Could Greater Anglia Run A Comprehensive Service For East Anglia?
Consider.
- In the last fifty years, there have been direct trains between London Liverpool Street and Lowestoft stations.
- In the last forty years, there have been direct trains between London Liverpool Street and Peterborough stations.
- Greater Anglia currently run an hourly train between London Liverpool Street and Ipswich stations, with stops at Stratford, Shenfield, Chelmsford, Hatfield Peverel, Witham, Kelvedon, Marks Tey, Colchester and Manningtree
- Frequencies on both routes were not high and less than four trains per day (tpd), but they must have been a demand for these services.
- Greater Anglia promised to run a Lowestoft service, when they successfully reapplied for the franchise.
- Greater Anglia have 38 Class 755 trains, of which 14 are three-cars and 24 are four-cars.
- Class 755 trains can run in twoses and possibly threeses. (Suffolk dialect for twins and triplets!)
Could these elements be assembled to provide a comprehensive East Anglia service?
- A pair of Class 755 trains would leave Liverpool Street for Ipswich.
- They would takeover some of the paths of the hourly Liverpool Street and Ipswich service and run possibly about four or five tpd, according to demand.
- Between Liverpool Street and Ipswich the trains could stop at Stratford, Shenfield, Chelmsford, Hatfield Peverel, Witham, Kelvedon, Marks Tey, Colchester and Manningtree
- The services would splitgoing North and join going South at Ipswich
- One train would go to Peterborough with stops at Needham Market, Stowmarket, Elmswell, Thurston, Bury St. Edmunds, Soham, Ely, Manea, March and Whittlesea.
- The other would go to Lowestoft with stops at Woodbridge, Melton, Wickham Market, Saxmundham, Darsham, Halesworth, Brampton, Beccles and Oulton Broad South.
Note.
- The Class 755 trains would use electricity, where electrification exists.
- They would use diesel on lines without electrification.
- They would be able to hold 100 mph, so wouldn’t delay other trains.
- Seventeen towns would get new direct services to and from London.
- A Class 745 train is 236.6 metres long, whereas a pair of four-car Class 755 trains is only 161.4 metres.
- A three-train formation of Class 755 trains is only 5.5 metres longer than a single Class 745 train.
I am fairly sure no new substantial infrastructure would be required.
I have some further thoughts.
Example Timings
These timings to and from London are based on current timings of the Class 745 and 755 trains.
- Ipswich – 60 mins
- Stowmarket -70 mins
- Bury St. Edmunds – 88 mins
- Soham – 108 mins
- Ely – 117 mins
- March – 136 mins
- Peterborough – 158 mins
- Woodbridge – 75 mins
- Melton – 80 mins
- Wickham Market – 86 mins
- Saxmundham – 97 mins
- Darsham – 104 mins
- Halesworth – 113 mins
- Brampton – 119 mins
- Beccles – 128 mins
- Oulton Broad South – 138 mins
- Lowestoft – 146 mins
Notes.
- Times to and from Ipswich are based on typical services at the current time.
- I have assumed that there are no stops South of Ipswich.
- Saxmundham is the closest station to Sizewell and could be important in bringing in construction workers for Sizewell C.
I think some of the times like those to and from Bury St. Edmunds, Ipswich, Lowestoft, Saxmundham and Woodbridge could create popular routes.
Battery-Electric Trains
Consider.
- I wrote about Stadler’s expertise with battery-electric trains in Stadler FLIRT Akku Battery Train Demonstrates 185km Range.
- 185 km. is 115 miles.
- The Class 756 trains for Transport for Wales are similar trains to the Class 755 trains fitted with batteries.
- In Battery Power Lined Up For ‘755s’, I wrote about plans to put batteries in the Class 755 trains.
These sections of lines are not electrified on the routes I have talked about.
- Haughley Junction and Ely – 38 miles
- Ely and Peterborough – 30.5 miles
- Westerfield and Lowestoft – 38 miles
As there is electrification at Ely, Haughley, Peterborough and Westerfield and South to London, I am fairly certain the route could be run by battery-electric trains.
Electrification To Sizewell C
In the January 2023 Edition of Modern Railways, there is an article, which is entitled Rail Set To Support Sizewell C Construction.
It details how sidings will be built to support the construction, with up to four trains per day (tpd), but the electrification word is not mentioned.
This is surprising to me, as increasingly, big construction projects are being managed to emit as small an amount of carbon as possible. High Speed Two is being built this way and I suspect Rolls-Royce’s SMR design will minimise carbon emissions during manufacture and construction. It will be very surprising if Sizewell C doesn’t follow High Speed Two’s example. After all, it may be an isolated site, but in Sizewell B, it’s got one of the UK’s biggest carbon-free electricity generators a couple of hundred metres away.
The writer of the Modern Railways article, thinks an opportunity is being missed.
I feel the following should be done.
- Improve and electrify the East Suffolk Line between Ipswich and Saxmundham Junction.
- Electrify the Aldeburgh Branch Line and the sidings to support the construction or agree to use battery-electric or hydrogen zero-carbon locomotives.
One of the collateral benefits of electrifying from Ipswich to Saxmundham Junction, is that it will make it easier for battery-electric Class 755 trains to work Ipswich and Lowestoft services.
- If the trains were to leave Saxmundham Junction going North with a full battery, they should be able to travel to Lowestoft and return.
- Battery-electric Class 755 trains could bring in workers from Ipswich or Lowestoft and further afield.
- It could even leave behind a zero-carbon branch line to Sizewell, Leiston and Aldeburgh, with two tph to Ipswich.
Sizewell C could be a superb demonstration project for low-carbon construction!
The Lowestoft-Great Yarmouth Conurbation
The Wikipedia entry for Lowestoft says this about the town.
The estimated population in the built-up area exceeds 70,000. Its development grew with the fishing industry and as a seaside resort with wide sandy beaches. As fishing declined, oil and gas exploitation in the North Sea in the 1960s took over. While these too have declined, Lowestoft is becoming a regional centre of the renewable energy industry.
Whilst the Wikipedia entry for Great Yarmouth says this about the town.
