Your railway in 10 years?

[Class172]

I'd thought I'd start a little discussion, to see what changes (you think) there will have been by 2023 in 10 years time at your local station/area, especially with the large changes to the railway due with electrification and IEP. It is aimed for this thread, whilst fantasy, to remain still within the realms of reality.

For Droitwich Spa, I expect that the station itself will have remained relatively unchanged, with the semaphore signals remaining in place for now. However at the end of CP5, the Cross-country electrification scheme was announced, and it is possible the Worcester Loop will be wired within the next year or so as an add-on diversionary route.

Although the stock and the station remain largely unchanged, the TOC structure in the area has vastly changed. In 2017, Chiltern took control of the Snow Hill lines, and were granted an extension to 2028.

Rolling stock remains largely the same, with the 170s and 172s still plodding along. With Chiltern taking control of the Snow Hill lines in 2017, the timetable was completely recast — some London services were introduced from Worcester, using their class 67s. Services to Birmingham Snow Hill have been increased to 3tph and New St 2tph, by extending a Kiddy terminator and also thanks to released 172s from LO and Chiltern a few years earlier. Once electrification is complete, it is planned for 1tph Bromsgrove terminator to be extended to Worcester. services from Droitwich now as:

3tph Worcester - Snow Hill (plus extensions)
1tph Hereford - Birmingham (Fast) (Possibly tagged onto B'ham-Stansted)
1tph Worcester - New St (Fast)
6tpd Worcester - London Marylebone

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Well, with Transpennine electrification and the changes to services linked to the 'Northern Hub' projects there's definitely changes afoot in my neck of the woods! In 10 years time I imagine most of the services passing within 200m of my flat will be electric. I'm slightly concerned about the proposed service patterns West of Huddersfield, with the stoppers being replaced by semi-fasts that won't call at all local stations. I'm hoping there'll be enough spare EMUs that London don't want any more to allow a true 'local' service to continue between Hudds and Manchester, especially if the embryonic plans for a new station for Milnsbridge & Golcar get somewhere as it'd be about 5mins walk from my flat!

That said, there's no guarantee I'll still be living here in 10 years time anyway.

 

[yorksrob]

I would hope that the Hallam line would have an evening train service to a decent hour rather than 22:37.

There will be quite a few people around the Northern Rail network with similar aspirations.

 

[43074]

Here in Leicester, all InterCity and Regional services from Leicester to Birmingham, London, The East and Derby/Nottingham will have been, or are being, electrified. IC services are provided by 125mph EMUs, whilst I could see the XC services being provided with 110mph EMUs (think 380). On the local side, the route to Burton will not have reopened, despite a very vociferous pressure group wanting this to happen. Services to Loughborough which serve intermediate stations will be operated with a 3-car electric from the West Midlands, running ECS from Soho each day because too few lines in the East Midlands have been electrified to warrant a dedicated fleet.

The franchise map will not have changed in the area, with services being provided by the East Midlands and CrossCountry franchisees, whoever they are in 2023.

As for Infrastructure, the station itself has changed little apart from a new lick of paint on the lampposts in the colours of the EM franchisee. A new flyover will have been constructed at Wigston Junction and the area will be 4-tracked between Wigston and Syston Junctions.

The service pattern will remain status quo with connections between services poor. East West Rail provides a CrossCountry service between the South Coast and North East which call at Leicester.

 

[michael769]

In Scotland all lines will be electrified.

Delays and cancellations will be a routine feature whenever this no wind, or when there is too much wind. In fact the trains only ran on 2 days last year.

 

[CalderRail]

Like 61653 HTAFC, within 10 year I hope to see electrification, faster Manc<>Bradford trains, and maybe more tph. In my case on the Calderdale line.

 

[Oswyntail]

With the electrification east of Leeds operational, there have been increased journey opportunities off the Ilkley/Skipton lines, with trains through Leeds. Sadly, this has brought the quality of our 333s to other people's attention, and they have been snaffled for some bankers' route down south. They have been replaced with "magnificently refurbished" 315s

 

[sheff'd victoria]

The future of Lincolnshire trains services is in the hands of the " London " based Department for Transport who after a number of years have found where Lincolnshire is on the map

An improvement to services is needed so we have a less anti social timetable and more Sunday trains need to run when the Network Rail signaling improvements take place.

 

[anti-pacer]

Living in "Northernland" I would like to see the following by 2023;

* Pacers being a thing of the past and a brand new DMU and EMU fleet operating...
* Electrification on the Calder Valley line, and between Moorthorpe and Sheffield to link in with the MML electrification further south
* The TPE North route will be electrified by then, so nice new stock will be running on those routes
* As part of the IEP, new trains running on the ECML
* Our new Wakefield Westgate station being well utilised, and Kirkgate station actually looking like a railway station than a derelict building
* 6-car operation on the Airedale line
* The franchisee of the time knowing what "train cleanliness" means
* The passengers of the time also knowing what bins are for

 

[FenMan]

As a least worst solution to the conundrum of the North Downs Line becoming an expensive to operate diesel island, the DoT approves a one-off 3rd rail electrification from Wokingham to Aldershot South Junction and Shalford Junction to Reigate, utilising infrastructure freed up by the wiring of Basingstoke - Southampton.

