Skegness Station To Benefit From A £3.3m Improvement Package
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Technology Magazine.
I took these pictures of Skegness station, on a visit to the town in July last year, which I wrote about in A Trip To Skegness.
I feel that Skegness station would welcome some improvement.
The Rail Technology Magazine article says this about the project.
Upon completion of the project, customers will be able to utilise a number of enhanced facilities, including an improved accessible toilet with changing spaces, two new start-up offices, a community café and retail provisions. Upgrades will continue through improved access into the station for pedestrians and vehicles, offering integration with the surrounding community.
Work is hoped to start this year.
A Modern Zero-Carbon Train Service
If £3.3 million is going to be spent on Skegness station, would it not be a good idea to have better trains serving the station.
In A Trip To Skegness, I talked about updating the hourly Nottingham and Skegness service using Class 170 trains with Rolls-Royce MTU Hybrid PowerPacks.
I wonder if this route could be improved by fitting the Class 170 trains with Rolls-Royce MTU Hybrid PowerPacks?
- The hybrid technology would have a lower fuel consumption and allow electric operation in stations.
- The prototype hybrid is already working on Chiltern Railways in a Class 168 train.
- The Class 168 train is an earlier version of the Class 170 train and they are members of the Turbostar family.
- Rolls-Royce are developing versions of these hybrid transmissions, that will work with sustainable fuels.
- As we have a total of 207 Turbostar trainsets, these could be a convenient way of cutting carbon emissions on long rural lines.
- As Rolls-Royce MTU are also developing the technology, so their diesel engines can run on hydrogen, it is not outrageous to believe that they could be on a route to complete decarbonisation of this type of train.
I believe that we could see hydrogen-hybrid Class 170 trains, with a Rolls-Royce badge on the side.
But would it be possible to go the whole way using one of Stadler’s battery-electric trains?
Consider the service between Nottingham and Skegness.
- It is hourly.
- The route is run by 100 mph Class 170 trains.
- Nottingham and Grantham are 22.7 miles apart.
- Grantham and Skegness are 58.2 miles apart.
- Trains take four minutes to reverse at Grantham.
- Trains wait 20 minutes before returning at the two end stations.
- Trains reverse at Nottingham in a bay platform, which is numbered 2.
- Grantham is electrified.
- Nottingham station will be electrified in the next few years.
- Skegness station is next to the bus station in the middle of the town, so hopefully the electricity supply is robust enough to charge buses and trains.
Stadler make a train called an Akku.
- It is a member of the FLIRT family.
- It is a 100 mph train.
- I wrote Stadler FLIRT Akku Battery Train Demonstrates 185km Range, which means it could run between Nottingham and Skegness without intermediate charging.
This leads me to the conclusion that with charging systems at Nottingham and Skegness and taking a four-minute top-up at Grantham if needed, a FLIRT Akku could handle this route with ease.
Conclusion
Skegness is a town that needs leveling-up. A refurbished station and 100 mph electric trains to Grantham and London would be a good start.
Avanti West Coast Looks To Recover
The title of this post is the same as an article in the March 2022 Edition of Modern Railways.
These are some points from the article.
Passengers Numbers Are Recovering
This is a paragraph.
Mr. Wittingham says the recovery has been strongest on the Anglo-Scottish and Liverpool corridors, while Manchester have begun to bounce back. Slowest to recover is the London to West Midlands market; ‘there’s several operators here and we were the main carrier of business passengers, and that sector has been recovering more slowly than leisure’ says Mr. Whittingham.
Phil Whittingham is MD of Avanti West Coast.
Train Numbers Are Recovering
Avanti are building up train numbers from Euston after the pandemic.
Frequencies are as follows in trains per hour (tph)
- Pre-Covid – 9
- During the pandemic – 4
- From December 2021 – 7
- Omicron – 4
- From February 2022 – 6
- From May 2022 – 6+
Avanti have reacted to demand.
Three Classes Of Travel
This is a paragraph.
Avanti’s business has historically been driven by leisure travel – before Covid this accounted for broadly 60 % of passengers, with most of the rest travelling for business plus a smaller number of commuters. ‘The demand is there, and we think by next year we’ll be on the way to full recovery’ says Mr. Whittingham. ‘Leisure has been strong, especially at weekends, but the missing bit is the corporate market.’
Avanti have been running a marketing campaign and it appears to have been successful.
This paragraph describes Avanti’s new Standard Premium class.
Last year, Avanti West Coast launched a new class of travel – Standard Premium. This was first introduced in May on an upgrade-only basis before going fully live in September with the option to book online in advance. The new class sits between Standard and First, giving passengers larger seats and greater space but without some of the extras that come with First Class Travel such as complimentary refreshments and lounge access.
These are Mr. Whittingham’s comments on the three classes.
The current split of passengers is 84% Standard, 12 % First and 4 % Standard Premium, but given the latter has been in place for less than a year there is clearly scope for growth. ‘Our research shows people have been upgrading to Standard Premium rather than downgrading from First’.
I have yet to try Standard Premium, but I will next time I use Avanti.
Refreshments
Avanti have decided to serve different refreshments in Standard Premium and First classes.
- In Standard Premium, they are now offering At Seat Orders.
- In First, they have updated the menu.
Both seem to have been well-received.
I like this statement from Mr. Whittingham.
We’ve tried to make it a more personalised service with a less rigid structure, so we give customers what they want, when they want it, rather than when we want to give it to them.
A Consistent Offer
This is a paragraph.
Mr. Whittingham says Avanti has not yet confirmed whether t will offer three classes of travel on the new Hitachi trains it has ordered, but says the aim is to provide a more consistent offer. Assisting this will be changes in the ongoing Pendolino refurbishment, where 11-car sets are having Coach G converted from First to Standard accommodation, meaning all Pendolinos, whether nine-car or 11-car, will have three coaches for First and Standard Premium passengers.
My instinct says that the four trains will be something like.
- Class 390 train – Pendolino – Nine-car – three First/Standard Premium cars – six Standard cars
- Class 390 train – Pendolino – Eleven-car – three First/Standard Premium cars – eight Standard cars
- Class 805 train – Hitachi – Five-car – one First/Standard Premium car – four Standard cars
- Class 807 train – Hitachi – Seven-car – two First/Standard Premium car – five Standard cars
Note.
- The Class 805 and Class 807 Hitachi trains are very much plug-and-play and can be lengthened or shortened as required.
- A regular passenger between London and Liverpool, who regularly upgrades from Standard to Standard Premium in a Class 390 train could be a bit miffed if he couldn’t, because the service was being run by a Class 807 train.
- Hitachi would probably be very happy to add extra cars to the Class 805 and Class 807 trains.
As the Class 390 Pendolino trains are being refurbished, I do wonder if they will be receiving some fittings from the Hitachi trains to make sure the trains are consistent to both on-board staff and passengers.
Pendolino Investment
The Pendolino refurbishment is comprehensive.
- It is one of the largest such programmes ever undertaken in the UK.
- Leasing company; Angel Trains are funding the work.
- Alstom are doing the work at Widnes.
- There appears to be a smooth plan to refurbish all trains.
- Coach G will be converted from First to Standard accommodation in eleven-car trains.
- Mr. Whittingham says that all trains will come out looking like a new train.
The eleven-car trains are being converted first, as the conversion of Coach G gives a capacity benefit of around thirty seats.
The awful seats in Standard Class will be replaced with Lumo-style seats and laptop-friendly fold-down tables.
These seats will be a big improvement!
New Trains Coming
This paragraph introduces the new trains.
The second major fleet investment from Avanti is the £350 million for new trains from Hitachi, financed by Rock Rail. These comprise 13×5-car Class 805 bi-modes, ordered for destinations off the electrified route including North Wales and Shrewsbury and 10×7-car Class 807 electrics. Deployment plans for the latter are still being worked through but are likely to include services to Birmingham and Liverpool, and potentially to Blackpool.
What is not said in this paragraph, is that all trains have a redesigned front end, which I suspect is more aerodynamic.
The all-electric Class 807 trains have no diesel engines or batteries, so have they been put on a diet, to improve the acceleration?
In Will Avanti West Coast’s New Trains Be Able To Achieve London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street In Two Hours?, I came to these conclusions.
- A two hour service between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street will be possible with Avanti West Coast’s new Class 807 trains.
- The current Class 390 trains could go a bit faster and if they cut out a couple of stops could probably break two hours.
I also calculated that a two tph service between London and Liverpool in two hours would need nine trains.
Timetable Changes
This paragraph introduces the article’s section on timetable changes.
The project in turn feeds into a major timetable change planned by Avanti and other West Coast main line operators. This will be the first significant change to West Coast main line schedules since 2008; ‘the world has changed, and we need to think about how we best serve our markets’ says Mr Whittingham.
This paragraph sums up the major changes.
Of note are the planned changes to the pattern of London to West Midlands services; the pre-Covid 20-minute interval would be amended to offer faster journey times and greater connectivity. Also featuring in the new timetable aspirations would be additional Trent Valley calls in some Liverpool and Manchester services; Mr Whittingham cites as one benefit of this the potential for improved journey times between the North West and the East Midlands via a change of train at Nuneaton. The Hitachi trains, with their better acceleration, will be particularly useful on services with more frequent stops.
The next three sections will look at some timetable changes in a bit more detail.
London And West Midlands Services
Replacement of twenty diesel Class 221 trains with thirteen bi-mode Class 805 trains will mean a major reorganisation of services to the West Midlands.
- Some current diesel services will now be electric.
- All services between Birmingham New Street and Euston will now be electric.
- No services will run on diesel under live electrification.
- Avanti have promised to serve Walsall.
- There will be extra services to Shrewsbury and other places.
The electric services will also speed up some services to the West Midlands.
North West And East Midlands Services
I will look at train times for services between the North West (Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly) and the East Midlands (Leicester, Nottingham and Lincoln), where passengers change at Nuneaton.
These are the current fastest possible times according to the National Rail journey planner.
