Kingston Dan
Member
Needs to be four tracking between Drem and Waverley.About 15-20 years ago, drawings were produced for a proposed new track alignment bypassing Dunbar.
Needs to be four tracking between Drem and Waverley.About 15-20 years ago, drawings were produced for a proposed new track alignment bypassing Dunbar.
What would you do about Cardiff - Portsmouth trains if the West Coastway was segregated from the main line? Are you proposing they run via Botley?Is it possible to build a bypass from Woolston direct to a new part of Southampton Central, separate from the South Western Main Line, in order to add capacity into the region? If such a line can be built, the West Coastway can be fully segregated from main line services, with Bitterne station closed and served by local buses instead.
Rail will not be a high priority for any government. Being seen as fiscally responsible will be. Reinstating Phase 2 after it was cancelled due to high costs will open the government up to easy attacks.
Depends on your definition of "dead". I don't think whatever gets built will be identical, though it will reuse work, and so in that sense I see it as dead.
Terminate them at Southampton.What would you do about Cardiff - Portsmouth trains if the West Coastway was segregated from the main line? Are you proposing they run via Botley?
Unfortunately not practical, or it would likely already have been done. The crossing is hemmed in by road bridges on all sides, which would require the railway to have a steeper gradient than is sensible or mean that the road bridges would need to be moved or raised.3) Grade separation of Newark flat crossing.
It would help release constraints on both Nottingham to Lincoln and ECML services, and reduce the need for a deeply outdated form of infrastructure.
This should have been done when the A46 bypass was built alongside the railway, or at least those bridges should have made provision for the rail link to be built later.Unfortunately not practical, or it would likely already have been done. The crossing is hemmed in by road bridges on all sides, which would require the railway to have a steeper gradient than is sensible or mean that the road bridges would need to be moved or raised.
If you bypassed Newark Castle, there is more space to the North (even if it makes the crossing of the Trent itself more complicated).Unfortunately not practical, or it would likely already have been done. The crossing is hemmed in by road bridges on all sides, which would require the railway to have a steeper gradient than is sensible or mean that the road bridges would need to be moved or raised.
It would need to be quite a long tunnel if heavy rail, and would only save a few minutes. The tram would only work if it can go over the existing bridge, which might not be strong enough, especially for tram-trainsIs it possible to build a bypass from Woolston direct to a new part of Southampton Central, separate from the South Western Main Line, in order to add capacity into the region? If such a line can be built, the West Coastway can be fully segregated from main line services, with Bitterne station closed and served by local buses instead.
If there is no space at Southampton Central, can the line be extended into new station at Southampton, and a tramway built to connect the old and new stations? The population of Southampton deserves a tramway in the city.
I would imagine that a range of possibilities was considered, and rejected, when arrangements at Retford were considered , and implemented.If you bypassed Newark Castle, there is more space to the North (even if it makes the crossing of the Trent itself more complicated).
3) Grade separation of Newark flat crossing.
It would help release constraints on both Nottingham to Lincoln and ECML services, and reduce the need for a deeply outdated form of infrastructure.
Unfortunately not practical, or it would likely already have been done. The crossing is hemmed in by road bridges on all sides, which would require the railway to have a steeper gradient than is sensible or mean that the road bridges would need to be moved or raised.
There's 800m from the A46 overbridge, and 1200m from the A1 overbridge. Even allowing for vertical transition curves, that's plenty to get over the ECML even with clearances for electrification, especially if the peak of the viaduct is located at the mid-point between the two bridges.Unfortunately not practical, or it would likely already have been done. The crossing is hemmed in by road bridges on all sides, which would require the railway to have a steeper gradient than is sensible or mean that the road bridges would need to be moved or raised.
National Highways are shortly expected to submit a DCO application to upgrade the A46 around the west of Newark and A1 junction.There's 800m from the A46 overbridge, and 1200m from the A1 overbridge. Even allowing for vertical transition curves, that's plenty to get over the ECML even with clearances for electrification, especially if the peak of the viaduct is located at the mid-point between the two bridges.
HS2 is not a particularly major issue to most voters. Sunak is unpopular for other reasons. But it's notable that Labour so far are universally treating the idea of reinstating Phase 2 as a vote loser.Well, canceling much of HS2 definitely does not seem to have done much for the politician taking that decision. So politically, the strategy was a massive failure - a project gone for no political upside whatsoever.