Responsibility for the line is transferred from FGW to SWT, who extend journey times by 20% in order to run an "on time" service.

The 165s and 166s, which have became increasingly tatty due to FGW's "cheap as chips" refurb of the interiors in the late 2000s, are reallocated to Northern Trains.

 

[anti-pacer]

The 165s and 166s, which have became increasingly tatty due to FGW's "cheap as chips" refurb of the interiors in the late 2000s, are reallocated to Northern Trains.

Deal! In exchange for our 142's!

 

[Gwenllian2001]

My wish list. Welsh Railways to be run on a ‘not for profit’ basis, as is Welsh Water. 2 tph Beddau – Cardiff via Creigiau. Bangor – Caernarfon – Afon Wen reopened. Abertillery and Newport – Caerphilly back on the railway map. H of W line connected to Gowerton by a new spur. The last Pacer stuffed and mounted at Barry Island.

 

[FenMan]

Deal! In exchange for our 142's!

Most units already have aircon that is either set to "tropical" or "broken". Enjoy the ride!

 

[MK Tom]

Hm...

Milton Keynes will have gained direct electric services to Bedford, Oxford, Aylesbury, Didcot/Reading and Marylebone. Some kind of new high-speed EMU will be running fast Northampton services. MK-stopping Birmingham services will now continue to Wolverhampton and possibly beyond, and a larger number of Liverpool services will stop here. It's possible that the existing Crewe service might skip Stoke and run on to Liverpool... 321s will probably be gone and a new freight terminal at Ridgemont will bring interesting freight variety to East-West Rail. Bournemouth-Manchester services will now run via MKC between Oxford and Coventry, and a new enhanced Southern service will link us to Gatwick and Brighton.

That is my most toned-down expectation! MK as a city (hopefully legally by then) will have expanded even further and will be hitting on the 300,000 people mark so I think this is one place where further service improvements will always be on the horizon.

 

[anti-pacer]

Most units already have aircon that is either set to "tropical" or "broken". Enjoy the ride!

What's "aircon"? :? Don't think Northern Rail have such a thing! :roll:

 

[anthony263]

Well I suspect the class 315's will be getting replaced by dispalced class 377's from Southern with them getting brand new emu's.

The Swansea - West Wales & Heart of wales line will be worked by class 156's and class 158's.

As stated by a previous poster Caerphilly - Newport will be re-opened and the line to Beddau I suspect the route via Pontyclun will be chosen due to its cheaper costs. Together with the half hourly service from Maesteg this will provide a 15 minutely interval between Pontyclun, Cardiff and St Mellons wioth new stations at Miskin (Major Park & Ride and housing development) & St Fagans as well as a station at Rover Way.

Further new stations at Crwys Road and Callaghan Square being served by a new-train service linking Coryton and Cardiff Bay. Network Rail will have decided to replace the Bridge over Newport road just north of Cardiff Queen Street and modifying the junction between the Taff Vale and Rhymney Valley lines.

Hopefully the GW will have been wired to Penzance along with the Crosscountry line between Bristol and Derby along with local lines around Bristol.

 

[Old Hill Bank]

I'd thought I'd start a little discussion, to see what changes (you think) there will have been by 2023 in 10 years time at your local station/area, especially with the large changes to the railway due with electrification and IEP. It is aimed for this thread, whilst fantasy, to remain still within the realms of reality.

For Droitwich Spa, I expect that the station itself will have remained relatively unchanged, with the semaphore signals remaining in place for now. However at the end of CP5, the Cross-country electrification scheme was announced, and it is possible the Worcester Loop will be wired within the next year or so as an add-on diversionary route.

Although the stock and the station remain largely unchanged, the TOC structure in the area has vastly changed. In 2017, Chiltern took control of the Snow Hill lines, and were granted an extension to 2028.

Rolling stock remains largely the same, with the 170s and 172s still plodding along. With Chiltern taking control of the Snow Hill lines in 2017, the timetable was completely recast — some London services were introduced from Worcester, using their class 67s. Services to Birmingham Snow Hill have been increased to 3tph and New St 2tph, by extending a Kiddy terminator and also thanks to released 172s from LO and Chiltern a few years earlier. Once electrification is complete, it is planned for 1tph Bromsgrove terminator to be extended to Worcester. services from Droitwich now as:

3tph Worcester - Snow Hill (plus extensions)
1tph Hereford - Birmingham (Fast) (Possibly tagged onto B'ham-Stansted)
1tph Worcester - New St (Fast)
6tpd Worcester - London Marylebone

Not sure about the Worcester - Marylebone service but consider 2tph Worcester - Kidderminster - Dudley - Walsall - Lichfield and your 3tph Worcester - Snow Hill to be two from Foregate Street and one from Worcester Parkway connnecting out of XC and Paddington services.