- Liverpool Lime Street and Leicester -2:24 with changes at Crewe and Nuneaton,
- Manchester Piccadilly and Leicester – 2:11 with change at Sheffield
- Liverpool Lime Street and Nottingham – 2:42 with no changes
- Manchester Piccadilly and Nottingham – 1:51 with no changes
- Liverpool Lime Street and Lincoln- 3:42 with changes at Sheffield and Doncaster
- Manchester Piccadilly and Lincoln – 2:38 with change at Sheffield
Note that times are in hours:minutes.
These are all current times for the various legs if the route is via Nuneaton.
- Avanti West Coast – Liverpool Lime Street and Nuneaton – 1:18
- Avanti West Coast – Manchester Piccadilly and Nuneaton – 1:13
- CrossCountry – Nuneaton and Leicester – 0:27
- East Midlands Railway – Leicester and Nottingham – 0:48 – Time from Leicester and Lincoln service.
- East Midlands Railway – Leicester and Nottingham – 0:20 – Time from St. Pancras and Nottingham service.
- East Midlands Railway – Leicester and Lincoln -1:42 – Time from Leicester and Lincoln service.
- East Midlands Railway – Nottingham and Lincoln -0:52 – Time from Leicester and Lincoln service.
Note that the two Avanti West Coast times have been estimated by taking the time from Real Time Trains and adding three minutes for the acceleration or deceleration at Nuneaton.
These would be possible times between the North West and the East Midlands via Nuneaton.
- Liverpool Lime Street and Leicester – 1:47
- Manchester Piccadilly and Leicester – 1:42
- Liverpool Lime Street and Nottingham – 2:37
- Manchester Piccadilly and Nottingham – 2:32
- Liverpool Lime Street and Lincoln- 3:31
- Manchester Piccadilly and Lincoln – 3:26
Note that I am assuming changes at Nuneaton and Leicester are cross-platform or same platform changes that take two minutes.
But there is another level of improvement possible.
Suppose that East Midlands Railway’s Lincoln and Leicester service were to be extended to Nuneaton and run by a train with this specification.
- 125 mph operating speed.
- Battery-electric power.
- 100 mph operating speed on battery power.
- Range of 56 miles on battery
- Ability to use the Midland Main Line electrification, when it is erected.
Charging stations would be needed at Nuneaton and Lincoln.
These would be possible times between the North West and the East Midlands via Nuneaton with the one change at Nuneaton.
- Liverpool Lime Street and Leicester – 1:45
- Manchester Piccadilly and Leicester – 1:40
- Liverpool Lime Street and Nottingham – 2:05
- Manchester Piccadilly and Nottingham – 2:00
- Liverpool Lime Street and Lincoln- 2:57
- Manchester Piccadilly and Lincoln – 2:52
Note.
I am assuming that the timings for the Nuneaton and Leicester and the Nottingham and Lincoln legs are as for the current trains.
I am assuming the change at Nuneaton is a cross-platform or same platform change that takes two minutes.
Trains run on battery where tracks are not electrified.
I can build a table of current times, times via Nuneaton and savings.
- Liverpool Lime Street and Leicester -2:24 – 1:45 – 0:39
- Manchester Piccadilly and Leicester – 2:11 – 1:40 – 0.31
- Liverpool Lime Street and Nottingham – 2:42 – 2:05 – 0:37
- Manchester Piccadilly and Nottingham – 1:51 – 2:00 – 0.09 slower
- Liverpool Lime Street and Lincoln- 3:42 – 2:57 – 0.45
- Manchester Piccadilly and Lincoln – 2:38 – 2:52 – 0:14 slower
It does appear that by using the 125 mph speed of the West Coast Main Line has a positive effect on some times from the North West to the East Midlands.
But times could be reduced further.
- Installing full digital signalling, that would enable 140 mph running between Crewe and Nuneaton, could save ten minutes.
- Improving the Nuneaton and Leicester and the Nottingham and Lincoln legs could allow faster running.
The more I look at changing at Nuneaton, I feel it is a good idea.
- It improves the connections between East Midlands Parkway and Loughborough and the North West.
- It improves the connections between Cambridge, Peterborough and Stansted Airport and the North West, if the change at Nuneaton is to CrossCountry’s Stansted Airport and Birmingham New Street service.
- It improves the connections between Coventry and Leamington Spa and the North West.
Avanti have come up with a cunning plan, worthy of Baldrick at his best.
A Second Hourly Service Between London And Liverpool
A paragraph talks about the second hourly service between London and Liverpool.
Avanti still has ambitions to introduce a second hourly service between Euston and Liverpool, but when this will come in will depend on demand recovery.
Consider.
- If would be desirable if some or all trains running on the route could achieve a timing of two hours between London and Liverpool.
- It is felt that the second service should stop at Liverpool South Parkway station, where the platforms are too short for eleven-car Class 390 trains.
- Avanti have stated they would like more stops in the Trent Valley, especially at Nuneaton, where they would connect to services to the East Midlands.
- Nuneaton is almost exactly halfway between London and Liverpool.
- Running two tph with Class 807 trains would need nine trains and Avanti have only ordered ten in total.
I believe that a practical timetable like this could work.
- Class 390 train – one tph – Non-stop or perhaps a single stop in the Midlands – Under two hours
- Class 807 train – one tph – Stopping at Nuneaton, Stafford, Crewe, Runcorn and Liverpool South Parkway – Current time or better
An hourly service between London and Liverpool in under two hours would surely be a passenger magnet.
How Feasible Is A High Speed Line Between Birmingham And Nottingham?
In Red Wall Commuters To Get Rail Revolution, I indicated that the Department of Transport is considering creating three new high speed lines in the Midlands and the North of England.
One is proposed between Birmingham and East Midlands Parkway, which is described in the original article in The Sunday Times like this.
A 42-mile line from Birmingham to East Midlands Parkway, just south of Nottingham. This is expected to cut journey times between the two cities from 72 minutes to 27 minutes.
There is a currently, a CrossCountry service between Nottingham and Birmingham New Street stations.
- The frequency is two trains per hour (tph)
- Trains are generally three- or four-car formations of Class 170 diesel trains.
- All trains stop at Tamworth, Burton-on-Trent and Derby.
- Some trains stop at Wilnecote, Willington, Spondon, Long Eaton and Beeston
- The services take upwards of seventy-one minutes.
Note.
- The frequency between Birmingham New Street and Derby is four tph.
- Trains reverse at Derby which takes seven minutes.
- Three tph stop at Burton-on-Trent.
I feel that the current service is very much a compromise, which is trying to handle three services.
- A fast train between Birmingham and Nottingham.
- A fast train between Birmingham and Derby.
- A local service between Nottingham and Derby.
High Speed Two will be providing a non-stop service between Birmingham Curzon Street and East Midlands Hub stations.
- The frequency will be three tph.
- There will also be an hourly train between Birmingham Interchange and East Midlands Hub station.
- The services will take twenty minutes or slightly less from Interchange.
The services will only get you to East Midlands Hub station.
In addition after High Speed Two opens Midlands Connect are planning to run a direct service between Nottingham and Birmingham Curzon Street stations.
- The frequency will be one tph.
- The service will use High Speed Two Classic Compatible trains.
- The only stop will be East Midlands Hub station.
- The service will take thirty-three minutes.
So how does a new high speed line connect Birmingham and Nottingham in twenty-seven minutes?
Consider.
- The route between Birmingham New Street and North Stafford Junction is 35.9 miles
- At North Stafford junction a double-track freight line leads to the East.
- The freight line passes to the North of East Midlands Airport and South of Long Eaton station before joining the Midland Main Line at Trent junction to the North of East Midlands Parkway station.
- Trains can pass straight into Nottingham via Beeston.
- Nottingham is just 6.7 miles to the East of Trent junction and East Midlands Parkway is just a mile South of Trent junction.
- South Stafford junction to Trent junction is probably about seven miles.
I believe that this is the route that will be upgraded to create a high speed line between Birmingham and Nottingham.
- Part of the route between Tamworth and Burton-on-Trent was upgraded to 125 mph running by British Rail.
- Between Birmingham New Street and North Stafford Junction is used by CrossCountry services between Birmingham and Derby and Nottingham.
- I believe that the route can be fully electrified and upgraded, so that most of the route could be suitable for 125 mph running.
- The Midland Main Line is already capable of handling trains at 125 mph.
This should make it possible for services to run between Birmingham New Street and Nottingham in the required twenty-seven minutes.
I will answer a few questions.
Could The Trains Serve Birmingham Curzon Street In Birmingham?
In Birmingham Airport Connectivity, I said this
But look at this map clipped from the High Speed Two web site.
Note.
- The blue dot shows the location of Curzon Street station.
The West Coast Main Line running into New Street station, is just to the South of Curzon Street station.
New Street station can be picked out to the West of Curzon Street station.
This Google Map shows a close-up of the current Curzon Street station site.
The same pattern of rail lines going past the Curzon Street site into New Street station can be picked out.
Surely, a connection could be made to allow trains from a couple of platforms in Curzon Street station to terminate trains from the West Coast Main Line.
Possible services could include.
- London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street via Watford Junction, Milton Keynes, Rugby and Coventry
- Cardiff and Birmingham Curzon Street via Bristol Parkway, Swindon, Oxford and Milton Keynes.
- Cambridge and Birmingham Curzon Street via Bristol Parkway, Bedford and Milton Keynes.
There are a lot of possibilities to give High Speed Two much bigger coverage.
I also suspect that the proposed Nottingham and Birmingham service could terminate in Birmingham Curzon Street.
Could High Speed Two Classic Compatible Trains Run Between Birmingham And Nottingham?
As High Speed Two Classic Compatible Trains would have the same loading gauge as current trains, I don’t see why not.
Could A London Euston And Nottingham Service Be Run With A Reverse At Birmingham Curzon Street?
These are prospective times for High Speed Two.
- London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street – 45 minutes
- London Euston and East Midlands Hub – 52 minutes
Note that East Midlands Hub and Nottingham could take at least twenty minutes.
And this is a current timing.
- London St. Pancras And Nottingham – 95 minutes
It is possible calculate the time for London Euston to Nottingham with a reverse at Birmingham.
- London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street – 45 minutes
- Reverse at Birmingham Curzon Street – 3 minutes
- Birmingham Curzon Street and Nottingham – 27 minutes
This would give a time of 75 minutes between London Euston and Nottingham.
