Network Rail's electrification upgrade delayed, now restarted, by government

[whole diary]

[IndustryInsider]

The electrification of Midland Mainline north of Bedford to Kettering and Corby will now be completed by 2019, and the line north of Kettering to Leicester, Derby, Nottingham and to Sheffield will finish by 2023.

An awkward 4yr gap there (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023) between TSI PRM^▸ (Persons with Reduced Mobility) introduction (making the IC125s which currently work some Midland Mainline services illegal) and electrification (which will presumably bring replacement trains). I wonder if a derrogation from TSI PRM is likely or if somebody's going to find the cash to pay for the major works needed to make the IC125s compliant or buy new 125mph diesel traction.

I'm pleased and slightly surprised at this news as I would have put money on one of the schemes getting the chop.  Let's hope there are no further problems further 'down the line'.  As for the EMT^» (East Midlands Trains - about) HST^▸ (High Speed Train) fleet it'll be interesting to see how that gap will be resolved, though the fleet is relatively small (12 sets?), so I'm sure a resolution can be found.

[IndustryInsider]

The electrification of Midland Mainline north of Bedford to Kettering and Corby will now be completed by 2019, and the line north of Kettering to Leicester, Derby, Nottingham and to Sheffield will finish by 2023.

An awkward 4yr gap there (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023) between TSI PRM^▸ (Persons with Reduced Mobility) introduction (making the IC125s which currently work some Midland Mainline services illegal) and electrification (which will presumably bring replacement trains). I wonder if a derrogation from TSI PRM is likely or if somebody's going to find the cash to pay for the major works needed to make the IC125s compliant or buy new 125mph diesel traction.

Actually, having read Hendy's letter to the SoS it does state that Kettering to Leicester, Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield will be finished in stages by 2023.  With the relatively small number of HST^▸ (High Speed Train)'s in EMT^» (East Midlands Trains - about)'s fleet, if, say, the Nottingham stage was completed by 2020/1 that would make it much easier for the SoS to exercise his/her power in granting an short extension, as that alone would probably release enough units to allow the HST fleet to be stepped down.

[SandTEngineer]

So.....after standing down all the external resources how are they expecting to reactivate them quickly.....Engineers working on those projects have moved onto something else....

[Electric train]

It comes at a price though, other renewals and enhancements Nationally are being deferred into CP6^▸ (Control Period 6 - The five year period between 2019 and 2024) as there is no new money (or at least very little from DfT^» (Department for Transport - about))

[Rhydgaled]

It comes at a price though, other renewals and enhancements Nationally are being deferred into CP6^▸ (Control Period 6 - The five year period between 2019 and 2024) as there is no new money (or at least very little from DfT^» (Department for Transport - about))

Does anyone have a list of what enhancements are being pushed back to CP6 or has it not been decided yet?

With the relatively small number of HST^▸ (High Speed Train)'s in EMT^» (East Midlands Trains - about)'s fleet, if, say, the Nottingham stage was completed by 2020/1 that would make it much easier for the SoS to exercise his/her power in granting an short extension, as that alone would probably release enough units to allow the HST fleet to be stepped down.

Yes, that does sound like it might be a workable solution; if I recall correctly EMT's IC125s generally only work one route (either Nottingham or Sheffield, I forget which). There are a few Leeds workings for the IC125s which could be a problem, unless the Corby wiring releases enough Meridians.

[brompton rail]

Ah, but the HST^▸ (High Speed Train) movements to/from Leeds are there to allow EMT^» (East Midlands Trains - about)'s HSTs to reach Nevile Hill Maintenance depot. Some early morning southbound services run Leeds - Sheffield - Derby - St Pancras (& similar late evening northbound) presumably because they don't have enough Meridians to cover these. Meridians, I think, have fewer coaches than HSTs too.

[Electric train]

It comes at a price though, other renewals and enhancements Nationally are being deferred into CP6^▸ (Control Period 6 - The five year period between 2019 and 2024) as there is no new money (or at least very little from DfT^» (Department for Transport - about))

Does anyone have a list of what enhancements are being pushed back to CP6 or has it not been decided yet?

Work in progress so I understand. 

Also I wonder if the new NR^» (Network Rail - home page) Chairman has gone to the Sec of State and said if you want me to continue in the job put u'r hand you pocket Patrick and give me the cash



Edit note: Quote marks fixed, for clarity. CfN.

[Visoflex]

The electrification of two railway lines is to be restarted after the projects were halted so a review could be carried out, the government says.

Work on the TransPennine Express Railway - between Manchester and York - and Midland Mainline - from London to Sheffield - was paused in June.

Sir Peter Hendy, chair of Network Rail, said the "temporary pause" had "given us the space to develop a better plan".

Transport minister Patrick McLoughlin said work could now resume immediately.

I suppose this has nothing to do with the location of next week's Conservative Party conference has it?  Where is it being held again?  Oh yes - Manchester

[IndustryInsider]

With those two schemes 'un-paused', and looking at where money can be saved, for me, the Electric Spine from Southampton to Nuneaton is probably the one major scheme we can manage without.  We have trains, both freight and passenger, that are relatively new and powered by either diesel or 3rd rail, high conversion costs of Basingstoke to Southampton from 3rd rail to overhead lines and limited local services that would benefit from electric traction.  That results in the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)/FOC^▸ (Freight Operating Company)'s concerned being decidedly underwhelmed.

The trouble is, cancel that and it affects other schemes - for example East-West Rail's own electrification, which looks less attractive when electric freight and possibly electric longer distance Cross Country services are taken out of the mix.  So perhaps a diesel operated East-West Rail will also be opted for - I'm not too bothered about that as long as the thing does actually open!

[paul7575]

The trouble is, cancel that and it affects other schemes - for example East-West Rail's own electrification, which looks less attractive when electric freight and possibly electric longer distance Cross Country services are taken out of the mix.  So perhaps a diesel operated East-West Rail will also be opted for - I'm not too bothered about that as long as the thing does actually open!

The Western route study suggests that the third XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) service (i.e. a third one between Reading and Oxford) only runs as far as Basingstoke, and Basingstoke is supposedly still being wired as a "GW^▸ (Great Western) branch", so would possibly be independent of the 'electric spine' proposal.

Paul