Great Yarmouth, often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located 20 miles (30 km) east of Norwich. A population of 38,693 in the 2011 Census made it Norfolk’s third most populous. Its fishing industry, mainly for herring, shrank after the mid-20th century and has all but ended.[3] North Sea oil from the 1960s supplied an oil-rig industry that services offshore natural gas rigs; more recently, offshore wind power and other renewable energy industries have ensued.
Wikipedia also said this about the population of the wider Great Yarmouth.
The wider Great Yarmouth borough had a population of around 92,500, which increased to 97,277 at the 2011 census.
Taken together they are one of the largest conurbations in East Anglia.
The main means of transport between the two towns is by road.
Surely, two towns of over 70,000 people, who are only a few miles apart need a rail connection.
Onward From Lowestoft To Great Yarmouth
If the comprehensive East Anglia service, I’m discussing is to be truly comprehensive, it must serve the Norfolk Broads and Great Yarmouth.
This would also improve the connectivity between two of the largest coastal towns in East Anglia, that I indicated in the last section.
This OpenRailwayMap shows a cunning plan proposed by Network Rail to connect Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth.
Note.
- Great Yarmouth is in the North East corner of the map.
- Two lines lead West from Great Yarmouth station, with the more Northerly route going direct to Norwich and the more Southerly one going to Norwich via Berney Arms and Reedham.
- Lowestoft is in the South East corner of the map.
- Two lines lead West from Lowestoft station, with the Northern route going to Norwich via Reedham and the Southern one going to Ipswich via Oulton Broad South.
- The route of a coastal railway connecting the two towns is also shown.
Network Rail’s cunning plan is indicated on this second nap from OpenRailwayMap.
Note.
- Reedham station is in the North-West corner of the map on the line to Norwich.
- To the East of the station is a triangular junction.
- The track from the North-East corner of the junction is the line to Great Yarmouth.
- The track from the Southern corner of the junction is the line to Lowestoft.
- Unfortunately, the South-Eastern leg of the junction was removed in 1880.
In Norfolk Rail Line To Remain Closed As £68m Upgrade Project Overruns, I said this.
Network Rail are talking about reinstating the Reedham Chord to create a more direct route between East Anglia’s largest North-Eastern towns. This is said about the Reedham Chord in Direct Yarmouth Services in the Wikipedia entry for Lowestoft station.
In January 2015, a Network Rail study proposed the reintroduction of direct services between Lowestoft and Yarmouth by reinstating a spur at Reedham. Services could once again travel between two East Coast towns, with an estimated journey time of 33 minutes, via a reconstructed 34-chain (680 m) north-to-south arm of the former triangular junction at Reedham, which had been removed in c. 1880. The plans also involve relocating Reedham station nearer the junction, an idea which attracted criticism.
This sounds a good plan to me.
- It would allow direct services between Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth.
- It would allow direct services between Ipswich and Great Yarmouth with a reverse at Lowestoft in about two hours.
- With possible charging at Lowestoft and/or Great Yarmouth, a scenic route could be created between Ipswich and Norwich for battery-electric Class 755 trains. If that doesn’t get people out of their cars then nothing will!
- Various leisure, tourism and work-related opportunities would be created.
Never in the field of railway engineering would such a small chord have given so much.
Sizewell C Issues
Sizewell C will be a massive project and I also suspect that like High Speed Two, it will be built in a manner that will be zero-carbon where possible.
We already know from the Modern Railways article, that four tpd will shuttle material to a number of sidings close to the site. This is a good start.
Since Sizewell A opened, trains have regularly served the Sizewell site to bring in and take out nuclear material. These occasional trains go via Ipswich and in the last couple of years have generally been hauled by Class 88 electro-diesel locomotives.
It would be reasonable to assume that the Sizewell C sidings will be served in the same manner.
But the route between Westerfield Junction and Ipswich station is becoming increasingly busy with the following services.
- Greater Anglia’s London and Norwich services
- Greater Anglia’s Ipswich and Cambridge services
- Greater Anglia’s Ipswich and Felixstowe services
- Greater Anglia’s Ipswich and Lowestoft services
- Greater Anglia’s Ipswich and Peterborough services
- Freight services serving the Port of Felixstowe, which are expected to increase significantly in forthcoming years.
But the Modern Railways article says this about Saxmundham junction.
Saxmundham junction, where the branch meets the main line, will be relaid on a slightly revised alignment, retaining the existing layout but with full signalling giving three routes from the junction protecting signal on the Down East Suffolk line and two in the Down direction on the bidirectional Up East Suffolk line. Trap points will be installed on the branch to protect the main line, with the exit signal having routes to both running lines.
Does the comprehensive signalling mean that a freight train can enter or leave the Sizewell sidings to or from either the busy Ipswich or the quieter Lowestoft direction in a very safe manner?
I’m no expert on signalling, but I think it does.
- A train coming from the Lowestoft direction needing to enter the sidings would go past Saxmundham junction on the Up line. Once clear of the junction, it would stop and reverse into the branch.
- A train coming from the Ipswich direction needing to enter the sidings would approach in the wrong direction on the Up line and go straight into the branch.
- A train leaving the sidings in the Lowestoft direction would exit from the branch and take the Up line until it became single track. The train would then stop and reverse on to the Down line and take this all the way to Lowestoft.
- A train leaving the sidings in the Ipswich direction would exit from the branch and take the Up line all the way to Ipswich.
There would need to be ability to move the locomotive from one end to the other inside the Sizewell site or perhaps these trains could be run with a locomotive on both ends.
The advantage of being able to run freight trains between Sizewell and Lowestoft becomes obvious, when you look at this Google Map, which shows the Port of Lowestoft.
Note.
- The Inner Harbour of the Port of Lowestoft.
- The East Suffolk Line running East-West to the North of the Inner Harbour.
- Lowestoft station at the East side of the map.
I doubt it would be the most difficult or expensive of projects to build a small freight terminal on the North side of the Inner Harbour.
I suspect that the easiest way to bring the material needed to build the power station to Sizewell would be to do the following.
- Deliver it to the Port of Lowestoft by ship.
- Tranship to a suitable shuttle train for the journey to the Sizewell sidings.
- I estimate that the distance is only about 25 miles and a battery or hydrogen locomotive will surely be available in the UK in the next few years, that will be able to provide the motive power for the return journey.