 

[YorkshireBear]

Well, with Transpennine electrification and the changes to services linked to the 'Northern Hub' projects there's definitely changes afoot in my neck of the woods! In 10 years time I imagine most of the services passing within 200m of my flat will be electric. I'm slightly concerned about the proposed service patterns West of Huddersfield, with the stoppers being replaced by semi-fasts that won't call at all local stations. I'm hoping there'll be enough spare EMUs that London don't want any more to allow a true 'local' service to continue between Hudds and Manchester, especially if the embryonic plans for a new station for Milnsbridge & Golcar get somewhere as it'd be about 5mins walk from my flat!

That said, there's no guarantee I'll still be living here in 10 years time anyway.

That is only in 2016 before electrification to allow 6 TPE diesel services. Once it is electrified, the local service is reintroduced but diverted into Piccadilly. It only needs removing because a pacer/150 could not accelerate quick enough to get out of the way of the 6 TPEs per hour. An EMU will manage it easily.


My local Hallam line will like yorksrob said have a later evening service along it. No chance of electrification but it may be on the horizon. Hopefully the pacers have gone, passenger numbers will be up and 4 car 150s will be operating services.

My other local line Harrogate, will be very close to electrification if not underway and a new link to Leeds Bradford will have been built.

 

[anti-pacer]

Hopefully the pacers have gone, passenger numbers will be up and 4 car 150s will be operating services.

In 10 years time would you honestly want 36 year old stock trundling around the North?

We deserve NEW trains, not old.

 

[CalderRail]

The pacers have to go by 2019 regardless, they don't (and can't be made to) meet disability legislation requirements.

 

[YorkshireBear]

In 10 years time would you honestly want 36 year old stock trundling around the North?

We deserve NEW trains, not old.

If i am honest a well refurbed 4 car (permanently only 1 disabled toilet) would quite suffice for me until electrification then id like some new stock. And we don't deserve anything by default. We deserve more trains, i don't care how old they are (within reason of course!!!! Dont be silly now)

 

[43074]

The pacers have to go by 2019 regardless, they don't (and can't be made to) meet disability legislation requirements.

Oh yes they can! Roger Ford published an article in 'Modern Railways' on the work needed to make a 143 compliant for use beyond 2020 a few months ago and Porterbrooke have been looking at 'options' for their 143/144 fleets. Angel on the otherhand aren't interested in keeping 142s running and want to replace them.

 

[CalderRail]

Oh yes they can! Roger Ford published an article in 'Modern Railways' on the work needed to make a 143 compliant for use beyond 2020 a few months ago and Porterbrooke have been looking at 'options' for their 143/144 fleets. Angel on the otherhand aren't interested in keeping 142s running and want to replace them.

Really? I'd been told the doorframes were unsuitable and made it impossible (or maybe that was just uneconomical?).

 

[anti-pacer]

If i am honest a well refurbed 4 car (permanently only 1 disabled toilet) would quite suffice for me until electrification then id like some new stock. And we don't deserve anything by default. We deserve more trains, i don't care how old they are (within reason of course!!!! Dont be silly now)

When you hear all the time that TOC's in London & The South East are ordering new stock, and we're saddled with the cr*p we have up here, we deserve more trains and NEW trains.

If they plan to electrify lines and then give us new stock, I will happily wait. It would be pointless ordering new DMU's, although some lines will probably never see wires, so new DMU's are needed up here.

 

[43074]

Really? I'd been told the doorframes were unsuitable and made it impossible (or maybe that was just uneconomical?).

Yes it's possible, but would be very costly.

 

[YorkshireBear]

Really? I'd been told the doorframes were unsuitable and made it impossible (or maybe that was just uneconomical?).

Considered uneconomical but the 143s and 144s are generally quite a bit sturdier. So these are being considered. They loose about 15 seats though so not entirely sure what services they would be suitable for anymore???

 

[billio]

IEP will be scrapped. Members of government responsible for the decision will be paying for the cancellation charges out of their own pocket, perhaps.

Updated Pendolinos will be running on ECML, still run by East Coast.

There will be a satisfactory service from Leeds to the Lake District.

Services, perhaps from Scarborough, will run from York to Castleford and beyond.

 

[ANorthernGuard]

Passengers seeing CHEAPER fares due to staff culling

However anti social behaviour, muggings and other assorted crimes on the increase

and G4s running everything!

Yes I am being sarcastic on the first and last point but I really can't help myself.

 

[Class172]

Not sure about the Worcester - Marylebone service but consider 2tph Worcester - Kidderminster - Dudley - Walsall - Lichfield and your 3tph Worcester - Snow Hill to be two from Foregate Street and one from Worcester Parkway connnecting out of XC and Paddington services.

Well the London service was an optimistic look on the situation. I had however forgot about the South Staffs reopening.

 

[xfield]

For me, tram train conversion of the Marple to Manchester line via Bredbury is on the cards.