A First Look At SEGRO Logistics Park Radlett – 26th February 2026
The site of SEGRO Logistics Park Radlett can really only be seen from a train on the Midland Main Line going between Radlett and St Albans City stations.
I took these pictures from a Thameslink train going North.
I took these pictures from a Thameslink train going South.
Note.
- Most of the work at present is site clearance and landscaping.
- The Midland Main Line crossed over the M25 and goes under A414.
- Veralum Golf Course is on your left as you approach St Albans.
The Logistics Park is going to cover a large area.
I shall be following this project regularly.
To Sheffield In An East Midlands Railway Class 810 Train
I took these pictures on the journey.
Note.
- Five-car Class 222 And Class 810 trains Have similar lengths, so they can share platforms at St. Pancras – Nice Thinking!
- The Trainspotters will be able to see East Midlands Railway, Eurostar and Southeastern Highspeed.
- The Wymington Deviation was a Victorian fix for a steep gradient. I suspect all trains like it.
- Leicester, Loughborough, East Midlands Parkway and Long Eaton stations are quite close together.
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.
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.
Cardiff – Edinburgh Open Access Train Service Proposal Under Development
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This is the first paragraph.
Grand Union has begun industry consultation over a proposal to operate five open access services a day between Cardiff and Edinburgh, and separately is looking at rolling stock options for its planned London – Carmarthen and London – Stirling services.
These are my thoughts.
Current Train Services Between Cardiff and Edinburgh
I have chosen Monday, the 4th of December and find, that the basic fare is £120.40 with changes at Birmingham New Street and Preston, for a journey of six hours and 52 minutes.
There would appear to be three other sensible trains on that day and the others take around seven hours and cost over £230.
Cardiff and Edinburgh, is one of those routes, where the one-third saving of a railcard will pay for the card on the first trip.
Current Flights Between Cardiff and Edinburgh
I have again chosen Monday, the 4th of December and there is one direct flight that takes one hour and 15 minutes and costs £130.
There are flights under forty pounds, via Dublin or Belfast City airports, which take 4½ and 9 hours.
What About The Sleeper?
If you live in Cardiff and want to get to Edinburgh, early on the 4th, it’s probably better to take an evening train to London on the day before and then get the Caledonian Sleeper to Scotland.
An ideal train could be a sleeper between Plymouth and Edinburgh, that could be picked up at Bristol Parkway, that I wrote about in Would A North-East And South West Sleeper Service Be A Good Idea?.
But that train is only a proposal.
Although, there could be a luxury coach or conveniently-timed direct train to link Swansea, Cardiff Central and Cardiff Bay to Bristol Parkway for the sleeper.
I Feel That A Cardiff and Edinburgh Service May Have Possibilities
Grand Union are proposing to operate five open access services a day between Cardiff and Edinburgh, which seems about right.
I estimate that the service would take around seven hours. But that time is based on the fastest journeys to Birmingham New Street from both ends of the route.
Breaking it down further into three legs via Birmingham New Street and Doncaster, following times could be possible.
- Cardiff and Birmingham New Street – two hours and five minutes
- Birmingham New Street and Doncaster – two hours and five minutes
- Doncaster and Edinburgh – three hours and ten minutes
Note.
- These times are based on average of the better times of the day.
- They could probably be improved by more electrification and a bi-mode train like a Class 802 or Class 755 train.
They total up to seven hours and twenty minutes.
Intermediate Stops
These are listed as Cardiff, Newport, Severn Tunnel Junction, Gloucester, Birmingham New Street, Derby, Sheffield, Doncaster, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh.
Times and distances for the various legs are as follows.
