TOO many trains, not enough track: that is the scenario on the West Coast Main Line (WCML) even after HS2 fully opens between Euston and Manchester as a separate standalone route.
That’s the conclusion of a Network Rail study, which says that while HS2 will free up capacity and return the WCML to a non-tilt 110mph railway, the demands for released capacity will still outweigh the WCML’s ability to deliver.
There is also insufficient capacity for new growth resulting from commercial and residential developments already under way or in forward local planning.
These are the key aspects identified by NR’s West Coast South Strategic Advice (WCSSA). Its 340-page report examines in detail what is required to meet known capacity demands, plus existing expansion plans by towns along the route. The outcome is a series of trade-offs between freight, local and inter-city trains, where there are more demands than the capacity that will be unlocked by HS2.
To fully unlock the benefits of released capacity, strategic investment will be required principally between Milton Keynes and Bletchley. This should be the “the immediate priority for further development”, says the report.
However, while it “identifies long-term opportunities to enhance West Coast South” and “articulates what is required to realise them”, the results “generated more questions” so there is a need for further work.
The advice will now be considered by Great British Railways, which will determine the strategic shape of the WCML for the next few decades.
The full opening of HS2 will enable the removal of nine trains per hour (tph) from Euston in both directions (3tph to Birmingham and 6tph to Crewe, Manchester, Liverpool and Scotland).
“It is important to stress that the introduction of HS2 does not remove the need for inter-city-type services to operate on the conventional network,” says the WCSSA.
“As identified throughout this work, the effective use of released capacity will still require inter-city markets to be served with fast, limited-stop services.”
With the opening of HS2, the WCML would return to a 110mph railway, as the costs of maintaining the lineside ‘beacons’ and tilt on the Pendolinos (currently mid-life) or building replacement trains with tilt would be avoided. It would also enable better service integration with local trains that are also limited to 110mph.
It also provides the possibility for the extension of inter-city trains from Euston to Wolverhampton, Telford and Shrewsbury.
At Euston, the study assumes retention of 16 platforms (as previously committed), with the two longest blocked during peak periods for use by the Caledonian Sleeper.
The released capacity will benefit freight with reduced journey times thank
