The Anonymous Widower

A Station At Hadley

Hadley is a possible station in Telford.

This Google Map shows the area around Hadley.

hadley

There are two railway lines in the area, both of which had Hadley stations in the past.

As the single-track line doesn’t go past the Railfreight Park, it would appear that the new station will be built on the Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury Line.

Ironically, New Hadley Halt shation closed the day after Telford Central station opened.

British Rail didn’t seem to have the word future-proofing in their vocabulary.

February 4, 2017 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , | 1 Comment

Stations Between Mossley Hill And Edge Hill In Liverpool

Greenbank Park and Wavertree have been named as possible station on this route.

I can’t find any reference to a new station at Greenbank Park on the Internet.

This document on the Merseytravel web site is their plan of what they would like to do and it has no mention.

Wavertree station did exist until the 1950s.

At University, I visited the area a lot and even lived in a Hall of Residence by Greenbank Park. I also proposed to C, close to the Park.

This Google Map shows the area.

greenbankpark

Note the four-track railway passing to the East of the area, which is actually crossed by the iconic Penny Lane.

  • Two fast lines take expresses to and from Liverpool Lime Street.
  • Two slow lines handle the slower trains.
  • Trains generally stop on the fast lines at Mossley Hill and West Allerton stations.
  • There are no stations between Mossley Hill and Edge Hill.

It looks to me, that it is not an efficient way to run a railway and Merseyrail’s preferred four trains an hour (tph) frequency would be impossible.

This diagram from Wikipedia, shows the lines in the area.

mhl

Note how between Mossley Hill and Edge Hill stations, there used to be Sefton Park and Wavertree stations.

  • As Greenbank Park and Wavertree stations have been named as possible stations, it would only be recreating the same philosophy as when the line was built.
  • I suspect that no station would be created at Penny Lane, as it would attract too many tourists. But Greenmbank Park would be a short walk.
  • Surely, the local trains would run on the slow lines, to avoid delaying the expresses.
  • Services on the fast lines would only stop at Edge Hill and Liverpool South Parkway.
  • Four tph would certainly be possible with Merseyrail’s new trains between Lime Street and Liverpool South Parkway.
  • Services might even be able to access Liverpool Airport running as trams, as I believe they can.

Edge Hill station has never been fully developed for passenger services.

  • There are tunnels from the station to stations at Liverpool Riverside and Crown Street.
  • Crown Street station might be reopened to serve the flagship development at Paddington Village.
  • Proposals exist for a station at Kings Dock linked to Edge Hill via the Wapping Tunnel.
  • Trains can access the Canada Dock Branch from the station.
  • The station has connections to Manchester, Preston, Warrington and Wigan.

Could Edge Hill be developed as a satellite station for Lime Street, just as Stratford is for Liverpool Street in London?

 

 

February 4, 2017 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | 1 Comment

A Station At Great Cornard

I can’t find anything about a possible station at the village of Great Cornard.

This is a Google Map of the area.

greatcornard

Note Sudbury station at the top of the map from where the Gainsborough Line turns South along the course of the River Stour towards Bures and Marks Tey.

A single-platform station at Great Cornard would seem to be a feasible proposition from an engineering point of view.

It could provide a valuable commuter and leisure route to Colchester and London, especially, if as I suspect Greater Anglia will run trains between Sudbury and Colchester Town via Marks Tey and Colchester.

The train company are probably analysing various scenarios concerning a new station at Great Cornard.

February 4, 2017 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , | 2 Comments

A Station At Doncaster Sheffield Airport

This article on the Doncaster Free Press is entitled Plans for £150m train station for Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

To say the plans put forward by the Peel Group, who are the owners of Doncaster Sheffield Airport are ambitious would be an understatement, but they do seem sound.

The plan would see the East Coast Main Line diverted closer to the Airport, where a station would be provide. Kings Cross would be within 90 minutes.

This Google Map shows Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

doncastersheffieldairport

Note that the East Coast Main Line crosses the map starting in the North-West corner and then going through the village of Rossington and past the Northern Racing College.

I suspect that the Airport have done their homework and that the plan is well-thought out and feasible.

  • It would create a well-connected Airport for everybody between Stevenage and Newcastle.
  • The East Coast Main Line between Doncaster and Retford has a lot of double-track. A loop must give scope for separating freight and slow traffic from high speed trains.
  • With modern trains like the Class 801 trains, a stop at the Airport will not slow services like a stop of an InterCity 125 would.
  • As in the future, we’re looking at up to four trains per hour between London and Newcastle, surely, a high speed line through Doncaster without any other traffic would be an advantage.