In The TruckTrain, I wrote about a revolutionary freight concept, that could be ideal for the Sizewell freight shuttle.
Great Yarmouth Racecourse
Great Yarmouth Racecourse is one of my favourite racecourses and I believe it is one of the attractions in Great Yarmouth, that would benefit from an improved rail service between Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth, as it would almost double those with efficient public transport access to the racecourse.
The walking distance between Great Yarmouth station and the racecourse is walkable for many and I remember doing it since C died.
With the train connection to Lowestoft and perhaps a courtesy bus from the station, I wouldn’t be surprised to see that a Lowestoft-Yarmouth rail connection being very good for the racecourse. Especially as road traffic between the two towns can be not the best.
Finishing At Norwich
There are operational reasons to carry on to Norwich, where Crown Point, is the home base for the Class 755 trains.
But it would also link a lot of places that are dependant on tourism and are also heavily involved in East Anglia’s energy industry.
Onward From Peterborough To Lincoln
If the Lowestoft service can extend to Great Yarmouth, an extension of the Peterborough service to Lincoln via Spalding and Sleaford might be possible.
But with LNER also serving Lincoln from Kings Cross, I doubt the route would carry many passengers to and from London.
Conclusion
A service from London, that splits into two trains at Ipswich for Lowestoft and Peterborough has possibilities.
Soham Station’s Inaugural Year A Soaring Success
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Technology Magazine.
This is the first paragraph.
Soham station has seen healthy and consistent passenger usage over its first year since opening to the public, seeing almost 50,000 journeys starting or finishing there, according to Greater Anglia’s figures.
I took these pictures, when the station opened.
I think Soham station is a good design of a single-platform station.
- It’s a short walk from car park or drop-off point to the platform.
- There is adequate car parking.
- There is a shelter.
The station has also been built, so that it can be expanded.
These are my thoughts.
A Service To Cambridge
Soham station probably needs a train service to Newmarket and Cambridge, as it already has a two-hourly service to Bury St. Edmund’s, Ely and Ipswich and Peterborough.
Wikipedia says this.
There are no current plans for direct services to Cambridge, but the CPCA has expressed support for the idea in a future phase of the project. Mayor James Palmer said “the delivery of Soham station gives us a much stronger case to go to Government and Network Rail and lobby for the reinstating of the Snailwell loop which will provide a direct service between Ely, Soham, Newmarket and Cambridge”
This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the Snailwell Loop.
Note.
- The triangular junction in the middle of the map,
- The line from the junction leading East goes to Bury St. Edmunds and Ipswich.
- The line from the junction leading North goes to Soham, Ely and Peterborough.
- The line from the junction leading South goes to Newmarket and Cambridge.
- The Western side of the junction was removed by British Rail.
It would appear that by reinstating the Western side of the junction, a service between Ely and Cambridge via Soham and Newmarket could be run.
There are proposals for new stations in this area and given the need for comprehensive commuter services into Cambridge this Ely and Cambridge service could develop considerably.
The simplest service pattern would be
- Peterborough via Ely, Manea, March and Whittlesea.
- Ely non-stop.
- Ipswich via Bury St. Edmunds and Stowmarket.
- Cambridge via Newmarket and Dullingham.
All trains would be one train per two hours (tp2h).
Snailwell Junction And Cambridge
There could be problems between Snailwell junction and Cambridge, as the line is mainly single-track and it would need to handle the following trains.
Ipswich and Cambridge – 1 train per hour (tph)
Ely and Cambridge – 1 tp2h
Sundry freight trains.
In Roaming Around East Anglia – Newmarket Station, I wrote this about the plans of the East West Rail Consortium in the area.
In this document on the East-West Rail Consortium web site, this is said.
Note that doubling of Warren Hill Tunnel at Newmarket and
redoubling between Coldham Lane Junction and Chippenham Junction is included
in the infrastructure requirements. It is assumed that most freight would operate
via Newmarket, with a new north chord at Coldham Lane Junction, rather than
pursuing further doubling of the route via Soham.
So would it be possible to create a double-track railway through Newmarket station?
In the related post, I came to this conclusion.
Newmarket can benefit from East West Rail, but the two parties must agree objectives that don’t cause problems for the other.
But I do think, that Newmarket will not welcome the building of a double-track railway through the town.
The Proposed A14 Parkway Station
Should The Great Northern And Great Eastern Joint Line Be Electrified?
The Great Northern And Great Eastern Joint Line was created in the Nineteenth Century by the Great Northern Railway and the Great Eastern Railway.
- The main purpose was to move freight like coal, agricultural products and manufactured goods between Yorkshire and Eastern England.
- It originally ran between Doncaster and Huntington via Gainsborough, Lincoln, Sleaford, Spalding and March.
- It had a full length of almost 123 miles.
- There was a large marshalling yard at Whitemoor near March.
Over the years the line has been pruned a bit and now effectively runs between Doncaster and Peterborough.
- Trains between Lincoln and March are now routed via Peterborough.
- It carries upwards of twenty freight trains per day in both directions through Lincoln Central station.
- Many of the freight trains are going to and from the East Coast ports.
- The distance between Doncaster and Peterborough is 93.7 miles, as opposed to the 79.6 miles on the East Coast Main Line.
- The line is not electrified, but it connects to the electrified East Coast Main Line at both ends.
There have been some important developments in recent years.
2015 Freight Upgrade
Wikipedia says this about the major 2015 freight upgrade.
In 2015 a £280 million upgrade of the Joint Line by Network Rail was substantially complete, enabling two freight trains per hour to be diverted from the congested East Coast Main Line; gauge enhancements to enable the passage of 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) containers were included in the work.
The Sleaford avoiding line had been substantially downgraded since the 1980s and was reinstated to double track as part of the 2015 scheme. Resignalling and modernisation of level crossings was included.
This means that freight trains have an alternative route, that avoids the East Coast Main Line.
Doncaster iPort
Over the last few years the Doncaster iPort has been developed, which is an intermodal rail terminal.
- It has a size of around 800 acres.
- The site opened in early 2018.
- There is a daily train to the Port of Southampton and two daily trains to both Teesport and Felixstowe.