- Cardiff and Severn Tunnel Junction – 21.6 miles – Electrified – 26 mins
- Severn Tunnel Junction and Bromsgrove – 72.5 miles – Not Electrified – One hour and thirteen mins
- Bromsgrove and Birmingham New Street – 14.3 miles – Electrified – 21 mins
- Birmingham New Street and Derby – 41.2 miles – Not Electrified – 33 mins
- Derby and Sheffield – 36.4 miles – Being Electrified – 30 mins
- Sheffield and Doncaster – 16.8 miles – Not Electrified – 24 mins
- Doncaster and Edinburgh – 237.1 miles – Electrified – two hours and 54 mins
These add up to six hours and 21 minutes.
Is Cardiff and Edinburgh An Ideal Route For A Battery-Electric Train?
The route has three unelectrified sections
- Severn Tunnel Junction and Bromsgrove – 72.5 miles
- Birmingham New Street and Derby – 41.2 miles
- Sheffield and Doncaster – 16.8 miles
Note.
- I am assuming Derby and Sheffield is electrified, under the Midland Main Line Electrification.
- The longest unelectrified section is the 72.5 miles between Severn Tunnel Junction and Bromsgrove.
- All three unelectrified sections are sandwiched between two electrified sections, that are long enough to charge the trains.
A battery-electric train with a range of 80-90 miles should be able to handle the route.
As Cardiff and Swansea is only 45.7 miles, with a range of 100 miles, the service could be extended to Swansea.
Competition
This article on Rail Advent is entitled New Cardiff – Scotland Train Service Announced As Part Of New CrossCountry Contract.
This is the relevant paragraph.
Building on the changes made to the timetables in May this year, further enhancements will include a new direct service daily between Cardiff and Edinburgh to strengthen connections across Great Britain.
Will this bang a hole in Grand Union’s plans or is there room in the market for two operators?
On the other hand LNER and Hull Trains run a 1/5 split on the King’s Cross and Hull route.
Tourism
In the past ten years, I’ve travelled regularly between London and Edinburgh by train.
- On those trips, I’ve met a large number of tourists from countries like Canada, Germany, Italy and the United States.
- Many were also visiting Paris using the Eurostar.
- Cardiff, Edinburgh and King’s Cross all have excellent hotels nearby.
- There are other historic and/or large cities on the route, who might like to get in on the act, like Bath, Birmingham, Bristol, Durham, Glasgow, Newcastle, Sheffield and York.
- Cities, hotels, museums and the train companies could form a marketing group.
Cardiff and Edinburgh would complete a very useful triangular route for anoraks, business travellers and tourists.
Conclusion
Cardiff and Edinburgh could be a new route that would work well!
Could Sheffield Station Become A Battery-Electric Train Hub?
Promised Improvements To Train Services At Sheffield
This news story from the Department of Transport is entitled Yorkshire And The Humber To Benefit From £19.8 billion Transport Investment.
Sheffield station gets several mentions of improvement to these routes.
Sheffield And Hull
This is said about train services between Sheffield and Hull.
The number of trains between Hull and Sheffield will be doubled, to 2 per hour, with capacity also doubled.
These points describe typical current services.
- The route is 59.4 miles long.
- Modern Class 170 trains take 78 minutes.
- There are stops at Meadowhall, Doncaster, Goole and Brough.
- The maximum speed of the line is mostly around 70 mph, with one short section of 100 mph.
- The average speed is 45.7 mph.
- The train continues to Scarborough after a six-minute stop at Hull.
I believe that if this route were to be electrified, that a time around an hour would be possible between Sheffield and Hull.
Sheffield and Scarborough takes two hours and 45 minutes. With electrification, this time could be less than two hours and 30 minutes.
But it would be around 113 miles of new double-track electrification.
I believe that Sheffield and Hull is a route that could be run by battery-electric trains, that would be charged at both ends of the route.
Sheffield And Leeds
This is said about train services between Sheffield and Leeds.
The line between Sheffield and Leeds will be electrified and upgraded, giving passengers a choice of 3 to 4 fast trains an hour, instead of 1, with journey times of 40 minutes. A new mainline station for Rotherham will also be added to the route, which could give the town its first direct service to London since the 1980s, boosting capacity by 300%.
These points describe typical current services.
- The route is 41.1 miles long.
