Could High Speed Two Be A One-Nation Project?
As currently envisioned, High Speed Two is very much an English project, with the following routes
- London and Birmingham
- London and Liverpool via Birmingham
- London and Manchester Airport/Manchester via Birmingham and Crewe
- London and Sheffield via Birmingham and the East Midlands Hub
- London and Leeds via Birmingham and the East Midlands Hub
There are large numbers of mid-sized towns and cities that it won’t serve directly.
The West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line serves the following routes.
- London and Birmingham
- London and Liverpool via Crewe
- London and Manchester via Crewe
- London and Glasgow via Crewe, Wigan, Preston and Carlisle
- London and Blackpool via Crewe, Wigan, Preston
- London and North Wales via Crewe and Chester.
It could probably be considered a two or two-and-a-half nation line, as it serves the Western half of Scotland and the Northern half of Wales.
Add the West Coast Main Line and High Speed Two together and you get a line, that serves a lot more places like Blackpool, Carlisle, Chester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Preston, Stafford, Stoke and Wigan.
- The current plan for both routes envisage them both being run by Avanti West Coast, so it looks like High Speed Two is being designed to work with the West Coast Main Line.
- Destinations like Carlisle, Glasgow and Preston will be served using the West Coast Main Line.
- Compatible trains will be built that can be run on both lines.
- Some stations will be shared.
It does seem that there are advantages, if the two routes are considered as one system.
The East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line serves the following routes.
- London and Bradford
- London and Cambridge
- London and Edinburgh via Doncaster, York and Newcastle
- London and Harrogate via Leeds
- London and Hull
- London and Kings Lynn via Cambridge
- London and Lincoln via Newark.
- London and Leeds via Doncaster
- London and Middlesbrough
- London and Skipton via Leeds
- London and Sunderland
The East Coast Main Line could become another high speed line.
Extra services could be added.
- London and Norwich via Cambridge
- London and Nottingham
- London and Grimsby and Cleethorpes via Lincoln.
- London and Sheffield via Retford.
Add the East Coast Main Line and High Speed Two together and there could be a wider range of towns and cities served.
- Peterborough and Doncaster could play the same role in the East as Birmingham and Crewe will play in the West.
- The East Coast Main Line between London and Doncaster will be upgraded to in-cab ERTMS signalling in a few years time, which will allow 140 mph running on several sections of the route.
- Improvements are either under way or being planned to reduce bottlenecks on the East Coast Main Line.
- If High Speed Two can handle eighteen trains per hour (tph), then surely the East Coast Main Line, which has a lot of quadruple track, can handle upwards of twelve 140 mph trains per hour between London and Doncaster, after the improvements to track and signalling.
- I estimate that 140 mph running between London and Doncaster could save as much as twenty minutes.
- I feel that Barnsley, Doncaster, Hull, Leeds, Sheffield and York could all be reached in under two hours from London using the existing Azuma trains.
- This morning the 0700 from Kings Cross is timetabled to reach York at 0852. Would it be possible for London and York to be around just ninety minutes?
- Savings would also apply to trains between London and Leeds, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Scotland and Sunderland.
- Sub-four hour journeys between London and Edinburgh would be commonplace.
Note that the Internet gives a driving time of nearly three and a half hours between London and Leeds. Surely, two hours or less on High Speed Yorkshire would be much preferable.
I would add this infrastructure.
- There might be a good case to create electrified routes to Hull and Sheffield and between Sheffield and Leeds, but they wouldn’t be needed to start the service or obtain the time savings. But they would ease operation, cut carbon emissions and save a few more minutes.
- A station at Doncaster-Sheffield Airport.
- A parkway station at Barnsley on the Dearne Valley Line with direct services to Doncaster, Leeds, London and Sheffield.
The two latter improvements have been proposed in Sheffield Region’s transport plans.
High Speed Yorkshire should be finished as soon as possible. A completion date of 2024 is not unreasonable.
Northern Powerhouse Rail
Northern Powerhouse Rail is a plan to build an East-West high speed line or at least a much faster one, than the overcrowded joke, that presently exists.
I discussed the latest thinking in Changes Signalled For HS2 Route In North and the latest thinking and my views can best be summarised as follows.
- Northern Powerhouse Rail will be an improved line with some new sections, between Liverpool and Hull via Manchester Airport, Manchester and Leeds.
- Northern Powerhouse Rail and High Speed Two will connect at High Legh.
- Northern Powerhouse Rail and High Speed Two will share infrastructure.
- The High Speed Two route to Manchester would be via Birmingham, Crewe, High Legh and Manchester Airport.
- The High Speed Two route to Liverpool would be via Birmingham, Crewe, High Legh and Warrington
- Hull will get a London service from High Speed Two via Birmingham, Crewe, High Legh and Manchester Airport, Manchester and Leeds
The Oakervee review of High Speed Two is also underway and leaks are suggesting, that the report is recommending that High Speed Two be built in full, but differently.
One important thing, that is happening, is that Network Rail have started the procurement process to improve the current line between Leeds and Huddersfield, as I reported in Network Rail Reveals Detailed £2.9bn Upgrade Plans For TransPennine Route.
- Extra tracks will be built.
- There will be some extra electrification.
I very much feel, that this is one of the most difficult TransPennine sections to improve.
The other sections are summarised as follows.
- Liverpool and Manchester Airport via Warrington and High Legh is across the flat lands of North Cheshire and could follow the M56.
- Manchester Airport and Manchester will probably be a high speed tunnel.
- Manchester and Huddersfield section could possibly be improved in the short term
- Leeds and Hull and the required connections to the East Coast Main Line are in the flat lands of East Yorkshire.
It looks to me, that Network Rail have a plan in there to perhaps deliver improved services East of Huddersfield and radiating from Leeds in the next few years.
It certainly needs improvement, as the TransPennine route must be the worst main line in the UK.
A One-Nation Railway
I think these lines can be connected to create an integrated high speed network.
- High Speed Two
- West Coast Main Line
- East Coast Main Line
- Northern Powerhouse Rail
But.
- It doesn’t connect to the whole country and needs to be extended.
- It won’t be fully developed until at least 2035.
- Improvements are needed now!
So what could be substantially delivered of the core network, by say 2024, which is around the date of the next General Election?
- Faster and more frequent services on the East Coast Main Line.
- An electrified higher capacity and faster line between Leeds and Huddersfield and possibly between Leeds and Hull.
- New East Coast Main Line services from London to Barnsley Dearne Valley, Bradford, Cleethorpes, Doncaster Sheffield Airport, Grimsby, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Middlesbrough, Norwich, Nottingham, Scarborough and Sheffield and Sunderland.
- Sub-four hour services between London and Edinburgh.
- New local services to connect Blyth and Ashington to the East Coast Main Line at Newcastle.
- A Tees Valley Metro connecting Bishop Auckland, Whitby and all in between to the East Coast Main Line at Darlington.
- Improved local services between York and Leeds via Harrogate, Sheffield and Leeds via the Dearne Valley and on other lines in Yorkshire.
Effectively, the recommendations of this report on the Transport for the North web site, which is entitled At A Glance – Northern Powerhouse Rail, which apply to Leeds and Sheffield would have been implemented to connect to high speed services at Doncaster, Leeds, Sheffield and York.
Technology used would include.
- Some more electrification using the power from the electrified East Coast Main Line.
- Conventional electric trains and compatible battery trains.
- Tram-trains feeding into the Sheffield Supertram.
- ERTMS digital signalling on the East Coast Main Line and the major branches to Hull, Leeds and Middlesbrough.
There would also need to be an increase in LNER’s Azuma fleet. But that is already rumoured as I wrote in More New Trains On LNER Wish List.