In some ways, the fact that all this is possible, is down to the foresight of the Victorian engineers of the Great Northern Railway, who designed a route for high speed.

It should also be stated that Doncaster Sheffield Airport has air cargo ambitions.

Consider.

  • It has a massive runway, that was able to accept the Space Shuttle in an emergency.
  • The airport has lots of space for cargo terminals.
  • The largest cargo planes, that exist only in the minds of Airbus and Boeing engineers would be welcome.
  • The Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway, which is a major freight route between the South East and the North passes the airport.
  • Plans exist to create a network of high speed package carrying trains. I’d use Doncaster Shjeffield Airport as a hub.
  • Amazon already fly freight to and from the Airport. Deliveries could leave the United States in the evening and be in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, London and Manchester  for a morning delivery.

It looks like the Peel Group have a plan to create a transport interchange for both passengers and freight for a cost of millions, not billions. But it were to be worth spending billions, I’m certain that they can obtain it.

 

 

February 3, 2017 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | 7 Comments

Worcester Parkway Station Given The Green Light

According to this article in the Worcester News, Worcester Parkway station has been given the green light by the Government.

Clearing of the site will start this winter.

This is another station project to be given the go-ahead, since I wrote Government Focuses On New Stations And Trains. So it could  be that Chris Grayling has changed direction at the Department of Transport.

The Worcester News article gives more details of the station.

  • New Class 800 trains will go direct on the Cotswold Line to Oxford and Paddington.
  • Services between Gloucester and Birmingham will also stop.
  • The station is close to Junction 7 of the M5.
  • The station will have 500 parking spaces.

It should be noted that Worcester Foregate Street station is on a restricted site and has no parking and Worcester Shrub Hill station has only 121 spaces. I suspect that the two current stations don’t probably encourage mode shift from car to train by travellers.

The article says this about funding.

The majority of the budget for the scheme will be self-funded through station car park fees and access charges levied on the Train Operating Companies, along with £8.3 million from the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership through the Government’s Growth Deal.

Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership is very hopeful that the new station will be good for the local economy and employment.

It certainly looks like it will improve the journey of commuters and travellers from the Worcester area to Birmingham and London.

I also wonder, if once the station is built, there will be opportunities for the train companies to use trains more efficiently and add extra services to and from Worcester. Could some of these inefficiencies release valuable development land in the centre of Worcester?

Worcester Parkway is not a normal station project reliant on a lot of local and central government funding, but one with several different ways of raising the finance.

January 30, 2017 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , | Leave a comment

An Upbeat View Of Hackney Wick

Hackney Wick is the sort of area of London, where traditionally it has dumped things that most people don’t want to know about. Although, the area does have a thriving artistic and indistrial community, much of the latter has moved out.

But this article in Building Design and Construction, which is entitled 25 Million Pounds Devoted to Hackney Wick For Upgrades, paints a very different upbeat view of the area.

So where has the money for the work come from?

  • A million from Tower Hamlets Council.
  • A million from Hackney Council.

There is also a sizeable donation from the London Legacy Development Corporation.

But then an updated Hackney Wick station, will provide much better access to the Olympic Stadium and all the housing being built around the Olympic Park.

The article finished like this.

Through this, the infrastructure of this particular area of North London will be greatly improved, allowing for better property conditions, better employment opportunities and of course better transport conditions for its locals. Mister Jon Fox of Transport for London also put in a word in for the advancement of Hackney Wick Overground, which will improve the conditions of millions of people from all over the capital.

We need a lot more well-designed and much better stations to generate growth.

January 26, 2017 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , | Leave a comment

Maghull North Station Gets Approval

This article in Rail Technology Magazine is entitled Green light given to Merseyrail’s new Maghull North station.

The following are points from the article about the new Maghull North station.

  • The new station forms a key part of the Sefton Council’s Local Plan.
  • The new station offers relief to Maghull station.
  • The new station will support development in the area.
  • The new station will have 156 car parking spaces.
  • The station has all the facilities passengers need.
  • The station design probably needs little work to the track and a few new signals.
  • Construction will start in August 2017, with opening expected in May 2018.
  • Visualisations show the station has two platforms outside the double-track, with lifts and stairs to both platforms.
  • The main station building is separate from the platforms and has level access to the footbridge.

The whole scheme is costing £13million.

I shall be looking forward to visiting the station, when it opens in sixteen months.

Thoughts On Revenue And Costs

It is interesting to note that Maghull station handles about 1.8 million passengers a year, who probably spend about an average of three pounds on a ticket, so the station could generate about £5million a year.

It is probably, a valid assumption to say that Maghull North station will generate a couple of million pounds a year in revenue.

