The Future Of HS2 Could Lie In Its Original Vision
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This is the sub-heading.
High Speed 2 should be rescoped to run from London Euston to Crewe, taking advantage of the lessons learned and supply chain foundations established during Phase 1, says Dyan Perry, Chair of the High Speed Rail Group.
The article has been written by Dyan Perry, who knows her railways and especially high speed ones well.
These two first paragraphs introduce her arguments.
High Speed 2 stands at a defining crossroads. Phase 1 from Old Oak Common to Birmingham has the green light, and under the new leadership of HS2 Ltd CEO Mark Wild the project is undergoing a positive and much needed ’reset’. With around 31 000 jobs currently supported, more than 75% of tunnelling completed and construction underway on two-thirds of HS2’s viaducts, momentum is building again.
This fresh injection of energy is welcome after years of shifting goalposts and cuts to the project’s scope. However, while Phase I pushes ahead, the handbrake has been pulled on the next critical phases of the project: the route from the West Midlands to Crewe and Old Oak Common to London Euston.
In the short term, this may appear fiscally sensible. However, as with all infrastructure investments, the project and potential returns must be viewed through a long-term lens. After all, a half-built railway moulded by short-term decision-making risks squandering investment to date and losing billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money.
The High Speed Rail Group (HSRG) has these recommendations.
- A “Euston to Crewe” Core.
- West Midlands to Crewe must be given the go-ahead before the powers to do so run out. This would provide much needed capacity on the West Coast Main Line.
- Use the lessons learned on Phase 1 to build West Midlands to Crewe more effectively.
- Build a streamlined, cost effective station at Euston.
- HSRG believes a concession let for a London to Birmingham and Crewe railway line, one that takes learning from the High Speed One financing model, could generate between £7·5bn and £10bn in concession value, a significant return for taxpayers.
High Speed Two needs a cohesive long term plan.
I very much agree with what Dyan and the HSRG are saying.
I also have some related thoughts.
High Speed East Coast
I am a Control Engineer by training and I’ve felt for some time, that the some of the bottlenecks on the East Coast Main Line to the South of Doncaster could be solved by intelligent digital signalling.
I believe that the major cities of the North-East of England and Eastern Scotland would be best served by direct high speed trains from London on the East Coast Main Line. I also think, that such an approach would deliver similar times to High Speed Two via Birmingham.
North of York
Just as stations on the West Coast to the North of Crewe will be served by High Speed Two and the West Coast Main Line, stations North of York will be served by trains going up the East Coast Main Line.
The Element Of Competition
I said earlier, that if a 30-year concession were to be sold for the West Coast Main Line, it could raise between £7.5bn and £10bn.
So why not sell a concession for the East Coast Main Line?
A further benefit, is that competition between the two concessions and the budget airlines, might bring down timings and prices, just as competition did in the Railway Races of 1888 and 1895.
High Speed North Wales
I have believed for some time, that there is a need for a zero-carbon (green) route between London and Dublin and ultimately between the Channel Tunnel and Dublin.
The last Conservative government promised to electrify Crewe and Holyhead along the North Wales Coast.
This route could deliver passengers to Holyhead for a zero-carbon high speed catamaran to Dublin.
The EU would be a beneficiary and might like to help fund the route.
Does Innovation Get Mr. Ed Miliband Better Prices To Doncaster?
The East Coast Main Line has ticketing unlike any other in the UK.
Turn up at any LNER station to go to any station that is served by trains from that station and you will be given a choice of the best prices at the ticket machines or at the booking office.
Effectively, you are sold your choice of the cheapest Advance tickets for your journey, at the time of booking.
In the last few months, I have taken three trips from London to Doncaster. All were priced between £20 and £25, with one trip on each of Grand Central, Hull Trains and LNER.
Some might argue it is because of the three Open Access operators on the route, that good value is available. But I would argue that it is down to the fact that because of the Open Access operators there is more seats on the route.
This ticketing model should be adopted on the West Coast Main Line and the Midland Main Line.
The ticketing has certainly modified my behaviour.
If I want to go to Sheffield, I go to Doncaster, as it’s a lot cheaper, then get a local train between Doncaster and Sheffield.
Ed Miliband Is A Doncaster MP
When he is going between his Doncaster North constituency and London, does he use last minute ticketing?
Times Of Avanti West Coast Trains Between London Euston And Crewe
This table shows the first few Avanti West Coast trains between London Euston and Crewe on the 17th March 2025.
- 390119 – IS37 – Glasgow – 11 cars – 05:31 – 07:29 – 2 stops – 118 mins – 80.3 mph.
- 390155 – IH61 – Manchester Piccadilly – 11 cars – 06:29 – 08:08 – 2 stops – 99 mins – 95.7 mph.
- 807007 – IF11 – Liverpool Lime Street – 7 cars – 06:36 – 08:23 – 2 stops – 107 mins – 88.6 mph.
- 390104 – IS42 – Glasgow – 11 cars – 07:29 – 08:59 – 0 stops – 90 mins – 105.3 mph
- 390010 – IH62 – Manchester Piccadilly – 9 cars – 07:33 – 09:10 – 1 stop – 97 mins – 97.7 mph.
- 390044 – IF12 – Liverpool Lime Street – 9 cars – 07:43 – 09:18 – 2 stops – 95 mins – 99.7 mph.
- 390118 – IS45 – Glasgow – 11 cars – 08:30 – 10:01 – 0 stops – 91 mins – 104.2 mph
- 390040 – IH63 – Manchester Piccadilly – 11 cars – 08:33 – 10:19 – 1 stop – 106 mins – 89.4 mph.
- 807001 – IF14 – Liverpool Lime Street – 7 cars – 08:43 – 10:28 – 1 stop – 95 mins – 99.7 mph.
- 805001/805011 – ID83 – Holyhead – 10 cars – 09:02 – 10:51 – 1 stop – 109 mins – 86.9 mph.
- 390136 – IS48 – Glasgow – 11 cars – 09:30 – 11:02 – 0 stops – 92 mins – 103.0 mph
- 390040 – IH64 – Manchester Piccadilly – 9 cars – 09:33 – 11:08 – 1 stop – 95 mins – 99.7 mph.
- 390154 – IF16 – Liverpool Lime Street – 11 cars – 09:43 – 11:31 – 1 stop – 108 mins – 87.7 mph.
- 805012/805003 – ID84 – Chester – 10 cars – 10:10 – 11:53 – 1 stop – 103 mins – 92.0 mph.
- 390130 – IS52 – Glasgow – 11 cars – 10:30 – 12:00 – 0 stops – 90 mins – 105.3 mph
- 390151 – IH65 – Manchester Piccadilly – 11 cars – 10:35 – 12:09 – 1 stop – 94 mins – 100.8 mph.
- 807008 – IF18 – Liverpool Lime Street – 7 cars – 10:43 – 12:30 – 1 stop – 107 mins – 88.6 mph.
- 805009 – ID85 – Chester – 5 cars – 11:00 – 11:46 – 1 stop – 106 mins – 89.4 mph.
Note.
- All trains shown, go through Crewe.
- Some trains were delayed, hence their slow average speed.
- The Glasgow trains, which run non-stop from Euston to Warrington Bank Quay were the fastest, with four trains over 100 mph.
I have a few other thoughts.
The Class 805 Trains Are Crying Out For Batteries
In The Data Sheet For Hitachi Battery Electric Trains, I said this on how the Hitachi Class 80x trains will perform on batteries.