Could we see as many as twelve Axumas per hour between London and Doncaster? Yes!
Could it all be delivered by the 2024 General Election? Yes!
High Speed Scotland
The Scottish Nationalist Party is pushing for High Speed Two to be extended to Scotland.
I think that this will eventually be a feasible project, but it will be a very expensive and perhaps built around 2040.
These are my thoughts for the next few years up to 2024.
High Speed To Edinburgh
Consider.
- Edinburgh currently supports a half-hourly service to and from London.
- East Coast Trains are proposing to add five trains per day to this route.
- TransPennine Express will run an hourly service between Edinburgh and Liverpool, via Manchester, Leeds, York and Newcastle, which starts at the December 2019 timetable change..
- CrossCountry run an hourly service between Aberdeen and Plymouth.
- It looks like Edinburgh and Newcastle have a four tph service.
All services, except the CrossCountry are planned to be run by Hitachi’s Class 800, 802 or 803 trains.
- Currently, services take ninety minutes for the 125 miles between Newcastle and Edinburgh.
- The Hitachi trains are all capable of 140 mph with digital signalling.
- The Hitachi trains have better acceleration.
- The route is fully electrified. Although, there are reports it needs enhancing to be able to handle the current number of trains.
How many minutes can be taken off thjs route, with a new timetable on a line running only Hitachi high speed trains?
Probably not that many, but it would ensure all London and Edinburgh trains were under four hours.
But it will all happen by 2024?
High Speed To Glasgow
So Edinburgh is alright, but what about Glasgow?
Consider.
- Glasgow currently supports an hourly service to and from London.
- TransPennine Express run an hourly service to and from Manchester Airport
- TransPennine Express will run a three trains per day service to and from Liverpool.
Glasgow has a much lower frequency service to and from England than Edinburgh.
Currently, London and Glasgow takes over four-and-a half hours and there is going to be no serious improvement, until High Speed Two opens to Crewe, when the time could drop to perhaps just over three-and-a half hours.
But that won’t happen until possibly 2030.
In Does One Of Baldrick’s Descendents Work For Avanti West Coast?, I detail a cunning plan, that might allow London and Glasgow in four hours.
This was my conclusion in the other article.
To improve services between London and Birmingham, Blackpool, Liverpool and Scotland, appears to need the following.
- Ten new Hitachi trains.
- Full digital signalling on the West Coast Main Line.
- Track improvements on the West Coast Main Line
- Upgrading of the Pendelinos to allow 140 mph running.
This should reduce London and Glasgow to around four hours and London and Liverpool to around two hours.
There may be advantages in replacing the Pendelinos with the Classic-compatible High Speed Two trains on the London and Glasgow service as early as possible.
- There would be a large increase of capacity between London and Glasgow.
- What would be the possible speed of the Classic-compatible trains on updated track North of Crewe? I will assume 140 mph, but it could be more! That’s called engineering!
- London and Glasgow timings would be improved, as soon as digital signalling is installed.
- The trains would get a thorough testing before the opening of High Speed Two to Birmingham.
At least one platform at Glasgow Central would need to be extended to take a four-hundred metre long train.
According to Wikipedia, the Classic-compatible trains will be introduced from 2026.
I think by the December 2026 timetable change Glasgow could see a four-hour service to and from London.
But could it be 2024, if the Pendelinos can pick up time North of Crewe with digital signalling?
The Borders Railway
If High Speed Two is going to be a One Nation project, the Borders Railway must be extended from Tweedbank to Carlisle via Hawick.
Could this be done by 2024?
It would be a close-run thing! But possible!
The Glasgow South Western Line
The Glasgow South Western Line, is a secondary route between Glasgow and Carlisle.
It should be electrified early, so that during the upgrading of the West Coast Main Line North of Carlisle it can be used as a diversionary route.
Scotland Could Have Two Four-Hour Fully-Electrified Routes To And From London
But it’s not just London that gets good connectivity to and from Scotland!
- Birmingham
- Bradford
- Carlisle
- Leeds
- Liverpool
- Manchester
- Newcastle
- Peterborough
- Preston
- Wolverhampton
- York
All these cities will have direct connections to Edinburgh and/or Glasgow.
High Speed Midlands
Almost unnoticed and with little fuss, the Midland Main Line is being upgraded to provide 125 mph services between London and Chesterfield, Derby, Leicester, Nottingham and Sheffield.
- New Hitachi bi-mode Class 804 trains will improve speeds and increase capacity
- Over the last decade or so, the track has been upgraded for 125 mph running.
- Electrification will reach between London and Market Harborough.
- Market Harborough station has been remodelled to remove a bottleneck.
- The Corby branch will be electrified with the trains running half-hourly.
I also think, that the Midland Main Line will link into all the improvements between Barnsley, Doncaster, Leeds and Sheffield and provide the following.
- A high speed route between Leeds and the East Midlands.
- A route for a Barnsley and London service.
- A second route for Leeds and London services..
It also seems that rail planners are getting innovative with the design of the Midland Main Line.
- It appears that the Midland Main Line and High Speed Two’s spur to Sheffield will be combined into an electrified line between Clay Cross North Junction and Sheffield via Chesterfield.
- An improved link to the East-West Rail link at Bedford could improve links between the North-East and the South of England.
- The disused rail line between Market Harborough and Northampton could be reopened.
The line is a lot more than a connection between London and the East Midlands.
The upgrade should be complete by 2024.
East West Rail
East West Rail is still in a long planning stage, but it now looks likely to provide more than a passenger link between Oxford and Cambridge.
- New freight routes for Felixstowe and Southampton.
- Extra passenger services between Oxford and Reading in the West and Cambridge, Ipswich and Norwich in the East.
- Connections to the Great Western Main Line, the Chiltern Line, West Coast Main Line, Midland Main Line, East Coast Main Line and the Great Eastern Main Line.
It has also been suggested that East West Rail should be connected to High Speed Two at a new station at Calvert. This could give Bristol, Cardiff and Southampton good links to and from High Speed Two.
Great Western Main Line
At the December 2019 timetable change, there has finally been some good news in the saga of the electrification of the Great Western Main Line.
- Services between London and Bristol have been improved.
- The timetable has been improved.
Whether it will stand up is another matter.
Certainly by 2024, it will be a much better main line.
It could have full digital in-can signalling, which could result in 140 mph running and journey time savings.
Who knows?
But what excites me is the possibility of a connection between High Speed Two and East West Rail at Calvert, which will allow trains to run between Bristol, Cardiff and Swansea, in Wales and the West and the North on a mainly electrified high speed railway.
High Speed North Wales
Avanti West Coast is purchasing thirteen new Hitachi bi-mode trains to run services to Chester and North Wales.
I can’t see much speed improvement in the services, although if the West Coast Main Line gets digital signalling, this could save a few minutes between London and Crewe.
High Speed Ireland
The technology is now available to build a rail bridge between Scotland and the island of Ireland.
I laid out the arguments in A Solution To The Northern Irish Problem!.
The Lincoln Solution
Lincoln is a city, that has been ignored by UK railways for decades.
But not any more as LNER now run six return trips a day to the city on Mondays to Saturdays and five on Sundays.
I wrote about the improvements in The Shape Of Train Services To Come.
How many other cities and large towns would benefit from a Lincoln solution?
LNER have already launched a similar service to Harrogate at the December 2019 timetable change and I’m sure that more will follow.
Disability And Access Issues
A true one-nation railway wouldn’t exclude anybody from using the trains.
Strides have been made to put up step-free bridges, but some of the access between platform and train is truly dreadful.
This picture shows what can be achieved by good design on a Class 755 train.
And this is the step on one of Hitachi’s new trains.
Note that all doors on these Hitachi trains are also far too narrow.
