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Midland Main Line Electrification


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12 minutes ago, Mark Dickerson said:

I'm no expert, but it seems odd to miss out any connectivity with EWR should it ever appear. :unknw_mini:

 

The first phase of EWR is still a good few years away from completion - and until it does interchanging at Kettering to / from the Corby service is not the end of the world is it!

 

Ultimately what the is whole debate is REALLY about is the ability of Bedford and Wellingborough commuters to have a InterCity standard fast train service to London - the numbers going north are miniscule compared to those going south, particularly from Bedford or Luton. EMT trains exist primarily as a train service to the East Midlands - NOT as a London commuter outfit.

 

Northampton commuters don't have the benefit of Virgin services to London do they? (though I do accept that they do have through services to Birmingham and the NW without needing to change at Rugby)

 

In an ideal world had electrification gone to Leicester or a bi-mode solution adopted then the most logical solution is a combined London - Corby / Leicester service (splitting at Kettering) and calling at all main stations (i.e. Luton / Luton Airport, Bedford, Wellingborough, Kettering, Corby / Market Harborough + Leicester thus removing the London commuter market while EMT only make a single stop south of Leicester.

 

As things stand however, the extra time needed for EMT to continue to serve Market Harborough and make connections with trains to Corby at Kettering (which could have been covered by a joint Corby / Leicester setup) means compromises have to be made if significant journey time reductions to the East Midlands are to happen.

 

 

 

 

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The Bedford issue refers to the fact that on the current timetable pattern, anyone from stations south of Kettering and heading for Derby/ Sheffield, will have to change at both Kettering and Leicester as currently for large parts of the day, there's no direct trains from Kettering to Derby/ Sheffield, only Nottingham. This may change of course but the comparison with ECML misses the point that Peterborough, and to a lesser extent Stevenage, offers direct trains to Leeds and York through to Edinburgh, so only one change.

 

It has to be said the timings of changes based on the current pattern of services could entail some lengthy periods at either Kettering, Leicester or possibly both, extending journey times significantly.

 

It also has to be said that the scheduling gurus in charge of MML timetables don't have a great track record of common sense if the May 2018 changes were anything to go by.

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20 minutes ago, RANGERS said:

The Bedford issue refers to the fact that on the current timetable pattern, anyone from stations south of Kettering and heading for Derby/ Sheffield, will have to change at both Kettering and Leicester as currently for large parts of the day, there's no direct trains from Kettering to Derby/ Sheffield, only Nottingham. This may change of course but the comparison with ECML misses the point that Peterborough, and to a lesser extent Stevenage, offers direct trains to Leeds and York through to Edinburgh, so only one change.

 

Seeing as you acknowledge the current situation may change - how about we see what is actually proposed rather than use the current timetable that is going to be altered anyway!

 

Maybe one of the benefits of ditching the Bedford stops is that it will allow stops to be inserted into some Derby trains at Kettering.

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59 minutes ago, phil-b259 said:

 

Seeing as you acknowledge the current situation may change - how about we see what is actually proposed rather than use the current timetable that is going to be altered anyway!

 

Maybe one of the benefits of ditching the Bedford stops is that it will allow stops to be inserted into some Derby trains at Kettering.

October's Modern Railways confirms that trains for Leicester and beyond will not stop south of Kettering.  Both Nottingham trains will stop there but no Derby/Sheffield trains.  They are considering better facilities at Kettering because of extra people changing.  

 

Due to the interaction with Thameslink the MML service basically gets one path, or two close together, every 15min out of St Pancras.  So for example a Corby leaving at xx18 making four intermediate stops to Kettering would be overtaken somewhere north of Wellingborough by an xx30 non-stop to Leicester (and Sheffield) and make a reasonable connection of about 10min at Kettering into the xx45 from St Pancras to Nottingham.  Anything tighter wouldn't be viable considering that connecting passengers will have to change platforms.  Something similar works in the other direction too.  

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7 hours ago, Edwin_m said:

October's Modern Railways confirms that trains for Leicester and beyond will not stop south of Kettering.  Both Nottingham trains will stop there but no Derby/Sheffield trains.  They are considering better facilities at Kettering because of extra people changing.  

