Midland Mainline Electrification Planning Started Again.

[Annie Bynnol]

Electrification planning to Sheffield is back on.

Inline with the current(!) way that the MML is being electrified in stages, which has crept up to Wigston(south of Leicester).

What is new is that the next stages have been announced by Network Rail who are inviting contractors to Derby in June to look at the plans for electrification from Wigston to Nottingham and Sheffield(130km).

 

The stages will be:

Wigston South to Syston(through Leicester)

Syston to the Trent 

Trent to Derby and Trent to Nottingham

Derby to Ambergate

Ambergate to London Road 

Sheffield station

 

The new 33 five-car Class 810 on order for the MML to be delivered from 2023, are able to run on or off electrified lines so that they do not have wait for electrification to be completed all the way between Sheffield and London.

Also being completed is the upgrade of the electrification between Bedford and London which allows more and faster electrics.

 

No dates for completion are being set.

The Government no longer wants to see big deadlines being missed and the associated cost overruns so this staged approach is to their liking.

This staged method has apparently enabled Network Rail and it contractors to work more efficiently and closer to estimated costs.

[Jeffrey Shaw]

A good and clear post. Thank you.

But let's see if it ever happens any more than HS2 (dec'd).

[*_ash_*]

7 hours ago, Annie Bynnol said:

No dates for completion are being set.

Not surprising. 

It'll probably cost £50billion pounds and never happen. 

 

This country is a laughing stock. 

[HallamGirl]

I thought the main challenge of electrification to Sheffield was there is insufficient clearance for overhead wires in the Bradway tunnel, so I'd be interested to know how they plan to get round that. 

 

Thanks for the info Annie anyhow.

[Annie Bynnol]

New technology developed to solve the problems at Cardiff Central and the Severn Tunnel have hopefully resolved the clearance problems at Leicester, Nottingham and Bradway.  

[Bargepole23]

1 hour ago, LovePotion said:

What a waste of money. We already have perfectly good trains running to London and  a 2 hours 2 minute jourmey time is very good considering the distance. I wish the DFT would invest in things I actually want such as comfortable seating at bus stops (two poles at a jaunty angle does not make a seat!) and keeping the toilets at the Interchange open after 7PM.

Electric trains are more reliable, lighter, less polluting, cheaper to operate and maintain and quicker than diesel equivalents.

[Annie Bynnol]

49 minutes ago, LovePotion said:

What a waste of money. We already have perfectly good trains running to London and  a 2 hours 2 minute jourmey time is very good considering the distance. I wish the DFT would invest in things I actually want such as comfortable seating at bus stops (two poles at a jaunty angle does not make a seat!) and keeping the toilets at the Interchange open after 7PM.

We do not have "...perfectly good trains running to London...".

They will be twenty years old when they are replaced from next year.

Too few in number, too few seats, too few second class seats. 

The passengers don't like them, the operators don't want them so they are being replaced. 

Chronic overcrowding on short formed train that cannot be run in pairs into London.

There is a noisy, dirty, smelly, polluting, vibrating diesel engine under each carriage which makes the travel experience unpleasant in this age.

 

As nearly half of the distance between London and Sheffield is(or is being) electrified already it makes sense to use electric trains that also have diesel generators to provide electricity for the unwired sections. Expertise and construction infrastructure is already working northward toward Leicester so it makes sense to plod on toward Nottingham and Sheffield.

Long term the costs of electrification are easily covered by reduction in fuel, running, operating, staffing and maintenance costs.

 

The DfT has nothing to do with bus stops in Sheffield.

 

 

 

[Annie Bynnol]

9 minutes ago, LovePotion said:

 

The infrastructure is going to spoil the view in Millhouses Park, Hutcliffe Wood, big stanchions do not look good in such a traditional area, not to mention the inconvenience caused to local residents.

I am sure the residents of Millhouses Park and Hutcliffe Wood will benefit from the reduction in noise, smell, vibration and air pollution as they did when the steam trains went.

 

What inconvenience?

[RollingJ]

14 minutes ago, LovePotion said:

I visit Millhouses Park and Hutcliffe Wood regularly and there is never any smell unless you walk over the bridge on Abbey Lane as a train is passing under. It's not unpleasant it just smells like diesel. 

 

There will be lorries, crane and workmen installing the infrastructure. Some road may need to be closed, especially when they deliver the stancheons. Archer Road may need to be closed, as might Hutcliffe Wood Road, Abbey Lane and Twentwell Lane.

All for relatively short periods, if at all. Delivery of the stanchions &c could be made by rail, but even if they are delivered by road, it will be into one of the many service areas along the rail track.

[Annie Bynnol]

1 minute ago, LovePotion said:

20 years is not old for a train. There are trains still in service that are 46 years old. Trains are built to last. The current trains are formed of up to 7 coaches and some services to London only need 4 coaches, as they can be very quiet off-Peak. The last train up from London at night runs very empty after Leicester. More and more people are choosing First Class, as they now offer a complimentary meal service 6 days a week. First Class can become very full, especially early in the morning. Staffing costs will not be reduced as any reduction in staff would cause outrage with the RMT union and staff are still needed to check tickets and serve food regardless of whether the train is running on diesel or electric.

 

The DFT are responsible for more than just trains, they oversee bus service applications and taxi rank proivisions etc. They are the parent body of Travel South Yorkshire, who provide the bus stops in Sheffield.

No point justifying diesels to London which will be gone very soon(2024). They are being replaced by the Hitachi bi-modes being built right now. This was decided years ago. 

A basic understanding of timetabling would tell you that you cannot match the number of seats with demand when you have a varied number of coaches and which cannot be doubled up in most cases.

There will 33 new electric sets each with five coaches and they can be doubled up when required to meet demand.