Some train manufacturers can do much better.
Recurring Themes
In this analysis, there are factors that keep cropping up.
Digital Signalling Or ERTMS
This is the key to squeezing more trains into our overcrowded railway.
Between London and Doncaster on the East Coast Main Line, should be operational in a few years and I believe the following lines should follow as soon as possible.
- East Coast Main Line between Doncaster and York and possibly Newcastle.
- East Coast Main Line North Of Newcastle
- West Coast Main Line North Of Crewe
- West Coast Main Line South Of Crewe
- Midland Main Line
- Great Western Main Line
As a time-expired Control Engineer, I believe that in-cab digital signalling is a major key to increasing capacity.
Faster Line Speeds
Some routes like TransPennine, have Victorian line speeds
Network Rail showed how it could improve line speed with the remodelling at Market Harborough station.
Bottlenecks, like the Trowse Swing Bridge at Norwich need immediate removal, no matter what the Heritage Taliban and other Luddites say.
New Hitachi Trains
There will be several more orders for the next generation of Hitachi’s high speed trains.
I have been critical of Hitachi’s manufacturing processes for these trains in the past, but they seem now to be running well in fleet service.
A standard UK train on 125 mph lines, that can also handle 140 mph with digital signalling must be a good thing for all sorts of reasons.
New Feeder Services
Several new feeder services have been indicated and there should be a lot more of these to bring the benefit of the high speed network to more of the UK population.
Delivering The Improvements
Geographically, the places where improvements are needed are spread thinly around the country and vary from projects with a cost of tens of millions to those with costs of tens of billions.
In the UK, we tend to go for the big hit, when perhaps several smaller ones might give a better short-term improvement.
We also duck projects, which would annoy the noisy local interests.
We need to have fundamental rethink about how we deliver and pay for rail improvements.
Conclusion
I am fairly pleased overall in that I think by 2024, many places in the UK, will have a much better train service than they do now!
Delivery of High Speed Two, East West Rail and Northern Powerhouse Rail as soon as possible after 2024, will be the icing on the cake.
Will It Be A One-Nation Project?
I think it can be!
Does One Of Baldrick’s Descendents Work For Avanti West Coast?
I have been looking at the problems of maximising traffic and reducing journey times on the West Coast Main Line to the North of Crewe.
I think that what Avanti West Coast intend to do has a touch of the Baldricks about it.
Trains that go North from Crewe include the following Avanti West Coast services.
- Blackpool, which branches off at Preston.
- Glasgow, which goes up the West Coast Main Line via Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme and Carlisle.
- Liverpool, which branches off at Weaver Junction, between Crewe and Warrington.
- Manchester, which branches off at Crewe.
I find it interesting that according to Wikipedia, Avanti West Coast will be running their new Hitachi electric trains to Blackpool and Liverpool, but not Manchester.
Could it be that as these trains will be sharing tracks to the North of Crewe in the future with High Speed Two services to Preston, Carlisle and Scotland, that these trains will be built to have the same operating speed on the West Coast Main Line, as the classic-compatible High Speed Two trains, that will serve the route?
The Manchester Branch is slower, so will remain 125 mph Pendelino territory.
The Number Of Electric Trains Ordered
Doing a rough estimate< I reckon the following.
- One train per hour (tph) to Liverpool needs five 125 mph Pendelinos.
- One tph to Blackpool needs six 125 mph Pendelinos.
- .Two tph to Liverpool needs ten 125 mph Pendelinos.
- If the new Hitachi trains, are capable of 140 mph, I reckon two tph to Liverpool might need eight 140 mph trains.
The order of new Hitachi trains is not large enough to run both Blackpool and Liverpool services.
Will The New Hitachi Trains Be Used On London and Liverpool?
Consider.
- It would probably the best policy to run each route with one class of train.
- A two tph London and Liverpool service is much needed.
- Running the new Hitachi trains on London and Liverpool, would release extra trains for London and Blackpool and London and Birmingham.
- Two tph to Liverpool needs eight 125 mph Pendelinos or eight 140 mph Hitachi trains.
But it would also mean installing ERTMS signalling on the London and Liverpool route to enable 140 mph running.
It does appear that ten new Hitachi trains, able to run at 140 mph could service the London and Liverpool route and release five Pendelinos for other routes.
Could The Pendelinos Run At 140 mph?
They were designed for this speed, as were the InterCity 225 trains and only don’t run at this speed because of the lack of digital signalling on the West Coast Main Line.
The Wikipedia entry for the Class 390 Pendelino train says this about the speed of the train.
The Class 390 Pendolino is one of the fastest domestic electric multiple units operating in Britain, with a design speed of 140 mph (225 km/h); however, limitations to track signalling systems restrict the trains to a maximum speed of 125 mph (200 km/h) in service. In September 2006, the Pendolino set a new speed record, completing the 401 mi (645 km) length of the West Coast Main Line from Glasgow Central to London Euston in 3 hours, 55 minutes.
Perhaps it is time to unleash the Pendelinos?
Could the planned refurbishment of the Pendelinos install the required equipment, allow the trains to run using digital signalling at 140 mph?
What Is The Cunning Plan?
These are the possible objectives of adding the extra ten trains.
- One tph between London and Glasgow in around four hours.
- Two tph between London and Liverpool in around two hours.
Would this be one possible way to achieve these objectives?
- Install digital signalling on the West Coast Main Line to allow 140 mph in places, where the track allows.
- Improve the track of the West Coast Main Line, where necessary.
- Run new Hitachi trains between London and Liverpool.
- Release the current Pendelinos to other routes.
- Upgrade the Pendelinos with digital signalling to allow 140 mph running, where possible.
- Run 140 mph Pendelinos between London and Blackpool, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The real plan will probably be a lot better and more comprehensive, but it does show how the two objectives can be met.
Conclusion
To improve services between London and Birmingham, Blackpool, Liverpool and Scotland, appears to need the following.
- Ten new Hitachi trains.
- Full digital signalling on the West Coast Main Line.
- Track improvements on the West Coast Main Line
- Upgrading of the Pendelinos to allow 140 mph running.
This should reduce London and Glasgow to around four hours and London and Liverpool to around two hours.
National Trust Looks At Car Ban In Lake District
The title of this post is the same as that as that of this article in yesterday’s Sunday Times.
The secondary headline sums up the article.
Nearly 20m visitors a year are ‘loving the national park to death’, and officials are looking at excluding drivers.
So what is to be done?
Can The Railways Help?
In 2015, I spent Three Days in Preston and explored the area by train.
These problems were apparent on the trains and at the stations.
- The capacity, quality and frequency of the trains to Windermere is pitiful.
- The capacity, quality and frequency of the trains along the Cumbrian Coast Line is inadequate.
- Bus information and interchanges could be better.
- Getting a train to Penrith North Lakes station was difficult.
The only line with an acceptable train service is the West Coast Main Line.
Everything else needs major improvements.
These are some random thoughts.
Could Carlisle Become The Rail Tourism Centre For The Borderlands And The Lakes?
These rail lines and services are already or will be connected to Carlisle Citadel station, within the next few years.
- Virgin services on the West Coast Main Line between London and the South and Glasgow and Edinburgh in Central Scotland.
- TransPennine Express services on the West Coast Main Line between Liverpool and Manchester in the South and Glasgow.
- Possible Grand Union services on the West Coast Main Line between London and Stirling for the North of Scotland.
- High Speed Two services between London and the South and Glasgow and Edinburgh in Central Scotland.
- ScotRail services on the Glasgow South Western Line between Carlisle and Glasgow via Dumfries and Kilmarnock.
- ScotRail services on an extended Borders Railway between Carlisle and Edinburgh via Hawick and Galashiels.