These are my conclusions about Hitachi’s battery packs for Class 80x trains.
- The battery pack has a capacity of 750 kWh.
- A five-car train needs three battery-packs to travel 100 miles.
- A nine-car train needs five battery-packs to travel 100 miles.
- The maximum range of a five-car train with three batteries is 117 miles.
- The maximum range of a nine-car train with five batteries is 121 miles.
Holyhead and Crewe is only 105.5 miles.
As battery technology gets better, these distances will increase.
The Fast Glasgow Train Appears To Be Leading A Convoy
The non-stop to Warrington Bank Quay Glasgow trains, also appear to be leading one Manchester Piccadilly, a Liverpool Lime Street and a Chester/North Wales train in a convoy, through Milton Keynes Central and the Trent Valley.
This convoy could grow as other services are added to the West Coast Main Line.
The Open Access Services Might Have Their Own Convoy
It would seem to me, that it might be possible to run a second convoy every hour, out of phase with the current one following the Glasgow service.
It also might be more virtual than real and under the control of the digital signalling, that will be installed on the line.
Avanti West Coast Increases Liverpool – London Services With Launch Of Electric Evero Trains
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
This is the sub-heading.
Avanti West Coast officially launched the Class 807 electric only-version of its Hitachi-built Evero trainsets into service on November 11. This enables the operator to offer an additional weekday return service between Liverpool Lime Street and London Euston.
On the 14th of November 2024, these services were run by new Class 807 trains.
- 3F79 – 807001 – 2100 – Northampton to Liverpool Lime Street
- 3F80 – 807001 – 0023 – Liverpool Lime Street to Edge Hill Depot
- 5A99 – 807001 – 0836 – Edge Hill Depot to Liverpool Lime Street
- 1A99 – 807001 – 0901 – Liverpool Lime Street to London Euston – 02:40
- 1F12 – 807003 – 0743 – London Euston to Liverpool Lime Street – 03:07
- 1A28 – 807003 – 1043 – Liverpool Lime Street to London Euston – 02:20
Note,
- I have shown all Class 807 movements that happened. Some possibly didn’t!
- There appear to be extra services, which I’ve marked with their times.
- Time seems to be available to go to Edge Hill Depot if needed.
- I suspect an open return ticket can be used on any train, that’s running.
Services seem to be slow, but they can be booked.
Avanti Are Ramping Up The Service
I suspect that as they add more trains, times will come down and a stop at Liverpool South Parkway will be added.
The Class 390 trains currently used on the Liverpool route are too long for Liverpool South Parkway station.
But seven-car Class 807 trains would fit easily.
The shorter and lighter seven-car Class 807 trains may well have faster acceleration and deceleration than the nine- or eleven-car Class 390 trains with their heavy tilting mechanism.
Could this extra performance mean that the Class 807 trains could still meet the timetable with extra stops?
In Is Liverpool Going To Get High Speed One-Point-Five?, I discussed various options for the London and Liverpool service.
I believe that a practical timetable like this could work.
- Eleven-car Class 390 train – one tph – Non-stop or perhaps a single stop in the Midlands – Under two hours
- Seven-car Class 807 train – one tph – Stopping at Nuneaton, Stafford, Crewe, Runcorn and Liverpool South Parkway – Current time or better
Note.
- An hourly service between London and Liverpool in under two hours would surely be a passenger magnet.
- Two tph would be a 43 % hourly increase in the number of seats between London and Liverpool.
- There would be better connections between Liverpool Lime Street and the East Midlands.
The Railway Gazette article also says this.
From the December timetable change AWC will supplement the current hourly Liverpool – London service with an extra two trains each way every weekday and a third service on Saturdays.
In the short term, AWC will not be delivering the long-standing plan for a half-hourly service on the route, but further services are to be introduced over the next year.
One constraint relates to the power supply. Network Rail has identified two locations where additional electric services cannot currently be accommodated, and discussions over a resolution are ongoing.
A fast service could also be applied to one of the London and Manchester services.
It should be noted, that the two hours and eight minutes record between Manchester and London Euston was set by an InterCity 225 in 1992, so perhaps a seven-car Class 807 could do better than a Class 390 train.
Could A Pair Of Class 807 Trains Leave Euston For Liverpool And Manchester, And Split At Crewe?
Train lengths are as follows.
- Seven-car Class 807 train – 182 metres.
- Fourteen-car Class 807 train – 364 metres.
- Nine-car Class 390 train – 217.5 metres.
- Eleven-car Class 390 train – 365.3 metres.
- Caledonian Sleeper – 374 metres.
I suspect with perhaps a small amount of platform lengthening, a pair of Class 807 could be fitted into all stations, where they would need to call.
This might be a way of adding extra capacity and faster services to Manchester, without needing an extra path on the West Coast Main Line.
Could A Single Class 807 Train Call At Manchester Airport Station?
The platforms at Manchester Airport station are 192 metres long, so a single Class 807 train should fit.
This would allow an hourly service from Manchester Airport to the South, without a change at Manchester Piccadilly or Crewe.
To save paths, it could split and join with the second Liverpool service at Crewe.
Conclusion
The new Class 807 trains could increase performance to between London Euston and both Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly.
Plans For Powering Trains And Details Of Our Upcoming Consultation
The title of this post, is the same as that of a news item on the East West Rail web site.
This is the sub heading.
We’re pleased to share plans for how we’ll power trains on East West Rail, as well as information and dates of our public consultation on latest proposals for the project.
These are the first two paragraphs.
As part of our latest proposals, which we’ll be sharing for public consultation from 14 November, we’re providing information on our preference for green traction power in the form of discontinuous electrification with hybrid battery-electric trains, after the Chancellor confirmed government support for the project in yesterday’s budget.
As well as reducing carbon emissions, discontinuous electrification would mean overhead lines would only need to be installed along some sections of the route, which would reduce disruption to existing structures and potentially reduce visual impacts in more sensitive locations on the new railway between Bedford and Cambridge. This option would also cost less than full electrification and would need less land for things such as mast foundations.
There is also a short video, which explains discontinuous electrification.
I feel that to use discontinuous electrification and hybrid battery-electric trains is the way to go on this railway between Oxford and Cambridge.
- It is a zero-carbon solution.
- There is electrification at Reading. Didcot, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge along the route, so grid connections will be already available.
- Sandy, where East West Rail crosses the East Coast Main Line, is fully electrified and must have a grid connection.
- A small article in the November 2024 Edition of Modern Ralways, says that Hitachi are developing a smaller battery for commuter and suburban trains.
- Didcot to Oxford could be electrified and there is already a grid connection at Didcot.
Discontinuous electrification could be used to extend East West Rail to Norwich, Ipswich and Colchester.
These are my detailed observations and thoughts.
Existing Electrification
This OpenRailwayMap shows the electrification between Oxford and Bedford.
Note.
- Bold red lines are tracks electrified at 25 KVAC.
- Bold black lines are tracks without electrification.
- Oxford is in the South-West corner of the map.
- Bedford is in the North-East corner of the map.
- The bold black line of the Western section of the East West Rail connects the two cities.
- The lines through Oxford are shown as being electrified. The black stub pointing East to the South of Oxford is the Cowley Branch.
The rail lines crossing East West Rail from West to East are as follows.
- Chiltern Main Line – Not Electrified
- High Speed Two – Will Be Electrified
- West Coast Main Line – Electrified
- Midland Main Line – Electrified
I suspect all lines, except for the Chiltern Main Line, will be able to provide a grid connection for East West Rail.