It does look to me, that the fastest route between London and Nottingham, will be to to go via Birmingham and the proposed new high speed route.
So the answer to the question in the title of this section is a Yes!
Could A London Euston And Sheffield Service Be Run With A Reverse At Birmingham Curzon Street?
These are prospective times for High Speed Two.
- London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street – 45 minutes
- London Euston and East Midlands Hub – 52 minutes
- London Euston and Sheffield – 87 minutes
And these are current timings.
- London St. Pancras And Derby- 85 minutes
- London St. Pancras And Sheffield- 118 minutes
- Birmingham New Street And Derby- 33 minutes
- Birmingham New Street And Sheffield- 75 minutes
It is possible calculate the time for London Euston to Sheffield with a reverse at Birmingham.
- London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street – 45 minutes
- Reverse at Birmingham Curzon Street – 3 minutes
- Birmingham Curzon Street and Sheffield – 75 minutes
This would give a time of 123 minutes between London Euston and Sheffield.
I wonder what time could be achieved between London Euston and Sheffield could be achieved with improvements to the following lines.
- The CrossCountry Route between North Stafford junction and Derby station.
- The Midland Main Line between Derby and Sheffield.
I would expect that the improvement to these routes would include.
- At least almost full electrification.
- Removal of level crossings.
- Full digital signalling.
- Upgrading to 140 mph running.
I could see the following service improvements.
- A substantial reduction of the times between Birmingham and Sheffield.
- Derby and Burton-on-Trent would get a fast service to London Euston via High Speed Two.
- Derby and Burton-on-Trent would get a fast service to Birmingham probably with a frequency of 4 tph.
- CrossCountry services between Birmingham and Sheffield would be faster.
Derby and Burton-on-Trent would get a much better train service.
Could Burton-on-Trent, Derby, Nottingham And Sheffield Be served By Trains Splitting And Reversing At Birmingham Curzon Street?
These are prospective frequencies for High Speed Two.
- Burton-on-Trent – No trains
- Chesterfield 1 tph
- Derby – No trains
- East Midland Hub – 7 tph
- Nottingham – 0 tph
- Sheffield – 2 tph
Suppose there were two tph between London and Birmingham Curzon Street, that split into two trains in Birmingham.
- One train could go to Nottingham and call at Tamworth and Burton-on-Trent.
- The other train could go to Sheffield and call at Tamworth, Burton-on-Trent, Derby and Chesterfield.
This would give the following frequencies from London on High Speed Two.
- Burton-on-Trent – 2 tph
- Chesterfield – 2 tph
- Derby – 2 tph
- Nottingham – 2 tph
- Sheffield – 2 tph
Note that I am ignoring the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two in this analysis.
Could We Go For The Full Burton?
In the previous sections, I suggested serving Nottingham and Sheffield from Euston using High Speed Two with a reverse at Birmingham Curzon Street, where the train would split into two trains, with one train going to Sheffield and the other going to Nottingham.
But could the split be at a rebuilt Burton station?
Consider.
- Burton station could become an Eastern terminus of Birmingham’s Cross-City Line.
- Burton station could become the Western terminus of the Ivanhoe Line to Leicester.
- If the Cross Country Route is upgraded, Burton station would have fast connections to Birmingham, Derby, Chesterfield, Sheffield and Leeds,
- If the new Birmingham and Nottingham route is created, this would mean fast connections to Nottingham and possibly Lincoln.
Burton-on-Trent could become the passenger rail hub for the Mid Midlands.
I
Thoughts On The Eastern Leg Of High Speed Two
These are a few thoughts on the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two.
Serving The North-East Quarter Of England From London
In Anxiety Over HS2 Eastern Leg Future, I gave a table of timings from London to towns and cities in the North-East quarter of England from Lincoln and Nottingham Northwards.
I’ll repeat it here.
- Bradford – Will not be served by High Speed Two – One hour and fifty-four minutes
- Cleethorpes – Will not be served by High Speed Two – Two hours and fifty-one minutes
- Darlington – One hour and forty-nine minutes – One hour and forty-nine minutes
- Doncaster – Will not be served by High Speed Two – One hour
- Edinburgh – Three hours and forty minutes via Western Leg – Three hours and thirty minutes.
- Grimsby – Will not be served by High Speed Two – Two hours and thirty-six minutes
- Harrogate – Will not be served by High Speed Two – One hour and fifty-two minutes
- Huddersfield – Will not served by High Speed Two – Two hours and eight minutes
- Hull – Will not be served by High Speed Two – One hour and fifty minutes
- Leeds – One hour and twenty-one minutes – One hour and thirty minutes
- Lincoln – Will not be served by High Speed Two – One hour and fifty-one minutes
- Middlesbrough – Will not be served by High Speed Two – Two hours and twenty minutes
- Newcastle – Two hours and seventeen minutes – Two hours and sixteen minutes
- Nottingham – One hour and seven minutes – One hour and fifty minutes
- Scarborough – Will not be served by High Speed Two – Two hours and fifty-seven minutes
- Sheffield – One hour and twenty-seven minutes – One hour and twenty-seven minutes
- Skipton – Will not be served by High Speed Two – Two hours and seven minutes
- Sunderland – Will not be served by High Speed Two – Two hours and thirty minutes
- York – One hour and twenty-four minutes – One hour and twenty-four minutes
Note.
- I have included all destinations served by Grand Central, Hull Trains and LNER.
- I have included Nottingham and Sheffield for completeness and in case whilst electrification is installed on the Midland Main Line, LNER run services to the two cities.
- I suspect LNER services to Bradford, Harrogate, Huddersfield and Skipton will split and join at Leeds.
There are a total of nineteen destination in this table.
- Twelve are not served by High Speed Two.
- Six are not more than fifteen minutes slower by the East Coast Main Line.
Only Nottingham is substantially quicker by High Speed Two.
Serving The North-East Quarter Of England From Birmingham
Fenland Scouser felt the above table might be interesting to and from Birmingham with or without the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two.
I think, I can give more information than that and it should be possible to give for each destination the following.
- Whether of not the route exists on High Speed Two.
- Time on High Speed Two from Birmingham.
- Time on High Speed Two and Northern Powerhouse Rail from Birmingham via Manchester
- Time by current trains from Birmingham
In the following table, the fields are in the order of the previous table.
- Bradford – No direct route – No time – One hour and three minutes – Two hours and twenty-seven minutes
- Cleethorpes – No direct route – No time – Three hours and eight minutes – Three hours and eighteen minutes
- Darlington – Route Exists – One hour and twenty-three minutes – One hour and forty minutes – Two hours and fifty-five minutes
- Doncaster – No direct route – No time – One hour and thirty-six minutes – Two hours and nineteen minutes
- Edinburgh- Route Exists – Three hours and fourteen minutes – Four hours – Four hours and thirteen minutes
- Grimsby – No direct route – No time – Two hours and fifty-three minutes – Three hours and three minutes
- Harrogate – No direct route – No time – One hour and twenty-eight minutes – Three hours
- Huddersfield – No direct route – No time – Fifty-six minutes – Two hours and eleven minutes
- Hull – No direct route – No time – One hour and forty-four minutes – Three hours and two minutes
- Leeds – Route Exists – Forty-nine minutes – One hour and six minutes – One hour and fifty-nine minutes
- Lincoln – No direct route – No time – Two hours and fifty-three minutes – Two hours and thirteen minutes
- Middlesbrough – No direct route – No time – Two hours and twenty-nine minutes – Three hours and thirty-two minutes
- Newcastle – No direct route – No time – Two hours and four minutes – Three hours and twenty-six minutes
- Nottingham – Route Exists – Fifty-seven minutes – Two hours and fifty-five minutes – One hour and ten minutes
- Sheffield – Route Exists – Thirty-five minutes – One hour and thirty-four minutes – One hour and fifteen minutes
- Skipton – No direct route – No time – One hour and forty-three minutes – Two hours and fifty-two minutes
- Sunderland – No direct route – No time – Two hours and fifty-nine minutes – Three hours and fifty-eight minutes
- York – Route Exists – Fifty-seven minutes – One hour and twenty-eight minutes – Two hours and twenty-seven minutes
Note.
- No time means just that!
- One of the crucial times is that Birmingham Curzon Street and Leeds is just an hour and six minutes via High Speed Two and Northern Powerhouse Rail. This time gives good times to all destinations served from Leeds.
- Nottingham and Sheffield are both around an hour and fifteen minutes from Birmingham New Street, by the current trains.
I’ll now look at some routes in detail.
Birmingham And Leeds
The time of one hour and six minutes is derived from the following.
- Birmingham Curzon Street and Manchester Piccadilly by High Speed Two – Forty-one minutes
- Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds by Northern Powerhouse Rail – Twenty-five minutes
It would be seventeen minutes slower than the direct time of forty-nine minutes.
But it is quicker than the current time of one hour and fifty-nine minutes
Note.
- As Manchester Piccadilly will have a time to and from London of one hour and eleven minutes, Leeds will have a time of one hour and twenty-six minutes to London via Northern Powerhouse Rail and Manchester.
- If the Eastern Leg is built, The London and Leeds time will be one hour and twenty-one minutes.
- The Eastern Leg would therefore save just five minutes.
The Northern Powerhouse route could probably mean that Huddersfield, Bradford and Hull would be served by High Speed Two from London.
Manchester Airport, Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds would be connected by a tunnel deep under the Pennines.
- Manchester Piccadilly, Huddersfield and Bradford could be underground platforms added to existing stations.
- Piccadilly and Leeds would have a journey time of under 25 minutes and six trains per hour (tph).
- The tunnel would also carry freight.
- It would be modelled on the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland.
I wrote full details in Will HS2 And Northern Powerhouse Rail Go For The Big Bore?
Birmingham And Nottingham
The time of two hours and fifty-five minutes is derived from the following.
- Birmingham Curzon Street and Manchester Piccadilly by High Speed Two – Forty-one minutes
- Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds by Northern Powerhouse Rail – Twenty-five minutes
- Leeds and Nottingham – One hour and forty-nine minutes
It would be one hour and fifty-eight minutes slower than the direct time of fifty-nine minutes.
