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Trivia: Major cities which don't have any electrified lines, on the National Rail network?

sir_gummerz

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Bristol has got to be one of the largest English cities that doesn't have electrified lines (Bristol parkway is not technically in Bristol proper) The only other place I can think of is Sheffield (although if beeing petty you could include the trams)

Anyone know of any obvious contenders I may have missed?
 
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JJmoogle

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Nottingham, Hull and Leicester come to mind.

After those, and the two you've mentiomed there's a load of just slightly smaller scale cities(Swansea, Aberdeen, Oxford, Derby...) that don't.
 

Irascible

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Plymouth - 300,000 pop in city limits I think? Exeter is nominally 130k or so but really is the enirety of East Devon these days, not that wires would help the distributed pop...
 

A S Leib

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Hereford (maybe not a major city, but larger than Truro which has been mentioned), and Shrewsbury (not a city, but a major interchange). No electrification at Lincoln, Perth or Dundee either.
 

Mag_seven

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Technically not "The National Rail Network" but it is in the UK so I'm going to offer up Belfast. I also think Inverness is big enough to be included.
 

AM9

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Technically not "The National Rail Network" but it is in the UK so I'm going to offer up Belfast. I also think Inverness is big enough to be included.
Although the OP posted 'english cities' we have Aberdeen and now Belfast, so I would suggest Dundee and Swansea.
 

Snow1964

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From memory both Ripon and Wells are also English cities

Not major cities, I admit, but no electrified railway, actually no railway
 

snowball

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Nobody has yet mentioned Sunderland, which is bigger than many that have been mentioned. It's is on the Metro, but I assume the OP did not intend that to count?
 

Lemmy282

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Sheffield (Midland), although we did have the 1500v system until they closed the Woodhead route (Victoria)
 

zwk500

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Nobody has yet mentioned Sunderland, which is bigger than many that have been mentioned. It's is on the Metro, but I assume the OP did not intend that to count?
Although it's an NR line that's electrified into Sunderland so it's probably the biggest quibble.
 

EIKN

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The lone from Glasgow to Kilmarnock and then onto Dumfries via Sanqhar ( my apologies I don't know the name of that line ).
But it's a fairly major line , which despite Scotland leading the way in electrification, has so far been ignored .
Also the highland mainline. , from Dunblane to Perth and Perth to Inverness and Aberdeen , and in turn Aberdeen to Inverness.
Of course with incoming bi or tri.mode locos ( class 93 and 99, also existing class 88's) or the odd decision not to make the pretty good class 395's part of the same A train family that makes up the Intercity fleet's, class 800, 802,3,5,7 and 10's .
These do mitigate the lack of wired sections of course .
Other notable gaps is the phase 1 and the current phase 2 east west rail ( phase 2 being Oxford to Bicester, that saw a new station and improvements at Oxford , now the next phase to Bedford vis Bletchley or the spur to Milton Keynes and beyond Most of this reopening , has some provision for electric running, but ingather they left many older bridges untouched, if course they could just replicate the ideas from the western mainline to south Wales, where gaps were left , due to costs.
Seemingly trains ' coast , through such gaps .
Also the south Humber line to all the freight terminals like Immingham , but also serving all stations to Scunthorpe, especially for freight , where electric traction would improve the line and allow better trains , than the dreadful class 150's and 156's . But then there are plans for Northern , And Scotrail to order full fleet replacements.
Anyway the south Humber line , meets with the line via Brigg, kirton in Lyndsay, a sizeable place that would benefit , that goes to Gainsborough and onward to Lincoln or Doncaster and the ECML .

Also the mml via Sheffield to Link up to the electric ECML , again would be very useful, and if linked to an electrified line from Sheffield and Derby, toward Burton in Trent to Birmingham and Bristol direction , would potentially offer , more competitive services, than the current, cross country operation , that removed longer and well lijed HST with tiny 4 car voyagers .

Again if it was wired , it would provide scope for better services.
Add all this to reopenings elsewhere like Leven in Scotland where it was promised to be electric from the start , they have built foundations for masts and some places on that line have visible piles poking out of the ground.
So again the fife circle and line to Edinburgh across the bridge to link to the electric lines from Glasgow , would be useful .
I'm sure there are many more , including reopenings .
All are needed as the terrible electric cars won't have that freedom of motoring that lead to the decimation of our rail network in the 60's , now we are almost full circle and more railways will be needed , and thus electric traction, for a greener operation.
 