It would have been much easier to market the benefits if the budget hadn't ballooned, which would have led to doubts about HS2's ability to fulfil the benefits promised regardless of messaging.Since I don’t think UK politicians are particularly stupid, I suppose this will have been noted. Even in very tax- and economics-conscious UK, people will accept large expenditure (because from some point onwards, it becomes so abstract as to be irrelevant) if they see it as useful - so retrospectively, what really has gone wrong is not the cost, but not marketing the benefits well enough (for the North, being able to travel to London faster is economically very useful - but probably not seen as such by a population which doesn’t like its capital and the people there very much. So the focus in communication should have been elsewhere)
Obviously changing plans creates costs. But that doesn't mean that every change of plan will create more costs than it saves.I would suggest that to do something noticeable different that it would add costs and time (which adds more costs) to the point where something nearly identical would likely be highly likely.
…and Portsmouth to Waterloo via Eastleigh, various freight services… Waterloo to Weymouth diversions, etc etc.What would you do about Cardiff - Portsmouth trains if the West Coastway was segregated from the main line? Are you proposing they run via Botley?
HS2 is a classic example of losing control of the narrative. I think you're right that nationally it's not the most important thing, however to the people who care about it (i.e. are affected by it) it does matter a great deal.HS2 is not a particularly major issue to most voters. Sunak is unpopular for other reasons. But it's notable that Labour so far are universally treating the idea of reinstating Phase 2 as a vote loser.
It would be an investment to enable a better service on the Nottingham to Lincoln line, until the other constraints could be removed or mitigatedIt‘s very practical. But it doesnt release much (indeed any, at present) capacity on the ECML. Other constraints are in the way.
Why not one long Tallington-Ranksill bypass? Especially now HS2 is looking a long way offNot necessarily much faster, but possible capacity improvements:
1. A Grantham avoider starting before Stoke Tunnel to relieve the two-track section approaching Grantham.
2. Maybe a Retford avoider, if it can be shown to benefit capacity (avoiding Newark and the flat junction looks attractive, but being so close to the proposed Grantham avoider will not change much capacity-wise).
You'd have very limited to do an on-line 4-tracking, and Northallerton-Ferryhill is already able to send freight via Stockton so really the maximum you'd get is a dynamic loop between Durham and Chester-Le-Street which might get freight out of the way but isn't a lot of help for the passenger local/express conflicts.3. And quadrupling parts or all of Northallerton - Newcastle because so many traffic flows are "bundled" there.
That would be largely unpopular with the amount of through passengers on that service there currently is.Terminate them at Southampton.
There are limits to how much "controlling the narrative" would have made people care about HS2. Absolutely individual people may care a lot about it - but not enough people care about it for either party to consider it a vote-winner.HS2 is a classic example of losing control of the narrative. I think you're right that nationally it's not the most important thing, however to the people who care about it (i.e. are affected by it) it does matter a great deal.
Don't ignore the impact of constituency geography. Controlling the Narrative would have importantly stopped people particularly thinking about HS2, but now that they've lost control it only needs enough people in key areas of the country to be vitally important to either party's westminster strategy.There are limits to how much "controlling the narrative" would have made people care about HS2. Absolutely individual people may care a lot about it - but not enough people care about it for either party to consider it a vote-winner.
Getting people to understand HS2 means being boring and explaining capacity on the network far more than just saying the WCML is packed.There are limits to how much "controlling the narrative" would have made people care about HS2. Absolutely individual people may care a lot about it - but not enough people care about it for either party to consider it a vote-winner.
Why not one long Tallington-Ranksill bypass? Especially now HS2 is looking a long way off
and Northallerton-Ferryhill is already able to send freight via Stockton
Labour and the Tories have presumably done that and found it wanting.Don't ignore the impact of constituency geography.
It would be an investment to enable a better service on the Nottingham to Lincoln line, until the other constraints could be removed or mitigated
A more frequent service would be needed to take more cars off the A46, which will need more upgrades otherwise. So it's not just about the rail picture.Its an awful lot of money for what could be solved by longer trains!