The current time of one hour and ten minutes is much quicker.
Birmingham And Sheffield
The time of two hours and thirty-four minutes is derived from the following.
- Birmingham Curzon Street and Manchester Piccadilly by High Speed Two – Forty-one minutes
- Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds by Northern Powerhouse Rail – Twenty-five minutes
- Leeds and Sheffield – One hour and twenty-eight minutes
It would be one hour and fifty-nine minutes slower than the direct time of thirty-five minutes.
The current time of one hour and fifteen minutes is much quicker.
Conclusions On The Timings
I am led to the following conclusions on the timings.
The building of the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two gives the fastest times between Birmingham and Leeds, Nottingham and Sheffield.
But if the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two is not built, then the following is true, if Northern Powerhouse Rail is created between Manchester and Leeds.
The time of an hour and six minutes between Birmingham Curzon Street and Leeds is probably an acceptable time.
This time probably enables acceptable times between Birmingham Curzon Street and destinations North of Leeds.
But with Nottingham and Sheffield the current CrossCountry service is faster than the route via Manchester.
The speed of the CrossCountry services surprised me, but then there is a section of 125 mph running between Derby and Birmingham, which is used by CrossCountry services between Birmingham New Street and Leeds, Nottingham and Sheffield.
This table gives details of these services.
- Birmingham New Street and Leeds – 116,4 miles – One hour and 58 minutes – 59.3 mph
- Birmingham New Street and Nottingham – 57.2 miles – One hour and 14 minutes – 46.4 mph
- Birmingham New Street and Sheffield – 77.6 miles – One hour and 18 minutes – 59.7 mph
Note.
- The Leeds and Sheffield services are run by 125 mph Class 220 trains.
- The Notting service is run by 100 mph Class 170 trains.
- All trains are diesel-powered.
As there is 125 mph running between Derby and Birmingham, the train performance probably accounts for the slower average speed of the Nottingham service.
CrossCountry And Decarbonisation
Consider.
- CrossCountry has an all-diesel fleet.
- All train companies in the UK are planning on decarbonising.
- Some of CrossCountry’s routes are partially electrified and have sections where 125 mph running is possible.
The only standard train that is built in the UK that would fit CrossCountry’s requirements, would appear to be one of Hitachi’s 125 mph trains like a bi-mode Class 802 train.
- These trains are available in various lengths
- Hitachi will be testing battery packs in the trains in the next year, with the aim of entering service in 2023.
- Hitachi have formed a company with ABB, which is called Hitachi ABB Power Grids to develop and install discontinuous electrification.
When CrossCountry do replace their fleet and run 125 mph trains on these services several stations will be connected to Birmingham for High Speed Two.
The route between Leeds and Birmingham via Sheffield is part of the Cross Country Route, for which electrification appears to have planned in the 1960s according to a section in Wikipedia called Abortive British Rail Proposals For Complete Electrification,
I suspect that the following times could be achieved with a frequency of two tph
- Birmingham New Street and Leeds – 90 minutes
- Birmingham New Street and Nottingham – 60 minutes
- Birmingham New Street and Sheffield – 60 minutes
It is not the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two, but it could do in the interim.
Electrification Of The Midland Main Line
I don’t believe that the Midland Main Line needs full electrification to speed up services to Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield, but I believe that by fitting batteries to Hitachi’s Class 810 trains, that will soon be running on the line and using the Hitachi ABB Power Grids system of discontinuous electrification, that the route can be decarbonised.
I would also apply full digital in-cab signalling to the Midland Main Line.
Conclusion
We will need the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two at some time in the future, but if we do the following we can do more than cope.
- Create Northern Powerhouse Rail between Manchester and Leeds, so that High Speed Two can serve Leeds and Hull via Manchester.
- Decarbonise CrossCountry with some 125 mph battery-electric trains.
- Electrify the Midland Main Line.
I would also deliver as much as possible before Phase 1 and 2a of High Speed Two opens.
EMR Set To Retain Liverpool – Nottingham Service
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This is the introductory paragraph.
The Department for Transport has confirmed to East Midlands Railway that, for the time being at least, it is no longer planning to transfer the Liverpool Lime Street – Nottingham service to TransPennine Express from the December 2021 timetable change.
My experience of the service is limited these days, but occasionally, I do use the Liverpool and Sheffield section of the service to get across the Pennines on trips North.
In January 2020, I had a horrendous trip on an overcrowded train composed of several one-car Class 153 trains, which I wrote about in Mule Trains Between Liverpool And Norwich.
This is not the way to run a long distance service, which takes over five and a half hours.
The plan to improve the service involves splitting it into two from the December 2021 timetable change.
- Liverpool and Nottingham
- Derby and Norwich
It was thought that the Liverpool and Nottingham section would be going to TransPennine Express (TPE).
These points summarise the Railway Gazette article.
- TPE were training drivers and that has now stopped.
- EMR have told staff, they will be keeping both services.
- The service will still be split.
- EMR will not have enough trains to run the split service.
This paragraph sums up what could happen to run the service.
One option favoured by industry insiders would see EMR take on 15 Class 185 Desiro trainsets which are due to be released by TPE during 2021 as its fleet renewal programme concludes. These trains are maintained by Siemens at its conveniently located Ardwick depot in Manchester.
I see this splitting, as being a pragmatic solution to the problems of running a long service, with a very varied loading at various parts of the route.
- As one company runs both sections, the changeover can be arranged to be very passenger-friendly.
- EMR manage the possible change stations at Derby and Nottingham.
- Passengers can be given proper care in the changeover.
- Derby gets a direct connection to Peterborough, Cambridge and Norwich.
With my East Anglian hat on, I can see advantages in the split, as I regularly used to travel as far as Derby or Nottingham, when I lived in the East, but only once took the full service to Liverpool.
I have a few thoughts.
Capacity Between Liverpool And Nottingham
This section of the service is generally run by a pair of Class 158 trains, which have a capacity of around 140 each or 280 in total.
The Class 185 trains have three-cars and a capacity of 180 seats.
Currently, Liverpool and Nottingham takes just under two hours and forty minutes, which would make for a comfortable six-hour round trip. This would mean, that an hourly service between the two cities, will need a fleet of six trains.
Under Future in the Wikipedia entry for Class 185 trains, this is said.
Following the August 2020 decision not to transfer the Liverpool Lime Street to Nottingham route to TransPennine Express, East Midlands Railway could opt to take on the 15 trainsets due to be released from TPE to run this route.
Fifteen trains would be more than enough trains to run a pair on each hourly service and perhaps run some extra services.
Pairs of Class 185 trains between Liverpool and Nottingham would go a long way to solve capacity problems on this route.
Calling At Derby
The current service between Liverpool and Norwich doesn’t call at Derby, as it uses the Erewash Valley Line via Alfreton.
The proposed Eastern portion of the split service has been proposed to terminate at Derby, so passengers would change at Nottingham, if they wanted to travel to Sheffield, Manchester or Liverpool.
As East Midlands Railway, runs both services, they can optimise the service to serve and attract the most passengers.
Preparation For High Speed Two At East Midlands Hub Station
Eventually, the two halves of the Liverpool and Norwich service must surely call at the future East Midlands Hub station for High Speed Two, so future routes must fit in with the plans for High Speed Two.
But there’ll be plenty of time to get that right.
Interchange At Nottingham
I’m sure a quick and easy interchange can be performed at Nottingham.
In the simplest interchange, the two services could share a platform and passengers could just walk between the two trains on the level.
The following sequence could be used at Nottingham.
- The train from Derby to Norwich would arrive in the platform and stop at the Eastern end of the platform.
- The train from Liverpool to Nottingham would arrive in the platform and stop close behind it.
- Passengers on the train from Liverpool, who wanted to take the Norwich train, would simply walk a along the platform and board the train.
- The Norwich train would leave when ready.
- The train from Liverpool would stay where it had stopped and be prepared for the return trip to Liverpool.
- , The next train from Norwich to Derby would pull in behind the Liverpool train.
- Passengers on the train from Norwich, who wanted to take the Liverpool train, would simply walk a along the platform and board the train.
- The Liverpool train would leave when ready.
- Finally, the Norwich to Derby train would leave for Derby.
Only one platform would be needed at Nottingham station, that would need to be long enough to handle the two trains.
Between Norwich And Derby
This is the only section of the Liverpool and Norwich route with any electrification.
- Currently about thirty miles between Grantham and Peterborough are electrified.
- The lines around Ely and Norwich are also electrified.
I think that Ely and Peterborough will be electrified earlier than other lines.
- It would be part of an electrified freight route between Felixstowe and the East Coast Main Line.
- It would enable electric passenger trains between Cambridge and the North.
- It would mean the Ipswich and Peterborough services could be run by battery electric trains.
- It could be a useful electrified diversion route to London, during engineering works.
,This extra electrification, would also mean that Norwich and Derby would probably be within range of battery electric trains.
Stadler have stated that Greater Anglia’s Class 755 trains can be converted from bi-mode into battery electric trains.
So as Greater Anglia and East Midlands Railway are both Abellio companies, could we see battery electric operation on the around 150 miles between Norwich and Derby?
Conclusion
Splitting the Liverpool and Norwich service opens up a lot of possibilities to improve the service.
A Trip To Grantham Station – 4th November 2020
I hadn’t intended to go to Grantham station, but that’s what I did on the last day before lockdown.
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been talking to a guy in Lincolnshire, who read Energy In North-East Lincolnshire, on this blog.
Last week, we both realised that we’d worked together in the 1970s, when he worked at a bank in the City, and I did some data analysis for the section, where he worked.
He is unwell with cancer at the moment and suggested I come down and see him in Skegness, where he now lives with his wife.
So I arrived at Grantham and found that the connecting train was running nearly an hour late and even then it was terminating at Boston.
After a quick exchange of texts, I told him the bad news and he gave me the good news, that his condition had improved and would be able to see me after Christmas and/or lockdown.
Luckily, I was able to change my ticket and took the next train back to London, after taking these pictures of the station.
I just had time to have a last drink of Aspall cyder before lockdown, in the station bar.
These are some thoughts.