- Northern services on the Tyne Valley Line between Carlisle and Newcastle via Hexham and the Metro Centre.
- Northern services on the Settle and Carlisle Line between Carlisle and Leeds.
- Northern services on the Cumbrian Coast Line between Carlisle and Carnforth via Workington, Whitehaven and Barrow.
Carlisle sits at the centre of a network of some of the most scenic rail lines, anywhere in the world.
Rail services in the area with the exception of the through services, provided by Virgin and TransPennine Express are probably considered by their operators to be a pain.
- They are generally not used by commuters.
- There are regular operational problems like floods and landslips.
- They are overcrowded at some times of the year and need expensive new rolling stock.
- Rail tourists from aboard probably complain like mad.
But above all the services probably lose money hand over fist.
What Is The Ideal Train For Scenic Routes?
Two possible trains for scenic routes are now in service in the UK.
The Scottish Solution – Inter7City
ScotRail are now introducing four- and five-car InterCity 125 trains on routes between the seven cities in Scotland.
They will probably do a good job and they have the following.
- Large windows to enjoy the views.
- Many seats have tables.
- An on-board buffet and trolley service.
- Wi-fi and power sockets for phones and laptops.
- The trains should be reliable, as there is a vast knowledge base about running these trains.
- The trains can be easily lengthened, by adding extra cars.
- The trains were 125 mph trains and are probably slower in this application.
But the trains are forty years old and have two enormous diesel engines on each end.
The Swiss Solution – Class 755 train
Greater Anglia are introducing three- and four-car Class 755 trains on rural routes in East Anglia.
They appear to be doing a good job with high passenger satisfaction and they have the following.
- Large windows to enjoy the views.
- A number of seats have tables.
- Space for bicycles.
- Wi-fi and power sockets for phones and laptops.
- The trains have level access between train and platform.
- Hopefully, the trains will be reliable, as they are brand new and Stadler has been making similar trains for over ten years.
- The trains can use 25 KVAC overhead electrification, where it is available.
- The trains can work in multiple formations.
- The trains can be easily lengthened, by adding extra cars.
- The trains are 100 mph trains.
But the trains still have a diesel power-pack in the middle for operation independently.
In future, these trains will be used to run new services between London and Lowestoft, which is a distance of 118 miles of which 59 miles is electrified.
Similar trains will be fitted with batteries for the South Wales Metro.
Could a train be built with the best of all the features?
I believe the Class 755 train is a pretty good start, but it would have the following extra features.
- Ability to run at up to 125 mph on 25 KVAC overhead or 750 VDC third rail, where the track allows.
- A well-designed buffet.
- 50 mile battery range.
- A stand-by generator.
- The ability to fast-charge the battery at a station stop.
I also think that Hitachi could make a five-car AT-300 train and Bombardier could make an Aventra, that met this specification.
What would a fleet of battery-electric trains do for the rail lines around Carlisle?
- Hopefully, they would become a tourist attraction in their own right and encourage visitors to corm by train.
- Frequencies would be at least two trains per hour on all routes.
This could be a starting point for making the area easier to access.
Should Stations Around The Lakes Be Developed With Bus Interchanges?
I’ve seen the bus interchange at Windermere station, but are other stations around the Lakes as well provided with comprehensive bus routes?
The objective surely should be that if a family wanted to have a day out in the Lakes from their home in Liverpool or Manchester, they should be able to get a train to a convenient station and a bus to their final destination.
Surely, if there is a sensible alternative, then visitors might use it.
Could The Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway Be Reopened?
The Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway was finally closed in the 1970s and according to Wikipedia, the track-bed has been used for roads and other developments.
I doubt that the railway could be reopened, but a modern light rail route would probably be a very valuable tourist asset.
But Would Good Train And Bus Routes Cut The Traffic In The Lakes?
I doubt it!
If someone has spent £40,000 or more on an expensive car, they feel they have bought the right to drive it anywhere they want!
The Dutch once talked about road pricing for every vehicle and that government lost the next election.
Conclusion
Traffic congestion in the Lakes, is a problem that threatens other areas, where tourists want to go.
So will as the National Trust are suggesting have to ban cars to restore some sanity?
I suspect so!
But it won’t be popular!
The Mysterious Scotsman
A couple of years ago, I was contacted by a Scot called Andrew, who wanted to talk to me about blogging and my blog in particular.
I said, on my next trip North, why don’t we meet at somewhere like Stirling, which I sometimes use as a base for trips. I wrote about the city as a base in this post called Stirling.
We met and had a pizza in the City and we talked about Stirling’s direct rail connections to London.
This morning, I was looking up Grand Union, who are a proposed open-access train company, who aim to be running a rail service between London Paddington and Wales, within the next few years using InterCity 225 trains.
And what did I find?
The company is also proposing to run a service between London and Scotland. In a London-Scotland section in the Wikipedia entry, this is said.
In August 2019, Grand Union lodged an application to operate three or four trains per day between London Euston and Stirling calling at Milton Keynes Central, Nuneaton, Crewe, Preston, Carlisle, Lockerbie, Motherwell, Whifflet, Greenfaulds and Larbert with InterCity 225s from May 2021.
As I said in my meeting, I feel that a direct London and Stirling service could be invaluable.
- Stirling has good rail connections to the rest of Scotland.
- Stirling will be served by Scotrail’s upmarket Inter7City services.
- The route is fully-electrified between London and Stirling.
I doubt the good burghers of Stirling would object.
I have a few comments.
The Route
The route is interesting, as it gives some new connectivity, that I’m sure will be welcomed by customers.
Milton Keynes
Consider.
- Milton Keynes Central is a well-connected station.
- It will get even better when the East-West Rail Link is opened in a few years.
- Some journeys will be easier with a change at Milton Keynes, rather than in London.
Current services between Milton Keynes and Scotland, go via Birmingham.
Nuneaton
Nuneaton is becoming a busy hub station between Birmingham, Coventry and Leicester and must improve services along the West Coast Main Line to and from the North and Scotland.
Crewe, Preston And Carlisle
The new service will add connectivity to these important hubs.
Lockerbie
Lockerbie station only gets three trains per day in both directions.
If Grand Union stopped all their services, this would double the number of services calling at Lockerbie.
Motherwell, , Whifflet, Greenfaulds And Larbert
These stations should give good connectivity in South-East Glasgow, with links to Ayr in the West and Edinburgh in the East.
Stiring Station
In addition to good rail connectivity, Stirling station is not far from the City Centre and has good facilities.
The Trains
Wikipedia says the services will be run by InterCity 225 trains.
I would assume they will be shortened to perhaps five to seven cars.
The Timings
Currently, the fastest train between Euston and Motherwell is the 17:30, which takes fours and fifteen minutes, with six stops.
As the proposed service would also take six stops between Euston and Motherwell, I would assume that Grand Union would be aiming for a similar time.
Looking at individual timings on the route the train would take between Motherwell snd Stirling via Whifflet, Coatbridge Central, Greenfaulds, Cumbernauld, Carmuirs Junction and Larbert, I am fairly certain that a train running with three scheduled stops could do the trip in around 38-42 minutes.
This is the summary of the times.
- London Euston and Motherwell – four hours and fifteen minutes.
- Motherwell and Stirling – 38-42 minutes.
Which would give a time between Euston and Stirling of around five hours.
This compares with the current best timings.
- London Kings Cross and Stirling – five hours and eighteen minutes
- London Kings Cross and Edinburgh – four hours and twenty minutes
- London Euston and Glasgow – four hours and thirty minutes
So the new service would appear to give the following advantages.
- A faster service between London and Stirling.
- Faster services between London and Whifflet, Greenfaulds and Larbert.
This is in addition to the big advantage of three or four new direct services per day.