- The Felixstowe trains would appear to use the Joint Line.
I feel that as the site develops, the Doncaster iPort will generate more traffic on the Joint Line.
This Google Map shows the Doncaster iPort.
There would appear to be plenty of space for expansion.
The Werrington Dive Under
The Werrington Dive Under has been built at a cost of £ 200 million, to remove a bottleneck at the Southern end of the Joint Line, where it connects to the East Coast Main Line.
The Werrington Dive Under was built, so that it could be electrified in the future.
LNER To Lincolnshire
LNER appear to have made a success of a one train per two hours (tp2h) service between London King’s Cross and Lincoln station.
- LNER have stated, that they want to serve Grimsby and Cleethorpes in the North of the county.
- North Lincolnshire is becoming important in supporting the wind energy industry in the North Sea.
- Lincoln is becoming an important university city.
- Several towns in Lincolnshire probably need a service to Peterborough and London.
- In 2019, the Port of Grimsby & Immingham was the largest port in the United Kingdom by tonnage.
I can see an expanded Lincolnshire service from LNER.
Full Digital Signalling Of The East Coast Main Line To The South Of Doncaster
This is happening now and it will have a collateral benefits for the Joint Line.
Most passenger and freight trains will also use the East Coast Main Line, if only for a few miles, which will mean they will need to be fitted for the digital signalling.
This could mean that extending full digital signalling to Lincolnshire will not be a challenging project.
Arguments For Electrification
These are possible arguments for electrification.
Electric Freight Trains To And From The North
It would be another stretch of line, that could accommodate electric freight trains.
An Electrified Diversion Route For East Coast Main Line Expresses
Currently, when there is engineering blockades between Doncaster and Peterborough on the East Coast Main Line, the Hitachi Class 800 and Class 802 trains of Hull Trains and LNER are able to divert using their diesel power.
But the electric trains of LNER and Lumo have to be cancelled.
An electrified diversion route would be welcomed by passengers and train companies.
It would also mean that any trains running from King’s Cross to electrified destinations would not to have any diesel engines.
An Electrified Spine Through Lincolnshire
If there was an electrified spine between Doncaster and Peterborough via Gainsborough, Lincoln, Sleaford and Spalding, these stations would be these distances from the spine.
- Boston – 16.8 miles
- Cleethorpes – 47.2 miles
- Grimsby Town – 43.9 miles
- Market Rasen – 14.8 miles
- Skegness – 40.7 miles
Note.
- These distances are all possible with battery-electric trains.
- Charging would be on the electrified spine and at Skegness and Cleethorpes stations.
All of South Lincolnshire and services to Doncaster would use electric trains.
London Services
London services would be via Spalding and join the East Coast Main Line at Werrington.
- Boston and Skegness would be served from Sleaford, where the train would reverse.
- Market Rasen, Grimsby Town and Cleethorpes would be served from Lincoln, where the train would reverse.
This would enable Cleethorpes and Skegness to have at least four trains per day to and from London King’s Cross.
North Lincolnshire Services
There are two train services in North Lincolnshire.
Cleethorpes and Barton-on-Humber.
Cleethorpes and Manchester Airport via Grimsby Town, Scunthorpe, Doncaster, Sheffield and Manchester Piccadilly.
Note.
- Cleethorpes would need to have a charger or a few miles of electrification, to charge a train from London.
- Doncaster, which is fully electrified is 52.1 miles from Cleethorpes.
- Barton-on-Humber is 22.8 miles from Cleethorpes.
Battery-electric trains should be able to handle both services.
Arguments Against Electrification
The only possible arguments against electrification are the disruption that the installation might cause and the unsightly nature of overhead gantries.
Conclusion
The Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line should be electrified.
Flirt Akku And Class 755 Train Compared
This article on Focus Transport is entitled 224-kilometre Battery Range For FLIRT Akku – Stadler Sets World Record For Guinness Book Of Records.
These facts about the record run are given.
- The route was from from Berlin to Warnemünde.
- It appears to have been independently verified.
- The distance was 224 kilometres or 139 miles.
- This distance is more than London to Great Yarmouth via Norwich.
- It is reported that the temperature was around zero, which is not very battery-friendly.
No mention was made in the article of the number of passengers on board or the average speed.
Various articles have stated that the Flirt Akku is a three-car train, but I was not sure, if it included a PowerPack car like the Class 755 train.
So I flew my virtual drone over the route and got this picture.
Compare the front end with this picture of a Class 755 train at Lowestoft.
And the side view with this diagram of the trains, that I clipped from Wikipedia.
I can come to these conclusions.
- The two front ends are very different, although the basic layout of doors and windows appears the same.
- The Akku seems to have a flatter side.
- The Akku lacks the PowerPack of the British train.
It also looks like the Greater Anglia train has better step-free access between between train and platform. But then you never seem to find good step-free access on German trains.
Some extra information and thoughts .
Testing The Flirt Akku
This article on Railvolution is entitled FLIRT AKKU Research Project Completed.
The article comprehensively described the testing process and gave more details of the train.
- The train was running at 140 kph or 87 mph.
- This speed is available from the catenary or battery.
- Battery charging takes twenty minutes.
- The train seats 154 passengers in a 2 + 2 configuration.
The train appears to be roughly the same size and performance as a three-car Class 755 train.
Range On A Battery-Electric Class 755 Train
The battery range needed on various Greater Anglia routes are as follows.
Ipswich and Cambridge – 41.3 miles
- Ipswich and Felixstowe – 15.6 miles
- Ipswich and Lowestoft – 48.9 miles
- Ipswich and Peterborough – 71.2 miles
- Norwich and Great Yarmouth – 18.3 miles
- Norwich and Lowestoft – 23.5 miles
- Norwich and Sheringham – 30 miles
- Norwich and Stansted Airport – 53.7 miles
- Marks Tey and Sudbury – 11.8 miles
Note.
- Cambridge, Ely, Ipswich, Norwich and Peterborough are stations with full electrification.
- I suspect some services will need charging at the remote station.
It looks like to handle all routes will need a train with a range of around 80 miles or around 129 kilometres.
Conclusion
I don’t think that it would be impossible for Stadler to create a battery-electric Class 755 train with enough range.