But as it towards the end of the line and as the only station to the North with substantial traffic is Ormskirk, I suspect that the current four trains per hour service will handle the extra passengers from Maghull North station.

So after a quick look, I feel that Maghull North station could be paid for by the extra passengers and their revenue.

It should be born in mind, that a lot of things will and could happen to trains between Liverpool and Ormskirk.

  • From 2019, the line will see new Stadler trains, which will cut journey times and speed up station stops.
  • Trains may go from Liverpool to Skelmersdale via Ormskirk.
  • Trains may go direct from Liverpool to Preston, without a change at Ormskirk.
  • The Burscough Curves may be reinstated giving access from Ormskirk to Southport and Wigan.

All developments will generate passengers at both Maghull stations.

I hope the station design has left space to add more car parking.

Lessons For Other Station Proposals

I suspect for those, who took the decision to build Maghull North station, found it an easy decision to take.

  • The passenger demand is there.
  • The station can be built without a major blockade of the line.
  • New trains will be serving the station.
  • Related developments could increase the train frequency.

But most importantly, the station could be paid for from extra revenue.

How many other proposed stations fit these criteria?

January 24, 2017 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | Leave a comment

A Look At New Station Projects

If as I wrote in Government Focuses On New Stations And Trains, the government is going to promote more stations, how are the various current station projects progressing?

This list of stations is not complete.

But I can make a few simple conclusions.

Some Regions Have More Stations In The Pipeline Than Others

There are probably several reasons for this.

  • Some regions like Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield have gone the light-rail route.
  • Some regions like East Anglia, East Midlands, Kent, Sussex and Teesside haven’t got their plans fully together.
  • Some regions like Bristol, London and Merseyside have got very detailed plans together.
  • Some regions like Cardiff, Edinburgh and Glasgow have already got extensive heavy rail networks.

I think Merseyside is the interesting region.

  • Merseyrail is very much an independent franchise strongly controlled by the region.
  • It runs a frequent four trains per hour (tph) to most destinations.
  • It seems to be run very professionally.
  • It is proposing at least seven new stations.

In lots of areas, it appears that Merseyrail and London Overground are singing the same tune.

I have a feeling when other regions get their acts together, we’ll be seeing a lot more plans for new stations.

Several New Passenger Routes Are Being Created

In the list of stations, the same new routes arise.

  • Aberdeen Crossrail
  • Anglesey Central Railway
  • Borderlands Line
  • Bristol Metro (MetroWest)
  • Camp Hill Line
  • Canada Dock Branch
  • Coventry to Nuneaton Line
  • Devon Metro
  • East West Rail Link
  • Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Railway
  • Harrogate Line
  • Ivanoe Line
  • Leamside Line
  • Newcastle And Ashington Line
  • Ripley Branch Line
  • South Staffordshire Line
  • South Wales Metro

Birmingham, Bristol, Exeter and Merseyside have obviously been planning.

New Trains Stop At A Station Faster

The UK’s most frequent rail line is the Victoria Line, which is gearing up to a frequency of 36 tph or even more.

Crossrail and Thameslink will be running 24 tph through their central tunnels.

Trains like these and Bombardier’s new Aventras and Stadler’s new trains for Merseyrail will be optimised for fast stops.

  • Driver Only Operation
  • Wide doors and lobbies for easy access.
  • Optimum braking and acceleration.
  • Roll across step-free access for wheelchairs, buggies and large cases.
  • Automatic Train Operation as has been working on the Victoria Line since the 1960s

Trains like these will mean that new stations can be inserted on existing lines without degrading the service.

 

 

 

January 23, 2017 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , | 6 Comments

Never Underestimate Scousers With Ambition

I was looking up something at Liverpool University and came across the Liverpool Knowledge Quarter, which is a project to do what it says in the name.

One development is Paddington Village.

This is said.

Paddington Village is a £1bn flagship expansion site sitting at the eastern gateway to the city centre and has been earmarked as 1.8m sq ft of science, technology, education and health space.

In November 2016 a draft masterplan was published, outlining the plans for the site, which will be developed in three phases: Paddington Central, Paddington South and Paddington North, with phase one due to commence in the coming months.

At 30 acres, Paddington is a sizeable urban village, inspired by the sense of community you’d find in the likes of Greenwich Village in New York. Not only will it be a great place to live but a great place to work, discover and socialise, with state-of-the art workspace, labs, cafés, restaurants, shops, accommodation, a hotel and teaching, examination and events space.