This second OpenRailwayMap shows the electrification between Bedford and Cambridge.
Note.
- Bold red lines are tracks electrified at 25 KVAC.
- Bold black lines are tracks without electrification.
- Bedford is in the South-West corner of the map.
- Cambridge is in the North-East corner of the map.
- The Eastern section of the East West Rail connects the two cities.
- Both maps are to the same scale
The rail lines crossing East West Rail from West to East are as follows.
- Midland Main Line – Electrified
- East Coast Main Line – Electrified
- West Anglia Main Line – Electrified
I suspect all lines will be able to provide a grid connection for East West Rail.
Distances Without Electrification
These sections are not electrified.
- Oxford and Bletchley – 47.2 miles
- Bletchley and Bedford – 16.5 miles
- Bedford and Cambridge – 29.2 miles
- Ely and Norwich – 53.7 miles
- Norwich and Great Yarmouth – 18.4 miles
- Cambridge and Haughley Junction – 41.3 miles
I am assuming that the East West Rail could extend past Cambridge on these two routes.
- Ely, Thetford, Norwich and Great Yarmouth.
- Newmarket, Bury St. Edmunds, Stowmarket, Ipswich, Manningtree and Colchester.
All sections have electrification at both ends, if Didcot Junction and Oxford is electrified, as is expected to happen.
Train Battery Range Needed
The route layout, I have proposed means that if you go for the battery-electric train with the longest battery range you can afford and it can’t handle Ely and Norwich, the existing electrification can be extended to bridge the gap.
Application Of Discontinuous Electrification To Greater Anglia And Chiltern Railways
If discontinuous electrification can be applied to East West Rail, it can surely be applied to Greater Anglia and Chiltern Railways, given the fact that the route networks of all three companies overlap and share tracks.
Greater Anglia already have a fleet of Class 755 trains, which are designed to be converted to battery-electric operation.
With batteries fitted, I believe that these trains could handle most of the current routes they do now.
The other routes would be handled with selective lengths of overhead electrification in terminal stations to charge the trains before return.
Electrification Between Oxford And Bicester Village Stations
Oxford station has two North-facing bay platforms, that are used by Chiltern and other services terminating at the station from the North.
Note.
- Chiltern Railways already run two trains per hour (tph) between these platforms and Marylebone.
- I would assume the platforms will be used by East West Rail services, that terminate at Oxford station.
- If discontinuous electrification is to be used, then these two platforms could be electrified to charge trains before they return.
- East West Rail have not published their proposed services yet, but it could be one tph to both Milton Keynes Central and Bedford stations.
I can see Chiltern buying battery-electric trains to run services between Marylebone and Oxford, and some other routes.
Marylebone and Oxford is 66.7 miles, which is probably two far for even Stadler’s remarkable battery-electric trains, but if say between Oxford and Bicester Village station were to be electrified, would it make it possible to run battery-electric trains between Marylebone and Oxford with charging at both end of the route.
In Chiltern Sets Out New Fleet Ambitions, I talk about Chiltern’s possible new fleet, as proposed by their MD in September 2023.
Observing Trains At Stafford Station
I’m fairly certain, that I’ve only been to Stafford once in my life, in the past. That would be in 1968, when I went to English Electric in the town, when I was looking for a job on leaving Liverpool University.
In the end, my first job on leaving was at ICI in Runcorn.
As Stafford station, is on the West Coast Main Line, I’ve been through the station many times, on my way to Liverpool, Manchester, Preston, Scotland and other places in the North West of England.
I travelled North to Stafford in one of London Northwestern’s Class 350 trains, which definitely had ironing board seats. Some of these trains are being replaced with new Class 730 trains.
Stafford Station
This OpenRailwayMap shows the layout of platforms at the station.
Note.
- Platforms are numbered starting with Platform 1 in the East.
- There are five through tracks for passenger trains and a double-track goods loop.
- All tracks are electrified and bi-directional.
- The platforms are three hundred metres long, but I feel they could be lengthened to take the 400 metre long High Speed Two trains.
- The platforms are certainly long enough for pairs of 200 metre long High Speed Two trains, to split and join at the station.
These pictures show Stafford station.
Note.
- The station was built of concrete in the early 1960s.
- It has a unique feature, in that there is a waiting area above the tracks, so kids of all ages can watch the trains speed through.
- It has been improved several times in recent years.
- It is step-free with several lifts.
I feel, the station could be converted into a major High Speed Two hub station.
High Speed Two Services
This graphic shows High Speed Two services after Phase 2b is completed.
Note.
- Everything to the right of the vertical black line has now been cancelled
- Services shown in blue are run by High Speed Two Full Size trains.
- Services shown in yellow are run by High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains.
- Each of these trains will have a frequency of one train per hour (tph).
These High Speed Two trains pass through Stafford.
- London and Lancaster/Liverpool Lime Street – Split/Join at Crewe
- London and Crewe/Runcorn/Liverpool Lime Street
- London and Stafford/Stoke-on-Trent/Macclesfield
- London and Manchester Airport/Piccadilly
- London and Manchester Airport/Piccadilly
- London and Manchester Airport/Piccadilly
- London and Edinburgh/Glasgow – Split/Join at Carlisle
- London and Edinburgh/Glasgow – Split/Join at Carlisle
- Birmingham and Edinburgh/Glasgow
- Birmingham and Manchester Airport/Piccadilly
- Birmingham and Manchester Airport/Piccadilly
In addition space will need to be found for these other services.
- Avanti – London and Chester/North Wales
- Avanti – London and Blackpool
- Freight – London and Liverpool/Manchester and Scotland
That gives a total of at least fourteen tph through Stafford station or one every 257 seconds.
Between Stafford and Crewe, with the completion of the flyover at Norton Bridge, there is effectively four tracks all the way, so this should give enough capacity to allow fourteen tph between Stafford and Crewe.
Between Stafford and Handsacre junction, where High Speed Two will join the Trent Valley Line about half the route is four-track with the rest being just two-track.
Will the two-track section be able to handle fourteen tph? I suspect it will, especially, as it is sandwiched between two four-track sections.
These are my thoughts about making the most of capacity through Stafford station.
Could Pairs Of High Speed Two Trains, Split And Join At Stafford?
Stafford station has 300 metre long platforms and pairs of High Speed Two Trains are 400 metres long.
Looking at maps and pictures of Stafford station, I suspect that lengthening the platforms at Stafford would be possible.
In the provisional High Speed Two service diagram, that I displayed earlier, these are two services.
- London and Crewe/Runcorn/Liverpool Lime Street
- London and Stafford/Stoke-on-Trent/Macclesfield
These could be run as a pair of trains between London and Stafford.
One advantage of running the two services as a pair, is that it would reduce the number of trains between Stafford and Handsacre junction by one, which might help the scheduling of trains through the double-track section, of the Trent Valley Line.
Fitting In The London and Chester/North Wales Services
Consider.
- These important services will soon be run by five-car Class 805 trains.
- The trains are diesel-electric.
- A pair would be 260 m long.
- There are ten trains per day (tpd) on the route.
The service has a few problems.
- It takes up a path between Crewe and Handsacre junction via Stafford, where train paths are at a premium.
- It is not zero-carbon.
- If London and Holyhead times were reduced, it would probably attract more passengers to the route.
As there are plenty of spare paths on High Speed Two, due to the cancellation of the Eastern leg, the easiest way to speed up the service would be to use High Speed Two between Handsacre junction and London.