Services Between The South And Inverness With A Change At Stirling
Could this be one of the markets that Grand Union are looking to exploit?
Currently, there are two direct services between London and Inverness.
- The daily direct daytime service takes eight hours and runs once a day.
- The Sleeper takes even longer, but you do get an overnight rest.
So could a service between London and Stirling provide extra services?
Consider.
- Currently, Scotrail’s services between Stirling and Inverness take just under three hours and run roughly two-hourly.
- Network Rail are improving the Highland Main Line with passing loops and longer platforms to increase capacity and operating speeds.
- Scotrail are introducing new better quality Inter7City trains on the route.
- The new December 2019 timetable looks like services could be a few minutes faster.
I suspect, if the trains were appropriately timetabled, there could be extra services between Inverness and London Euston.
- There would be a change of train at Stirling.
- Timing could be around seven and a half hours.
- Both trains would be high-quality ones.
I suspect that three new services with times of less than eight hours could be created bertween London and Inverness
The Glasgow By-Pass
If you want to go between Carlisle and Stirling, you will be recommended to take the following route.
- Carlisle to Glasgow Central – Up to four trains per hour (tph)
- Glasgow Central to Glasgow Queen Street – Walk as I do or a bus.
- Glasgow Queen Street to Stirling – three tph
The journey time is just over two and a half hours.
I estimate that Grand Union’s services could go between Carlisle and Stirling in around forty-five minutes less, without a change of train.
The route is also now fully-electrified between Stirling and Carlisle, so could this be used by other services.
High Speed Two
When High Speed Two is completed, there will be two tph to both Edinburgh and Glasgow, with I suspect the trains working as a pair South of Carstairs, where they will split and join.
I suspect that High Speed Two will take the lion’s share of passengers between London and Edinburgh and Glasgow, but the two services could work together.
- It might be quicker to change at Preston to Grand Union, if you’re going to Stirling.
- If Stirling to Aberdeen and/or Inverness were to be electrified, could classic-compatible High Speed Two trains go further North?
- At the Southern end, places like Milton Keynes and Nuneaton will not be served by High Speed Two, but existing and Grand Union services could provide connections.
- North of Crewe, it is planed that High Speed Two will run on an upgraded West Coast Main Line.
For reasons like this High Speed Two will need to be integrated with other services.
Conclusion
Grand Union will make services from London to Stirling and the Northern part of coitland netter and more competitive.
Shapps Supports Beeching Axe Reversals
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Rail Magazine.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps says he supports the reopening of routes closed in the Beeching cuts of the 1960s.
In the article, which describes proceedings in the House of Commons, Grant Shapps, says he was very supportive of opening the Market Harborough Line.
I have now moved the rest of this article to a standalone article with a title of Reopening Milton Keynes And Market Harborough Via Northampton.
First Trenitalia Awarded West Coast Partnership
The title of this post is the same as this article on Railway Gazette.
There is all the usual good things about more seats and services, but little of the plans for the trains except these two paragraphs.
A new fleet of 13 electro-diesel and 10 electric trainsets will be introduced from 2022. These would replace the Bombardier-built Class 221 Super Voyager tilting DEMUs used by Virgin Trains, which will get an intermediate ‘refresh’ by the end of 2020. The new bimode units would be used on services between London and North Wales, while the electric sets would provide capacity for the additional services to Liverpool. Eliminating diesel operation on the electrified sections of the route is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 61%
First Trenitalia will invest £117m to refurbish the current fleet of 56 Alstom Class 390 Pendolino trainsets, providing ‘more comfortable’ standard class seats and additional luggage space, along with improved passenger information systems and enhanced toilets. More than £70m has been committed to providing free on train wi-fi and 5G capability.
This is all to be expected, as the replacement of the Class 221 trains has been indicated and the Pendelinos or Class 390 trains are now
I will look at what this train order means.
West Coast Rail
There is now a Wikipedia entry for West Coast Rail, which will be the operating name of the new company.
The New Fleet
West Coast Rail are introducing a new fleet of thirteen electro-diesel and ten electric trains will be introduced from 2022.
I would suspect the following.
- Both types of trains will be the same length and will appear identical.
- Performance of both types of train will be identical.
- Electro-diesel trains can probably stand in for the electric versions.
- The trains could be faster, have better acceleration and braking and be able to make faster station stops, than the current Class 390 trains.
- The trains will be ready for digital signalling.
Hitachi must be the front-runner to supply the trains, as they have sold lots of trains to First Group and some of the trains are built in Italy.
The lengths and seating capacity of the various trains are as follows.
- Nine-car Pendelino – 217.5 metres with 469 seats.
- Elrven-car Pendelino – 265.3 metres with 589 seats.
- LNER Nine-car Class 801 – 234 metres with 637 seats
Note
- The Hitachi Class 801 train is only seventeen metres longer than a nine-car Pendelino, but has 36% more seats.
- The Class 801 train is also shorter than an eleven-car Pendelino, but has 8% more seats.
From personal experience, the LNER Class 801 trains appear less cramped than a Pendelino.
London and Liverpool Services
I will look at the direct Virgin services between Euston and Liverpool Lime Street stations
- Northbound trains leave at XX:07 and take two hours and 12-14 minutes for the journey.
- Trains wait for 26-28 minutes in the platform at Liverpool Lime Street station.
- Sorthbound trains leave at XX:47 and take two hours and 12-16 minutes for the journey.
- Trains wait for 4-8 minutes in the platform at Euston station.
It looks to me, that Virgin are using the platform at Lime Street station to balance the service. It does mean that trains probably keep more reliably to the timetable, but it hogs the platform at Liverpool Lime Street
The round trip time is five hours, so for an hourly service five trains are needed.
This frequency could need a second platform at Liverpool Lime Street station, but the station has now been remodelled and at least one extra platform has been added.
A second train to Liverpool in an hour, will need another five trains or a total of ten trains.
So does this mean that Euston and Liverpool service gets a dedicated fleet of new trains?
- Liverpool Lime Street station used to have length issues, so are the trains the maximum length for the station.
- Will the trains have better performance that the Pendelinos?
- Will the trains be able to run at 140 mph on in-cab signalling?
- The current journey times, probably date from before Norton Bridge Junction was improved.
- The current journey time is two hours and twelve minutes.
A new timetable is coming in December 2022! Will this timetable and the new trains and improvements enable a Euston and Liverpool round trip of four hours?
This would mean.
- A time between London and Liverpool of around one hour and fifty minutes, with a ten minute turnround time.
- Two tph would need just eight trains, or only three more trains than the present.hourly service.
- A clockface timetable.
- A more than doubling of capacity between London and Liverpool.
- It might also be possible to run all services into the same platforms at both ends of the route!
If the last point is is correct, West Coast Rail will need one less platform at both Euston and Liverpool Lime Street stations. It should be noted that platform space at Euston is at a premium.
It would also mean that passengers will always go to the same platform at Euston and Lime Street, so this should reduce the scrum at Euston.
Will All The New Electric Trains Be Assigned To London And Liverpool Services?
The new electric trains will probably be faster, have better acceleration and shorter station dwell times than the Pendelinos, so will be able to go between London and Liverpool in a shorter time.
- In a mixed fleet of new trains and Pendelinos, some trains would be slower.
- The new trains have more capacity than the Pendelinos.
- If a Pendelino had to replace a new electric train, it would most likely be late and would cause problems for the booking system.
- A mixed fleet on a route, would probably increase the cost of staff and their training.
- If eight trains are needed for the two tph service, a fleet of ten new trains would allow for one in maintenance and a spare.
For these reasons, I feel that the London and Liverpool services will get the whole fleet of new electric trains, thus releasing the five current bog-standard Pendelinos on the route, to strength other services.
