By very nature of the Fen track formation I don't think 90 or 100mph will ever happen. It would involve lots of £££ and then constant lifting and packing as it sinks.
........I think ill be retired before they raise the 75mph across the Fens...:roll:
Its a real pity that XC havent milked this upgrade by getting line speed increases in the obvious places. Managed to secure a whopping increase from 30 to 35mph at Whitticare
But there is scope for 100mph Nuneaton - Croft and 90mph Uffington to Peterborough...I think ill be retired before they raise the 75mph across the Fens...:roll:
Been ''tested'' @ 90mph + in my juvenile days
Its a real pity that XC havent milked this upgrade by getting line speed increases in the obvious places. Managed to secure a whopping increase from 30 to 35mph at Whitticare
a) spending £30m+ on another track for an extra 20 freight trains a day
35mph through the curves at Whitacre is as high as safety allows I guess, even at 30mph you can feel the 'pull' of your wagons 'across' the curve as you take power for the climb up to Arley, any higher and you'd be tipping over due to the physical forces on the couplings. Hope that makes some sort of sense.... anyway, that extra 5mph can make all the difference for getting a move on when there's a unit on your tail. On most of our Heavyhaul jobs, our average speed between Nuneaton and Water Orton evens out at about 35mph anyway, despite the fast bit dropping down from Arley to Daw Mill with a load on. By the time you're up to 60 you'll be on the warning board magnet for the 30 slack round the corner at Shustoke, then it's a slow crawl to Water Orton and beyond
Soham - Ely is not being re doubled....Trimely - Levington is....eventually!
Passive provision for 90mph from Abbey Jn to Whitacre and a reduction in headway from 5 minutes to 3. Not all bad.
Passive provision for 90mph from Abbey Jn to Whitacre and a reduction in headway from 5 minutes to 3. Not all bad.
Excellent stuff. I've thought for some time the route is capable of at least 85mph. Now can NR please sort out Water Orton, Leicester trains could go through at 100mph if done properly not the dreadful 30mph
Never going to happen, the original plan was de-scoped massively so you are stuck with Water Orton for decades. What they should have done was re-instate the fourth track down to Castle Bromwich, it is ridiculous the way we have to thread the freight through there.
Soham - Ely was never double track in the first place. The LNER were going to do it apparently but then decided against it. From the plans I've seen they are only putting back the loop at Ely Dock Jn, not doubling throughout.
Because the port are on the hook for it, know it is expensive, and don't want to pay.
But it raises a good (hypothetical) question.
What would benefit UK plc the most -
a) spending £30m+ on another track for an extra 20 freight trains a day, or,
b) replacing the Felixstowe passenger service with a bus to free up the same capacity
On the subject of fenland track formations, check this photo out. Looking towards Ely from the Manea direction.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32755955@N05/6167473058/sizes/o/in/pool-railwaysaroundthemarcharea
Bear in mind that that photo has been taken with one heck of a telephoto lens: As far as I can work out, if that photo is on the Manea-Ely section, then the Turbostar in the distance is easily over a mile away from the photographer. Just look at the "wiggle" in the sections of rail lying in the four foot: I've never, ever seen it that pronounced in reality (I'd be deeply concerned if I did!): Each one of those sections is probably tens of metres long, as you well know.And Network Rail continue to spin that maintenance and track quality has improved under their stewardship.
Thank you for a photograph to prove how laughable that NR spin is.