Rail Minister Officially Opens Werrington Tunnel
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Technology Magazine.
This is the first two paragraphs.
Werrington Tunnel, an underground freight tunnel running beneath the East Coast Main Line near Peterborough, has been formally opened by Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris.
A key step in the £1.2bn East Coast upgrade, the opening of the tunnel allows for freight services to be ran underneath the main rail artery, significantly improving passenger service reliability on the East Coast Main Line.
I also think, that the tunnel will be used creatively by passenger and freight operators.
Electrification
There is a possibility that the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line (GNGE) between Werrington and Doncaster via Lincoln could be electrified.
- It would allow the many freight trains using the route to be hauled by electric locomotives.
- It would create a by-pass for the East Coast Main Line during engineering works, that could be used as a diversion route by electric trains.
- Werrington and Lincoln are just over fifty miles and might be handled by battery-electric trains, if the GNGE were to be partially electrified.
According to one report, the Werrington Tunnel has been readied for electrification, should that be decided.
An Improved Peterborough And Lincoln Service
In the past, I have travelled between London and Lincoln with a change at Peterborough. In one case, I just missed my connection, as it was a long crowded walk between the two platforms.
The Werrington Tunnel will enable trains to and from Lincoln to use platforms on the West side of Peterborough station.
Train times and platform allocations could be arranged to make connections at Peterborough easier.
A London And Lincoln Service Via Spalding And Sleaford
There are two possible routes between London King’s Cross and Lincoln
- The current LNER service leaves the East Coast Main Line at Newark.
- An alternative route would leave the East Coast Main Line at Peterborough and be routed via the Werrington Tunnel, Spalding and Sleaford.
These notes apply to the alternative route.
- The Lincoln service wouldn’t call at Grantham and Newark.
- Some services could also call at other stations.
- The current hourly Peterborough and Lincoln service via Spalding is run by a Class 153 train , which stops four times and takes fourteen minutes longer than LNER’s service via Newark.
- An easy connection to and from Skegness could be arranged at Spalding,
LNER also plans to extend some Lincoln services to Grimsby Town and Cleethorpes. Timings will dictate which will be the better route.
The Werrington Tunnel would add a large degree of flexibility in routing services between London King’s Cross and Lincoln and Lincolnshire.
Splitting And Joining At Peterborough
If the Werrington Tunnel makes Lincoln timings via Spalding and Sleaford viable, I wonder if it would be possible for trains to split and join at Peterborough.
- One train would go to Lincoln via the Werrington Tunnel, Spalding and Sleaford.
- The other might go North to Bradford, Hull, Middlesbrough, Scarborough or York.
The Werrington Tunnel again adds flexibility.
A Round-The-Wash Service Between Doncaster And Ipswich/Norwich
In Is There A Case For A Round-The-Wash Service Between Doncaster And Ipswich/Norwich?, I suggested this service, which would be an hourly Doncaster and Cambridge service via Scunthorpe, Grimsby Town Cleethorpes, Lincoln, Sleaford, Spalding, Werrington Tunnel and Peterborough that would alternatively extend to Ipswich or Norwich.
The Werrington Tunnel again opens up possibilities.
Conclusion
I’m sure that the Werrington Tunnel and the technology that built it will be imitated elsewhere.
Werrington Dive-Under – 8th September 2021
I had gone to Peterborough to take pictures of the Werrington Dive Under, from a train between Peterborough and Spalding.
I took these pictures going Peterborough and Spalding.
My train between Peterborough and Spalding stations took the following route.
- The Class 158 train was a great improvement on the Class 153 train, I took in From Peterborough To Lincoln in 2015.
- It started in Platform 1b at Peterborough station.
- It then crossed over to the Down Fast line to go North.
- Finally, it slowed to cross the Up Fast and Up Slow lines to go towards Spalding.
- It is surely not an efficient and the safest way to run a railway.
Think about turning right on a busy dual carriageway, by going through a gap in the central reservation.
This diagram shows the new track layout of Werrington Junction.
Note.
- My train was going North on Line 5, so it had to use the two crossovers to get to the lines to Spalding.
- The Up Stamford (Line 4) can be seen in the pictures after the two lines have disappeared into the dive-under.
It’s a pity the first of my pictures aren’t better, but the sun was in the wrong direction.
I took these pictures going Spalding and Peterborough.
Note.
- The train used the Up Slow (line 7) to go between Werrington Junction and Peterborough station.
- The last two pictures show the Class 158 train in Platform 1b at Peterborough station.
At least this time, the train didn’t cross the Fast lines.
Will Passenger Trains Use The Werrington Dive-Under?
I’m very sure they will!
- On the Western side of Peterborough station, there are four platforms 4 to 7 and an avoiding line for freight trains going North.
- It appears that all of these lines can access the Down Stamford (Line 1) and Up Stamford (Line 4) to go to Werrington Junction.
- At Werrington Junction, trains either take the route to Stamford or use the dive-under for Spalding.
It looks to me, that if the trains to and from Spalding terminated in one of the Western platforms, then they could use the Stamford Lines to access the dive-under and they wouldn’t cross the Fast Lines of the East Coast Main Line on the flat.
Greengauge 21’s Suggestion, That Thameslink Be Extended To Spalding
In the study by Greengauge 21, which is entitled Connecting East Lincolnshire, this is said.
As noted the Spalding-Peterborough line should be a strong candidate for electrification because of its freight potential, and if so it could also accommodate an extension of Thameslink services from London and the South East to Spalding where interchange would be made with a Spalding–Boston–Louth–Grimsby express bus using the A16.
This proposal may be possible, if instead of using the dive-under, the Thameslink trains were able to use the Up Slow (line 7) to go both ways between Werrington Junction and Peterborough station.
As in the near future, full digital signalling will apply through Peterborough, this shouldn’t be a problem.
Electrification Of The Werrington Dive-Under?
Consider.
- There is a gap of around ninety miles in the freight route between the comprehensive electrification at Peterborough and Doncaster stations on the Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Line (GNGE).
- There are dozens of level crossings.
- The route goes through the centre of Lincoln, where there are two level crossings.
There are two ways of decarbonising the route.
- Full electrification
- Using hydrogen-powered freight locomotives.
Both solutions have their proposers and opponents.
I favour hydrogen-electric hybrid locomotives, that can use electrification where it exists, as it reduces the infrastructure cost on overbridges and in freight depots.
- Hydrogen-powered locomotives have a go-anywhere capability.
- There are also a lot of routes in the UK, where freight trains currently run and it would take a long time to electrify all of them.
- As rail freight companies would have to purchase a lot of new locomotives, I can see them opting for hydrogen-electric hybrid locomotives.
But there are others, who think the only way is full electrification.
London And Lincolnshire By Electric Train
Passenger trains are not a problem, as Alstom, CAF, Hitachi, Stadler and others have demonstrated battery ranges of over fifty miles.
LNER are currently serving Lincoln from London using Hitachi bi-mode Class 800 trains, which use diesel for the 16.5 miles between Newark and Lincoln.
Hitachi’s proposed Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train, is described in this Hitachi infographic.
I believe it would be possible to handle London and Lincoln via Newark without using diesel.
It also looks like it will be possible to convert the LNER’s current Class 800 trains into Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Trains.
But I doubt their range would sufficient to go between London and Lincoln via Peterborough, Spalding and Sleaford, unless there were to be a charging system at Lincoln.
But surely though, the ideal train for Lincolnshire would be a train that ran between London and Cleethorpes via Peterborough, Spalding, Sleaford, Lincoln, Market Rasen and Grimsby Town.
- Peterborough and Lincoln is 56.9 miles.
- Lincoln and Cleethorpes is 47.2 miles.
- The service could be timed for a convenient interchange with the other Lincolnshire train services.
- The service could run perhaps a few times per day.
With charging systems at Lincoln and Cleethorpes, similar to the Hitachi ABB Power Grids system that I described in Solving The Electrification Conundrum, this service could be run by an Intercity Tri-Mode Battery Train.
Peterborough And Lincolnshire By Electric Train
If you could run between Peterborough and major places in Lincolnshire, as part of a London service, I also suspect that a well-designed Peterborough and Lincolnshire service could serve Lincolnshire almost equally well.
It might use Platform 5 to terminate at Peterborough.
- This is paired with Platform 4, which is the platform generally used by LNER trains from London, so there would be a cross-platform interchange going North.
- Going South, there would be a need to use the footbridge.
How many people would use an hourly cross-TransLincs service?
Azumas Everywhere!
I arrived in Peterborough twenty-five minutes late to the site of Azumas everywhere.
Something had obviously gone very wrong. Passengers for Inverness were even being moved from one train in Platform 2 to another in Platform 4.
Was this chaos and my post called Was The Queen’s Locomotive Acting As A Thunderbird? connected?
With hindsight and a bit of help from Real Time Trains, I think they probably were?
Connecting East Lincolnshire
The title of this post, is the same as that of this study by Greengauge 21.
The study goes through all the transport options in East Lincolnshire, comes to some interesting general conclusions, in addition to those specific to East Lincolnshire and then makes this recommendation.
We recommend putting in hand the studies to compare and select the best of the two ways identified here to use electrified net zero carbon public transport to meet East Lincolnshire’s future connectivity needs.
The two ways are.
Reopening the East Lincolnshire Railway
Reopening the East Lincolnshire Railway between Louth and Firsby and running these services.
- Skegness–Wainfleet–Boston–Sleaford–Grantham–Nottingham
- Louth–Wlloughby–Alford–Firsby–Boston–Donington–Spalding–Peterborough (and
thence potentially, London KX).
Note.
- There would be a mini-hub at Boston.
- There would be good connections to Lincolnshire’s InterConnect bus links.
I wrote about reinstating the East Lincolnshire Railway inBeeching Reversal – Firsby And Louth.
An Express Interurban Bus Alternative
The study describes this option like this.
A Louth–Boston–Spalding express bus, interchanging with the east west Nottingham–Skegness trains with timed
connections at a multi-modal hub at Boston and an improved hourly interval rail service onwards
from Spalding southwards.
One of their suggestions is to extend Thameslink to Spalding.
Soham Station Aims For December 2021 Opening
This article on Rail Technology Magazine is entitled Soham Set To Benefit From New Station After 56 years Without.
Work only started on Soham station earlier this year, so this paragraph is a bit of a surprise.
The completion of the work means that from December, Greater Anglia’s Ipswich to Peterborough service will finally be able to stop at Soham once more, better connecting the population.
The work referred to is changes to the signalling to allow services to call at the new Soham station.
It certainly appears that the station is being built at a canter!
I have some thoughts on the station.
Station Location
This Google Map shows the town of Soham.
Note.
- The railway between Ely and Ipswich running North-South at the Western edge of the map.
- Station Road connecting the town centre to the railway.
- Looking at the map to a large scale, it certainly appears that construction has started, as dark green portacabins and red and white barriers ae visible.
This Network Rail visualisation shows the proposed station.
Note.
- The visualisation is looking to the East.
- Ely and Peterborough are to the left.
- Bury St. Edmunds and Ipswich are to the right.
- The footbridge is wide enough to cross a double-track, although the route is currently only single-track at this point.
- There is just a single platform on the town side of the track.
It appears to be a simple design, that possibly could speed the construction.
Station Design
This Network Rail visualisation is a closer view of the proposed station.
Note.
- The turning circle and the carpark on the town (Eastern) side of the station can be clearly seen.
- The single platform will be 100 metres long and will be able to accommodate a four-car Class 755 train, which is 80.7 metres long.
- It appears that there is a concrete wall at the back of the platform. Is this to protect passengers from the sometimes-biting winds of the Fens or the swirling air currents generated by passing freight trains.
The station and footbridge are future proofed for a possible second platform and lifts.
Services
Currently, Greater Anglia runs a train between Ipswich and Peterborough every two hours, although this was promised to be doubled in frequency at some time in the future.
Times to various stations are as follows.
- Ipswich – 48 minutes
- Bury St. Edmunds – 19 minutes
- Ely – 9 minutes
- Peterborough – 50 minutes
These times are from Real Time Trains, which already acknowledges the station.
Note that to get to the important city of Cambridge passengers will need to change at either Bury St. Edmunds or Ely.
