Reopening Of Abandoned Merseyside Railway Under Consideration
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on New Civil Engineer.
This is the sub-heading.
St Helens Borough Council is investigating the possibility of reopening part of the abandoned St Helens and Runcorn Gap railway in Merseyside.
This map from OpenRailwayMap shows the section of railway that will be reopened.
Note.
- The line runs between St. Helens Central and St. Helens Junction stations.
- St. Helens Central is in the North-West corner of the map and is marked by a blue arrow.
- St. Helens Junction station is in the South-East corner of the map.
- Both stations have two tracks and two platforms.
- St. Helens Central appears to have full disabled access,
- Both stations are electrified.
- It appears, that the route is still viable, but the track is not intact.
I have a few thoughts.
St. Helens Junction Station
This Google Map shows St. Helens Junction station.
Note.
- There are two platforms.
- Platform 1 is the Northern platform and trains go East.
- Platform 2 is the Southern platform and trains go to Liverpool Lime Street.
- There appears to be a footbridge at the Eastern end.
- Trains from the new route from St. Helens Central station would approach from and leave to the South-West.
- In a typical hour, between five and eight trains per hour (tph) go through the station in both directions on the main line.
I feel that a bay platform would need to be built at the station to handle the proposed service at St. Helens Junction station. But it would be able to handle four tph.
St. Helens Central Station
This Google Map shows St. Helens Central station.
Note.
- There are two platforms.
- Platform 1 is the Western platform and trains go to Wigan North Western.
- Platform 2 is the Eastern platform and trains go to Liverpool Lime Street.
- There appears to be a footbridge in the middle, with lifts.
- Trains from the new route from St. Helens Junction station would approach from and leave to the South-West.
- In a typical hour, between two and three tph go through the station in both directions on the main line.
It may be possible to run two tph on the route to St. Helens Junction station, by using the Southern end of Platform 2.
It would probably be able to handle two tph, by fitting in between the current services.
If a new bay platform were to be built at St. Helens Central four tph would be possible.
What Would Be The Frequency Of The Service?
Consider.
- As I said earlier, because of the current frequency of trains through St. Helens Junction station, I feel a dedicated bay platform will be needed at that station, which would probably handle four tph.
- Without building a dedicated bay platform, I doubt that St. Helens Central station could have more than two tph.
- Two tph on the new route, would fit well with the services through St. Helens Central station.
I believe that providing it gave sufficient capacity for the route, that two tph will be the frequency, as it only needs one bay platform at St. Helens Junction station to be built.
What Length Of Train Will Be Used?
As a bay platform will have to be built at St. Helens Junction station, this will probably determine the length of train.
I would build the bay platform to accept a three or four car train, as lengthening platforms is always a pain.
Looking at the map of St. Helens Junction station, I suspect that a four-car platform may be the longest possible.
What Type Of Train Should Be Used?
If you look at all the Beeching Reversal schemes, there isn’t one like this, where two electrified lines are connected by a short length of new railway, which in this case is only 3.5 km, according to the New Civil Engineer article.
Consider.
- A round trip is only 7 kilometres.
- I suspect each trip between the two stations will take no more than ten minutes.
- If the frequency is two tph, there will be plenty of time to turn a train at each end.
- All new routes opened on UK railways from now on, should have carbon-free traction.
For these reasons, I suspect that the route could be run by a battery-electric train, which is charged at one end.
Putting up a short length of overhead electrification in the new bay platform at St. Helens Junction, as the station is already electrified, would not be the most challenging of tasks.
Alternatively, the train could be charged, whilst it is waiting to return in St. Helens Central, using the existing overhead electrification.
Will There Be Any Intermediate Stations Between St. Helens Central And St. Helens Junction?
On the first map the station sites of two former stations are shown; Peasley Cross and Sutton Oak.
According to the Wikipedia entry for Sutton Oak station, there was quite an intensive service a hundred years ago.
Why shouldn’t they be rebuilt? Especially, if there are plans for housing or regeneration in the area.
Will Between St. Helens Central And St. Helens Junction Be Single Track?
This would still enable two tph, if the trains did a quick turn-round in the bay platform at St. Helens Junction.
But it would mean.
- Lower cost infrastructure.
- Simple tram-style intermediate stations.
- One train on line operation for safety.
I feel that it is highly likely the new route will be single-track.
Carr Mill Station
This map shows Merseyrail’s future plans.
Note the proposed new station at Carr Mill, which is North-East of St. Helens Central on the Liverpool and Wigan Line.
The Wikipedia entry for Carr Mill station, says this about a proposed new station.
Proposals to construct a new station to serve the expanding population have been suggested by Merseytravel but funding has yet to arrive. A new proposal to open a station was raised by Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram as part of his re-election plans in January 2020.
It should be noted, that a new Carr Mill station could be on the East Lancashire Road, so it might be a good place to create a Park-and-Ride station for Liverpool and St. Helens.
Perhaps if a bay platform were to be incorporated into the new Carr Mill station, it might be better to run a service between Carr Mill and St. Helens Junction.
- There would be two tph.
- Intermediate stops would be St. Helens Central, Peasley Cross and Sutton Oak.
- I estimate the distance would be about four miles of which 1.8 miles would be electrified.
- The trains would be charged on the electrified line between Carr Mill and St. Helens Central stations.
There would be no need to electrify the bay platform at St. Helens Junction
Should The Service Go All The Way To Wigan?
It must surely be a possibility to run the service between Wigan North Western and St. Helens Junction.
- There would be two tph.
- Intermediate stops would be Carr Mill, Bryn, Garswood, St. Helens Central, Peasley Cross and Sutton Oak.
- I estimate the distance would be about eleven miles of which nine miles would be electrified.
- The trains would be charged on the electrified line between Wigan North Western and St. Helens Central stations.
This would create an excellent connection to Wigan North Western for all the long distance trains to Scotland and the South.
Should The New Route Be Electrified?
Consider.
- St. Helens and Wigan North Western is a fully-electrified route.
- It is only 2.2 miles, which would probably be single track railway.
- As there is electrification at both ends of the new route, there would be no problem arranging power.
- It would remove the need for battery-electric trains.
I suspect that this is one that accountants will decide, as both battery-electric and electrification will work equally well!
What Trains Would Be Used?
If the route is electrified, any electric train of a suitable length could be used. I would argue, that the same class of train, as is used through the two St. Helens stations, should be used for operational and passenger convenience.
To maintain the operational and passenger convenience, if battery-electric trains are used, then Northern’s Class 331 trains and Merseyrail’s Class 777 trains come or will come in both electric and battery-electric versions.
Conclusion
This looks like a very sensible scheme.
The Anonymous Widower 