WCML rewiring 2026 to 2036

[Nottingham59]

Apologies if already mentioned, but isn't this the TriLink project?

TriLink - the intelligent renewal of West Coast Main Line north - Rail Engineer

Listen to this article The West Coast Main Line (WMCL) is arguably the most important long-distance railway trunk route in Britain. The line was developed in the mid-1800s, to connect London and Glasgow with connections to the cities of Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, and Edinburgh. It does...

www.railengineer.co.uk

A cross industry partnership to completely renew and slightly enhance the north WCML. The Rail Engineer article mentions track, overhead wire and signalling renewals, as well as increasing the speed trains can enter and exit loops, and extending some loops too.

Well, let's hope they're going to provide the capacity to handle the additional 10tph arriving from the South that HS2 will (eventually) enable.

 

[AndrewE]

Apologies if already mentioned, but isn't this the TriLink project?

TriLink - the intelligent renewal of West Coast Main Line north - Rail Engineer

Listen to this article The West Coast Main Line (WMCL) is arguably the most important long-distance railway trunk route in Britain. The line was developed in the mid-1800s, to connect London and Glasgow with connections to the cities of Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, and Edinburgh. It does...

www.railengineer.co.uk

A cross industry partnership to completely renew and slightly enhance the north WCML. The Rail Engineer article mentions track, overhead wire and signalling renewals, as well as increasing the speed trains can enter and exit loops, and extending some loops too.

That's an interesting article, the process reminds me a bit of how BR progressively enhanced the ECML to make the best use of HSTs.
A couple of things do concern me a bit though:

Traffic from Morecombe to Lancaster currently crosses the WCML ‘at grade’ twice within two miles. At one of the project’s optimisation workshops, an operator suggested that the proposed layout could be further improved if the Down Line was made fully bidirectional between Lancaster and Morecombe South Curve alleviating existing timetable constraints

makes me wonder what down trains do in Lancaster while waiting for the up train to arrive: the 2-track WCML is pretty full anyway; and

Layout alterations throughout the length of the project will result in a net saving of Signalling Equivalent Units (SEUs). An SEU is defined as a single trackside output function controlled by an interlocking and is a way of simplifying the complexity of signalling so that planning and budgeting can be expressed at a simple common level. In total, the TriLink programme believes it can save over 300 SEUs and provide a better more flexible and cost-effective railway.

sounds supiciously like taking out signal sections or emergency crossovers, when closer headways are needed to maximise capacity
... and good luck putting a "cord" [sic] in from Carnforth platforms to the northbound WCML!

 

[WAO]

The Trilink project looks impressive - a serious functional upgrade as well as OLE renewal. Carnforth can have Carlisle bound trains again!

Will the catenary and contact wire be re-tensioned? Any new portals on the windy stretches?

As far as the Windermre branch is concerned, this would be an ideal "last miles" battery operation as the BEMU's would have short off wire runs and plenty of time to re-charge slowly - good for the batteries and feeder stations. A 16km wiring would have a budget cost of over £48M - better spent on busy urban lines.

WAO

 

[Bletchleyite]

makes me wonder what down trains do in Lancaster while waiting for the up train to arrive: the 2-track WCML is pretty full anyway; and

Sit in the platform?

Lancaster isn't overly short of platforms for the level of service, it has the two north facing bays, the two main through platforms and a bidirectional loop. There are also I think through lines so it is possible for non-stopping trains to overtake, though I don't recall ever seeing that happen as most (all?*) passenger trains do stop.

That does sound like a good project, though - the name is a bit offbeat so I wondered if it was some sort of idea someone had - but it seems it's what's actually happening!

* There used to be the odd Avanti that didn't but I think they do now.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

There are also I think through lines so it is possible for non-stopping trains to overtake, though I don't recall ever seeing that happen as most (all?*) passenger trains do stop.

Freight trains make good use of the through lines, although they aren't usually overtaking any Avantis when doing so

 

[AndrewE]

Sit in the platform?

Lancaster isn't overly short of platforms for the level of service, it has the two north facing bays, the two main through platforms and a bidirectional loop. There are also I think through lines so it is possible for non-stopping trains to overtake, though I don't recall ever seeing that happen as most (all?*) passenger trains do stop.

That does sound like a good project, though - the name is a bit offbeat so I wondered if it was some sort of idea someone had - but it seems it's what's actually happening!

* There used to be the odd Avanti that didn't but I think they do now.

Yes... I was thinking of the effect on overall down line capacity if a fair length of it is blocked by an up train on a regular basis. It's far worse than the "2 at-grade crossings" - which would only be 1 if they kept the morecambe and Barrow trains in platform 5.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

It's worth mentioning that the upgrade principles have already been applied to the Golborne-Balshaw Lane section (Warrington-Preston).
The turnouts were raised to 50mph and it certainly made a difference, particularly at Balshaw Lane.
There's the odd result at Springs Branch of the original 30mph to/from Liverpool, but a 50mph crossover from slow to fast lines just to the north.