Lemmy282

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According to Google (so it must be right) Nottingham is the 9th largest city in UK and the first on the list that doesn't have an electrified mainline, Sheffield 10th and Bristol 11th.
 

neilmc

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Sheffield (Midland), although we did have the 1500v system until they closed the Woodhead route (Victoria)
And I recall a photo on a bus website of a Sheffield tram (old system closed 1960) going under a bridge on the electrified Woodhead route. To lose two electrified systems seems sad, still they got trams back before Leeds, if they ever do!
 

zwk500

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And I recall a photo on a bus website of a Sheffield tram (old system closed 1960) going under a bridge on the electrified Woodhead route. To lose two electrified systems seems sad, still they got trams back before Leeds, if they ever do!
Sheffield has also had multiple promises of an electrified link to London that have yet to materialise, which must give it some sort of award as the city with the most unfortunate relationship with electrified mainline railways.
 
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Derby (if you don't count the electrified test-track at the carriage works).
Isn't a section also being erected at Etches Park depot for testing 810s?
According to Google (so it must be right) Nottingham is the 9th largest city in UK and the first on the list that doesn't have an electrified mainline, Sheffield 10th and Bristol 11th.
The population of Nottingham city itself is about 324k; however, it's one of those places where you can't tell where one town or city ends and another begins, and it's only because of this that the population of what is often called the Nottingham urban area (which also includes parts of Derbyshire) is so high.

The city of Leicester actually has a greater population than Nottingham (approx 369k), but it has a smaller urban area
 

Western Sunset

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Trying to define the limits of a particular city, and its influence, can be very difficult. Take Bristol, which the OP mentioned. There is a seamless transition between the City of Bristol and South Gloucestershire. Driving between, say Fishponds and Staple Hill, it is a continuous urban area. The only indication that one is moving between two authorities is the logos on the waste bins, or the old roundal sign proclaiming "Bristol" at the roadside. I doubt if visitors would spot where Bristol ends and South Gloucestershire begins...
 

Starmill

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Trying to define the limits of a particular city, and its influence, can be very difficult. Take Bristol, which the OP mentioned. There is a seamless transition between the City of Bristol and South Gloucestershire. Driving between, say Fishponds and Staple Hill, it is a continuous urban area. The only indication that one is moving between two authorities is the logos on the waste bins, or the old roundal sign proclaiming "Bristol" at the roadside. I doubt if visitors would spot where Bristol ends and South Gloucestershire begins...
The ONS 'Major Towns and Cities' statistical area for Bristol includes Mangotsfield and Cadbury Heath but not Filton, Keynsham, Long Ashton, Leigh Woods, Pill, Stoke Gifford or Winterbourne.

So the reality is that whatever definition you choose someone will argue with you. It's just the way it is. I agree in general local authority boundaries don't really get this right, but they are a pretty common reference point for those who are familiar with maps. For example I'd have known for sure that Pill and Stoke Gifford weren't part of Bristol authority without looking it up. I'd have guessed Keynsham with less certainty but had a good chance of being right. Would probably have been wrong about Cadbury Heath.
 

deltic08

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Trying to define the limits of a particular city, and its influence, can be very difficult. Take Bristol, which the OP mentioned. There is a seamless transition between the City of Bristol and South Gloucestershire. Driving between, say Fishponds and Staple Hill, it is a continuous urban area. The only indication that one is moving between two authorities is the logos on the waste bins, or the old roundal sign proclaiming "Bristol" at the roadside. I doubt if visitors would spot where Bristol ends and South Gloucestershire begins...
Sadly, both Fishponds and Staple Hill were on the Midland route from Bristol to Mangotsfield and Gloucester/Bath Green Park. Shortsightedly closed in 1969 to save money building a bridge over the line when constructing the M4.
 

Western Sunset

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Sadly, both Fishponds and Staple Hill were on the Midland route from Bristol to Mangotsfield and Gloucester/Bath Green Park. Shortsightedly closed in 1969 to save money building a bridge over the line when constructing the M4.
Not sure about that, Yankee, as the old MR route goes underneath the M4 in a wide modern bridge. The tracks are still there; being the southern-most end of the branch serving the oil terminal at Westerleigh. Part of the trackbed east of Mangotsfield, though, is used for the A4174 Bristol ring-road.
 

ijmad

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Scarborough
Salisbury
Halifax
Hartlepool
Skegness
Great Yarmouth
 

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