London and Manchester Services
If the London and Liverpool services could be speeded up, I suspect that the same could happen to London and Manchester services.
- At the present time trains can do the round trip in four hours and forty minutes, so fourteen trains are needed for the current three tph.
- The current Class 390 trains are probably capable of doing a round trip in four hours and thirty minutes, but this doesn’t fit a three tph timetable very well.
- But it does fit a four tph service and it would need eighteen trains to run the service.
- Manchester would get a thirty-three percent increase in capacity to and from London.
So if the five Class 390 trains released by the new trains on London and Liverpool services are moved to London and Manchester services, these services can be increased to four tph.
There is nothing to say it will happen, but it is pathetically possible and West Coast Rail will have enough Class 390 trains.
The addition of a fourth service will be driven by passenger numbers and perhaps a need to introduce a better service to and from the intermediate stops of Milton Keynes Central, Stoke-on-Trent, Crewe, Macclesfield, Wilmslow and Stockport
London And Blackpool Services
Currently, Virgin Trains run four trains per day between Euston and Blackpool North stations, with two Class 390 trains used for the service.
The Wikipedia entry for West Coast Rail, says that some of the new trains will be used on the Blackpool service.
This may happen, but the new trains will certainly release some Class 390 trains from the London and Liverpool service to reinforce the Blackpool service.
Alternatively, better performance of the new trains, may enable two trains on the Blackpool route to run to a much more passenger-friendly timetable.
London And Birmingham Services
The Wikipedia entry for West Coast Rail, says that some of the new trains will be used on the Birmingham service.
I can’t see this happening, although all current diesel services, through Birmingham will be replaced by Class 390 trains or the new bi-mode trains.
Class 221 Train Replacement
The Railway Gazette article says this about the replacement of theClass 221 trains.
These would replace the Bombardier-built Class 221 Super Voyager tilting DEMUs used by Virgin Trains, which will get an intermediate ‘refresh’ by the end of 2020. The new bimode units would be used on services between London and North Wales. Eliminating diesel operation on the electrified sections of the route is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 61%.
Currently, there are twenty Class 221 trains.
- They are five-car trains
- They are 116 metres long
- They can operate at 125 mph
- They have a tilting capability.
These paragraphs from Wikipedia describe their Operation.
Virgin Trains (West Coast) uses the Class 221 units primarily from London Euston to Scotland via Birmingham New Street (despite the route being electrified throughout) and, from London Euston to Shrewsbury and, London Euston to Chester and North Wales. They are also used by a few London Euston to West Midland services.
The trains to and from Scotland often operate as double units and alternate between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley (in turn alternating with TransPennine Express trains to and from Manchester Airport). When longer trains are needed for some of the busier services, a Pendolino will run through from and to London Euston, and the Super Voyager then fills in for it on the London to West Midlands route.
The trains on the North Wales route sometimes operate as double units. They run from London Euston and Chester and terminate at any of Chester, Holyhead, Bangor or Wrexham.
Note that they normally run as double units, which are 232 metres long.
As a nine-car Hitachi Class 800/801/802 train is 234 metres long, they would probably be able to call at any station, where a pair of Class 221 trains can operate.
If the trains are always assumed to run in pairs, then this means that there are ten operational ten-car trains.
So it looks like West Coast Rail will be ordering three additional bi-mode trains, as cover or to develop new routes.
London And Chester Services
I doubt there will be a major improvement in train timings between Euston and Chester, unless the new trains will be able to run at 140 mph using in-cab signalling between Euston and Crewe on the West Coast Main Line.
I also think, that as the new trains will be bi-modes and will run between Euston and Crewe using the electrification, that the chances of electrifying between Crewe and Chester will have decreased.
Extra Services
The Wikipedia entry for West Coast Rail does give some details on extra services under Services.
Conclusion
With some rigorous mathematics and the addition of ten new electric trains, I believe West Coast Rail will be able to offer the following improved services.
- London and Liverpool – two tph in perhaps one hour and fifty minutes.
- London and Manchester – four tph in under two hours.
Will there be any other service improvements on this scale?
Getting To The Proposed Morecambe Eden Project By Train
I originally wrote this post as part of Thoughts On The Morecambe Bay Eden Project, in August 2018, but I now feel it is better as a standalone post!
Current Train SAervices To Morecambe
Morecambe is served by the Morecambe Branch Line, This diagram from Wikipedia, shows how Morecambe is well-connected to Lancaster and the West Coast Main Line.
Note.
- The line has two stations in the town at Bare Lane and Morecambe and another at the nearby Heysham Port.
- Service between Morecambe and Lancaster seems to have a frequency of two trains per hour (tph) and a journey time of around ten minutes.
- There are also upwards of three services a day to and from Skipton and Leeds, which reverse at Lancaster.
I don’t think that a train every half-hour, is sufficient to serve a major attraction.
Possible Expansion Of The Train Service
As both Bare Lane and Morecambe stations have two platforms and there used to be extra tracks along the route, I think it would be possible to create a railway system to Morecambe that could include.
- Two tph to and from Lancaster.
- Trains to and from Leeds via Lancaster, Carnforth, Hellifield for the Settle & Carlisle Railway and Skipton
- Trains to and from Windermere via Lancaster, Carnforth and Oxenholme Lake District.
- Trains to and from Carlisle via Lancaster, Carnforth, Barrow and the Cumbrian Coast Line.
There is tremendous scope to expand rail services in an area of scenic beauty, that includes the Lake District and the Pennines.
Creating an iconic attraction at Morecambe could be a catalyst to develop the rail services in the wider area.
A decent rail service with good provision for bicycles and wheelchairs, might also encourage more tourism without the need for cars.
The West Coast Main Line And High Speed Two
The West Coast Main Line, which will also be used by High Speed Two trains in the future goes between Lancaster and Carlisle.
- Trains to and from Morecambe, Windermere and Barrow will have to share with the 125 mph trains on the West Coast Main Line.
For this reason, I feel that the specification for local trains must be written with care.
Battery Trains Between Morecambe And Lancaster
In my view, the short Morecambe and Windermere Branch Lines are ideal for services that use battery trains, which would charge the batteries on the electrified West Coast Main Line.
- All trains between Lancaster and Morecambe could use battery power.
- Morecambe to Windermere could even be a 125 mph electric train on the West Coast Main Line, that used batteries on the short branch lines at either end.
Consider
- Bombardier are talking about a 125 mph bi-mode Aventra with batteries. Diesel power would not be needed, so add more batteries.
- Battery trains are talking about ranges of thirty miles, in a few years.
- Batteries would be charged on the West Coast Main Line.
- The trains would not be slow enough to interfere with the expresses on the West Coast Main Line.
How cool is that?
The battery-powered trains would surely fit in well with the message of the Eden Project.
Hydrogen-Powered Trains Between Morecambe And Leeds
In my view these routes would be ideal for environmentally-friendly hydrogen-powered trains.
- Morecambe and Leeds
- Lancaster and Carlisle via Barrow and Workington
- Carlisle and Newcastle
- Carlisle and Leeds via the Settle and Carlisle Line.
All passenger trains in Cumbria would be zero-carbon.
Conclusion
Morecambe and the Eden Project could be at the centre of an extensive zero-carbon rail network.
These major cities would have direct electric trains to Lancaster, which would be a short local train ride away.
- Birmingham
- Edinburgh
- Glasgow
- Liverpool
- London
- Manchester
All journeys could be zero-carbon.
The High Speed Local Train
If Great Western Railway (GWR) are going to run a train service between Paddington and Bedwyn, they need an electric train which can power itself on the last thirteen miles between Newbury and Bedwyn, which is not electrified and is unlikely to be so in the next couple of decades.