Platform Layout At Grantham
The Wikipedia entry for Grantham station says this about the platforms.
It is composed of four platforms; platforms 1 and 2 are on the East Coast Main Line and are responsible for express services between London and Scotland. Platform 1 serves exclusively London King’s Cross via Peterborough and Stevenage; Platform 2 serves cities of northern England and Edinburgh. Platform 2, 3 and 4 are formed from a large island platform structure. Platform 3 is a bay platform at the northern end of the station that is used to allow local trains to reverse, while Platform 4 is a two-way platform that is used by East Midlands Railway. Only Platform 1 has amenities, including toilets, refreshments and a buffet.
This Google Map shows the station.
Note.
- Platforms are numbered 1 to 4 from East to West.
- Platforms 1 and 2 are long enough to take two five-car Class 800 trains working as a pair.
- Platform 4 may be long enough for these pairs of trains or could be made so.
- All trains to and from Nottingham call in Platform 4.
- Trains from Nottingham to Peterborough call in Platform 4 before crossing over to the down lines.
- There would appear to be no easy way for a Southbound train on the East Coast Main Line to access Platform 4.
- Platform 3 didn’t get much use on the day I visited.
There is also an avoiding line to allow freight and other passing trains to avoid going through the platforms.
Services Through Grantham Station
Services stopping at Grantham are as follows.
- LNER – One tp2h – London Kings Cross and Harrogate via Stevenage, Grantham, Doncaster, Wakefield Westgate, Leeds
- LNER – One tp2h – London Kings Cross and Bradford Forster Square via Stevenage, Grantham, Doncaster, Wakefield Westgate, Leeds
- LNER – One tp2h – London Kings Cross and Lincoln via Stevenage, Peterborough, Grantham and Newark North Gate
- LNER – One tp2h – London Kings Cross and York via Stevenage, Peterborough, Grantham, Newark North Gate, Retford and Doncaster.
- Hull Trains – Five tpd – London Kings Cross and Hull via Stevenage, Grantham, Retford, Doncaster, Selby, Howden and Brough
- Hull Trains – Two tpd – London Kings Cross and Beverley via Stevenage, Grantham, Retford, Doncaster, Selby, Howden, Brough, Hull and Cottingham.
- East Midlands Railway – One tph – Liverpool Lime Street and Horwich via Peterborough and Nottingham
- East Midlands Railway – One tph – Nottingham and Skegness
Note.
- tph is trains per hour
- tp2h is trains per two hours.
- tpd is trains per day.
Adding the services together, there is a frequent service between Stevenage, Peterborough, Grantham and Newark North Gate.
Train Timings Between London Kings Cross and Grantham
The fastest trains take 67 minutes between London Kings Cross and Grantham.
- The distance is 105.5 miles
- This would be an average speed of 94.5 mph.
- The East Coast Main Line is being upgraded with in-cab digital ERTMS signalling, which will allow 140 mph running.
- The works at Kings Cross station will have increased the station’s capacity.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a time between London Kings Cross and Grantham, of under an hour, time-tabled in the near future.
Could There Be A London Kings Cross and Nottingham Service Via Grantham?
On this page on UK Rail Forums, this was posted in 2010.
According to today’s East Midlands news on BBC1, Network Rail is considering inviting tenders to run a faster service from Nottingham to London King’s Cross via Grantham, from 2014. The present service of around 1hr 45m is considered too slow by passengers.
How would this new service be reconciled with the much-publicised capacity constraints at Welwyn and at King’s Cross itself? Will the proposed possible service be diesel-powered under the wires from Grantham, or will the Grantham-Nottingham stretch be electrified? Interesting times.
Technology has changed since 2010 and the East Coast Main Line has improved.
- King;s Cross station is being sorted.
- Digital ERMTS signalling is coming to the East Coast Main Line
- Hatachi’s new Class 800 trains have arrived and could go between Grantham and Nottingham on diesel power.
- Grantham and Nottingham takes 35 minutes on a service with three stops, that’s timed for a Class 153 train.
- Grantham and Nottingham is just over twenty miles.
As I said earlier, that I believe Grantham and London could be inside an hour, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a Nottingham and London Kings Cross service in under an-hour-and-a-half.
But it could be better than that?
Hitachi’s Regional Battery Train
This is the train that could unlock the potential of a London Kings Cross and Nottingham service.
This Hitachi infographic gives details of the train.
Note that the train has a range of 90 kilometres or 56 miles, at speeds of up to 100 mph.
The trains would be ideal for a London Kings Cross and Nottingham service.
- They would charge the batteries, whilst using the electrification on the East Coast Main Line.
- The battery range is such, that it would not need any charging between leaving Grantham and returning there from Nottingham.
- They could travel at speeds of up to 140 mph on the East Coast Main Line, once the digital ERTMS signalling is installed.
- Stops could be at Stevenage, Peterborough and Grantham.
LNER’s five-car Class 800 trains, which are branded Azumas can be turned into Regional Battery Trains, by replacing the three diesel engines with battery packs.
I would suspect that times of around eighty minutes, between London Kings Cross and Nottingham, could be in order.
A Park-And-Ride For Nottingham And London
Nottingham has several Park-and-Ride sites, that are served by the trams. of the Nottingham Express Transit, which already calls at Nottingham station.
Would another site on the rail line between Grantham and Nottingham be useful?
This map shows. where the rail line crosses the A46, near its junction with the A52.
Note the Grantham and Nottingham line running across the top of the map and the big junction between the A52 and the A46.
It looks to be a good place for a Park-and-Ride station, if it was decided one needed to be built.
There might also be sites further in towards Nottingham, close to the racecourse or the Holme Pierpoint National Watersports Centre.
A Combined Nottinghamshire And Lincolnshire Service
I originally called this section a Combined Nottingham And Lincoln Service, but I don’t see why it can’t serve most of both counties.
Consider.
- Birmingham, Brighton, Cambridge, Oxford and Southend get two services from the capital by different routes.
- Hitachi’s Class 800 trains can Split/Join in around two minutes.
- Running five-car Class 800 trains all the way between London Kings Cross and Lincoln is not a good use of a valuable train path on the East Coast Main Line.
- Lincoln is just 16.5 miles and 24 minutes from the East Coast Main Line.
- Nottingham is 22 miles and could be 20 minutes from the East Coast Main Line.
- Both Lincoln and Nottingham would be in battery range for a return trip from the East Coast Main Line.
- Platforms 1, 2 and 4, at Grantham are long enough to handle two Class 800 trains, running as a pair and regularly pairs call in Platforms 1 and 2.
I believe it would be possible for a pair of Regional Battery Trains to do the following.
- Leave London Kings Cross and run to Grantham in an hour, stopping at Stevenage and Peterborough.
- Stop in Platform 4 at Grantham station, where the trains would split.
- One train would continue on the East Coast Main Line to Newark North Gate station, where it would leave the East Coast Main Line and go to Lincoln.
- The other train would continue to Nottingham.
Note.
- Coming back, the process would be reversed with trains joining in Platform 1 or Platform 4 at Grantham.
- There may need to be some track and signalling modifications, but nothing too serious or challenging.
Connections to other parts of Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire would be as follows.
- Nottingham and Nottinghamshire would be connected using the Nottingham Express Transit and the Robin Hood and Maid Marian Lines from Nottingham station.
- All stations between Grantham and Nottingham would be reached from either Grantham or Nottingham.
- All stations to Boston and Skegness would be reached from Grantham.
- All stations between Newark and Lincoln would be reached from either Lincoln or Newark.
- All stations between Doncaster and Lincoln would be reached from either Doncaster or Lincoln.
- All stations between Peterborough and Lincoln would be reached from either Lincoln or Peterborough.
- All stations to Market Rasen, Grimsby Town and Cleethorpes would be reached from Lincoln.
Note.
- I feel that some Lincoln services could be extended to Cleethorpes via Market Rasen and Grimsby Town.
- Hopefully, a timetable could be developed, so that no connection was overly long.
Most of the distances are not unduly long and I would hope that most secondary services could be battery electric trains, which would be charged in the larger stations like Boston, Cleethorpes, Doncaster, Grantham, Lincoln, Mansfield, Nottingham, Peterborough, Sleaford, Spalding and Worksop.
Doncaster, Grantham and Peterborough already have 25 KVAC overhead electrification and this could be used to charge the trains, with possibly some small extensions.
The other stations will need a number of systems to charge the trains, as they pass through.
Some stations will be suitable for the installation of the standard 25 KVAC overhead electrification, but others will need specialised charging systems.
It appears that Adrian Shooter of Vivarail has just announced a One-Size-Fits-All Fast Charge system, that has been given interim approval by Network Rail.
I discuss this charger in Vivarail’s Plans For Zero-Emission Trains, which is based on a video on the Modern Railways web site.
There is more about Vivarail’s plans in the November 2020 Print Edition of the magazine, where this is said on page 69.
‘Network Rail has granted interim approval for the fast charge system and wants it to be the UK’s standard battery charging system’ says Mr. Shooter. ‘We believe it could have worldwide implications.’
Vivarail’s Fast Charge system must surely be a front-runner for installation.
What frequency of the Combined Nottinghamshire And Lincolnshire service would be needed and could be run?
Consider.
- Currently, Lincoln is served with one tp2h with a five-car Class 800 train running the service.
- The Lincoln service alternates with a one tp2h service to York, which also calls at Retford and Doncaster.
- Work is progressing on increasing the number of high speed paths on the East Coast Main Line.
Obviously, an hourly service to both Nottingham and Lincoln would be ideal and would give most of the two counties an hourly service to and from London Kings Cross with a single change at either Doncaster, Grantham. Lincoln, Newark, Nottingham or Peterborough.
- An hourly service might be difficult to timetable because of the York service.
- But I don’t believe it would be impossible to setup.
Especially if after, the Eastern leg of High Speed Two opens, East Coast Main Line services from London Kings Cross to North of York are replaced in part, by High Speed Two services.
The Effect Of High Speed Two
High Speed Two will build a new station at Toton called East Midlands Hub station.
- The station will be situated about halfway between Nottingham and Derby, with frequent connections to both cities.
