The Anonymous Widower

London King’s Cross Station To Glasgow Central Station For £64.35

My plan on Friday, was to see if it was possible to get to Glasgow using the historic route of the Midland Railway’s Thames-Clyde Expresses.

I used two tickets and four trains.

My first ticket was from King’s Cross to Bradford Forster Square, which cost me just £24.55 with my Senior Railcard.

  1. I left on the 11:40, which was a nine-car train.
  2. The train reversed at Leeds.
  3. The train was eight minutes late into Bradford Forster Square station.

I took these pictures on my route North.

Note.

  1. The Biggleswade Wind Farm Is Only 20 MW.
  2. The new A 421 Extension Will Run between Black Cat and Caxton Gibbet.
  3. A large number of new buildings are going up on the approach to Leeds station.
  4. The train reversed at Leeds station.
  5. The reverse took ten minutes.
  6. The £100 million Shipley Traincare Centre is under construction.
  7. This page gives more details of the Shipley Traincare Centre.
  8. Bradford Forster Square station has been designed and build with four long platforms.

Have Network Rail designed the station, so that it can handle ten-car Leeds and Scotland services with a reverse?

  • At Bradford Forster Square station, I bought a ticket to Glasgow Central/Queen Street stations for £39.80 with a Railcard.
  • So that was my total expenditure of £64.35, as the coffee was free.
  • My route would take me to Carlisle over the Settle and Carlisle Line.
  • From Carlisle, I would take any of a number of trains to Glasgow Central station.

But first I would have to change trains at Shipley, where I took these pictures.

Note.

  1. Shipley station is built in the middle of a triangular junction.
  2. It has two footbridges.
  3. The station appears to have been improved greatly in recent years.
  4. The toilets are some of the best, I’ve seen in a railway station in England.

There are many worse stations to change trains.

From Shipley, I was a passenger in a very crowded Class 168 British Rail-era train.

But I did manage to take these pictures.

Note.

  1. The route is electrified as far North as Skipton station.
  2. Carlisle is electrified.
  3. It is a very scenic line.
  4. Several of the stations looked to be worth an extended visit.
  5. It would appear that the distance between the electrification at Skipton and Carlisle is about 90 miles.
  6. The maximum speed between Skipton and Carlisle is generally 60 mph.

Hitachi IETs (Intercity Express Trains) have regularly used the route on diesel, when there are engineering works.

I have a few questions and observations.

Could Zero-Carbon Trains Go Between Leeds/Bradford and Carlisle?

Consider.

  • To run between Skipton and Carlisle, which is not electrified would mean running for 90 miles without electrification.
  • Leeds and Skipton via Bradford Forster Square is electrified for charging at the Southern end.
  • Trains can run into an electrified platform at Carlisle for charging at Carlisle.
  • I have estimated that the battery-electric Hitachi IETs have a range of 120 miles away from the wires.
  • Hitachi confirmed my figures.
  • CAF have said that their Class 897 tri-mode trains have a similar range.
  • Examining the UK rail network, it appears to me, that no stretch of main line has a longer stretch longer than 120 miles without electrification.

Are Network Rail and the train manfacturers working to the same 120 mile limit for unelectrified track?

If they are, then we can decarbonise passenger train journeys in the UK.

I believe three types of trains could run express services between London and Carlisle/Glasgow via Leeds and Bradford.

  • A battery-electric Hitachi IET.
  • A tri-mode CAF Class 897 train.
  • A hydrogen-hybrid train.

Note.

  1. All would be 125 mph trains.
  2. All would be ten-car trains.
  3. All would have a range away from electrification of 120 miles.
  4. The hydrogen-hybrid would be mouse-quiet.
  5. The hydrogen-hybrid would be refuelled once per day.
  6. All trains would be able to handle the Glasgow and South-Western route via Dumfries and Kilmarnock.

The Thames-Clyde Express can be recreated.

October 6, 2026 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment