Does Sheffield Get The Public Transport It Needs?
I ask this question, as I spent a day in Sheffield yesterday, watching Ipswich play Sheffield Wednesday. These are some observations.
The London Sheffield Train Service
In the 1960s and before, Sheffield had a higher priority than it does now in the Government’s rail policy.
One of the flagship services was the Master Cutler going into Kings Cross.
I can remember this train with an iconic Class 55 locomotive on the front, speeding through Oakleigh Park station.
The service between London and Sheffield station isn’t bad, but to put it mildly, the First Class isn’t first class compared to say, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle.
Yesterday on my trips up and down, not as much as a cup of coffee was offered. Perhaps more importantly, tickets weren’t checked coming back to London. Wi-fi wasn’t working on the way up, but I didn’t check it, as I generally don’t use it, as logging in on some services generates spam.
The other big problem with all services out of St. Pancras, is that their are no late trains back to the capital, whichy must encourage people to drive.
Two developments should improve the service to London.
- Electrification, which surely must see a time around two hours to London.
- The new East Midland Franchise.
If the second has the same affect, as the new East Anglian Franchise did, we should see serious improvements.
Sheffield needs at least three trains-per-hour (tph) to and from London and the South. In my view this is the minimum frequency for a journey that could be two hours or under from London. Manchester and Norwich have or will have it, so why not all cities and major centres between these two sizes?
One of the problems of increasing the frequency from 2 tph or even lengthening trains, is my Aunt Sally or that Fur Coat And No Knickers Station of St. Pancras.
So something radical will have to be done by the new Franchise, as increasing services out of St. Pancras will need some clever train scheduling.
Sheffield’s Non-Standard Tram System
The Sheffield tram seems to work, but if they were being designed today, they would be very different, as would be the Manchester Metrolink.
- The Siemens-Duewag Supertram are to a special design to cope with gradients.
- The trams are only 40% low-floor.
- The trams are long, to avoid running in multiple.
- There is a lot more street running, than other systems.
This all means that expanding the system will be difficult and expensive.
On my trip yesterday, I encountered some problems.
- The trams were very crowded.
- There was a long delay because someone had parked on a double-yellow line blocking the tram tracks.
- The frequency is not high enough.
Some problems would be solved in say Manchester and other tram systems in the UK, would be solved by just ordering more trams. I suspect that because of the non-standard nature of the system, and the obselete tram design, that this is not possible, at an affordable cost.
Sheffield’s solution is to add a new route to Rotherham using Class 399 tram-trains. They will also order some extra vehicles to improve frequencies on the existing network.
Progress has been slow to say the least, and I can’t help thinking that designers of CAF, who have produced the excellent Urbos 3 trams for Edinburgh and the Midland Metro, couldn’t have rearranged some of their solutions to provide extra trams to improve the current Sheffield network.
At some point the original trams will need to be replaced and the tram-train might provide a solution for this, but surely a 100% low-floor tram designed especially for Sheffield’s non-standard network, could be a more affordable solution.
Progress On The Tram-Train
I took a walk along the River Don and this must be the slowest railway project in the UK. That says something, considering we’ve got some real dogs out there.
Tram-train services to Rotherham are supposed to start in 2017.
There is still a lot to do.
Trams To Hillsborough Stadium
The Hillsborough Disaster happened on the fifteenth of April 1989 and the Sheffield Supertram opened on the 21st March 1994.
As one of the causes of the Hillsborough disaster was traffic problems on the M62 from Liverpool, surely you’d think that the design of the Supertram would have been arraqnged so that supporters could get to the stadium eaqsier.
But not a jot of it, as I suppose that the powers that be, decided that lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice.
This Google Map shows Hillsborough Stadium.
Hillsborough Stadium And The Supertram
The Supertram has a stop at the top of Leppings Lane, which is ideal for the Visitors end.
The tram route runs on the North-South road at the West of the map.
This Google Map shows the area of the Leppings Lane tram stop.
Leppings Lane Tram Stop
It doesn’t seem to be the most difficult project to improve the access to the Supertram at this stop.
Given Sheffield Wednesday’s new owners, it is not inconceivable that the club ends up in the Premier League.
From my experience yesterdsy, the current arrangements would be difficult, so something creative needs to be done.
Getting between the station and Hillsborough is not easy, as a change of tram is needed.
Leppings Lane is only one stop from the end of the line at Middlewood. Surely, on match days, one simple solution would be to run trams direct to the station from Middlewood.
But the restricted number of trams probably makes this impossible.
Conclusion
Sheffield’s public transport network needs improvement.
Does Sheffield Need A Super High Speed Line To London?
I ask this question because HS2 was put forward in the days, when brute force and high speed was the only way to get fast journey times.
In this article on the BBC, which is entitled HS2 South Yorkshire route change threatens new estate, the following is stated.
- 120 mins – Fastest existing Sheffield to London service
- 79 mins – Fastest Sheffield to London service via HS2
I have not seen any details as to how fast conventional trains could do Sheffield to London, but we do have some useful figures from the Great Eastern Main Line, which I wrote about in Could Class 387 Trains Do Norwich In Ninety And Ipswich In Sixty? I came to the conclusion that a 200 kph Aventra with modest track improvements could reduce the current 120 minutes to ninety.
Compare the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) with the Midland Main Line (MML)
The GEML is about 180 km long and fully electrified, with only two tracks except South of Shenfield and a 160 kph line speed.
The MML is about 250 km long and not electrified past Bedford, with generally more than two tracks and quite a bit of 200 kph running.
The MML has a lot of potential for improvement.
- In several places there is space to add extra tracks and improve junctions.
- A fully-developed Erewash Valley Line, could possibly be used as a higher-speed diversion, avoiding the line through the Derwent Valley, which is a World Heritage Site.
- The MML is currently being electrified.
- Modern electric trains with regenerative braking would speed stops on the MML.
- Some of the stations on the MML, could be rebuilt to speed trains through.
- This is just the sort of line for which the Digital Railway could have a large positive affect.
I feel that after the line is fully electrified and upgraded between London and Sheffield, that there could be a big improvement in journey times.
I do wonder if the revised plan for HS2 to serve Sheffield, , has come about because engineers have been able to devise a plan to improve the MML, that has created enough capacity from Clay Cross to Sheffield, to allow HS2 to share.
In HS2 Does The Right Thing In Sheffield, I postulated that if the MML from Clay Cross, where it bis joined by HS2 to Sheffield, were to be built to HS2 standards, when it was electrified, then this would have benefits for both lines.
- HS2 trains could approach Sheffield, using the sort of speed profile, they’d use into other stations.
- 200+ kph trains on the MML would knock a few minutes off schedules.
- Any extra tracks would probably fit on railway land.
- Chesterfield station could be rebuilt to accept HS2 trains.
There would be a large saving in costs, as only two tracks would be built. They would also be built when the MML is electrified.
We might not see trains on the classic route between London and Sheffield do the trip in the 79 minutes of HS2, but they would certainly be some minutes quicker than the two hours of today.
HS2 Does The Right Thing At Sheffield
In HS2 Does The Right Thing At Leeds, I put my case for HS2 stations to be in City Centres, so that when passengers arrived, they could use all the current and often well-developed local trains and trams to get to their ultimate destination.
I said this.
I don’t like the concept of most of the HS2 stations.
Euston, isn’t too bad, as the HS2 platforms are alongside those for the main station and I suspect that when and if I see it in reality, I will be able to arrive in the station on perhaps a London Midland train from Bletchley or Tring and just walk across to the HS2 platforms.
At some of our better interchange stations like Reading, to change trains, you go up escalators to a wide overbridge and then walk across to the escalator for the platform of your departing train. The design also allows seats and cafes in a totally non-claustrophobic environment. I have a feeling that the new London Bridge will raise the bar of this type of station even higher!
To my mind the designs for HS2 station at Birmingham is absolute rubbish and truly terrible. Birmingham is developing a local train, tram and bus network centred on New Street station, so instead of HS2 arriving into this hub, it arrives at a separate station some distance away and many passengers will have to get a tram to connect to their ongoing service.
After seeing the light at Leeds and proposed something much more sensible, HS2 has now done a similar thing at Sheffield.
This article on the BBC explains it all.
- HS2 will now serve the main Sheffield station.
- HS2 will now pass to the East of Rotherham.
- HS2 will reach Sheffield on classic lines from a junction near Clay Cross and via Chesterfield.
- Sheffield City Council say the new route will create 6,500 more jobs in Sheffield.
- The old route might have created congestion around Meadowhall.
This map shows the new and the old routes.
HS2 Through South Yorkshire
The yellow route is the old one and the blue one is the new one.
Note how the on the map it says “Link to Sheffield Midland on Existing Railway”
I have followed this route on Google Maps and with the exception of perhaps Chesterfield station, there would appear to be space to get four tracks from the junction at Clay Cross to Sheffield station. There also appears to be few houses close to the line, which seems to be in a wooded corridor between industrial premises.
Good planning says that this line should be upgraded and Chesterfield station should be remodelled, when the Midland Main Line (MML) is electrified.
Is this one of the reasons, that HS2 has chosen this route and moved the station from Meadowhall to Sheffield?
Clay Cross to Sheffield is about twenty miles and if two tracks were rebuilt or added to the MML, to HS2 standards, it would have the following benefits.
- HS2 trains could approach Sheffield, using the sort of speed profile, they’d use into other stations.
- 200 kph trains on the MML would knock a few minutes off schedules.
- Any extra tracks would probably fit on railway land.
- Chesterfield station could be rebuilt to accept HS2 trains.
There would be a large saving in costs, as only two tracks would be built. They would also be built when the MML is electrified.
Unfortunately, this change of route will cause problems as the BBC article explains.
It’s a pity they didn’t lay down a few objectives at the start of the detailed design of HS2.
One of which would have been, that HS2 should access existing well-developed stations if possible.
My First Pictures Of A Class 399 Tram-Train
In Sheffield, I took these pictures of a Class 399 tram-train in the depot on the way to Meadowhall.
In two picture theres is also one of the current Supertrams.
The difference between the two trams, is that the current ones have full length windows in the doors, whereas the tram-trains have shorter windows.
Although, work appears to be continuing at South Meadowhall to connect the tram and heavy rail networks, nothing much was worth photographing.
Tram-Trains In Stockport
In the Proposed Systems section for the United Kingdom in the Wikipedia entry for tram-trains, there is a reference to tram-trains being proposed for Manchester to Marple.
I have also found this report on the Stockport Council web site, which is entitled Stockport Rail Strategy. The strategy has been developed by respected engineers; WSAtkins.
Search the report for tram-train and you get 35 hits, including references to Manchester to Marple.
The report also has this helpful map of tram-train routes in the Stockport area.
Possible Stockport Tram-Train Routes
I’ll look at some of the routes.
Manchester to Marple
Note that Manchester to Marple is given the highest priority of 1.
In Section 5.5.1 of the report, this is said about the Manchester to Marple route.
Manchester – Marple Metrolink would replace local rail services on the Manchester – Marple via Bredbury line with a more frequent service that would access the heart of Manchester City Centre. A further benefit of the scheme is that it contributes to relieving platform capacity constraints to Manchester Piccadilly, since the scheme would enter Piccadilly via the Metrolink platforms.
It also says it won’t go through Stockport Town Centre.
As the map shows the Manchester to Marple route goes via Ashburys station, which is to the South of the Etihad Stadium.as this Google Map shows.
Ashburys And Etihad Stadium
Note Ardwick and Ashburys stations on the line used by trains between Manchester Piccadilly and Rose Hill Msrple Marple stations.
A second Google Map shows the Etihad Campus tram stop, surrounded by various stadia, centres and arenas.
Etihad Campus
Note in both maps there is a rail line that leaves the rail line to the west of Ashburys station and goes north to the west of Etihad Campus.
This is one route that could be used to get tram-trains into the Manchester Metrolink.
In the Wikipedia entry for Ashburys station, this route is also proposed.
Significant new infrastructure works would be required between Piccadilly and Ashburys station, known as ‘Piccadilly Link’. It would be incorporated within a major mixed-use development by Grangefield Estates, known as ‘Chancellor Place’, around the former Mayfield Station site.
It would appear that both routes have their advantages.
But surely, the Etihad route has these specific ones.
- ,It would only need a connection between the rail line and the tram line to Etihad Campus.
- It doesn’t rely on the ever-changing fortunes and minds of large property companies to deliver the infrastructure on the Mayfield Station site.
- The route would not interfere with the addition of the two new platforms proposed for Manchester Piccadilly.
- The trams end up under Piccadilly station from where they could continue to any number of destinations.
- Manchester to Marple services are removed from the crowded Piccadilly station.
- A station or tram stop could be provided to the west of the Etihad Stadium, if that was required.
- Delivery of the scheme would be down mainly to Manchester Metrolink, Network Rail and the various councils, with perhaps some input from the owners of the Etihad Campus.
On a rough analysis, I suspect that going the Etihad route would be more affordable and a lot easier to bring to fruition.
The WSAtlins report also suggests this for tram-trains between Manchester and Marple.
Stockport station could be served by using the Stockport to Stalybridge Line.
- A proposed service would be five trains per hour from Manchester City Centre to both Stockport and Rose Hill Marple.
- There would be a tram-train every six minutes on the busiest part of the route between Reddish North and Manchester.
- Other services between Manchester and Marple would go via Hyde.
Obviously, there are questions to be asked.
- The tram-trains get to Manchester City Centre, but where do they go from there?
- Could we see a tram and tram-train interchange in Piccadilly Gardens, just as I saw in the centre of Kassel and wrote about in The Trams And Tram-Trains Of Kassel?
- Could Manchester’s tram network be used by a Class 399 tram-train, as is being trialled in Sheffield?
I can understand why the Manchester to Marple route was offered as a place to do the tram-train trial!
It strikes me, that if the costs add up, then it would be a good proposal.
Stockport To Tameside
The WSAtlins report says this about a link from Stockport to Tameside.
A further possibility utilising the proposed section of Metrolink route between Stockport and Reddish would be a direct link from Stockport to Tameside, possibly terminating in Ashton Town Centre.
Note the following.
- This would use the Stockport to Stalybridge Line, which currently has only one train a week on a Friday morning.
- The report gives this line a priority of 2.
- Tram-trains to Ashton Town Centre would go via Reddish South, Denton and Guide Bridge.
- There was also a station at Ashton Park Parade to the South of Ashton Town Centre.
- Ashton Town Centre has Ashton-under-Lyne station to the North.
- Ashton-under-Lyne Metrolink station is the terminus of the East Manchester Line and it has five trams per hour to Manchester City Centre.
- Stalybridge station, which is another natural terminus for tram-trains from Stockport, is served by services from Manchester Victoria to Huddersfield and the East.
This Google Map shows Ashton Town Centre.
Ashton Town Centre
Note.
- The Stockport to Stalybridge Line at the bottom of the map.
- Park Parade is shown and I suspect Ashton Park Parade was in this area.
- Ashton-under-Lyne station at the top.
- Ashton-under-Lyne Metrolink station is in the top left of the map.
- Ashton-under-Lyne has a five trams per hour service to Manchester City Centre.
In my view, there are lots of possibilities to improve the transport links in Ashton Town Centre.
West of Stockport
The WSAtlins report discusses routes to the west of Stockport.
This group of routes would utilise the Stockport – Altrincham railway line west of Stockport Town Centre, which would be restored to a double-track formation with new stops being added in residential areas.
This Google Map shows Stockport station and Edgeley Junction.
Stockport Station And Edgley Junction
The Mid-Cheshire Line, that goes between Stockport and Altrincham goes off to the west, passing south of Abney Hall Park and the Buxton Line goes to the south east, with stations at Davenport and Woodsmoor being visible.
The report also says this.
A new section of Metrolink route would be created from Stockport Interchange to the start of the Stockport – Altrincham railway line immediately south of Edgeley Junction. That would include a new stop adjacent to Stockport Station, fulfilling a long-held aspiration to provide a direct public transport link between Stockport Station and Stockport Interchange.
This Google Map shows the location of Stockport Interchange with respect to Stockport station.
Stockport Bus AndTrain Stations
Stockport Interchange is between the railway and the A6 towards the top and Stockport station is towards the bottom.
I suspect that given the layout of the Town Centre and the various modes of transport to connect, that an innovative solution will be needed.
- Stockport Interchange and Stockport station are about four hundred metres apart.
- Stockport station is on the thirty-three metre high, Grade 2* Listed Stockport Viaduct.
- Tram-trains from Manchester will come and go to the North.
- There could be five tram-trains per hour to each of Ashton and Manchester City Centre.
- Tram-trains from the Mid-Cheshire Line will come and go to the South.
- Was the new Platform 0 built to make the station more suitable for tram-train services?
A good design probably won’t be easy.
One solution would be to cut Platforms 0 and 1 in half, with the Northern ends accepting tram-trains from the North and the Southern ones, those from the South.
The area in between the two halves could be made into a small courtyard with seats, a coffee stall and a kiosk, so passengers arriving from the North would just walk to the court and wait for the appropriate tram-train to the south and vice-versa.
The tram-train platforms would also have level step-free access to Platform 2 for the expresses going South through Stockport.
Stockport to Manchester Airport
The WSAtkins report has a lot to say about the value of this route.
The main driver for the Stockport – Airport route is the expected transformation of Manchester Airport and its surrounding area into a multi-purpose regional economic hub. That will require a step-change in the proportion of trips to/from the area using non-car modes. A high proportion of trips travel to the area is from distances greater than 8km, for which stopping bus services cannot usually provide an attractive alternative to car travel, even with ambitious bus priority measures. TfGM indicated that there are many trips to the Airport that currently originate in or near Stockport.
It also says this about the route.
The route to the Airport would be achieved by a new curve at Baguley linking the Stockport – Altrincham line with the planned Manchester Airport Western Loop Metrolink line. TfGM has indicated that it expects many trips accessing the Manchester Airport area would interchange onto Metrolink from bus and heavy rail in Stockport Town Centre. The route would also facilitate access from its residential catchment to the national rail network at Stockport Station and at the proposed HS2 Station near Manchester Airport.
This Google Map shows the area to the north of Baguley Metrolink station.
The Baguley Curve
The Stockport to Altrincham Line runs across the top and the scar down the middle is now the Airport Branch of the Manchester Metrolink.
Building a curve shows one of the useful advantages of tram-trains, which can turn tighter than a standard train.
The question has to be asked if tram-trains would run to the airport from both Althincham ans Stockport!
Stockport To Altrincham
The WSAtkins report has this to say about the route.
A Stockport – Altrincham service would connect residential areas on the Stockport – Altrincham corridor with both of their main local centres. The residential areas expected to benefit from new stops include Adswood, Cheadle Heath, Cheadle, and Gatley. The service would also improve the link between Altrincham and Stockport and its onward inter-urban rail connections.
I would assume that as nothing is menbtioned about the terminus at Althincham, this is not considered to have any issues.
Stockport To East Didsbury
Plans for this route have existed since the late 1990s. But following a southern raoute, rather than one along the Mersey could offer cost savings. The WSAtkins report has this to say about the new route.
This southern route from Stockport to East Didsbury would join the Hazel Grove to Sharston freight line via a new junction at Cheadle Heath, and then cross the River Mersey via a new alignment to East Didsbury. This has the potential to provide a new stop at Gorsey Bank, providing sustainable transport access to the proposed new development site. This route would provide Metrolink services to Manchester City Centre from the Edgeley and Adswood areas, and would provide much-improved connections from Stockport to Didsbury, Chorlton and Salford Quays and Trafford Park.
This Google Map shows the routes of the Stockport to Altrincham Line, the freight line from Hazel Grove to Sharston, the M60 Motporway and the River Mersey in the west of Stockport.
Stockport To East Didsbury
Note.
Stockport Station and Edgeley Junction in the East.
The Stockport to Altrincham Line runs horizontally across the map.
The freight line crosses the motorway, just to the right of the blue M60 label.
Towards A Circular Metrolink
The WSAtkins report says this.
With both the Manchester – Belle Vue – Marple/ Stockport and Stockport West routes built, a Manchester – Belle Vue – Stockport – Airport service could operate. This route would combine radial and orbital elements and could potentially be developed in the longer term into a more extensive orbital Metrolink system, for example by extending northwards beyond Reddish to Ashton-under-Lyne.
I suspect Manchester feels rather pleased that all those old railway lines across and around the city, weren’t dug up for housing and motorways.
Hazel Grove to East Didsbury
The WSAtkins report says this about running tram-trains betwen Hazel Grove station and East Didsbury Metrolink station.
The Hazel Grove to East Didsbury tram-train route would form an extension to the Manchester to East Didsbury Metrolink line, and would result in a Manchester – Hazel Grove Metrolink service.
It would utilise the following rail/ Metrolink lines.
- New Metrolink line from East Didsbury to Gorsey Bank, crossing the river Mersey to join the rail (presently freight only) line at a point north of the M60.
- Existing rail (presently freight only Sharston to Hazel Grove line) redoubled from Gorsey Bank to Hazel Grove.
The report also says this about the route.
It is envisaged that new stops would be provided at Gorsey Bank, Edgeley Lane, Davenport and Woodsmoor. The section of the scheme between East Didsbury and the existing Stockport-Altrincham rail line is identical to that proposed in the Stockport West group of routes, offering cost savings if both schemes were progressed. This service would not replace the existing heavy rail service but further work would be needed to define the appropriate mix of Metrolink and local rail services between Manchester and Hazel Grove.
So it looks like to create improved connectivity from East Didsbury can be delivered by tram-trains, some doubling of lines, electrification, signalling and devising a better timetable.
Tram-Trains Running On Manchester Metrolink
The WSAtkins report says this about possible constraints on running tram-trains on the Manchester Metrolink.
In Greater Manchester Metrolink has been developed by converting existing railway lines and disused rail alignments and building new on-street embedded rails. Metrolink therefore currently runs on a separate network to heavy rail, with an operating system managed on behalf of TfGM. The concept of a Metrolink type service utilising currently active heavy rail lines, which would continue to be used by trains as well as a Metrolink service, has been discussed for a number of years. This type of operation is referred to as ‘tramtrain’.
Tram-train is currently used in several locations in mainland Europe, and a pilot project in Sheffield was commissioned by the Department of Transport to consider the potential of adopting this approach in the United Kingdom. The pilot project is considering the technical issues but the actual running of a tram on a rail way has been delayed several times. The most recent timescale is to start running sometime in 2016.
The Greater Manchester Metrolink vehicles are of a different design to the Sheffield trams as they were designed to operate on converted heavy rail lines. As such, it is anticipated there may be fewer technical issues associated with tram-train operation in Greater Manchester. The outcome of the pilot is expected to influence the prospects for tram-train elsewhere in the UK.
I would hope that the Manchester Metrolink and the Sheffield Supertram, both decide to use the same tram-trains, as this would enable tram-trains to start in the centre of Sheffield and then run on the Hope Valley Line to Srockport and Manchester City Centre.
Conclusion
In my view, if the use of tram-trains happens in around Stockport, it would be a good thing for the area.
I would hope that the Manchester Metrolink and the Sheffield Supertram, both decide to use the same tram-train, as this would enable tram-trains to start in the centre of Sheffield and then run on the Hope Valley Line to Srockport and Manchester City Centre.
If the concept works and the tram-train tril is successful, Sheffield, Manchester and a lot of other places in the UK, are going to have tremendous fun with tram-trains.
T
Tram-Trains Hit The National Papers
Unless you live in Sheffield, the saga of the tram-train to Rotherham, will probably be unknown to you.
But today there is a balanced news item in The Times, which is entitled Tram-train plan to put commuters on track.
This is the first time, I’ve seen an item about tram-trains in the national media.
Perhaps, journalists are at last realising that the revolution is coming here!
Two Bits Of Progress For Sheffield’s Tram-Train
There were two positive articles on the web about Sheffield’s delayed tram-trains.
This article in the Construction Index is entitled Green Light For Sheffield’s Tinsley Chord.
It describes how the papers have been signed and work can start on creating the Tinsley Chord to connect Sheffield’s Supertram to Rotherham. The article says that the track will be ready by the end of 2016.
There is also this article in Railway Gazete International entitled First tram-train heads for Sheffield.
The Class 399 tram-train is expected to arrive in Sheffield at the beginning of December.
So at last something seems to be happening, which in my view is one of the most important rail projects in the country.
Wikipedia has this of places in the UK, who are looking at tram-trains.
Eighteen places are mentioned.
From Hull To Sheffield
I escaped from Hull on a train to Sheffield, as on my walk across the city from my hotel to the station, I didn’t pass one welcoming looking cafe or a suitable shop to buy my copy of The Times. I did finally find a cafe in the station called the London Way Cafe, but I’d already bought my ticket and didn’t fancy waiting an hour and a half for the train after the one I was catching.
The route to Sheffield via Goole and Doncaster is across very flat country as the pictures show.
Can I come to any conclusions?
- I think the last time, I did this journey it was in a dreaded Pacer, but this time it was a clean Class 158 train. So some things are getting better!
- Part of Hull station has been turned into a bus station, which is properly integrated with the trains.
- The signposting in the station to local attractions like The Deep and the KC Stadium can’t even be judged on quality, as there isn’t any.
Much of the line is the Hull to Doncaster branch, which effectively connect the two TransPennine routes into Hull and Cleethorpes at Gilberdyke and Thorne. It is not electrified, but given the fact that Doncaster is and Sheffield could be in a few years, this line would be ideal for IPEMUs running a possible half-hourly electric service between Hull and Sheffield via Doncaster.
At present Hull trains from London take two hours thirty minutes for a direct run via Selby and if you change at Doncaster it takes a few minutes under three hours using Virgin East Coast.
So perhaps if the Sheffield to Hull service is improved using IPEMUs and a bit of selective electrification is installed from say Doncaster to Thorne or in Hull station, the service from London with a change at Doncaster could be reduced to almost the two and half hours using the direct train.
But if IPEMUs can do Doncaster to Hull, then surely Hull Trains could use them on the Doncaster route to go to Hull as an all-electric alternative. They could still serve Brough, but Selby would need to use that route.
This simple exercise shows how IPEMUs could change the rail landscape of the UK.
Breakfast By The Don
The Meadowhall Shoppin Centre in Shefield sums up what is right and wrong about shopping centres.
To like it has a big Marks and Spencer by the train station, so I can can get gluten-free snacks and sandwiches on my travels. It also has a Carluccio’s for something a bit bigger and like today, I can walk out by the River Don to have my breakfast.
As this is the site of the Tinsley Chord, which is supposed to be built by 2017, there didn’t seem much going on. This article on the BBC says everything is starting to run late.
Other than that there are no maps, so that once they get you inside the doors, you get lost and hopefully for them, you buy something you don’t need.
It just makes me angry and I hate the place with a vengeance.
But then the only reason, I go there is to get fed! Or change trains or between a tram and a train!
Thoughts On Midland Main Line Electrification
I have been thinking about how the method of electrifying the Midland Main Line might change if the Aventra IPEMU was available.
These are thoughts in no particular order.
The Battery High Speed Train
An Aventra uses a modern version of the same bogies that are used in the Class 222 trains, which are capable of 200 kph. As the Class 387 train, which is a version of the Electrostar, can travel at 110 mph, I wouldn’t rule out that the more modern Aventra could run at 200 kph or 125 mph.
Acceleration on batteries would be the problem, not maintaining a high speed. that had been built up whilst running under the wires.
Also, when the train comes to the end of its northward journey at say Corby, it has to brake. With regenerative braking on the Aventra IPEMU, all of this energy would go back into the batteries.
So does this mean that no charging would need to be provided at say Corby?
I’m not totally sure of the mathematics and physics, but I’m certain that a battery electric train with regenerative braking, would put a significant part of the electricity it would need to accelerate away from a station, into the batteries as it stopped.
This would mean that stops at Wellingborough and Kettering would not stop Corby services from reaching their destination.
St. Pancras to Corby
I estimate that the distance from the end of the electrification at Bedford and Corby station is about thirty five miles.
This would mean that this route out of St.Pancras could be covered by an Aventra IPEMU.
Would this release a Class 222 train for use elsewhere? Or would the Aventra IPEMUs enable East Midlands Trains to offer more capacity or an increased frequency on this service?
St. Pancras to Leicester
I estimate that the distance from the end of the electrification at Bedford and Leicester station is about fifty miles.
This would mean that this route out of St.Pancras to Leicester could be covered by an Aventra IPEMU, especially if it were possible to recharge the train at Leicester, using the sort of short electrification, I wrote about at Rugeley Trent Valley station in Up And Down The Chase Line.
Leicester has problems as a station, as this extract from Wikipedia says.