200 metre long High Speed Two Classic-Compatible trains could be used, but this would need one of the following.
Electrification between Crewe and Holyhead. Although this was promised by the last government, I suspect the antis will stop it.
Partial electrification between Crewe and Holyhead. As Crewe and Holyhead is only 105.5 miles, I suspect a creditable scheme to use battery-electric trains could be developed. These trains could be useful in opening up High Speed Two to other destinations.
Could Other Services Piggy-Back On London and Chester/North Wales Services?
The London and Chester/North Wales services would all be run by 200 metre long High Speed Two trains.
There would be no reason, why on the London end of the journey, they could be paired with another High Speed Two train to and from another destination.
- They could split and join with a Blackpool service at Crewe.
- They could split and join with a Barrow service at Crewe.
- They could split and join with a second Stoke-on-Trent/Macclesfield service at Stafford.
Services like these, would improve the coverage of High Speed Two.
As with the joining of the Liverpool Lime Street and Macclesfield services, the pairing of trains reduces the number of paths needed on the double-track section of the Trent Valley Line to the South of Stafford.
Other Splitting And Joining At Stafford
It may be possible to arrange other splitting and joining at Stafford.
By rearranging the Manchester and/or the Scottish services, it might be possible to reduce the number of trains, through the double-track section of the Trent Valley Line.
There are certainly several possibilities.
Conclusion
Stafford station could be crucial, in making High Speed Two Lite feasible.
250,000 Seats A Day On The WCML?
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Rail Engineer.
These are the first three paragraphs.
In the Parliamentary debate on the cancellation of HS2 phase 2, Transport Minister Mark Harper claimed that what remains of HS2 will deliver “a massive increase in capacity to the West Coast Main Line (WCML)” by providing 250,000 seats a day. This figure was subsequently repeated by the Prime Minister and Rail Minister who advised that it applies “across the primary long-distance operator on the West Coast.”
Yet without HS2 phase 2a, there is to be no WCML capacity increase north of Lichfield. Furthermore, with no HS2 station in Manchester it will not be possible to run the planned two-unit 400-metre HS2 trains to the city. Instead, there can only be single 200-metre unit HS2 trains which are shorter than the current 265-metre Pendolino trains.
Furthermore, 250,000 seats a day is equivalent to running 17 x 605-seat Pendolinos an hour, 24 hours a day. This is clearly not credible.
Note.
- The writer’s assumptions about Manchester are correct.
- Liverpool Lime Street is already is already HS2-ready for trains between Crewe and London, after the recent upgrade.
- Liverpool Lime Street will certainly be able to take two London trains per hour (tph), which can only be single 200-metre unit HS2 trains.
- Liverpool Lime Street may be able to take a third London train per hour.
These are my thoughts.
Current Services
Current services include.
- Avanti West Coast – London Euston and Blackpool North via Birmingham New Street – 2 trains per day (tpd)
- Avanti West Coast – London Euston and Glasgow Central via Birmingham New Street – 5 tpd
- Avanti West Coast – London Euston and Edinburgh Waverley via Birmingham New Street – 7 tpd
- Avanti West Coast – London Euston and Birmingham New Street – 1 tph
- Avanti West Coast – London Euston and Holyhead – 10 tpd
- Avanti West Coast – London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street – 1 tph – Increasing to 2 tph.
- Avanti West Coast – London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield and Stockport – 1 tph
- Avanti West Coast – London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Stoke-on-Trent and Stockport – 1 tph
- Avanti West Coast – London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly via Crewe, Wilmslow and Stockport – 1 tph
- Avanti West Coast – London Euston and Glasgow Central – 1 tph.
- West Midlands Trains – London and Birmingham New Street – 2 tph
- West Midlands Trains – London and Crewe – 1 tph
- West Midlands Trains – Birmingham New Street and Liverpool Lime Street – 1 tph
It looks like there are eight Avanti West Coast tph and two West Midlands Trains tph between Stafford and Crewe.
High Speed Two Services
This diagram shows High Speed Two services, as they were originally envisaged before Phase 2 was discontinued.
Note.
- Trains to the left of the vertical black line are Phase 1 and those to the right are Phase 2.
- Full-Size trains are shown in blue.
- Classic-Compatible trains are shown in yellow.
- The dotted circles are where trains split and join.
- In the red boxes routes alternate every hour.
- Was Lancaster chosen as it’s close to the new Eden Project Morecambe?
Click on the diagram to enlarge it.
The Author’s Assumption
The author has made these assumptions.
- Current West Coast Main Line capacity North of Lichfield; Avanti West Coast – 8 tph, West Midlands – 1 tph and freight trains – 4 tph
- HS2 offers no extra capacity North of Lichfield.
- Max capacity ; Old Oak Common – 8 tph and London Euston – 10 tph.
- 400-metre long trains North of Birmingham ; Min – 1 tph to Edinburgh/Glasgow
- 400-metre long trains North of Birmingham ; Max – plus 3 tph to Liverpool/Manchester
- Trains operate a maximum of 14 hours per day.
I would add.
- All pairs of 200-metre long trains split and join at Crewe.
- Birmingham Curzon Street has seven platforms.
- Lancaster and Macclesfield have long bay platforms, that can handle 200-metre trains
- Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly have two platforms, that can handle 200-metre trains.
- I suspect
- Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly could both handle four 200-metre trains tph hour – Three for London and one for Birmingham.
There is a surprising amount of capacity in the North.
The Author’s Minimum Plan For HS1 – Phase 1
I think his minimum plan is as follows.
- Old Oak Common and Birmingham Curzon Street – 400-metre long trains – 3 tph
- Old Oak Common and Liverpool Lime Street/Lancaster – 400-metre long trains – 1 tph – Splits at Crewe.
- Old Oak Common and Liverpool Lime Street – 200-metre long trains – 1 tph
- Old Oak Common and Macclesfield via Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent – 200-metre long trains – 1 tph
- Old Oak Common and Manchester Piccadilly – 200-metre long trains – 2 tph
- Old Oak Common and Edinburgh Waverley/Glasgow Central – 400-metre long trains – 1 tph – Splits at Crewe.
Note.
- 400-metre long trains are a pair of 200-metre long trains, that can split and join.
- This fulfils all the requirements of the original HS2 timetable for Phase 1.
- The total is nine tph and Old Oak Common can only handle 8 tph.
- Perhaps, the Liverpool Lime Street service could be a Liverpool Lime Street/Manchester Piccadilly service, that splits at Crewe?
I think it could work with London having the following services.
- Birmingham Curzon Street – 400-metre long trains – 3 tph
- Birmingham International – 400-metre long trains – 4 tph
- Carlisle – 200-metre long trains – 1 tph
- Crewe – 400-metre long trains – 3 tph
- Edinburgh Waverley – 200-metre long trains – 1 tph
- Glasgow Central – 200-metre long trains – 1 tph
- Lancaster – 200 metre long trains – 1 tph
- Liverpool Lime Street – 200-metre long trains – 2 tph
- Macclesfield – 200-metre long trains – 1 tph
- Manchester Piccadilly – 200-metre long trains – 2/3 tph
- Preston – 200-metre long trains – 2 tph
- Stafford – 200-metre long trains – 1 tph
- Stoke-on-Trent – 200-metre long trains – 1 tph
- Warrington Bank Quay – 200-metre long trains – 1 tph
- Wigan North Western – 200-metre long trains – 1 tph
Services care as good or better than the current services.
The Author’s Maximum Plan For HS1 – Phase 1
I think his maximum plan is as follows.
- London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street – 400-metre long trains – 3 tph
- London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street/Lancaster – 400-metre long trains – 1 tph – Splits at Crewe.
- London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street/Manchester Piccadilly – 400-metre long trains – 1 tph – Splits at Crewe.
- London Euston and Macclesfield via Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent – 200-metre long trains – 1 tph
- London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly – 200-metre long trains – 2 tph
- London Euston and Edinburgh Waverley/Glasgow Central – 400-metre long trains – 1 tph – Splits at Crewe.
Note.
- 400-metre long trains are a pair of 200-metre long trains, that can split and join.
- This fulfils all the requirements of the original HS2 timetable for Phase 1.
- That is nine tph and London Euston can handle 10 tph.
- Perhaps, a tenth train could serve Edinburgh Waverley/Glasgow Central with a split at Crewe.
It should work.
Could High Speed Birmingham Curzon Street and Liverpool Lime Street And Manchester Piccadilly Services Be Provided With A Reverse At Birmingham Curzon Street?
A train would take this route.
- A 400 metre long train would leave London and go to Birmingham Curzon Street.
- At Birmingham Curzon Street the train would reverse and travel to Crewe.
- At Crewe the train would split with separate trains going to Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly.
Note.
- Automation could be used extensively to do the joining and splitting.
- The train would have an onboard team of drivers, so all joins, reverses and splits are performed as fast as possible.
- A local service could be paired with each train, so that intermediate stations on the Liverpool and Manchester branches had excellent connections to Birmingham and the South.
Suppose the maximum plan is now as follows.
- London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street/Manchester Piccadilly via Birmingham Curzon Street – 400 metre long trains – 3 tph – Reverses at Birmingham Curzon Street – Splits at Crewe.
- London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street – 400 metre long trains – 1 tph
- London Euston and Lancaster – 200 metre long trains – 1 tph
- London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street – 200 metre long trains – 1 tph
- London Euston and Macclesfield via Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent – 200 metre long trains – 1 tph
- London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly – 200 metre long trains – 1 tph
- London Euston and Edinburgh Waverley/Glasgow Central – 400 metre long trains – 2 tph – Splits at Crewe.
Note.
- Birmingham Curzon Street, Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly would all get four tph to and from London.
- Birmingham Curzon Street, Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly would all get one tph to and from London, that could be non-stop and didn’t join, reverse or split.
- Birmingham Curzon Street and Liverpool Lime Street would have a three tph service.
- Birmingham Curzon Street and Manchester Piccadilly would have a three tph service.
- Lancaster, Edinburgh Waverley, Glasgow Central and other stations would get the originally-promised service to and from London.
- That is ten tph to and from London Euston and the station can handle that number of trains.
It should work.
Could High Speed Birmingham Curzon Street and Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central Services Be Provided With A Reverse At Birmingham Curzon Street?
In the previous section, I showed how, three tph between London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street/Manchester Piccadilly could be provided with a reverse at Birmingham Curzon Street.
So could the fourth train between London and Birmingham Curzon Street take this route?
- A 400 metre long train would leave London and go to Birmingham Curzon Street.
- At Birmingham Curzon Street the train would reverse and travel to Crewe, or another station, where the split can be performed.
- The train would split with separate trains going to Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central.
Note.
- They would use the current paths used by Avanti West Coast Birmingham and Scotland services along the West Coast Main Line.
- This would give a third train to both Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central.
It certainly appears that by using a reverse at Birmingham Curzon Street, more capacity can be created on the West Coast Main Line/HS2 route.
Could High Speed Two Serve North Wales?
It finally looks like the North Wales Coast Lines will finally be electrified.
- Would this allow a 200 metre long train to run all the way to Holyhead for the boats to Ireland?
- There could be a join and split at Crewe with another train.
- Chester would also be served by HS2.
It would create a zero-carbon route to Ireland.
What Would Be The Daily Number Of Passengers Carried?
The maximum plan could now be as follows.
- London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street/Manchester Piccadilly via Birmingham Curzon Street – 400 metre long trains – 3 tph – Splits at Crewe.
- London Euston and Edinburgh Waverley/Glasgow Central via Birmingham Curzon Street – 400 metre long trains – 1 tph – Splits at Crewe.
- London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street/Lancaster – 400 metre long trains – 1 tph – Splits at Crewe.
- London Euston and Macclesfield via Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent – 200 metre long trains – 1 tph
- London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly/Holyhead – 400 metre long trains – 1 tph – Splits at Crewe.
- London Euston and Edinburgh Waverley/Glasgow Central – 400 metre long trains – 2 tph – Splits at Crewe.
Note.
- There are eight 400 metre long trains and one 200 metre long trains in both directions.
- A 200 metre long train hold 550 passengers.
- There are seventeen 200 metre long tph in both directions.
- Trains operate a maximum of 14 hours per day.
The number of passengers per day is 261,800.
Mayors Propose New Staffordshire To Manchester Rail Line
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.
These five paragraphs introduce the article.
The mayors of the West Midlands and Greater Manchester have set out proposals for a new railway line between Staffordshire and Manchester Airport in a bid to improve connections to the north.
Work commission by West Midlands mayor Andy Street and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has concluded the new line is the preferred option to tackle congestion on the West Coast Mainline, following the government’s decision to curtail HS2 beyond Birmingham.
A private sector group – chaired by infrastructure expert Sir David Higgins – had been looking at three potential options to improve connectivity between Birmingham and Manchester.
The options included undertaking significant engineering upgrades to the West Coast Main Line, building bypasses at the pinch points on the line and building a new railway between Handsacre and Manchester Airport.
The group, convened by the mayors, is led by global engineering firm Arup with input from over 60 partners from six other firms – Arcadis, Addleshaw Goddard, EY, Dragados, Mace and Skanska.
This paragraph gives the conclusion.
The group has provisionally concluded that a new line – running approximately 70 miles between HS2 at Handsacre and Northern Powerhouse Rail at High Legh – is likely to offer the best combination of costs and benefits.
It looks to me, that this professional approach has led to a sensible answer.
I will now look at the route.
This Open Railway Map shows the tracks to the South of Handsacre.
Note.
- The blue arrow in the North-West corner of the map, indicates the location of the former Armitage station, which had the village of Handsacre to its North-East.
- The red line through Armitage station is the Trent Valley Line.
- Lichfield Trent Valley station is at the bottom of the map.
- The line drawn with large dashes from the South-East corner of the map is the proposed line of High Speed Two. Red indicates under construction and black indicates proposed.
High Speed Two splits into two.
One branch goes North-West to join the Trent Valley Line, whilst the other just stops after about a kilometre.
- All trains for Liverpool, Manchester, North Wales, The North and Scotland will take the Trent Valley Line, when High Speed Two opens.
- Trains for Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield and some to Manchester will leave the Trent Valley Line at Colwich Junction.
- All other trains, will take the same route as now and proceed to Crewe via Stafford.
The red dotted line leading from the cancelled branch of High Speed Two shows where the original fast line to Crewe was planned to go.
This Open Railway Map shows the tracks around Crewe.
Note.
- Crewe is the important junction station towards the North-West corner of the map.
- The orange line going South is the West Coast Main Line to The South and London.
- The red dotted line running along the West side of the West Coast Main Line was the proposed route of High Speed Two from Birmingham, London and the South.
This Open Railway Map shows the originally proposed direct route of High Speed Two between Crewe and Handsacre.
Note.
- Crewe is in the North-West corner of the map.
- The blue arrow in the South-East corner of the map, indicates the location of the former Armitage station, which had the village of Handsacre to its North-East.
- The dotted red line was the originally proposed route of High Speed Two.
I feel that this route between Handsacre and Crewe has advantages if it were to be chosen as part of a route between Handsacre and Northern Powerhouse Rail, as recommended by the Mayors and their consultants.
- The route seems to stay well clear of large conurbations.
- A lot of the design work has been at least started and major problems will be known.
- Crewe is the only station on the route, which will need to be upgraded.
- Services to Liverpool, Manchester, North Wales, The North and Scotland will be speeded up.
- With Crewe, Liverpool and North Wales, times could be as High Speed Two promised in the first place.
I feel that building the Handsacre and Crewe section, as originally envisaged, will score high in a benefit/cost analysis
This OpenRailwayMap shows the originally proposed route of High Speed Two between Crewe and Manchester Airport.
Note.
- Crewe is towards the South-West corner of the map.
- Manchester Airport is in the North-East corner of the map.
- The red line going North from Crewe is the West Coast Main Line.
- The dotted red line was the originally proposed route of High Speed Two, between the West Coast Main Line and Manchester Airport.
Northern Powerhouse Rail will go West from Manchester Airport towards Warrington and Liverpool and will join with High Speed Two at a junction at High Legh.
Northern Powerhouse Rail is currently being planned, but surely, if High Speed Two and Northern Powerhouse Rail share a line from High Legh to Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly, this will be a more affordable project.
Services To Crewe
In Could The High Speed Two Link Between Lichfield And Crewe Still Be Built?, which I wrote after much of High Speed Two was chopped in 2023, I said this.
Currently, Avanti West Coast trains take around one hour and thirty minutes between London and Crewe.
The Wikipedia entry for High Speed Two gives these times between London and Crewe.
- Fastest time before High Speed Two – one hour and thirty minutes.
- Time after Phase 2a of High Speed Two opens – fifty-six minutes.
Note.
- That is a time saving of thirty-four minutes.
- High Speed Two Trains will use the direct line between Lichfield and Crewe.
- High Speed Two will also add eighteen tph to the capacity between London and Crewe.
This would seem to mean that any trains going to or through Crewe will be thirty-four minutes faster, if they use High Speed Two between London and Crewe.
If the Handsacre and Crewe direct line is built, it looks like London and Crewe will be the full High Speed Two time of 56 minutes.
Services To Liverpool
Consider.
- Liverpool Lime Street was originally planned to get two trains per hour (tph) to and from London using High Speed Two.
- The approaches into Liverpool were improved a few years ago.
- No more improvements are planned between Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street stations.
- Between Crewe and Liverpool Lime Street stations currently takes 38 minutes.
- There could be time savings on the 16.3 miles between Crewe and Weaver Junction, which currently takes 21 minutes.
It looks like a time of one hour and 34 minutes could be possible, with under one hour and 30 minutes not being impossible.
Services To Manchester
Consider.
- Manchester was originally planned to get three tph to and from London using High Speed Two.
- No improvements are planned between Crewe and the Manchester stations.
- Between Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly stations currently takes 34 minutes.
It looks like a time of one hour and 30 minutes could be possible.
But there is still the option of building a new line between Crewe and Northern Powerhouse Rail at High Legh.
I showed this OpenRailwayMap earlier and it shows the originally proposed route of High Speed Two between Crewe and Manchester Airport.
Note.
- Crewe is towards the South-West corner of the map.
- Manchester Airport is in the North-East corner of the map.
- The red line going North from Crewe is the West Coast Main Line.
- The dotted red line was the originally proposed route of High Speed Two, between the West Coast Main Line and Manchester Airport.
Northern Powerhouse Rail is currently being planned. and will go West from Manchester Airport towards Warrington and Liverpool and will be built first.
A junction at High Legh will be built to link the West Coast Main Line to Northern Powerhouse Rail.
Services To North Wales
Why Not? With the cancellation of the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two, there must be a path available for North Wales.
Consider.
- The North Wales Main Line has been promised electrification.
- As Holyhead and Crewe is only 105.5 miles, it could even be in battery high speed train range in a few years.
- All times to and from Crewe are assumed to be as Avanti West Coast achieve now.
- As Crewe and Chester currently takes 23 minutes, London and Chester would take 1 hour and 19 minutes.
- As Crewe and Llandudno Junction currently takes 1 hour and 22 minutes, London and Llandudno Junction would take 2 hours and 18 minutes.
- As Crewe and Holyhead currently takes 2 hours and 7 minutes, London and Holyhead would take 3 hours and 3 minutes.
Could this open up a fast zero-carbon route between London and Dublin?
Services To Blackpool, Lancaster, Preston, Warrington And Wigan
Why Not, Blackpool? With the cancellation of the Eastern Leg of High Speed Two, there must be an extra path available, if it is needed.
Cpnsider.
- All routes are electrified.
- All times to and from Crewe are assumed to be as Avanti West Coast achieve now.
- As Crewe and Blackpool currently takes 1 hour and 20 minutes, London and Blackpool would take 2 hour and 16 minutes.
- As Crewe and Lancaster currently takes 60 minutes, London and Lancaster would take 1 hour and 56 minutes.
- As Crewe and Preston currently takes 40 minutes, London and Preston would take 1 hour and 36 minutes.
- As Crewe and Warrington Bank Quay currently takes 22 minutes, London and Warrington Bank Quay would take 1 hour and 18 minutes.
- As Crewe and Wigan North Western currently takes 33 minutes, London and Wigan North Western would take 1 hour and 29 minutes.
Note.
- Lancaster in under two hours will help the Eden Project Morecambe.
- For some areas of the North West, it might be more convenient to change at Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western or Preston.
Improvements to track and signalling could probably bring benefits.
Services To Carlisle And Central Scotland
Cpnsider.
- All routes are electrified.
- All times to and from Crewe are assumed to be as Avanti West Coast achieve now.
- As Crewe and Carlisle currently takes 1 hour and 55 minutes, London and Carlisle would take 2 hours and 51 minutes.
- As Crewe and Lockerbie currently takes 2 hours and 6 minutes, London and Lockerbie would take 3 hours and 1 minute.
- As Crewe and Motherwell currently takes 2 hours and 45 minutes, London and Motherwell would take 3 hours and 41 minutes.
- As Crewe and Edinburgh currently takes 3 hours and 9 minutes, London and Edinburgh would take 4 hours and 5 minutes.
- As Crewe and Glasgow Central currently takes 3 hours and 3 minutes, London and Glasgow Central would take 3 hours and 59 minutes.
Note.
- Just under four hours to Glasgow Central would please the Marketing Department.
- Selective splitting and joining could increase the number of destinations.
Improvements to track and signalling could probably bring benefits.
Services To Stirling
In ORR: Open Access Services Given Green Light Between London And Stirling, I wrote about Grand Union Trains’s new open access service to Stirling.
There has been good feedback on this service, so perhaps one of the spare paths on High Speed Two could be allocated to Open Access Operators, so that more of the country could have a high speed service to London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street stations.
In the related post, I showed that London Euston and Stirling takes forty five minutes longer than a London Euston and Motherwell service.
This would mean that a London Euston and Stirling service via High Speed Two would take four hours and 26 minutes.
Services Between Birmingham Curzon Street and the North West
Under the plans for High Speed Two, the following services would have run North from Birmingham Curzon Street.