- There will be frequent services to Birmingham, Leeds, London, Newcastle and Sheffield.
- I wouldn’t be surprised to see a direct service to Edinburgh and Glasgow from the station.
- There will be a lot of economic growth around the station.
I very much feel, that a lot of passengers were travel to East Midlands Hub station for both long distance trains and to access the Derby-Nottingham area.
A Cambridge And Birmingham Service
In How Many Trains Are Needed To Run A Full Service On High Speed Two?, I proposed a Cambridge and Birmingham Curzon Street service.
This is what I said.
The obvious one is surely Cambridge and Birmingham
- It would run via Peterborough, Grantham, Nottingham and East Midlands Hub.
- It would connect the three big science, engineering and medical centres in the Midlands and the East.
- It would use High Speed Two between Birmingham Curzon Street and East Midlands Hub.
- It could be run by High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains.
It might even be a replacement for CrossCountry’s Stansted Airport and Birmingham service.
Timings for the various legs could be.
- Cambridge and Peterborough – CrossCountry – 49 minutes
- Peterborough and Grantham – LNER – 19 minutes
- Grantham and Nottingham -Best Estimate – 20 minutes
- Nottingham and Birmingham Curzon Street – Midlands Rail Engine – 33 minutes
Note.
- This totals to two hours and one minute.
- The current service takes two hours and forty-four minutes.
- The Ely and Peterborough and Grantham and Nottingham legs are not electrified.
If the route were to be fully electrified or the trains were to be fitted with batteries, the time via High Speed Two, would surely be several minutes under two hours.
Conclusion
These objectives are possible.
- An hourly service between London Kings Cross and Grantham, Lincoln, Newark and Nottingham.
- A very much more comprehensive train service for Nottingham and Lincolnshire.
- A two hour service between Cambridge and Birmingham.
Most of the services would be zero carbon.
No major infrastructure would be needed, except possibly completing the electrification between Nottingham and Ely, some of which is probably needed for freight trains anyway.
Alternatively, the High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains could be fitted with batteries.
Hopes Rekindled Of Full Midland Main Line Electrification
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Magazine.
This is the key section of the article.
During a House of Commons debate on transport on September 17, HS2 Minister Andrew Stephenson said in response to a question from Alex Norris (Labour/Co-op, Nottingham North): “We are currently delivering the Midland Main Line upgrade, which includes electrification from London to Kettering, with additional electrification to Market Harborough being developed.
“Further electrification of the MML is currently at an early stage, but it is being examined by Network Rail.”
Stephenson said the DfT will continue to work closely with NR on the development of a proposal that would include approaches to advancing the delivery of electrification across the route.
The title of the article, probably sums it up well.
Electrification Of The Midland Main Line
Having read lots of stories about electrification of Midland Main Line, I think the following must be born in mind.
- Electrification on the line will reach as far North as Market Harborough station.
- The route between Sheffield station and Clay Cross North Junction will be shared with High Speed Two. It will obviously need to be electrified for High Speed Two.
- The section of the Midland Main Line between Derby and Clay Cross North Junction, runs through the World Heritage Site of the Derwent Valley Mills. The Heritage Taliban will love the electrification, with a vengeance.
- Electrification through Leicester station could be tricky, as the station building and the A6 road are over the tracks and there is limited clearance. Electrification could involve major disruption to the trains for some time.
These are some of the distances involved of sections of the route that are not electrified.
- Market Harborough and Derby are 54 miles apart.
- Market Harborough and Clay Cross North Junction are 67 miles apart.
- Market Harborough and Chesterfield are 70 miles apart.
- Market Harborough and Nottingham are 44 miles apart
- Market Harborough and Leicester are 16 miles apart.
- Derby and Clay Cross North Junction are 21 miles apart.
Since 2017, when electrification for the full route was originally abandoned, there have been big changes in rolling stock technology.
The biggest change has been the development of battery trains.
Hitachi’s Regional Battery Trains
This infographic from Hitachi gives the specification for their Regional Battery Train.
Note.
- The trains have a range of 56 miles on battery power.
- The trains can cruise at 100 mph on battery power.
- Hitachi have said that all of their AT-300 trains can be converted into Regional Battery Trains.
- Trains are converted by removing the diesel engines and replacing them with battery packs.
- I suspect these battery packs look like a diesel engine in terms of control inputs and performance to the driver and the train’s computer.
It is extremely likely, that the bi-mode Class 810 trains, which are a version of the AT-300 train, that have been ordered for the Midland Main Line can be converted into Regional Battery Trains.
These trains have four diesel engines, as opposed to the Class 800 and Class 802 trains, which only have three.
These are reasons, why the trains could need four engines.
- The trains need more power to work the Midland Main Line. I think this is unlikely.
- Four engine positions gives ,more flexibility when converting to Regional Battery Trains.
- Four battery packs could give a longer range of up to 120 kilometres or 75 miles.
It could just be, that Hitachi are just being conservative, as engines can easily be removed or replaced. The fifth-car might even be fitted with all the wiring and other gubbins, so that a fifth-engine or battery pack can be added.
I suspect the train’s computer works on a Plug-And-Play principle, so when the train is started, it looks round each car to see how many diesel engines and battery packs are available and it then controls the train according to what power is available.
London St. Pancras And Sheffield By Battery Electric Train
Any battery electric train going between London St. Pancras and Sheffield will need to be charged, at both ends of the route.
- At the London end, it will use the electrification currently being erected as far as Market Harborough station.
- At the Sheffield end, the easiest way to charge the trains, would be to bring forward the electrification and updating between Sheffield station and Clay Cross North Junction, that is needed for High Speed Two.
This will leave a 67 mile gap in the electrification between Market Harborough station and Clay Cross North junction.
It looks to me, the Class 810 trains should be able to run between London St. Pancras and Sheffield, after the following projects are undertaken.
- Class 810 trains are given four battery packs and a battery range of 75 miles.
- Electrification is installed between Sheffield station and Clay Cross North Junction.
Trains would need to leave Market Harborough station going North and Clay Cross Junction going South with full batteries.
Note.
- Trains currently take over an hour to go between Chesterfield to Sheffield and then back to Chesterfield, which would be more than enough to fully charge the batteries.
- Trains currently take around an hour to go between London St. Pancras and Market Harborough, which would be more than enough to fully charge the batteries.
- Chesterfield station is only three miles further, so if power changeover, needed to be in a station, it could be performed there.
- Leeds and Sheffield are under fifty miles apart and as both stations would be electrified, London St. Pancras and Sheffield services could be extended to start and finish at Leeds.
London St. Pancras and Sheffield can be run by battery electric trains.
London St. Pancras And Nottingham By Battery Electric Train
Could a battery electric train go from Market Harborough to Nottingham and back, after being fully-charged on the hour-long trip from London?
- The trip is 44 miles each way or 88 miles for a round trip.
- Services have either three or eight stops, of which two or three respectively are at stations without electrification.
- Trains seem to take over thirty minutes to turnback at Nottingham station.
Extra power North of Market Harborough will also be needed.
- To provide hotel power for the train, during turnback at Nottingham station.
- To compensate for power losses at station stops.
If 75 miles is the maximum battery range, I doubt that a round trip is possible.
I also believe, that Hitachi must be developing a practical solution to charging a train during turnback, at a station like Nottingham, where trains take nearly thirty minutes to turnback.
If the Class 810 trains have a battery range of 75 miles, they would be able to handle the London St. Pancras and Nottingham service, with charging at Nottingham.
Conclusion
It appears that both the Nottingham and Sheffield services can be run using battery electric Class 810 trains.
- All four diesel engines in the Class 810 trains would need to be replaced with batteries.
- The route between Clay Cross North Junction and Sheffield station, which will be shared with High Speed Two, will need to be electrified.
- Charging facilities for the battery electric trains will need to be provided at Nottingham.
On the other hand using battery electric trains mean the two tricky sections of the Derwent Valley Mills and Leicester station and possibly others, won’t need to be electrified to enable electric trains to run on the East Midlands Railway network.
Will it be the first main line service in the world, run by battery electric trains?
Beeching Reversal – Increased Services To Nottingham And Leicester, via Syston And Loughborough From Melton Mowbray
This is one of the Beeching Reversal projects that the Government and Network Rail are proposing to reverse some of the Beeching cuts.
It is one of a pair of submissions from the local MP; Alicia Kearns. The other is More Stopping Services At Radcliffe-on-Trent And Bottesford Stations On The Poacher Line Between Grantham And Nottingham.
When I heard of the MP’s submissions, I wrote MP Campaigns To Extend Train Services For Melton Borough and the following uses that post as a starting point.
Wikipedia says this about services at Melton Mowbray station.
- There is an hourly off-peak service in both directions between Stansted Airport and Birmingham, that calls at Cambridge, Peterborough, Oakham and Leicester.
- East Midlands Railway and their predescessor have added services to London via Corby and to Derby and East Midlands Parkway.
When you consider, that both Bottesford and Melton Mowbray are the same Council and Parliamentary constituency, it does seem that a more direct train service is needed between Bottesford and Melton Mowbray stations.
It does seem to me that some innovative thinking is needed.
If the current plans to fulfil British Rail’s ambition of an Ivanhoe Line running from Lincoln to Burton-on-Trent via Nottingham, East Midlands Parkway, Loughborough and Leicester, are carried out, that will give important towns to the West of Leicester much better rail connections.
Given that High Speed Two is coming to East Midlands Hub station at Toton and there will be a Bedford and Leeds service run by Midlands Connect using High Speed Two classic-compatible trains, that I wrote about in Classic-Compatible High Speed Two Trains At East Midlands Hub Station, I wonder if in the interim, there should be more trains between Derby and Melton.
- Intermediate stations would be Syston, Sileby, Barrow-upon-Soar, Loughborough, East Midlands Parkway Long Eaton and Spondon.
- An hourly frequency would double the service frequency at smaller stations like Sileby and Barrow-upon-Soar.
- The Southern terminal could be Melton station, but I feel Corby or Peterborough stations would be better, as this would improve services at Oakham station. We should not forget Rutland!
- As Corby will be an electrified two-platform station with a two trains per hour (tph) service to London, this could work quite well as a Southern terminus.