- Modern Class 195 trains take 56 minutes.
- There is a few miles of electrification at the Leeds end.
- There are stops at Meadowhall, Barnsley and Wakefield Kirkgate.
- The maximum speed of the line is mostly around 60-70 mph.
- The average speed is 44 mph.
I believe that if this route were to be electrified, that a time around fifty minutes might be possible between Sheffield and Leeds.
That is not really good enough, but if they went through a new mainline station for Rotherham, the trains would be able to use 100 mph tracks all the way to Leeds. There would also be electrification between South Kirby junction and Leeds.
I suspect forty minutes should be possible with 100 mph running between Rotherham and Leeds.
I believe that Sheffield and Leeds is a route that could be run by battery-electric trains, that would be charged at both ends of the route.
Sheffield And Manchester
This is said about train services between Sheffield and Manchester.
The Hope Valley Line between Manchester and Sheffield will also be electrified and upgraded, with the aim of cutting journey times from 51 to 42 minutes and increasing the number of fast trains on the route from 2 to 3 per hour, doubling capacity.
In Electrification Of The Hope Valley Line, I talked about electrification of the line and how the services on the line could be run by battery-electric trains.
This was my conclusion in the linked post.
I believe that full electrification of the Hope Valley Line is not needed, if battery-electric trains are used.
I also believe that battery-electric trains and the current improvements being carried out on the Hope Valley Line will enable a forty minute time between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield.
I believe that the Hope Valley Line could be speeded up, by the use of intelligent engineering, rather than expensive and disruptive electrification.
Don Valley Line
This is said about the Don Valley Line.
Communities will be reconnected through the reopening of lines and stations closed under the Beeching reforms of the 1960s. This will include the restoration of the Don Valley Line between Stocksbridge and Sheffield Victoria, and new stations at Haxby Station, near York, Waverley, near Rotherham, and the Don Valley Line from Sheffield to Stocksbridge.
I’ve talked about the Don Valley Line before in Reopening The Don Valley Section Of The Former Woodhead Line Between Stocksbridge and Sheffield Victoria To Passenger Services.
The Don Valley Line has a comprehensive Wikipedia entry, which is well worth a read.
Could the Don Valley Line be worked by battery-electric trains?
It would appear that these promised improvements to and from Sheffield could be worked by battery-electric trains.
Now that battery-electric trains are being developed, it could also have services, using these trains.
Could Battery-Electric Trains Improve Other Services At Sheffield?
These are some possibilities.
Chesterfield And Sheffield Victoria
This news story from the Department of Transport is entitled East Midlands To Benefit From £9.6 billion Transport Investment.
This news story also talks about the Stocksbridge Line and Sheffield Victoria, where this is said.
Funding will also be provided for the Barrow Hill Line between Chesterfield and Sheffield Victoria, with a new station at Staveley in Derbyshire.
I wrote about the Barrow Hill Line in Reinstatement Of The Barrow Hill Line Between Sheffield And Chesterfield.
In the related post, this was my conclusion.
This looks to be a very sensible project.
- It could be run with either trains or tram-trams.
- It should be electrified, so it could be zero-carbon.
- Tram-trains could be used to make stations simpler.
- It could give an alternative route for electric trains to Sheffield station.
- The track is already there and regularly used.
But surely the biggest reason to built it, is that it appears to open up a lot of South and South-East Sheffield and North-East Chesterfield for development.
Now that battery-electric trains are being developed, Chesterfield and Sheffield could also have services, using these trains.
Sheffield And Adwick
Nothing is said in the news story about train services between Sheffield and Adwick.
Consider.
- Sheffield and Adwick is 22.7 miles.
- Journeys take fifty minutes.
- There are seven intermediate stations.
- This is an average speed of 27.2 mph.
- Adwick and Doncaster is 4.4 miles and electrified.
- There are generous turn-round times at both ends of the route.
- There are rather unusual reversing arrangements at Adwick.