 

[The Planner]

sounds supiciously like taking out signal sections or emergency crossovers, when closer headways are needed to maximise capacity
... and good luck putting a "cord" [sic] in from Carnforth platforms to the northbound WCML!

It means taking out stuff that never gets used or once in a blue moon. Headways will likely be improved considering they are 4 minutes now compared to 3 for the vast majority south of Preston. You need freight getting in and out of loops quicker to maximise capacity. Emergency crossovers will more likely be put in as ETCS is installed.

 

[rower40]

Nostalgia alert:
As a "Research Officer" (grade equivalent to a PTO - Principal Technical Officer) in the early 1990s, I worked on a prototype system called "ALASH" - Advanced Laser Acquisition of Stagger and Height. This used a laser beam to measure the position of the overhead wire relative to the rails - safer than the then in-use option of a long insulated measuring stick.

The contact wire, for those who've never seen one up close, is a circular copper bar, 10mm in diameter, with notches on its upper surface for the clips to hold it in place. As it wears, the bottom surface changes from circular section to being more and more flat.

ALASH worked far better on the WCML (wire already "nicely run in" - so having a big reflective flat bottom surface) than on the then newly-electrified ECML (where the wire bottom surface was circular, so reflecting the laser beam all over the place).

@edwin_m - you worked on this a few months before me! Hope this brings back memories - some of them good ones...

 

[class442]

Article in the daily mail. Quite long

Link https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleri...-Britains-busiest-railway-line-set-close.html

Quote from the article:

Stuart Patrick, the chief executive of the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, has been lobbying for years for better cross-border rail connections. He said: 'This is a demonstration of how bad we are at long-term investment in infrastructure — when you get to the point when you have to replace things that are 50 years old.'

What exactly is he trying to say? Isn't renewing infrastructure as it approaches life expiry a good long-term investment?

 

[DarloRich]

What exactly is he trying to say?

it is someone who had no idea what he is talking about being quoted by Phil Space.

 

[AndrewE]

Quote from the article:

What exactly is he trying to say? Isn't renewing infrastructure as it approaches life expiry a good long-term investment?

I wonder if he is saying that properly-functioning infrastucture is important for economic activity, and rather than fortnight-long blockades he would have hoped to have seen Planned Preventive Maintenance which would have kept the railway permanently reliable.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

There already has been in MR, last year.

Wow. Careless of me. I am a subscriber - sorry to be lazy please could you tell me which issue?

Feb 24

And here it is!

 

[edwin_m]

you worked on this a few months before me! Hope this brings back memories - some of them good ones...

Sounds like you actually got it working...

 

[Bald Rick]

If it's only the wire, why would they need blockades lasting three two weeks at a time? Couldn't they do a wire length in an overnight possession?

Overnight is a busy time on the WCML. And you lose a couple of hours for set up at the beginning and another couple of hours for break down at the end. In a two week block on this type of railway I reckon you could do 50 wire runs with two teams, plus a load of other work. It is much, much more efficient, and overall less disruptive.

Also the demand - both passenger and freight - on the line is just about the lowest of the year in the first half of January. Best time to do it for overall least disruption and efficiency.

Well, let's hope they're going to provide the capacity to handle the additional 10tph arriving from the South that HS2 will (eventually) enable.

An extra 10tph? Where‘s that come from? No chance of that over the hills!

And here it is!

Glad you found it.

 

[childwallblues]

It’s the north end of the WCML between Warrington and Carlisle according to a paywalled article in the Times, there’s no reason for Chiltern to be affected at all.

The article says stations but in reality it will be north from Weaver Junction or even Crewe as they will probably take out Winsford and Crewe Coal Yard Signal Boxes

 

[The Planner]

The article says stations but in reality it will be north from Weaver Junction or even Crewe as they will probably take out Winsford and Crewe Coal Yard Signal Boxes

They will at some point, but a Weaver to Euxton block is relatively simple to deal with.

 

[jfollows]

Sit in the platform?

Lancaster isn't overly short of platforms for the level of service, it has the two north facing bays, the two main through platforms and a bidirectional loop. There are also I think through lines so it is possible for non-stopping trains to overtake, though I don't recall ever seeing that happen as most (all?*) passenger trains do stop.

That does sound like a good project, though - the name is a bit offbeat so I wondered if it was some sort of idea someone had - but it seems it's what's actually happening!

* There used to be the odd Avanti that didn't but I think they do now.

9M59 15:55 Glasgow-Euston doesn’t stop. But of course it’s very much the exception.
But plenty of non-passenger trains in the working timetable which don’t stop.