- Peterborough would have advantages and give a good connection to Cambridge, London and Scotland, but improvements to the current Birmingham and Stansted Airport service would have similar effects.
This route would be just as valuable after High Speed Two opens through the East Midlands Hub station, as it will give fast ongoing connections to Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle and York.
Electrification Of The Midland Main Line
I feel strongly, that full electrification of the Midland Main Line could be a step to far.
- Electrification, through Leicester station will mean a complete closure of the station for a couple of years.
- Electrification of the route North of Derby, through the Derwent Valley Mills, which is a World Heritage Site, will be opposed by the Heritage Taliban with all their might.
But.
- Electrification of the route between Clay Cross North Junction and Sheffield via Chesterfield will take place in conjunction with High Speed Two
- Electrification to Market Harborough, which is sixteen miles South of Leicester will happen.
- East Midlands Railway’s new Class 810 trains could be fitted with a battery option giving a range of between 55 and 65 miles.
- Pantographs on these trains can go up and down with all the alacrity of a whore’s drawers.
If the easier section of electrification between Leicester and Derby stations, were to be installed, this would enable the following routes to be run using battery-equipped Class 810 trains.
- London and Derby, where battery power would be used through Leicester.
- London and Nottingham, where battery power would be used through Leicester and between East Midlands Parkway and Nottingham.
- London and Sheffield, where battery power would be used through Leicester and between Derby and Clay Cross Junction.
- Lincoln and Burton-on-Trent, where battery power would be used South of Leicester and North of East Midlands Parkway.
- Derby and Corby, where battery power would be used between Syston and Corby.
There would also be the service between Derby and Norwich, which might be able to be run by a similar train.
Conclusion
I think the ideal way to achieve the MP’s objective would be to extend a proportion of London St. Pancras and Corby services to the Midland Main Line.
But the problem with this, is that the Corby trains will be Class 360 trains, which are electric, so the thirty-six mile route between Corby and the Midland Main Line would need to be electrified.
On the other hand, a shuttle train could be used between Corby and Leicester.
They would call at Oakham, Melton Mowbray and Syston stations.
If the Midland Main Line to the North of Leicester were to be electrified, Battery electric trains could be used on the route, with charging at Leicester and Corby.
Beeching Reversal – Reconnecting Ashfield Communities Through The Maid Marian Line
This is one of the Beeching Reversal projects that the Government and Network Rail are proposing to reverse some of the Beeching cuts.
Around the turn of the Century, I started to use the Robin Hood Line fairly regularly, as I had clients in both Nottingham and Mansfield and found it easier to drive up from Suffolk and park in Nottingham and get the train to Mansfield. When the Nottingham Express Transit opened in 2004 to Hucknall station, I would change there for Mansfield.
I can remember thinking at the time and discussing it with my client, that British Rail had certainly been mistaken to close the rail line between Hucknall and Worksop via Mansfield.
I first talked about the Maid Marian Line in Expanding The Robin Hood Line, which I wrote in 2015, although, it hadn’t been named at the time.
In 2015, there was talk of two extensions.
A Proposed Branch To Ollerton
In my investigations into Ilkeston station, the Robin Hood Line kept cropping up and especially talk of a branch from the line to Ollerton.
Search Google News for Robin Hood Line and articles with titles like Chancellor backs Robin Hood line passenger plans are found in the Mansfield and Ashfield Chad. This is the start to the article.
The Chancellor George Osborne, has confirmed his backing for plans to open a passenger service on the Robin Hood line, from Shirebrook to Ollerton, including passenger stations at Ollerton and Edwinstowe.
Other Government figures like David Cameron and Patrick McLoughlin and important local councillors are also quoted saying similar things.
What is not said is that the line will serve the CentreParcs Sherwood Forest and that the rail line needed is currently fully maintained for driver training.
This Google Map shows the area.
The Ollerton branch turns off from the Robin Hood Line just North of Shirebrook station in the top left hand corner of the map and then makes it way to Ollerton by way of the South of Warsop and Edwinstowe and North of the CentreParcs Sherwood Forest.
The line probably illustrates the only environmentally-friendly use for coal, which is to keep rail lines open and in good condition, until we can find a better use for them.
There is an interesting section called Branch Lines in the Wikipedia entry for Shirebrook station. This is said.
Two branch lines are plainly visible veering off north of the bridge at the north end of Shirebrook station.
The double tracks branching off eastwards (i.e. to the right as viewed from the station) to the side of the signalbox joined the LD&ECR’s one-time main line to Lincoln, next stop Warsop. The branch only ever carried a regular passenger service for a few years in Edwardian times. It did, however, carry Summer holiday trains such as the Summer Saturdays Radford to Skegness in at least 1963. The branch’s main purpose was always freight traffic, with coal being overwhelmingly dominant.
In 2013 the line gives access to Thoresby Colliery and to the High Marnham Test Track.
There is some hope of reopening the line as a branch off the Robin Hood Line and reopening Warsop, Edwinstowe and Ollerton stations, providing an hourly service to Mansfield and Nottingham.
This Google Map shows Shirebrook station and the railway lines around it.
The junction of the Ollerton branch would appear to allow access to trains from or to either Nottingham and Mansfield in the South and Worksop in the North
It appears that there could be three stations; Warsop, Edwinstowe and Ollerton on a double-track branch.
Services To Derby
The area between Chesterfield, Mansfield and Nottingham is not very well connected to Derby.
If you want to go from Mansfield or Kirkby-in-Ashfield on the Robin Hood Line to Derby, you always have to change at Nottingham, with sometimes an extra change at East Midlands Parkway.
The Erewash Valley Line runs North-South a few miles to the West of the Robin Hood Line.
Despite being partially in Derbyshire, getting from stations like Alfreton, Langley Mill and the soon-to-be-opened Ilkeston stations to Derby, you have to change at either Nottingham or Chesterfield.
Look at this Google Map of the area
There must be a better way of getting to Derby, than by changing trains in Nottingham or Chesterfield.
But what?
There are four main North-South routes in the area.
- The Robin Hood Line between Nottingham and Worksop
- The Erewash Valley Line between Long Eaton and Chesterfield
- The Midland Main Line between Derby and Chesterfield
- The M1 Motorway
What seems to be missing is high-capacity East-West routes for both rail and road.
The Erewash Valley Line goes South to Long Eaton, which has several trains per hour direct to Derby, so this could be the key to getting to Derby.
In a Notes on Current Station section on the Wikipedia entry for Long Eaton station, this is said.
It is planned that both platforms will be extended by up to 10 metres by no later than 2012.
It is anticipated that developments along the Erewash line will result in changes for Long Eaton station. A plan drawn up in 2011 recommended a new Derby to Mansfield service via new stations at Breaston & Draycott, Long Eaton West (renamed from Long Eaton), Long Eaton Central, Stapleford & Sandiacre, Ilkeston, Eastwood & Langley Mill (renamed from Langley Mill), Selston & Somercotes and then to Pinxton via new trackbed connecting with the Mansfield line from Nottingham at Kirkby in Ashfield.
It strikes me that work at Long Eaton, the several new stations and improvements North of Langley Mill would enable direct services from Alfreton, Ilkeston and Langley Mill to both Derby and Mansfield. This service would also improve services from stations stations North of Mansfield to Derby.
A trackbed from Langley Mill to Kirkby in Ashfield is shown on Google Maps.
Alfreton is the station at the top left and Kirkby-in-Ashfield is at the top right. The Erewash Valley Line from Langley Mill, enters at the bottom and splits with one branch going to Alfreton and the other going East to cross the M1 and join the Robin Hood Line south of Kirkby-in-Ashfield.
On an Ordnance Survey map, dated 2009, the railway is shown as a multiple track line, probably serving collieries and open cast coalfields.
It all sounds very feasible too! Especially, as the Erewash Valley is an area of high unemployment, low car ownership and a dependence on public transport.
Would Both Branches Of the Robin Hood Line Form The Maid Marian Line?
Consider.
- The Ollerton Branch joins the Robin Hood Line to the North of Shirebrook station.
- The Pye Bridge Branch joins the Robin Hood Line to the South of Kirkby-in-Ashfield station.
- There are three statations between Shirebrook and Kirkby-in-Ashfield stations; Mansfield Woodhouse, Mansfield and Sutton Parkway.
- The Pye Bridge Branch joins the Erewash Valley Line to the North of Langley Mill station.
- From Langley Mill station, there are direct services to Nottingham station.
- I am also fairly certain that a passenger train can travel between Langley Mill and Derby via Ilkeston and Long Eaton.
It would certainly be possible for a passenger service to run between Ollerton and Ilkeston.
- It could terminate at either Derby or Nottingham.
- When High Speed Two is built, it could call at East Midlands Hub station.
As Shirebrook, Mansfield Woodhouse, Mansfield, Sutton Parkway, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Langley Mill, Ilkeston and Long Eaton, all have connections to Nottingham, I suspect the core service would terminate at Derby.
One MP Is Not Happy
This article on NottinghamshireLive is entitled Leaders In Row Over Plans To Reopen Maid Marian Line.
This is said.
A row has erupted over proposals to reopen the disused Maid Marian Line in Nottinghamshire.
Lee Anderson, MP for Ashfield, has hit out at Ashfield District Council saying residents in areas like Selston will be “left behind” under plans to reopen the line.
From reading the article, it looks like an extra station at Selston might defuse the row.
Conclusion
Consider.
- This is a sound plan, that has been talked about for some years.
- Except for three or four stations, there is little serious construction needed.
- The line connects a large area to High Speed Two.
I feel that this could be one of the first schemes to be given the go-ahead to be built.
Midlands Rail Hub
On the Midlands Connect web site, they have a page, which is entitled Midlands Rail Hub.
This is the introductory paragraph.
The Midlands Rail Hub – our flagship project – is the biggest upgrade of our rail network for a generation.
The page contains this helpful map.
There is also a table of journeys and the improvements to be made.