I wonder if electric trains on this route, would knock a few minutes off the journey time because of the better acceleration and deceleration of electric trains.
Could this route be another route from Sheffield suitable for battery-electric trains?
- The train could fully charge between Adwick and Doncaster and at Adwick.
- It is only a short route with a round trip under sixty miles.
I believe this route could be very suitable for battery-electric trains.
Sheffield And Huddersfield
Nothing is said in the news story about train services in the Penistone Line between Sheffield and Huddersfield.
Consider.
- Sheffield and Huddersfield is 36.4 miles.
- Journeys take one hour and nineteen minutes.
- There are fifteen intermediate stations.
- This is an average speed of 27.6 mph.
- Huddersfield is being electrified as part of the TransPennine Upgrade.
I wonder if electric trains on this route, would knock a few minutes off the journey time because of the better acceleration and deceleration of electric trains.
Could this route be another route from Sheffield suitable for battery-electric trains?
Sheffield And Lincoln
Nothing is said in the news story about train services between Sheffield and Lincoln.
Consider.
- Sheffield and Lincoln is 48.5 miles.
- All Sheffield and Lincoln services start in Leeds.
- Journeys take one hour and twenty-five minutes.
- There are nine intermediate stations.
- This is an average speed of 34.2 mph.
- There is no electrification.
- Turn-round time at Lincoln is 26 minutes.
- All trains terminate in Platform 5 at Lincoln.
I wonder if electric trains on this route, would knock a few minutes off the journey time because of the better acceleration and deceleration of electric trains.
Could this route be another route from Sheffield suitable for battery-electric trains?
- Platform 5 could be electrified at Lincoln.
- There may need to be a battery top-up at Sheffield and Leeds.
I believe this route could be very suitable for battery-electric trains.
Electrification Between Sheffield And London
Consider.
- The Midland Main Line electrification is creeping up from London.
- It should soon be installed between St. Pancras and Market Harborough.
- Sheffield and Market Harborough is 81.9 miles.
- The Class 810 trains that will run the Sheffield and London route can’t be far off entering service.
There might be scope for running battery-electric trains on the route, until the electrification is complete.
A Battery-Electric Train Hub At Sheffield
I believe that a fair proportion of services to and from Sheffield could be run using battery-electric trains or bog-standard electric trains.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the platforms at Sheffield.
Note.
- The lilac tracks are those of the Sheffield Supertram.
- The darker lines are the tracks in the station.
- Tracks could be electrified as required.
Eventually, Sheffield will be a fully-electrified station, because of the Midland Main Line electrification.
But why not do it sooner rather than later, so that by running new or refurbished battery-electric trains to places like Huddersfield, Hull, Leeds, Lincoln, London and Manchester?
- Services would be speeded up by around a minute or two for each stop.
- Faster journeys may attract more passengers.
- Routes would be creating less carbon emission and pollution.
- In some cases, routes would be zero carbon.
Some routes would need electrification at the terminal to charge the trains, but Leeds, London St. Pancras and Manchester are already fully electrified.
Charging Long Distance Battery-Electric Trains When They Stop In Sheffield
These long distance services stop in Sheffield.
- CrossCountry – Plymouth and Edinburgh
- CrossCountry – Reading and Newcastle
- East Midland Railway – London and Leeds
- East Midland Railway – Liverpool Lime Street and Norwich
- Northern – Leeds and Lincoln
- Northern – Leeds and Nottingham
- Northern – Sheffield and Cleethorpes
- TransPennine Express – Liverpool Lime Street and Cleethorpes
battery-electric trains could be given a top-up, as they pass through.
I am assuming that CrossCountry, East Midland Railway, Northern and TransPennine Express will be running suitable battery-electric trains.
Battery-Electric Train Hubs
To be a battery-electric train hub, a station probably needs to have all or nearly all of its platforms electrified.
- It should be able to fully-charge any battery-electric trains terminating in the station, provided that the turn-round time is long enough.
- It should be able to give a through battery-electric train a boost if required, so that it gets to the final destination.
