grimsby, Sheffield and all the intermediate towns and villages on the route.
and the affects this will have on the countryside around the town, I believe that a strong case can be made out for a more frequent service between Cleethorpes and Sheffield.
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.
The Anonymous Widower 