- One tph to Edinburgh or Motherwell and Glasgow via Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme, Penrith, Carlisle, Lockerbie and Carstairs.
- Two tph to Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly.
But there are now spare paths South of Crewe, so Could a one tph Birmingham Curzon Street and Liverpool Lime Street service be squeezed in?
Could The Line Be Privately Financed?
I suspect that building the section between Handsacre and Crewe could be financed in perhaps a similar way, to the Chiltern improvements or the M6 Toll Road were financed.
- The Handsacre and Crewe section is just a simple stretch of rail, with a number of trains passing along it.
- The number of trains passing through, is likely to increase.
- Every train passing through would pay a track charge, just as they do to Network Rail.
- Those with lots of money to lend, like simple projects like wind farms or road tunnels, but think very hard about anything complicated like nuclear power stations or High Speed Two’s station at Euston.
Certainly, my late and very good friend, David, who dealt with the finance of some of London’s largest projects and was on the top table of London’s bankers, would have found a way. It might though have been unorthodox.
But then David was a rogue. But a rogue on the side of the angels.
Conclusion
I have come to these conclusions.
- Building the direct route between Handsacre and Crewe could be good value as it improves all routes that will pass through Crewe.
- Combining High Speed Two and Northern Powerhouse Rail could substantially cut the costs of both routes to the centre of Manchester.
- London and Crewe times should be 56 minutes.
- London and Liverpool Lime Street times could be under one hour and thirty minutes.
- London and Manchester Piccadilly times could start at one hour and thirty minutes and reduce when Northern Powerhouse Rail is built and linked to the West Coast Main Line.
- London and Holyhead could be just over three hours and could open up a fast zero-carbon route between London and Dublin.
- London and Lancaster in under two hours could help the Eden Project Morecambe.
It’s certainly not a bad plan and it should be looked at in more detail.
Bidders Circle ‘Elvis Airport’ A Decade After The SNP Bought It For £1
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
Prestwick has cost taxpayers millions since it was nationalised by the SNP in 2013. A consortium plans a bid, but can the Nats let go of Sturgeon-era stateism?
These are the first two paragraphs.
It was always going to be difficult keeping a lid on the arrival of Elvis Presley at a US military base in Prestwick, Ayrshire. “Where am I?” he asked as he stepped off the plane and into the biting wind that whipped off the Firth of Clyde.
March 3, 1960 was a momentous day for the screaming youngsters who engulfed the American singer as he set foot on British soil for the first and only time. For Presley, it was his last stop on his return from Germany after two years of military service. For Prestwick, it meant being immortalised in British trivia for its brief flirtation with The King.
But now it appears that a consortium has a plan for the airport and has made a bid.
These are my thoughts.
Prestwick Airport
Prestwick Airport, which is 32 miles SouthWest of Glasgow, is an airport that has seen busier times.
This OpenRailwayMap shows the Airport.
Note.
- The airport has two runways at right angles.
- The longer runway is 3,000 metres long.
- The red line is the electrified Ayrshire Coast Line, which runs between Glasgow Central and Ayr.
- There is a station at the airport.
- The black line going across the map is an unelectrified railway line, which eventually leads to the West Coast Main Line.
The airport does have four very useful assets.
- A very long runway capable of handling the largest and heaviest aircraft.
- A railway station.
- Plenty of space.
- The airport has plenty of available landing and take-off slots.
I also suspect that a rail connection could be developed to the West Coast Main Line.
Prestwick As A Cargo Airport
Someone commenting in The Times, suggested that Prestwick could become a cargo airport.
- The main runway could accommodate the largest and heaviest cargo aircraft.
- There is space for stands for large aircraft and warehouses.
- A rail link to the electrified West Coast Main Line could be built.
The airport could have a very high capacity.
A Rail Connection To The West Coast Main Line
This could be very beneficial for air-cargo at Prestwick.
- It would be less than ninety miles to the West Coast Main Line.
- It is only single-track as British Rail removed the second track.
- Cargo Services could be run all over the UK mainland.
- There could even be an airport service from Carlisle.
A zero-carbon rail service for freight, passengers and staff from both Glasgow and Carlisle would enhance the green credentials of the airport.
Where Would Planes Fly?
It looks like a modern freighter aircraft like a Boeing 747-8F could fly at maximum weight to nearly all the USA.
But because Prestwick Airport is further North, It does possibly have a wider range of airports, it can reach.
What Is The Closest Airport In North America?
The two airports on Newfoundland; Gander and St. John’s are probably the two closest being about 2,000 miles from Prestwick.
- Both airports have long runways.
- I suspect a rail terminal could be arranged at the airport to take cargo through the Chunnel to Europe.
- Could USAF Galaxies even be used to bring over American tanks and guns for Ukraine? The range of a Galaxy at maximum weight is 2,600 miles.
- They could be delivered by rail to Ukraine.
I suspect there will be times, where the shorter routes could be useful.
Could Cargo Change Planes At Prestwick?
On some routes like perhaps New York and India, might it be more efficient to change planes at Prestwick.
Could Cargo Planes Refuel At Prestwick?
Planes can only fly so far and is Prestwick in the right place to refuel a long flight?
Prestwick Could Be A Viable Cargo Airport For North America?
I am convinced that Prestwick and North American could be a viable air cargo route.
Zero-Carbon Air Cargo
In the next few years, Scotland will have much more electricity, than it needs, due to all the wind farms in the seas around the country and much of the spare electricity could be converted into hydrogen.
So does a cargo operator plan to run zero-carbon aircraft powered by hydrogen between North America and Prestwick?
- Remember it’s only 2,000 miles between St. John’s or Gander and Prestwick.
- The ideal aircraft to convert to hydrogen, must surely be an Airbus A 380, as there’s a lot of space in the fuselage for a hydrogen tank.
- Cargo could be brought to Prestwick in zero-carbon trains from all over the UK.
Amazon might like the idea of zero-carbon parcels across the pond!
Could An Airbus A380 Be Converted To Hydrogen?
This article on Simple Flying is entitled Airbus Plans A380 Hydrogen Flights In 2026 After Successful Power On Of ZEROe Engine.
The header picture shows a visualisation of an Airbus A 380, with a fifth engine with a propeller mounted on the top of the fuselage. The A 380 will be testing this electric engine, so that it can be fitted in the ZEROe Turboprop sometime around 2030.
This is a visualisation of the ZEROe Turboprop.
Note,
- The hydrogen tank will probably be behind the passenger compartment.
- The A 380, that will be testing the engine is no ordinary A 380. It is the very first and Airbus use it as a flying laboratory for new technology.
- I wouldn’t bet against one of its next jobs, is to test turbofan engines running on hydrogen.
I wouldn’t be surprised that in a few years, Airbus demonstrate an A 380 flying between Europe and North America on hydrogen.
A Zero-Carbon Air Bridge Between Europe And North America
Or does Westjet fancy a zero-carbon shuttle service, which would appeal to the Gretas of this world?
It has been rumoured, that the possible buyers of Prestwick are linked to Westjet.
As soon, as someone announces, a flight like this across the Atlantic, I’ll be signing up!
If the worse should happen, which I think would be unlikely, it would surely be a less painful death, than that of my wife’s from a rare cancer.
Conclusion
There are certainly, possibilities at Prestwick.
Alstom Plans To Operate Its Own Passenger Train Service In The UK For The First Time
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Alstom.
These two bullet points, act as sub-headings.
- Alstom is partnering with SLC Rail to form a new open access rail operation between North Wales, Shropshire, the Midlands and London
- Formal application now being submitted to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) with passenger service sought from 2025
These are the first three paragraphs.