It would appear that there are already several battery-electric train hubs in the England, Scotland and Wales.
This map from OpenRailwayMap shows Liverpool Lime Street station, with electrified tracks shown in red.
It would appear that the station is fully electrified and is an excellent battery-electric train hub.
This map from OpenRailwayMap shows Manchester Piccadilly station, with electrified tracks shown in red.
It would appear that the station is fully electrified, except for the Northernmost platform, and is an excellent battery-electric train hub.
This map from OpenRailwayMap shows Leeds station, with electrified tracks shown in red.
It would appear that the station is fully electrified and is an excellent battery-electric train hub, with twelve electrified bay platforms.
Conclusion
I can see a very comprehensive scheme being developed for Sheffield, based on a hub for battery-electric trains at Sheffield station.
Electrification Of The Hope Valley Line
This news story from the Department of Transport is entitled Yorkshire And The Humber To Benefit From £19.8 billion Transport Investment.
This is said about the Hope Valley Line.
The Hope Valley Line between Manchester and Sheffield will also be electrified and upgraded, with the aim of cutting journey times from 51 to 42 minutes and increasing the number of fast trains on the route from 2 to 3 per hour, doubling capacity.
The fast trains are currently TransPennine’s service between Liverpool Lime Street and Cleethorpes.
- Between Platform 13 at Manchester Piccadilly station and Sheffield station is 42.6 miles.
- At the Manchester end, there will be electrification between Manchester Piccadilly and Hazel Grove stations, which is 8.7 miles and takes typically 17 minutes.
- After the electrification of the Midland Main Line to Sheffield, there will be electrification between Dore & Totley and Sheffield stations, which is 4.2 miles and takes typically 8 minutes.
The gap in the electrification between Dore & Totley and Hazel Grove stations will be 29.7 miles.
But it will not be an easy route to electrify.
- At the Western end, there is the Disley Tunnel, which is 3535 metres long.
- In the middle, there is the Cowburn Tunnel which is 3385 metres long, that is also the deepest tunnel in England.
- At the Eastern end, there is the Totley Tunnel, which is 5700 metres long.
Yorkshire doesn’t have an Underground railway, but the combined length of these three tunnels is 7.84 miles, which means that over 26 % of the electrification needed between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield will have to be installed in tunnels.
Could The Route Be Run Using Battery-Electric Trains?
Consider.
- The gap in the electrification between Dore & Totley and Hazel Grove stations will be 29.7 miles.
- There is electrified sections at Dore & Totley and Hazel Grove stations, which will be able to charge the trains.
- Merseyrail’s Class 777 trains have demonstrated a battery range of 84 miles.
- A Stadler Akku train has demonstrated a battery range of 139 miles.
- Hitachi are developing a battery-electric version of TransPennine’s Class 802 train.
- If all trains can run on batteries or be self-powered, there would be no need to electrify the long and possibly difficult tunnels.
I believe that it would be possible to electrify all passenger services between Manchester and Sheffield using appropriate battery-electric trains.
Freight would be a problem and I suspect that hydrogen-hybrid and other self-powered locomotives could handle the route.
Could The Complete TransPennine Liverpool Lime Street and Cleethorpes Service Be Run By Battery-Electric Class 802 trains?
These are the various electrified and unelectrified sections.
- Liverpool Lime Street and Liverpool South Parkway – Electrified – 5.7 miles – 10 minutes
- Liverpool South Parkway and Trafford Park – Not Electrified – 25.2 miles – 30 minutes
- Trafford Park and Hazel Grove – Electrified – 12.6 miles – 28 minutes
- Hazel Grove and Dore & Totley – Not Electrified – 29.7 miles – 35 minutes
- Dore & Totley and Sheffield – Electrified – 4.2 miles – 6 minutes
- Sheffield and Doncaster – Not Electrified – 18.6 miles – 25 minutes
- Doncaster and Cleethorpes – Not Electrified – 52.1 miles – 78 minutes
Note.