 

Due to the interaction with Thameslink the MML service basically gets one path, or two close together, every 15min out of St Pancras.  So for example a Corby leaving at xx18 making four intermediate stops to Kettering would be overtaken somewhere north of Wellingborough by an xx30 non-stop to Leicester (and Sheffield) and make a reasonable connection of about 10min at Kettering into the xx45 from St Pancras to Nottingham.  Anything tighter wouldn't be viable considering that connecting passengers will have to change platforms.  Something similar works in the other direction too.  

 

8 hours ago, phil-b259 said:

 

Seeing as you acknowledge the current situation may change - how about we see what is actually proposed rather than use the current timetable that is going to be altered anyway!

 

Maybe one of the benefits of ditching the Bedford stops is that it will allow stops to be inserted into some Derby trains at Kettering.

The inference that the post was made on some blind assumption is well wide of the mark, as noted above, the pattern of the timetable has been known for some time and was the basis of the 2017 consultation, subsequently materialising in its interim form with the May 2018 changes.

 

As Edwin M notes in his post, to have any Derby trains stopping at Kettering in the two an hour pattern would mean two trains 10-15 mins apart, then a gap of 45mins, the Sheffield train offering a wait of about 30mins for passengers from stations South of Kettering. That said, the combined interchanges at Kettering and Leicester are about that.

 

The initial proposal of only one train an hour North from Kettering does now seem to have been canned thankfully.

 

The only other thing I’ve not seen confirmed is the future of the Oakham and Melton train, EMT had proposed its retention and I believe it was in the franchise spec, but I’ve seen nothing to say it’ll continue.

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11 hours ago, RANGERS said:

The only other thing I’ve not seen confirmed is the future of the Oakham and Melton train, EMT had proposed its retention and I believe it was in the franchise spec, but I’ve seen nothing to say it’ll continue.

The article I mentioned confirms that too, probably by splitting at Kettering.  

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On ‎16‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 22:51, RANGERS said:

The only other thing I’ve not seen confirmed is the future of the Oakham and Melton train, EMT had proposed its retention and I believe it was in the franchise spec, but I’ve seen nothing to say it’ll continue.

 

Retained for diversionary route knowledge.

Whether sitting on a train will have the same effect, I don't know.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Jan 2020:
Class 153s replaced with Class 156s

Ticket machine upgrades

916 extra car park spaces (200 at Market Harborough)

 

Spring 2020:
Class 180s in service

 

Summer 2020:
Class 360s in service

 

Autumn/Winter 2020:
Gateless gateline at STP

9 stations newly staffed

Corby commuter services introduced

Intercity services speeded up

HSTs removed from service

More Sunday services for regional

All stations to have some form of ticket purchase facilities

Free wifi on all regional services

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Summer 2021:
All regional services replaced by 170s

First bi-mode testing begins

Gateless gateline at East Midlands Parkway

 

Autumn/Winter 2021:
New Hitachi trains begin testing

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Spring 2022:
New Hitachi trains begin service

 

Winter 2022:
All Hitachi trains in service

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Spring 2023:
Older TVMs removed (replaced with newer versions)

 

Summer 2023:
110mph EMU south of Bedford

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

In December 2020:
STP - LEI - DBY - CHD - SHF
STP - LEI - LBO - EMD - LGE - DBY - CHD - SHF

 

STP - KET - MHR - LEI - NOT

STP - KET - MHR - LEI - LBO - EMD - BEE - NOT

 

STP - LTN - LUT - BDM - WEL - KET - COR

 

Note the removal of stops south of Kettering for services to the East Mids.

 

It'll essentially be one express and one local per hour to Sheffield / Nottingham (forming 4 services) + 2 Corby local services per hour.

Crewe - Derby extended to Newark Castle.
Leicester - Lincoln extended to Grimsby.
Matlock - Nottingham recast completely.

 

Edited by Sir TophamHatt
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  • 1 month later...
2 hours ago, ess1uk said:

Still no wires up?

Much has progressed in the past month. The photos below were taken a couple of weeks back.

 

Kettering has most of the masts and gantries in place and the canopies have been cut back pending the newly manufactured “short” trackside sections being installed.

 

The platforms have been resurfaced at the North ends to level them and the screening fence between platforms 3 and 4 is being built. The platform extensions at the South are being built.

4443CD64-B9E7-4B25-8C58-0E0CF1723C8C.jpeg

9428BFBF-F804-409D-AE2A-B0AE01DB07DD.jpeg
 

On the Corby line, the wiring looks complete from the north end as far as Glendon South.