Train operators using the station include CrossCountry and East Midlands Trains. Due to a 15 mph maximum speed to the south of the station, all passenger trains stop at the station. Up until the winter 2008 timetable, the morning southbound The Master Cutler express from Leeds to London St Pancras was an exception although this now also calls.
Leicester is a bottleneck station as it has only four platforms. All platforms are well utilised, especially platforms two and three which receive freight as well as passenger trains. A freight loop goes to the east of the station alongside the carriage sidings which run adjacent to platform four.
This Google Map of the station shows the platforms and the freight loop.
Leicester Station
It does look that there would be space to expand the station and from this section in Wikipedia, I’m sure Network Rail are working on an upgrade to the area to address all the problems.
It would appear to be stating the obvious to say, that Leicester station must be sorted first before any electrification in the area.
An extra bay platform would probably allow Aventra IPEMUs to run an electrified service to St. Pancras, if East Midlands Trains felt this was needed. Because of the regenerating braking of the train, it might not be necessary to provide a means of charging the trains at Leicester.
Creating A High Speed Route To Chesterfield and Sheffield
A few years ago, much of the Erewash Valley Line was upgraded ready for electrification and high speed running. On the Future of this line, Wikipedia says this.
Network Rail as part of a £250 million investment in the regions railways has proposed improvements to the junctions at each end, resignalling throughout, and a new East Midlands Control Centre.
As well as renewing the signalling, three junctions at Trowell, Ironville and Codnor Park will be redesigned and rebuilt. Since the existing Midland Main Line from Derby through the Derwent Valley has a number of tunnels and cuttings which are listed buildings and it is a World Heritage Area, it seems that the Erewash line is ripe for expansion. As the new signalling is rolled out, train detection is moving away from the traditional Track circuit detection of trains to Axle counting.
So could we see all of the very fastest services from St. Pancras to Chesterfield and Sheffield using this route?
Is the route from Trent Junction in the South to Chesterfield and Sheffield in the North ready for electrification?
Network Rail must ensure that as much of the line is capable of 125 mph running and that all bridges and tunnels have sufficient clearance from London to Sheffield via Chesterfield.
Creeping The Electrification North
From Bedford the electrification would be crept north at a sensible pace, which would be designed to cause minimum disruption to services.
Every mile it went north would increase the reach of the new electric trains, but only after the bottleneck of Leicester was eased to allow high speed running through the station.
The Electric Spine
If the Electric Spine was to be implemented in full from Southampton to Sheffield and Doncaster, then the electrification must be completed North of Bedford.
But as there are a lot of places where the electrification will not be completed elsewhere, will we see a shift towards electro-diesel freight locomotives like the Class 88.
So although freight would take advantage of an electrified Midland Main Line, it may not be as important as many think.
Completing The Electrified Routes to Sheffield, Nottingham and Derby
These three important cities all have extensive local rail networks, that could benefit from an electrified hub, so that Aventra IPEMUs could be used to bring benefits to all the communities served by diesel multiple units and in Sheffield’s case, quite a few Pacers.
So as a minimum, this electrification must be completed.
- East Midlands Parkway to Derby
- East Midlands Parkway to Nottingham
- East Midlands Parkway to Chesterfield and Sheffield via the Erewash Valley Line.
Chesterfield to Derby would probably be filed in the Too Difficult box, but would be an easy run for an Aventra IPEMU.
Note that I would start the electrification from East Midlands Parkway, as this station and the Airport are talked about as destinations for tram-train services.
Obviously to complete the Electric Spine, the following electrification would also need to be done.
- Complete the electrification between Bedford and East Midlands Parkway.
- Sheffield to Doncaster.
But once Sheffield station is electrified none of the many local lines reaching out from the city would need to be electrified, as most services could be run using Aventra IPEMUs. Obviously, if there was a special reason like freight or tram-trains, this wiring would only help the Aventra IPEMUs.
New Elecric Services
Once electrification has been installed up the Erewash Valley Line to Sheffield, lots of important places become within range of Aventra IPEMUs running from St. Pancras.
- Barnsley
- Bradford
- Huddersfield
- Leeds
- Manchester
It would also mean that several existing cross-country services could be run using electric trains.
- Liverpool to Norwich
- Nottingham to Cardiff
- Bristol to Newcastle
Remarkable in some ways as a lot of electrification has been dropped.
The Anonymous Widower 