The train must also be capable of cruising at 125 mph on the fast lines of the Great Western Main Line between Reading and Paddington.
GWR have no choice, but to run the service with a five-car Class 802 train.
When Hitachi were designing these 125 mph trains in Japan, I don’t suspect that running a service over a distance of 66.5 miles between London and a small village in Berkshire, was in the specification.
This morning, I took the 10:05 service from Paddington to Bedwyn, with the intention of returning on the 11:41 from Bedwyn to Paddington.
These are a few of the pictures that I took.
But things didn’t turn out as planned.
- Nothing serious and some animals got on the tracks between Reading and Swindon, meaning that we were some minutes late into Bedwyn, due to platform congestion at Reading.
- The return journey was consequently delayed.
These are a few observations.
Operating Speed
These were speeds on various parts of the journey.
- I timed the train at 115 mph through Southall and at 123 mph through Hayes & Harlington as the train accelerated out of Paddington.
- The train was doing just short of 125 mph for the major part of the route between London and Reading, until it had to stop because of the congestion.
- The train was doing around 100 mph on the electrified line between Reading and Newbury.
- Between Newbury and Bedwyn, speeds were between 80 and 90 mph.
Similar speeds were attained on the return journey.
Passenger Numbers
As the pictures show, there weren’t that many passengers who were travelling to Bedwyn, although there were more heading back to London.
Many more joined and left the service at the three larger stations of Reading, Newbury and Hungerford.
Now that the service is hourly between Reading and Bedwyn and half-hourly between Reading and Newbury in modern, comfortable trains, I can see passenger numbers growing.
Current Service
There are eleven trains per day, between Paddington and Bedwyn, at an hourly frequency, which take around three hours for a round trip.
So it would appear that three trains are needed for the service.
The service is also supplemented by an hourly stopping shuttle train between Reading and Newbury.
Two years ago, the service was just one three-car diesel train per hour between Paddington and Bedwyn with a few additional stops from long-distance trains.
Bedwyn Station Improvements
I got the impression, that Bedwyn station is probably at its limit for car parking with the current twenty-five spaces and cars all over the place.
This article on the Wiltshire Gazette and Herald, is entitled It’s A Rail Problem At Great Bedwyn and indicates that commuters and residents don’t see eye-to-eye with the car parking.
If the car parking were to be increased and usage at the station increased then I feel that a step-free bridge could be needed.
In Winner Announced In The Network Rail Footbridge Design Ideas Competition, I wrote how the competition was won by this bridge.
So could a factory-built bridge like this be installed at Bedwyn station?
The installation wouldn’t be difficult, but the politics could be.
Other Station Improvements
A quick look at other stations suggest these improvements.
- Hungerford station, which has a large car park, needs a step-free bridge.
- Kinbury station doesn’t have a bridge.
- Midgham station doesn’t have a bridge
- Theale station has improvements planned.
There are level crossings at Hungerford, Kintbury, Thatcham and Midgham.
Future Trains To Bedwyn
In Hitachi Plans To Run ScotRail Class 385 EMUs Beyond The Wires, I discussed how Hitachi were proposing to add battery power to Class 385 trains, which are in the same family as GWR’s Class 802 trains.
So surely, what is a power source for the goose is also a power source for the gander.
As it would only be a journey of thirteen miles both ways between Newbury and Bedwyn, this would surely be an ideal route for the use of battery power.
The other route, where battery power could be used would be between Didcot and Oxford, which is just over ten miles.
A Future Service To Marlborough
I covered this proposal in A Station For Marlborough.
Marlborough would be served by a single-track branch line on an old railway alignment, probably terminating near the large Tesco superstore in a single platform station.
The advantages of doing this would be.
- Marlborough, which is an important market town of 8,500 people would be connected to the rail network.
- Adequate car parking could be provided.
- Creating a station at Marlborough could be an alternative to expanding Bedwyn station, which could be problematical.
- It would improve the economics of the Paddington and Bedwyn service.
This is the sort of service, that should be developed.
Other Possible Services
The big advantage of this high speed local service for Great Western Railway, is that when it is on the Great Western Main Line, it becomes just another 125 mph service or once digital signalling is installed a possible 140 mph service.
These routes could have this type of high speed local services.
Great Western Main Line
Great Western Railway has several routes, where Class 800 and Class 802 trains break away from the Great Western Main Line to operate local services.
- Paddington and Bedwyn
- Paddington and Oxford
It could be argued that services to Cheltenham and Hereford are also high speed local services.
East Coast Main Line
In April 2018, I wrote Call For ETCS On King’s Lynn Route.
This post was based on an article in Rail Magazine, which talked about running 125 mph trains on the Kings Cross and Kings Lynn route.
This would make operation of the East Coast Main Line easier with herds of 125 mph trains steaming into and out of London.
I think, improvement would also extend to the Cambridge Line, in addition to the Fen Line.
- Operating speed up from 90 mph to 110 mph plus.
- Full digital signalling.
- Automatic Train Control.
Journey times and frequency to and from London Kings Cross would be improved significantly.
Siemens would probably need to uprate the Class 700 trains for faster running, as 100 mph trains are just too slow!
If you look at the East Coast Main Line between Doncaster and Edinburgh, large sections of the line are only double track.
It is the ambition of train operating companies to run more high speed expresses between London and the North of England and Scotland.
I can see a time, when all trains using the East Coast Main Line will have to confirm with a high minimum speed, otherwise the future plans cannot be fulfiled.
Midland Main Line
By the end of 2020, the Midland Main Line South of Market Harborough, will be a 125 mph electrified railway with a high speed branch to Corby, which will be served by a half-hourly twelve-car electric service.
From 2022, 125 mph bi-mode trains will be running services on the Midland Main Line.
I can see services between St. Pancras and Corby becoming another high speed local service.
- Half-hourly service.
- 125 mph running.
- Limited stop between Corby and London, with stops at Kettering, Luton And Luton Airport Parkway.
- The journey time could even be under an hour.
Selected trains could even use battery power to extend the service to Melton Mowbray.
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line will become increasingly crowded with fast 140 mph trains, especially after the opening of Phase 2a of High Speed Two to Crewe in 2027.
I believe that this will mean that all passenger services using the West Coast Main Line will need to be run using trains capable of at least 110 mph and possibly 125 mph.
The new operation of suburban services on the West Coast Main Line; West Midlands Trains are replacing their fleet with new Class 730 trains. Like the previous trains, they are 110 mph units, but are they capable of upgrading to 125 mph?
If they are upgradeable, they would ease timetabling problems between London and the West Midlands, as they could mix it with Virgin’s Class 390 trains.
Further North, Northern run services like these.
- Barrow and Manchester Airport.
- Blackpool and Manchester Airport
- Windermere and Manchester Airport
Currently, the operator is introducing new Class 195 and Class 331 trains, alongside the Class 319 trains.All of these trains are 100 mph capable, which is probably not fast enough, if they have to use the West Coast Main Line between Crewe and Lancaster, some of which is only double-track.
In Northern Considering Options For More New Trains, I wrote about Northern’s future rolling stock plans.
I suspect some 125 mph trains are in their plans for both the East and West Coast Main Lines.
Implications For Freight
There must surely be pressure for freight trains to go faster.
The 110 mph Class 93 locomotive is on its way, but with rail freight increasing we need to radically think how we run freight trains on a busy passenger line.
Conclusion
We will increasingly see upgrading of suburban services that use 125 mph line and not just around London.
Northern Considering Options For More New Trains
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Rail Magazine.
This is a paragraph.
Senior Northern sources told RAIL on June 28 that the operator believes the new trains will entice more people onto its services, and that within two years – once all 101 new trains are in service – there could be overcrowding.