 

The Wymington loop was re-aligned over Christmas and both tracks are now serviceable but with a short possession on the up fast through the station still in place, bi-directional running looks to be still in use on the down slow.

 

The new up slow platform is well advanced and we’re told that this will be in use whilst the down slow is rebuilt.

 

The transformation over the winter has been quite remarkable, it looks like a completely different railway.

 

Sadly the news that electric services will commence with a “suburban” seating layout has only been partly mitigated by the news that Meridian services will continue to Corby post Dec 2020, with a morning up and evening return to maintain the Melton Mowbray Link. There’s also the possibility of a Northbound service from Corby at mid-day and corresponding return, but nobody seems able to confirm where to!

Edited by RANGERS
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  • 2 weeks later...
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7 hours ago, ess1uk said:

Any more recent progress?

 

Just learnt that class 91 is to be used to test OLE between Bedford and Corby 

Do you know if the 91 will be operating under its own power (i.e. as a loco) or hauled by diesel as a "load bank"? 

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1 minute ago, ess1uk said:

Not sure.

just know with mk3 coaches 

Thanks. If it is with a set of mk3s, that rather infers it will be operating as a loco under power rather than as a load bank. 

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As far as I know a normal loco can't be operated as a load bank.  The Class 86s that were so modified had some kind of resistor bank added that would dissipate the power as heat, allowing them to draw maximum current without actually moving (IIRC they retained motors on one bogie for convenience of moving them around). I presume someone has changed the standards so the relevant tests can be done with some high-powered combination of electric trains running on the section - they used a Pendolino or maybe two for some of the North West sections.  

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That explains the Pretendilino set of 5 ex-Virgin Mk3s and a blue/grey RB . There are 3 class 91s [I think] at UKRL Leicester and a rich array of heritage diesels.

 

Dava 

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1 hour ago, Dava said:

That explains the Pretendilino set of 5 ex-Virgin Mk3s and a blue/grey RB . There are 3 class 91s [I think] at UKRL Leicester and a rich array of heritage diesels.

 

Dava 

I think it is actually four now Dava. Two Europhoenix liveried specimens and the two LNER liveried locos delivered a couple of days ago. I understand one was left at Leicester whilst the other went for a spin to turn it, so they are facing each way.  

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18 hours ago, Edwin_m said:

As far as I know a normal loco can't be operated as a load bank.  The Class 86s that were so modified had some kind of resistor bank added that would dissipate the power as heat, allowing them to draw maximum current without actually moving (IIRC they retained motors on one bogie for convenience of moving them around). I presume someone has changed the standards so the relevant tests can be done with some high-powered combination of electric trains running on the section - they used a Pendolino or maybe two for some of the North West sections.  

Absolutely, the traction motors also being "isolated". I was just wondering if one of the retired 91s had been modified in this way to act as a load bank, although I seem to recall that not too long ago a SNCF load bank was brought through the channel tunnel to conduct load bank tests.

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On 03/02/2020 at 18:21, Edwin_m said:

As far as I know a normal loco can't be operated as a load bank.  The Class 86s that were so modified had some kind of resistor bank added that would dissipate the power as heat, allowing them to draw maximum current without actually moving (IIRC they retained motors on one bogie for convenience of moving them around). I presume someone has changed the standards so the relevant tests can be done with some high-powered combination of electric trains running on the section - they used a Pendolino or maybe two for some of the North West sections.  

IIRC, the Project Engineer on the 86s was someone called Richard Catlow, a some-time colleague of my wife. The modifications meant that they could serve another function, that of catenary de-icers.

'Vulcain', the SNCF load-bank, is a converted bogie van; being to mainland loading gauge, it can only work on HS1 in the UK.

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  • 1 month later...
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Work continues on the Midland Mainline electrification with much of the wiring completed.

The sub-station, as I call it at Glendon South now has a name.IMG_0506.jpeg.980a15731f5bd8a99134ec67576eb00a.jpeg 

The outdoor switch gear appears to have been connected to the indoor gear.IMG_0508.jpeg.d07eeea5ec446221e1607d85f3f60179.jpeg

There is all sorts of kit appearing at the track level, in particular these orange cables and trackside device. Does anyone know what they are for please.IMG_0509.jpeg.e1fc5fb65c765f6634faaf7189c6de24.jpeg

 

Thanks.

 

Geoff 

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