- Birmingham – Nottingham – +1 tph – 72 minutes – 59 minutes
- Birmingham – Leicester – +2 tph – 66 minutes – 42 minutes
- Birmingham – Hereford – +1 tph – 85 minutes – 65 minutes
- Bitmingham – Worcester – +1 tph – 40 minutes – 35 minutes
- Birmingham – Derby – +2 tph – 38 minutes – 38 minutes
- Coventry – Leicester – +2 tph – 57 minutes – 38 minutes
- Coventry – Nottingham -+2 tph – 99 minutes – 63 minutes
- Birmingham – Bristol – +1 tph – 85 minutes – 80 minutes
- Birmingham – Cardiff – +1 tph – 117 minutes – 112 minutes
- Birmingham – Kings Norton – +2 tph – 18 minutes – 14 minutes
Note that the data by each route is the increase in frequency in trains per hour (tph), the current journey time and the future journey time.
I’ll now look at each route in more detail.
Birmingham And Bristol
Consider.
- Birmingham New Street and Bristol Temple Meads stations are 90 miles apart.
- Current service is two tph, which is provided by CrossCountry and goes via Worcestershire Parkway, Cheltenham Spa and Bristol Parkway.
- There is to be an increase of one tph.
- Current journey time is 85 minutes
- Future journey time is 80 minutes
As CrossCrountry’s Birmingham and Bristol service goes through to Edinburgh, Glasgow or Manchester Piccadilly, would it not be convenient, if the service could use High Speed Two to the North of Birmingham?
Birmingham And Cardiff
Consider.
- Birmingham New Street and Cardiff Central stations are 108 miles apart.
- Current service is two tph, which is provided by CrossCountry and goes via Worcestershire Parkway, Cheltenham Spa. Gloucester and Newport.
- There is to be an increase of one tph.
- Current journey time is 85 minutes
- Future journey time is 80 minutes
As CrossCrountry’s Birmingham and Cardiff service goes through to Nottingham, would it not be convenient, if the service could use High Speed Two between Birmingham and Nottingham?
It would appear that both Bristol and Cardiff services could benefit from a High Speed Two connection.
This map from High Speed Two shows the line’s route through the Water Orton area.
Note.
- High Speed Two is shown in various colours.
- High Speed Two splits at the Eastern edge of the map, with the Northern link going to Northern destinations and the Southern link going to Birmingham Interchange and London.
- Curving across the map beneath it, is the M6 motorway, with Spaghetti Junction off the map to the West.
- Water Orton station is in the North East corner of the map.
- The Birmingham and Peterborough Line, which connects Leicester and Birmingham New Street stations via Water Orton runs just tom the North of the route of High Speed Two shown on the map.
This Google Map shows the area.
I wonder if it would be possible to provide links so that the following would be possible.
- Trains running East from New Street station could join High Speed Two to run to East Midlands Hub, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and York.
- Trains from the North could run into New Street station and then continue to Bristol, Cardiff and Cheltenham.
The trains would have to be classic-compatible High Speed Two trains. These would fit into New Street station, as they are shorter than Class 390 trains and will have a aimilar height and width.
Time savings could be as follows.
- Bristol/Cardiff and Edinburgh – 110 minutes
- Bristol/Cardiff and Manchester Piccadilly- 50 minutes
- Bristol/Cardiff and Newcastle – 80 minutes
- Bristol/Cardiff and Nottingham – 45 minutes
All trains would be direct.
Birmingham And Derby
Consider.
- Birmingham New Street and Derby stations are 41 miles apart.
- Current service is two tph, which is provided by CrossCountry and goes via Wilnecote, Tamworth and Burton-on-Trent
- There is to be an increase of two tph.
- Current journey time is 38 minutes
- Future journey time is 38 minutes
- High Speed Two will run three tph between Birmingham Curzon Street and East Midlands Hub station in 20 minutes.
- Midlands Connect will run one tph between Birmingham Curzon Street and Nottingham Station in 30 minutes. See Classic-Compatible High Speed Two Trains At East Midlands Hub Station
Will passengers between Birmingham and Derby use High Speed Two services, which will be four tph or the current ones?
Birmingham And Hereford Via Worcester
Consider.
- Birmingham New Street and Hereford stations are 55 miles apart.
- Current service is one tph, which is provided by West Midlands Trains, and goes via Bromsgrove, Malvern Link and Great Malvern.
- There is to be an increase of one tph.
- Current journey time is 85 minutes
- Future journey time is 65 minutes
- The track between Bromsgrove and Birmingham is electrified.
- Hereford and Bromsgrove are 41 miles apart.
- Worcester and Bromsgrove are 13 miles apart.
With charging facilities at Worcester, this route would be an ideal one for battery electric trains.
Birmingham And Leicester
Consider.
- Birmingham New Street and Leicester stations are 40 miles apart.
- Current service is two tph, which is provided by CrossCountry and goes via Water Orton, Coleshill Parkway, Nuneaton, Hinckley and Narborough.
- There is to be an increase of two tph.
- Current journey time is 66 minutes
- Future journey time is 42 minutes
Birmingham – Nottingham
Consider.
- Birmingham New Street and Nottingham stations are 57 miles apart.
- Current service is two tph, which is provided by CrossCountry and goes via Tamworth, Burton-on-Trent and Derby.
- There is to be an increase of one tph.
- Current journey time is 72 minutes
- Future journey time is 59 minutes
- High Speed Two will run three tph between Birmingham Curzon Street and East Midlands Hub station in 20 minutes.
- Midlands Connect will run one tph between Birmingham Curzon Street and Nottingham Station in 30 minutes. See Classic-Compatible High Speed Two Trains At East Midlands Hub Station
Will passengers between Birmingham and Nottingham use High Speed Two services, which will be four tph or the current ones?
Coventry And Leicester
Consider.
- Coventry and Leicester are 28 miles apart.
- There is currently no direct train and a change is needed at Nuneaton
- There is to be an increase of two tph.
- Current journey time is 57 minutes
- Future journey time is 38 minutes
I suspect that a direct Coventry and Leicester service is being provided that does one of the following.
- Reverses in Nuneaton station.
- Takes a new flyover to cross the West Coast Main Line.
Would the Southern terminus of the route be Coventry, Leamington Spa or Stratford-on-Avon?
Coventry And Nottingham
Consider.
- Coventry and Nottingham are 55 miles apart.
- There is currently no direct train and a change is needed at Birmingham New Street or at both Nuneaton and Leicester.
- There is to be an increase of two tph.
- Current journey time is 99 minutes
- Future journey time is 63 minutes
Would this service be an extension of the Coventry and Leicester service?
As Leicester and Nottingham takes around thirty minutes, this could be the case.
Birmingham And Kings Norton Via The Camp Hill Line
The Midlands Rail Hub page, says this about the Bordesley Chords, which will connect Birmingham Moor Street station to the Camp Hill Line.
Construction of the Bordesley Chords, two viaducts creating new paths to the East Midlands and South West from Birmingham Moor Street Station.
This Google Map shows where they will be built.
Note.
- The Football ground in the North-East corner of the map is St. Andrew’s, which is Birmingham City’s home ground.
- The rail line going North South across the map and passing to the West side of the ground is the Camp Hill Line, which leads to Water Orton station in the North and Kings Norton station in the South.
- The station in the middle of the map is Bordesley station.
- The rail line going NW-SE across the map through the station is the Chiltern Main Line into Birmingham Moor Street station, which is a couple of miles to the North-West.
The two Bordesley chords will be double-track chords linking the following routes.
- Moor Street station to the Camp Hill Line going South to Kings Norton via new stations at Moseley, Kings Heath and Hazelwell.
- Moor Street station to the Camp Hill Line going North to Water Orton station.
The initial service would appear to be two tph between Moor Street and Kings Norton stations.
CrossCountry Trains and Moor Street Station
Consider.
- Birmingham New Street station is very busy.
- Some CrossCountry trains take a Water Orton-Birmingham New Street-Kings Norton route across the city.
Could these trains go between Water Orton and Kings Norton, with a reverse in Moor Street station?
- Plymouth and Edinburgh Waverley
- Cardiff Central and Nottingham
And could these services terminate at Moor Street station?
- Birmingham New Street and Nottingham
- Birmingham New Street and Stansted Airport via Leicester
- Birmingham New Street and Leicester
It would seem there must be scope improve the operation of New Street station, by using Moor Street station and the Bordesley chords.
If all these trains used Moor Street station it would be a very busy station.
In an hour it would handle these trains via the Bordesley chords.
- CrossCountry – 1 tph – Cardiff Central
- CrossCountry – 1 tph – Edinburgh Waverley
- West Midlands Railway – 2 tph – Kings Norton
- CrossCountry – 2 tph – Leicester
- CrossCountry – 2 tph – Nottingham
- CrossCountry – 1 tph – Plymouth
- CrossCountry – 1 tph – Stansted Airport
That is a balanced five tph to the North and five tph to the South.
There would also be the existing services.
- Chiltern Trains – 2 tph – London Marylebone and Birmingham
- West Midlands Railway – 6 tph – Dorridge/Stratford-upon-Avon/Whittocks End and Stourbridge Junction
There would also be the proposed Moor Street and Oxford service.
Battery Electric Trains
If we assume that a battery electric train has a battery range equal to or longer than Hitachi’s quoted figure of 56 miles, these routes are possibilities for battery electric trains.
- Birmingham and Leicester with either electrification or charging at Leicester.
- Birmingham and Hereford with charging at Hereford
- Birmingham and Kings Norton
- Birmingham and Oxford with charging at Oxford and Banbury
- Coventry and Leicester
If the Midland Main Line is electrified in the Nottingham Area, then all services to Nottingham could be added.
CrossCountry And High Speed Two
Consider.
- There are up to half-a-dozen spare hourly paths on both the Northern legs of High Speed Two.
- Using High Speed Two tracks to the North of Birmingham can speed up services considerably.
- CrossCountry needs a new fleet of trains.
- Services could be run using classic-compatible High Speed Two trains.
- The trains might be shorter and would certainly have independent power sources.
It could be a large improvement in quality and journey times, with all current destinations served.
The only extra infrastructure needed would be a connecting junction near Water Orton station. A junction there would work, whether services used Moor Street or New Street station in Birmingham.
Cnnclusion
The concept of a Midlands Rail Hub is very sound.
The Anonymous Widower 