In the future there are two ways that the connection between Soham and Cambridge can be improved.
Reinstatement Of The Warren Hill Junction and Snailwell Junction Chord
This Google Map shows the layout, where the Ely and Ipswich Line and the Cambridge Branch Line join to the North of Newmarket in a triangular junction.
Note.
- The A14 runs across the top of the map.
- The Ely and Ipswich Line runs in a curve to the South of the A14 and the British Racing School.
- The former Snailwell junction was to the South of the British Racing School and was the Northern point of the triangular junction.
- Chippenham junction is the Eastern point of the triangular junction and is where the Ely and Cambridge lines join.
- The former Warren Hill junction was at the South close to the stables of Godolphin and John Gosden and was the Southern point of the triangular junction. From Warren Hill junction the railway runs through the Warren Hill tunnel to Newmarket station and ultimately to Cambridge.
If the chord were to be reinstated between Snailwell and Warren Hill junctions, it would be possible to run an hourly service between Soham and Cambridge via Dullingham and Newmarket.
The A14 Parkway Station
The A14 Parkway station is a proposal from the East West Railway.
- It would be just to the East of Chippenham junction and would be served by both Greater Anglia’s services between Ipswich and Cambridge and Ipswich and Peterborough.
- It would also be close to the major road junction, where the A11 and the A14 meet.
- It would be a Park-and-Ride station.
I believe it could be a major factor in cutting road mileage in East Anglia, as drivers going to Cambridge from Ipswich, Norwich, a large area of North-East East Anglia and North Essex could find that using the A14 Parkway station an easier and faster route. But the A14 Parkway would need a frequent service to the soon-to-be-three main Cambridge stations.
A Soham and Cambridge service could reverse at the A14 Parkway station or by careful timetabling, passengers would be able to change trains in a minute or two.
Two Trains Per Hour Between Newmarket and Cambridge
An hourly service between Soham and Cambridge would add an invaluable second hourly service between Newmarket and Cambridge.
It would also fit in with the regular proposals to reopen stations at Six Mile Bottom, Fulbourn and Cherry Hinton.
Thoughts On Faster Trains On Thameslink
The Class 700 trains used by Thameslink only have an operating speed of 100 mph.
I do wonder, if that is a fast enough operating speed for all Thameslink routes.
Sharing The Midland Main Line With 125 mph Trains
A couple of years ago, I travelled back into St. Pancras with a group of East Midlands drivers in a Class 222 train.
They told me several things about the route including that the bridge at the South of Leicester station would be difficult to electrify, as it was low and the track couldn’t be lowered as one of Leicester’s main sewers was under the tracks at the bridge. Perhaps, this is one place, where discontinuous electrification could be used on the Midland Main Line.
They also told me, that sometimes the Thameslink trains were a nuisance, as because of their 100 mph operating speed, the 125 mph Class 222 trains had to slow to 100 mph.
Upgrading Of The Midland Main Line South Of Bedford
The electrification of the Midland Main Line South of Bedford is being updated, so that it is suitable for 125 mph running.
An Analysis Of Services On The Midland Main Line South Of Bedford
The current Class 222 trains are capable of 125 mph and will be replaced by Class 810 trains capable of the same speed on both diesel and electricity.
Currently, a Class 222 train is capable of doing the following on a typical non-stop run between St. Pancras and Leicester.
- Covering the 30 miles between St. Albans and Bedford in 17 minutes at an average speed of 106 mph.
- Covering the 50.3 miles between Bedford and Leicester in 30 minutes at an average speed of 100.6 mph.
- Maintaining 125 mph for long stretches of the route, once the trains is North of London commuter traffic at St. Albans
I can estimate the timings on the 79.2 miles between Leicester and St. Albans, by assuming the train runs at a constant speed.
- 100 mph – 47.5 minutes
- 110 mph – 43.2 minutes
- 125 mph – 38 minutes
- 140 mph – 34 minutes
Note.
- I have done the calculation for 140 mph, as that is the maximum operating speed of the Class 810 train with full in-cab digital signalling.
- Trains have been running at 125 mph for a couple of decades on the Midland Main Line.
- To get a St. Pancras and Leicester time add another 14 minutes, which is the current time between St. Pancras and St. Albans of a Class 222 train.
- Some Off Peak trains are timed at 62-63 minutes between St. Pancras and Leicester.
- A time of under an hour between St. Pancras and Leicester might be possible and the Marketing Department would like it.
- As Thameslink trains between Bedford and St. Albans stop regularly, they are on the slow lines of the four-track railway, to the North of St. Albans.
- South of St. Albans, Thameslink trains often run on the fast lines.
I can expect that East Midlands Railway will want to be running their new Class 810 trains as far as far South as they can at 125 mph, to speed up their services. When the signalling allows it, they’ll want to run at 140 mph.
So they won’t want to see Thameslink’s slow trains on the fast lines.
- But if you look at the Thameslink trains that do run on the fast lines between St. Albans and St. Pancras, they appear to be the four trains per hour (tph) that run to and from Bedford.
- Of these trains, two tph terminate at Brighton and two tph terminate at Gatwick Airport.
- The average speed of a Class 222 train between St. Albans and St. Pancras assuming 14 minutes for the 19.7 miles is 84.4 mph.
So it looks to me that a 100 mph Thameslink train could be able to get away without slowing the East Midland Railway expresses.
But then that is not surprising, as for many years, the Class 222 trains worked happily with 100 mph Class 319 trains.
Is There Scope For Extra And Faster Services Into St. Pancras?
I have only done a simple calculation, but I do wonder if there is scope for the following.
- Increasing the frequency of trains for both Thameslink and East Midlands Railway.
- Saving a few minutes on East Midlands Railway services.
Consider.
- The new Class 810 electric trains will probably have better acceleration and deceleration than the current Class 222 diesel trains, when working using electric power.
- East Midlands Railway is introducing Class 360 trains that were built as 100 mph trains by Siemens, who are now upgrading them to 110 mph trains.
- Can Siemens do the same for the Class 700 trains and create a sub-fleet capable of 110 mph running?
- All trains will be running under full in-cab digital signalling with a large degree of automatic train control.