This sounds to me, like another case of London Overground Syndrome.
At least, Northern have identified it early and taken the only action that works – Acquire more trains.
The High Speed Train Problem
Several of Northern’s routes use 100 mph trains on the West Coast and East Coast Main Lines.
- Blackpool and York
- Chester and Leeds
- Hull and York
- Leeds and York
- Liverpool and Blackpool via Wigan
- Manchester and Crewe
- Manchester and Stoke
- Manchester Airport and Barrow
- Manchester Airport and Blackpool
- Manchester Airport and Windermere
Will Northern acquire some 110 mph or even 125 mph trains to ease the creation of timetables amongst so many high speed trains using the main lines?
Greater Anglia’s New Train Order
Greater Anglia have ordered thirty-eight Class 755 trains, which have a total of 138 cars.
These will replace twenty-six assorted trains, which have a total of 55 cars.
This is an increase of 46% in the number of trains and 150% in the number of cars.
Greater Anglia didn’t increase the fleet so that could sit in sidings, so I think we can expect some new services and higher frequencies.
Conclusion
Northern’s actions are in line with other operators.
Puzzled By New Fleets For TransPennine Express
TransPennine Express (TPE) are replacing all their trains, but their choice of three different new fleets puzzles me.
The new fleets and their routes are as follows.
Nova1
This is a fleet of nineteen five-car bi-mode Class 802 trains.
According to Wikipedia, they will work the following routes, with probably a frequency of one tph
Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh via Newcastle, which I estimate will take 4:15 hours
Manchester Airport and Newcastle, which takes around 2:45 hours
These two services would probably need nine for the Edinburgh service and six for the Manchester Airport service.
This means that there are four extra trains.
If there is a spare or one in maintenance, that means that two trains are available to boost capacity on busy services if needed, by running a ten-car train.
I doubt that ten-car services to Manchester Airport could be run through the Castlefield Corridor due to the inadequate stations, but Liverpool and Edinburgh might be a route for longer trains.
I have some observations on Nova1.
- The trains are 125 mph trains, that can be upgraded to 140 mph with in-cab signalling.
- The trains will share the East Coast Main Line with LNER’s Azumas, which are other members of te same family of Hitachi trains.
The trains have been authorised to start running services.
Nova2
This is a fleet of twelve electric Class 397 trains.
According to Wikipedia, they will work the following routes,
- Manchester Airport and Glasgow Central, which takes around 3:30 hours.
- Manchester Airport and Edinburgh, which takes around 3:15 hours.
- New route – Liverpool Lime Street and Glasgow Central, which could take around 3:30 hours.
Currently, the two existing routes run at a frequency of one train per two hours, which would probably need at least seven trains.
This probably means that there will be four trains left for the service between Liverpool and Glasgow, if it assumed there is one train spare or in maintenance.
As a round trip between the two cities, would probably take eight hours, it looks like the frequency will be one train per two hours.
This would give the following services, all with a frequency of one train per two hours.
- Manchester Airport and Glasgow Central via Manchester Piccadilly
- Manchester Airport and Edinburgh via Manchester Piccadilly
- Liverpool Lime Street and Glasgow Central
Passengers wanting to go between Liverpool Lime Street and Edinburgh should keep reading.
I have some observations on Nova2.
- They are 125 mph trains that are replacing the 110 mph Class 350 trains.
- In the next few years, these 125 mph trains will be sharing the West Coast Main Line with faster trains like Class 390 trains and the trains of High Speed Two, both of which should be capable of 140 mph, when running using in-cab signalling.
- I would assume that the trains can be similarly upgraded, otherwise they will have to be replaced.
- There was an option for more trains, but I suspect the success of Class 802 trains on the Great Western Railway led to it not being taken up.,
The trains should come into service later this year.
Nova3
This is a fleet of five-car rakes of Mark 5A coaches, hauled by a Class 68 diesel locomotive.
There are fourteen locomotives and driving van trailers, with enough coaches for thirteen rakes.
I would suspect that TPE are aiming to have twelve trains available for service.
According to Wikipedia, they will work the following routes, which both have a frequency of one train per hour (tph)
- Liverpool Lime Street and Scarborough via Manchester Victoria, which takes around 2:45 hours.
- Manchester Airport and Middlesbrough, which takes around 2:45 hours.
So with turnround at both ends, I suspect that a six hour round trip is possible. So to provide the two hourly services across the Pennines, TPE will need six trains for each route.
This explains a fleet size of twelve operational trains.
I have two observations on Nova3.
- They are diesel-powered and will be running at times on electrified lines. But I suspect the diesel Class 68 locomotive could be replaced in the future with an electro-diesel Class 88 locomotive.
- Questions have been raised about the speed of exit and entry from the coaches through single end doors of the coaches.
- They have an operating speed of only 100 mph, but opportunities for higher speeds on the routes are limited to perhaps thirty to forty miles on the East Coast Main Line.
At least they should be in service within a couple of months.
Why Didn’t TPE Order A Unified Fleet?
To summarise TPE have ordered the following trains.
- Nova1 – Nineteen Class 802 trains
- Nova2 – Twelve Class 397 trains.
- Nova3 – Thirteen trains consisting of four coaches topped and tailed by a a Class 68 locomotive and driving van trailer.
All forty-four trains are five cars.
Surely, it would have been easier for TPE to have a fleet, where all the trains were the same.
I suspect that all routes can be run using Class 802 trains, so it as not as if there are any special requirements for the trains.
So why didn’t TPE order a fleet of Class 802 trains?
I can only think of these reasons.
- Hitachi couldn’t supply the required number of trains in the appropriate time-scale.
- ,CAF made an offer that TPE couldn’t refuse.
It should also be born in mind that Great Western Railway and Hull Trains, which like TPE are First Group companies, went down the Class 802 route.
The Future
There are various issues, that will arise in the future.
Nova2 And West Coast Main Line Operating Speed
The new Nova trains are running on TPE’s Northern and Scottish routes and as I indicated earlier, the Nova2 trains might not be fast enough in a few years time for the West Coast Main Line, which will have Class 390 trains running at 140 mph using in-cab signalling.
High Speed Two will surely make this incompatibility worse, unless CAF can upgrade the Nova2 trains for 140 mph running.
Replacing the Nova2 trains with Class 802 trains, which are being built for 140 mph running, would solve the problem.
Nova3 And Class 68 Locomotives
There are powerful reasons to replace diesel locomotives on the UK’s railways, with noise, pollution and carbon emissions at the top of the list.
As Northern Powerhouse Rail is created, there will be more electrification between Manchester and York, adding to the pressure to change the traction.
- There could be a change of locomotives to Class 88 or Class 93 locomotives, which would run using the overhead electrification, where it exists.
- The trains could be changed to Class 802 trains.
The Class 68 locomotive is increasingly looking like an interim solution. At least, it’s a less polluting locomotive, than the dreaded and ubiquitous Class 66 locomotive.
Class 185 Replacement
TPE will still have a fleet of diesel three-car Class 185 trains.
- They are running on routes between Manchester and Hull and Cleethorpes via Huddersfield, Leeds and Sheffield.
- These are best described as just-about-adequate trains and are one of The Treasury’s boob-buys.
- As Northern Powerhouse Rail is created, they will be increasingly running under wires.
- Could it be likely that more capacity will be needed on routes run by these trains?
- The capacity of a Class 185 train is 169 seats, as opposed to the 342 seats of a five-car Class 802 train.
I think it could be very likely that instead of running pairs of Class 185 trains, TPE will replace them with five-car Class 802 trains.
Conclusion
I very much feel, that over the next few years, TPE’s fleet will change further in the direction of a one-unified fleet!
The Anonymous Widower 