Alstom, global leader in smart and sustainable mobility, plans to operate a new passenger rail service across England and Wales. Working in partnership with consultancy SLC Rail, the open access operation will be known as Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway (WSMR).
As the country’s foremost supplier of new trains and train services, and a leading signalling and infrastructure provider, Alstom will operate its own rail service in the UK for the first time.
WSMR is seeking to introduce direct connectivity to and from North Wales, Shropshire, the Midlands and London that doesn’t exist today, linking growing communities and businesses, and making rail travel more convenient, enjoyable and affordable.
I can’t remember a service proposal being put forward by a train manufacturer since the privatisation of UK’s railways in the 1990s.
This is some more information and my thoughts.
The Route
This paragraph from the press release, describes the route.
The proposal envisages a service of five trains per day in each direction Monday to Saturday, with four travelling both ways on Sundays. Trains will stop at Gobowen, Shrewsbury, Telford Central, Wolverhampton, Darlaston, Walsall, Coleshill Parkway, Nuneaton and Milton Keynes on their journey between Wrexham General and London Euston.
Note.
- The proposed call at the new Darlaston station.
- The route is electrified between Euston and Nuneaton and Walsall and Wolverhampton.
- Much of the route North of Nuneaton is on tracks with a maximum speed of 70-80 mph.
The route is in these sections.
- Euston and Nuneaton – 96.7 miles – electrified
- Nuneaton and Walsall – 26.7 miles
- Walsall and Wolverhampton – 6.7 miles – electrified
- Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury – 29.7 miles
- Shrewsbury and Wrexham General – 30.3 miles
That is a total of 190.1 miles or 380.2 miles round trip.
I suspect that the service will need bi-mode trains.
Should The Service Call At Wellington?
This article on the BBC is entitled Rail Company Urged Not To Forget Wellington.
This is the sub-heading.
A rail company which is bidding to bring back a direct service between Shropshire and London has been urged not to forget a town.
These are the first three paragraphs.
Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway said it was preparing to apply to the government to run the service.
Trains would stop at Gobowen, Shrewsbury, Telford, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Coleshill and Nuneaton.
But Telford and Wrekin Council said the omission of Wellington as a stop was “short-sighted”.
Although Wellington is smaller than than Shrewsbury and Telford, it looks like a bit of analysis would provide a solution, that would be acceptable for all parties.
The Trains
In the press release, this phrase is used.
positive impact to both communities and the environment.
I can’t see any more electrification being erected on the route, so the trains will need to be bi-mode.
- Bi-mode diesel trains won’t have a positive impact on the environment.
- As the route between Wolverhampton and Wrexham General is not electrified, a battery-electric train would need a range of at least 60 miles or 120 miles for the round trip, if there were no charging at Wrexham General.
- But Alston are developing a Hydrogen Aventra, which I wrote about in Alstom And Eversholt Rail Sign An Agreement For The UK’s First Ever Brand-New Hydrogen Train Fleet.
So could Alstom be using this route to trial and showcase their new Hydrogen Aventra?
I believe that the route will be very suitable for a hydrogen train.
- Changeover between electric and hydrogen power can always take place in a station.
- All hydrogen refuelling could be performed at one end of the route.
- A large proportion of the UK’s green hydrogen is produced by INEOS at Runcorn, which is less than fifty miles from Wrexham. A refuelling tanker could supply the train, as they do on some hydrogen routes in Germany.
- London has only small amounts of hydrogen infrastructure.
I suspect that refuelling will be done at the Wrexham end of the route.
This Alstom visualisation shows the train.
But it is only a three-car train.
- That is not a problem, as Aventras can be lengthened as required to the length required for the number of passengers.
- Some Aventras, like the Class 701 trains for South Western Railway, have even been ordered as ten-car trains.
- Two three-car trains may also be the ideal capacity, running as a six-car train.
So capacity will not be a problem.
If it is assumed that Alstom’s trains for the WSMR route, can use the overhead wires, where they exist, each trip between Wrexham General and London will require a total of 86.7 miles or 140 kilometres of running on hydrogen.
- A round trip will therefor require 280 kilometres of running on hydrogen.
- But between London Euston and Nuneaton, it will just be another electric train.
- I suspect that like the similar Class 730 train, it will be capable of 110 mph on the West Coast Main Line.
- Alstom’s Coradia iLint hydrogen train has a range of around a 500-800 kilometres on hydrogen.
- The WSMR trains will probably be 100 mph trains using hydrogen on a route, where that speed is possible.
So if a Hydrogen Aventra has a similar range to the Coradia iLint, it will be able to do two round trips before refuelling.
How Long Will The Service Take?
West Midlands Trains, who use the similar Class 730 trains take one hour and eleven minutes between London Euston and Nuneaton with a single stop at Milton Keynes Central.
As the WSMR trains will use the same route, I suspect the same time can be used.
As Nuneaton and Wrexham General are 93.4 miles apart a table can be created showing the time for the rest of the journey for different average speeds
- 50 mph – 1 hour 52 minutes – 3 hours 3 minutes.
- 60 mph – 1 hour 33 minutes – 2 hours 44 minutes.
- 70 mph – 1 hour 20 minutes – 2 hours 31 minutes.
- 80 mph – 1 hour 10 minutes – 2 hours 21 minutes.
Note.
- The first time is the Nuneaton and Wrexham General time and the second time is the overall journey time.
- Typical Avanti West Coast services via Crewe and a change at Chester, take between two-and-a-half and three hours.
I suspect, if the WSMR trains can keep the speed up through the Midlands, that two hours and 30 minutes could be possible.
Could The Hydrogen Aventra Run At 125 mph Under The Wires?
In March 2018, I wrote Bombardier Bi-Mode Aventra To Feature Battery Power, which was based on this article in Rail Magazine.
These are a few points from the article.
- Development has already started.
- Battery power could be used for Last-Mile applications.
- The bi-mode would have a maximum speed of 125 mph under both electric and diesel power.
- The trains will be built at Derby.
- Bombardier’s spokesman said that the ambience will be better, than other bi-modes.
- Export of trains is a possibility.
- Bombardier’s spokesman also said, that they have offered the train to three new franchises. East Midlands, West Coast Partnership and CrossCountry.
Have Alstom looked at what they bought from Bombardier and decided the following train is possible?
- Five-cars or what the customer needs.
- 125 mph under the wires.
- Running on hydrogen away from the wires.
- 100 mph on tracks without electrification.
Obviously, maximum speeds would depend on track limits.
Looking at 125 mph Avanti West Coast trains that have a Milton Keynes stop between London Euston and Nuneaton, they can reach Nuneaton ten minutes quicker than West Midlands Trains 110 mph Class 730 trains.
Two hours and 30 minutes between London Euston and Wrexham is looking increasingly possible.
Are we seeing an audacious proposal from Alston to sell new trains to CrossCountry and a host of other franchises?
Conclusion
London Euston and Wrexham would appear to be an excellent route for an Aventra-based hydrogen train.
- It can probably cruise at 110 mph on the West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Nuneaton.
- All switchovers between electrification and hydrogen can be performed in electrified stations.
- Hydrogen would only be used North of Nuneaton.
- The train can be refuelled at Wrexham General, with fuel supplied from INEOS at Runcorn.
- Given the typical 1000 km. range of hydrogen trains, a train can probably do three round trips without refuelling.
I can see this being a service with an excellent operational record.
The Anonymous Widower 