- This is a total of 125.6 miles without electrification.
- The Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield time is 56 minutes.
- The distance is 37.8 miles.
- That is an average speed on 40.5 mph.
- Most of the line between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield has an maximum speed of 70 mph, but there is a short length of track with a 50 mph speed and another longer one with 90 mph.
To achieve 40 minutes between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield would need an average speed of 60.7 mph. Given the improvements being carried out by Network Rail at the current time, I believe that forty minutes between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield should be possible.
I’ll look at a train going East.
- The train will leave Liverpool Lime Street with a reasonably full battery after charging using the current electrification in the station.
- The train will leave Liverpool South Parkway with a full battery after charging using the current electrification from Liverpool Lime Street.
- The train will arrive at Trafford Park with a battery perhaps two-thirds full, but it will be fully charged on the current electrification to Hazel Grove.
- The train will arrive at Dore & Totley with a battery perhaps two-thirds full, but it will be fully charged on the Midland Main Line electrification to Sheffield.
- The train will arrive at Doncaster with a battery perhaps two-thirds full and the train would wait until it had enough charge to reach Cleethorpes.
I’ll look at a train going West.
- The train will leave Cleethorpes with a full battery after charging using the new electrification in the station.
- The train will arrive at Doncaster with a battery perhaps two-thirds full and the train would wait until it had enough charge to reach Sheffield.
- The train will arrive at Sheffield with a battery perhaps two-thirds full, but it will be fully charged on the Midland Main Line electrification to Dore & Totley.
- The train will arrive at Hazel Grove with a battery perhaps two-thirds full, but it will be fully charged on the current electrification to Trafford Park.
- The train will arrive at Liverpool South Parkway with a battery perhaps two-thirds full, but the route is electrified to Liverpool Lime Street.
Note.
- If the battery range on a full battery was over 90 miles, the two most easterly sections could be run without any charging at Doncaster.
- If the battery range was over 125.6 miles, the journey could be done by starting with a full battery.
- If every time the train decelerated, regenerative braking would recover energy, which could be reused.
- The only new electrification needed will be a short length at Cleethorpes station, that would charge the trains.
I certainly believe that Liverpool Lime Street and Cleethorpes services could be run by battery-electric trains.
Could The Complete TransPennine Liverpool Lime Street and Cleethorpes Service Be Run By Battery-Electric Class 802 trains Without The Midland Main Line Electrification?
In this section, I’m assuming, that there is no electrification at Sheffield.
These would be the various electrified and unelectrified sections.
- Liverpool Lime Street and Liverpool South Parkway – Electrified – 5.7 miles – 10 minutes
- Liverpool South Parkway and Trafford Park – Not Electrified – 25.2 miles – 30 minutes
- Trafford Park and Hazel Grove – Electrified – 12.6 miles – 28 minutes
- Hazel Grove and Cleethorpes – Not Electrified – 104.6 miles – 143 minutes
Note.
- This is a total of 129.6 miles without electrification.
- The battery range of the train, should probably be around 120 miles to make sure the train could run between Hazel Grove and Cleethorpes.
- One diesel power-pack could be installed for emergency use.
I’ll look at a train going East.
- The train will leave Liverpool Lime Street with a reasonably full battery after charging using the current electrification in the station.
- The train will leave Liverpool South Parkway with a full battery after charging using the current electrification from Liverpool Lime Street.
- The train will arrive at Trafford Park with a battery perhaps 80 % full, but it will be fully charged on the current electrification to Hazel Grove.
- The train would then eek out what power it had left to reach Cleethorpes.
If necessary, the train could stop in the electrified Doncaster station to top up the batteries from the East Coast Main Line electrification for the run to Cleethorpes.
I’ll look at a train going West.
- The train will leave Cleethorpes with a full battery after charging using new electrification in the station.
- The train will arrive at Doncaster with a battery perhaps 57 % full and the train would wait if needed, until it had enough charge to reach Hazel Grove.