I feel that if the Class 700 trains had the extra speed, they would make the planning of services South of St. Albans easier and allow the Class 810 trains to both run faster and provide more services.
Sharing The East Coast Main Line With 125 mph Trains
The following Thameslink services run up the East Coast Main Line past Stevenage.
- Cambridge And Brighton – Two tph – Stops at Royston, Ashwell and Morden (1 tph), Baldock, Letchworth Garden City, Hitchin, Stevenage, Finsbury Park, London St Pancras International, Farringdon, City Thameslink, London Blackfriars, London Bridge, East Croydon, Gatwick Airport, Three Bridges, Balcombe, Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill
- Cambridge and Kings Cross – Two tph – Stops at Foxton, Shepreth, Meldreth, Royston, Ashwell and Morden, Baldock, Letchworth Garden City, Hitchin, Stevenage, Knebworth, Welwyn North, Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield, Potters Bar and Finsbury Park
- Peterborough and Horsham – Two tph – Stops at Huntingdon, St Neots, Sandy, Biggleswade, Arlesey, Hitchin, Stevenage, Finsbury Park, London St Pancras International, Farringdon, City Thameslink, London Blackfriars, London Bridge, East Croydon, Coulsdon South, Merstham, Redhill, Horley, Gatwick Airport, Three Bridges, Crawley, Ifield, Faygate (limited) and Littlehaven
Note.
- Services are generally run by Class 700 trains, although lately the Kings Cross service seems to use Class 387 trains, which have a maximum speed of 110 mph and a more comfortable interior with tables.
- It is intended that the Cambridge and Kings Cross service will be extended to Maidstone East by 2021.
In addition there are two Cambridge Express and Fen Line services.
- Kings Cross and Ely – One tph – Stops at Cambridge and Cambridge North.
- Kings Cross and King’s Lynn – One tph – Stops at Cambridge, Cambridge North, Waterbeach, Ely, Littleport, Downham Market and Watlington
Note.
- These services are generally run by Class 387 trains.
- Cambridge and King’s Cross is timetabled at around fifty minutes.
Adding all of this together means that slower services on the East Coast Main Line are comprised of the following in both directions.
- Three tph – 110 mph – Class 387 trains
- Four tph – 100 mph – Class 700 trains
These seven trains will have to be fitted in with the 125 mph trains running services on the East Coast Main Line, for LNER, Grand Central, Hull Trains and East Coast Trains.
There are also the following problems.
- All trains must navigate the double-track section of the East Coast Main Line over the Digswell Viaduct and through Welwyn North station.
- The King’s Cross and Cambridge service stops in Welwyn North station.
- Full in-cab digital signalling is being installed on the East Coast Main Line, which could increase the speed of the expresses through the double-track section.
Could the introduction of the Class 387 trains on the Cambridge and King’s Cross service have been made, as it easier to fit in all the services if this one is run by a 110 mph train?
However, the full in-cab digital signalling with a degree of automatic train control could be the solution to this bottleneck on the East Coast Main Line.
- Trains could be controlled automatically and with great precision between perhaps Hatfield and Stevenage.
- Some expresses might be slowed to create gaps for the Cambridge and Peterborough services.
- The Hertford Loop Line is also getting full in-cab digital signalling, so will some services be sent that way?
In Call For ETCS On King’s Lynn Route, I talked about a proposal to improve services on the Fen Line. This was my first three paragraphs.
The title of this post, is the same as that on an article in Edition 849 of Rail Magazine.
The article is based on this document on the Fen Line Users Aoociation web site, which is entitled Joint Response To Draft East Coast Main Line Route Study.
In addition to ETCS, which could improve capacity on the East Coast Main Line, they would also like to see journey time reductions using trains capable of running at 125 mph or faster on the King’s Lynn to Kings Cross route.
My scheduling experience tells me that a better solution will be found, if all resources are similar.
Hence the proposal to run 125 mph trains between King’s Cross and King’s Lynn and probably Ely as well, could be a very good and logical idea.
If the Class 700 trains were increased in speed to 110 mph, the trains through the double-track section of the East Coast Main Line would be.
- One tph – 110 mph – Class 387 trains
- Four tph – 110 mph – Class 700 trains
- Two tph – 125 mph – New trains
Note.
- This would probably be an easier mix of trains to digest with the high speed services, through the double-track section.
- I like the idea of extending the Ely service to Norwich to give Thetford, Attleborough and Wymondham an improved service to London, Cambridge and Norwich.
The new trains would probably be a version of Hitachi’s Regional Battery Train.
- It would need to be capable of 125 mph on the East Coast Main Line.
- If the Ely service were to be extended to Norwich, this section would be on battery power.
There are certainly a lot of possibilities.
But as with on the Midland Main Line, it looks like for efficient operation, the operating speed of the Class 700 trains on the route needs to be increased to at least 110 mph.
Could Faster Class 700 trains Improve Services To Brighton?
These are the Thameslink services that serve Bedford, Cambridge and Peterborough, that I believe could be run more efficiently with trains capable of at running at speeds of at least 110 mph.
- Bedford and Brighton – Two tph
- Bedford and Gatwick Airport – Two tph
- Cambridge and Brighton – Two tph
- Cambridge and Maidstone East – Two tph
- Peterborough and Horsham – Two tph
Note.
- I have assumed that the Cambridge and King’s Cross service has been extended to Maidstone East as planned.
- Eight tph serve Gatwick Airport.
- Four tph serve Brighton.
The Gatwick Express services have a frequency of two tph between London Victoria and Brighton calling at Gatwick Airport is already run by 110 mph Class 387 trains.
It would appear that if the Bedford, Cambridge and Peterborough were run by uprated 110 mph Class 700 trains, then this would mean that more 110 mph trains would be running to Gatwick and Brighton and this must surely improve the service to the South Coast.
But it’s not quite as simple as that, as the Cambridge and Maidstone East services will be run by eight-car trains and all the other services by twelve-car trains.
Conclusion
There would appear to be advantages in uprating some or possibly all of the Class 700 trains, so that they can run at 110 mph, as it will increase capacity on the Brighton Main Line, East Coast Main Line and Midland Main Line.
The Anonymous Widower 