The sites first two anchor tenants have already been announce and will see as new Northern Centre of Excellence for the Royal College of Physicians and a new 45,000 sq ft education and learning facilities and 262 residential bed spaces for Liverpool International College. There are also plans in place for a new train station, making this phase two of the Paddington Village development key to the new transport infrastructure for the area.

I also found some more about the Paddington Square station in other places.

This news item in the Liverpool Echo says or implies the following.

  • The new station would use some existing tunneling like the Edge Hill Spur.
  • The new station would connect to the City, Northern and Wirral Lines.
  • The new station would be close to the new Royal Liverpool Hospital.
  • The vision is to have in built in five years.

I talked about Merseyrail’s new trains in Thoughts On Merseyrail’s New Trains.

This Google Map shows the area.

liverpooluniversity

Note.

  • Lime Street station is at the West and Edge Hill station is in the East.
  • The lines into Lime Street are a dark scar between the two stations.
  • The Royal Liverpool Hospital is at the top of the map and I think the triangular site to the East will be Paddington Village with Paddington Square station.

Note that there are three abandoned freight tunnels leading from the Docks to Edge Hill station.

On which one will Paddington Square station be built?

I talked about Merseyrail’s new trains in Thoughts On Merseyrail’s New Trains.

This map from Wikipedia, shows the Loop Line under the Centre of Liverpool.

Liverpool Loop Line

Liverpool Loop Line

Could trains come in from the East and feed into this loop?

At present 12 trains per hour (tph) come in from the Wirral Line  and after stopping at James Street, Moorfields, Lime Street, Central and James Street again, they go back under the Mersey to Birkenhead.

So could trains from Edge Hill join the loop and go through Lime Street, Central and Morrfield stations before going back to Edge Hill?

If the loop was running under Automatic Train Operation (ATO) with the new Stadler trains, I suspect that the Loop could probably handle upwards of the current 12 tph. Perhaps even 24 tph, which could give.

  • 4 tph to Manchester via Warrington
  • 4 tph to Wigan
  • 4 tph to Chester via Runcorn and the Halton Curve.

Or whatever Merseyrail thought was the correct service.

Liverpool would have a unique underground railway.

It could be a superb urban railway, with services to the following destinations, from all stations in the Loop.

  • Chester
  • Ellesmere Port
  • Hunts Cross
  • Kirkby
  • Liverpool Airport
  • Manchester
  • Manchester Airport
  • New Brighton
  • Ormskirk
  • Preston
  • Rock Ferry
  • Southport
  • Warrington
  • Wigan
  • West Kirby
  • Wrexham

Passengers going between say Chester and Wigan would get off at Moorfields and wait for the next Wigan train.

These tunnels were only built in 1977 and the loop is due for updating in the first half of 2017, so at least the tunnellers will know where everything is buried.

One advantage is putting all the suburban services in the basement, is that this would release platforms for services to Glasgow, across the Pennines and for HS2.

It certainly seems to be a project that can be realised.

It is an ambitious project, but then who can forget four lads from Liverpool in the 1960s, who had ambition and just imagined?

January 7, 2017 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cambridge Thinks About More Stations

This article in the Cambridge News has a headline of Support for re-opening South Cambridgeshire railway station is gathering pace.

It talks mainly about the reopening of Fulbourn station between Newmarket and Cambridge.

This is said.

The Reopen Fulbourn Railway Station group is calling for the station to be reinstated as part of a drive to boost rail connectivity in the area.

Later in the article it says that the Council also wants to open a new station at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and reopen the closed station at Cherry Hinton.

A station at Addenbrooke’s Hospital is pencilled in for the East West Rail Link and the other two stations are on the Ipswich to Cambridge Line.

Wikipedia says this about a previous attempt to reopen the station at Cherry Hinton.

Reopening of the station was proposed by Cambridgeshire County Council in May 2013 as part of an infrastructure plan to deal with projected population growth up to 2050. A proposal to reopen the station had previously been made in 1996 but 70% of residents who responded to a Council questionnaire were against it; in any event, a new station was not considered viable at that time.

There are some cynical comments to the article as well.

But circumstances have changed since 1996.

  • Cambridgeshire County Council has more responsibility for this type of spending.
  • As I said in Will We Be Seeing More Railway Stations?, it looks like design, technology, new trains and costs are making it easier to make a good case for a new station.
  • Greater Anglia will be running new high-performance trains through Fulbourn and Cherry Hinton in a couple of years.
  • Network Rail are removing level crossings in East Anglia and there are several in the area, including one at the site of Cherry Hinton station.

The level crossings could be the clincher, as there is a lot of opposition in some places to their removal.

Would Network Rail duck the problems and leave everything as it is?

December 29, 2016 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , | Leave a comment

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