 

[Nottingham59]

An extra 10tph? Where‘s that come from? No chance of that over the hills!

Even with only 6 platforms, HS2 Euston will have the capacity to add 10tph to the West Coast corridor, and Phase 2a or its equivalent will get built eventually.

Of these 10tph, 4tph might go to Curzon St but 2tph (or more) could start from there, so HS2 phase 1+2a will have the capacity to deliver 8tph into Crewe. And the capacity of the classic WCML through Colwich and Penkridge will increase by around 2tph as the discrepancy between fast and slow paths is reduced, giving an extra 10tph overall, which is where that number came from.

(Of this increased capacity, I'd expect say 3tph to be used by freights heading to the Crewe yards, an extra 2tph might turn off towards Liverpool at Weaver. Perhaps 2tph will diverge towards Manchester via Chat Moss, being is the only route into Manchester with capacity to spare, so leaving an extra 3tph over the hills. But only if capacity is provided on the north WCML to handle that growth).

 

[Elecman]

Warrington to Carlisle actually jeans the areas covered by the respective PSBs. So from North of Weaver to North of Quintinshill

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Warrington to Carlisle actually jeans the areas covered by the respective PSBs. So from North of Weaver to North of Quintinshill

The section in Scotland dates from 1974, the same as Weaver-Quintinshill.
I wonder if NR Scotland has similar rewiring plans for its section? Or will the same equipment and teams just roll on northwards.
Carstairs and Motherwell areas were probably done in the recent upgrades.
They do have regular seasonal weekend closures, and have replaced a number of bridges over the years.

 

[david l]

Even with only 6 platforms, HS2 Euston will have the capacity to add 10tph to the West Coast corridor, and Phase 2a or its equivalent will get built eventually.

Of these 10tph, 4tph might go to Curzon St but 2tph (or more) could start from there, so HS2 phase 1+2a will have the capacity to deliver 8tph into Crewe. And the capacity of the classic WCML through Colwich and Penkridge will increase by around 2tph as the discrepancy between fast and slow paths is reduced, giving an extra 10tph overall, which is where that number came from.

(Of this increased capacity, I'd expect say 3tph to be used by freights heading to the Crewe yards, an extra 2tph might turn off towards Liverpool at Weaver. Perhaps 2tph will diverge towards Manchester via Chat Moss, being is the only route into Manchester with capacity to spare, so leaving an extra 3tph over the hills. But only if capacity is provided on the north WCML to handle that growth).

Manchester United re-building Old Trafford may well come into the equation, with Trafford Park being re-located to Parkside (or somewhere around there) and the subsequent freight shift - would at least free a path per hour through Man Picc 13/14.

 

[Chris125]

... and good luck putting a "cord" [sic] in from Carnforth platforms to the northbound WCML!

Presumably a new connection from the Hellifield lines back onto the WCML further north, rather than rebuild the station?

 

[The Planner]

Presumably a new connection from the Hellifield lines back onto the WCML further north, rather than rebuild the station?

Yep

 

[AndrewE]

Seeing as we have (in the Windermere thread)

Still falls under enhancement vs renewal. If they end up being instructed to do it, then its a different matter, its very unlikely though. None of the alterations to layouts are proposed or agreed yet either, its not 100% they will happen either.

I can't imagine that any of the upgrades we might like to see will get approval, let alone funding...

so this thread is pretty well a waste of space, apart from hinting that contact and support wires might be changed before we get an epidemic of failures.

Maybe it would be different if the line happened to be in this condition on a London commuter route... As it is we are threatened with

Over the next ten years network rail are replacing the catenary as its over 50 years old. Rolling programme of 2 week closures for each section.

which will do wonders for the region's economy (not.)

 

[The Planner]

Seeing as we have (in the Windermere thread)

I can't imagine that any of the upgrades we might like to see will get approval, let alone funding...

so this thread is pretty well a waste of space, apart from hinting that contact and support wires might be changed before we get an epidemic of failures.

The wires will get done.

Maybe it would be different if the line happened to be in this condition on a London commuter route... As it is we are threatened with

which will do wonders for the region's economy (not.)

Either that or close the route every weekend? That would clearly be worse.

 

[AndrewE]

Either that or close the route every weekend? That would clearly be worse.

Really? A rolling programme of fortnight closures might be a lot worse than that! We could have the WCML unusable for a total of several years over the decade.
Maybe with your inside knowledge you could give us a hint of the aggregate length of time the line will be shut?

 

[The Planner]

Really? A rolling programme of fortnight closures might be a lot worse than that! We could have the WCML unusable for a total of several years over the decade.
Maybe with your inside knowledge you could give us a hint of the aggregate length of time the line will be shut?

6 weeks a year, so potentially a total of one year in ten. If it was weekends it would be much worse. Why would it be unusable, its not all closing.