- The train will arrive at Hazel Grove with a battery perhaps one-thirds full, but it will be fully charged on the current electrification to Trafford Park.
- The train will arrive at Liverpool South Parkway with a battery perhaps one-thirds full, but the route is electrified to Liverpool Lime Street.
Note.
- If the battery range on a full battery was over 105 miles, the Eastern section could be run without any charging at Doncaster.
- If the battery range was over 129.6 miles, the journey could be done by starting with a full battery.
- If every time the train decelerated, regenerative braking would recover energy, which could be reused.
- The only new electrification needed will be a short length at Cleethorpes station, that would charge the trains.
However, it might be prudent to electrify the through platforms at Sheffield, so that they could be used for emergency charging if required.
Northern Train’s Service Between Sheffield And Manchester Piccadilly Via The Hope Valley Line
There is a one train per hour (tph) Northern service between Sheffield and Manchester Piccadilly.
- The Class 195 diesel train takes 78 minutes.
- The distance is 42 miles.
- The first mile or so at the Manchester end is electrified.
- Trains seem to take about sixteen minutes to turn round at Manchester Piccadilly.
- Trains seem to take about nine minutes to turn round at Sheffield.
- The service runs via Reddish North, Brinnington, Bredbury, Romiley, Marple, New Mills Central, Chinley, Edale, Hope, Bamford, Hathersage, Grindleford and Dore & Totley.
- The max speed is generally 60 mph to the West of New Mills Central and 70 mph to the East, with short lower speed sections.
There would appear to be two ways to run this route withy battery-electric trains.
- As Manchester Piccadilly station is fully-electrified and trains could be connected to the electrification for upwards of twenty minutes, trains will certainly be able to be fully-charged at Manchester. As the round trip is only 84 miles, could trains run the service without a charge at Sheffield.
- Alternatively, there could be a dedicated electrified platform at Sheffield. But the problem with this, is that currently this service uses a random platform at Sheffield.
It looks like, if the train has the required range, that charging at the Manchester end would be the better solution.
Liverpool And Norwich Via The Hope Valley Line
This service uses a similar route between Liverpool Lime Street and Sheffield, as the Liverpool and Hull service and then it meanders, through the East Midlands.
- Liverpool Lime Street and Liverpool South Parkway – Electrified – 5.7 miles – 11 minutes
- Liverpool South Parkway and Trafford Park – Not Electrified – 25.2 miles – 33 minutes
- Trafford Park and Hazel Grove – Electrified – 12.6 miles – 26 minutes
- Hazel Grove and Dore & Totley – Not Electrified – 29.7 miles – 28 minutes
- Dore & Totley and Sheffield – Electrified – 4.2 miles – 6 minutes
- Sheffield and Nottingham – Being Electrified – 40.6 miles – 52 minutes
- Nottingham and Grantham – Not Electrified – 22.7 miles – 30 minutes
- Grantham and Peterborough – Electrified – 29.1 miles – 29 minutes
- Peterborough And Ely – Not Electrified – 30 miles – 31 minutes
- Ely and Norwich – Not Electrified – 53.7 miles – 56 minutes
This is a total of 161.3 miles without electrification.
But as Sheffield and Nottingham and Grantham and Peterborough will be fully electrified, this route will be possible using a battery-electric train.
Electrifying Sheffield Station
I said earlier in this post, that electrifying Sheffield station would be an option for electrifying the Sheffield and Manchester Piccadilly service.
If this were to be done, it would have collateral benefits for other services that terminate at Sheffield, which could be charged whilst they turned around.
I wrote about Sheffield station as a battery-electric train hub in Could Sheffield Station Become A Battery-Electric Train Hub?
Conclusion
I believe that full electrification of the Hope Valley Line is not needed, if battery-electric trains are used.
I also believe that battery-electric trains and the current improvements being carried out on the Hope Valley Line will enable a forty minute time between Manchester Piccadilly and Sheffield.
The Anonymous Widower 