Killingworth
Established Member
The OP said "a bit more out of the existing network with a little civils" but we're getting into some very major civils, well beyond a couple of men and a bulldozer!There's a number of tunnels where the Victorian engineers failed to allow for W12 and electrification clearance that have lower speed limits than the rest of the line. The Farnworth treatment of filling with concrete and reboring them to modern standards would be my suggestion for Kinghorn and Killiecrankie, and many more. Aberdeen's Woolmanhill and Hutcheon street tunnels could be opened up for double tracking, W12 and electrification, more than for speed.
Tunnels. We need to build three parallel tunnels alongside Totley, Cowburn and Disley to allow electrification to modern widest gauge standards, then reline and rebore the existing tunnels as necessary so both bores would take the fastest and biggest trains likely to use the route - currently restricted to 70 mph with container traffic apparently too big to pass through safely.
Against this, Hope Valley residents and tourists would not like the construction work, or extra freight trains, and cost would be enormous.
However, with the crayons out, costs justified and environmental opposition overcome, how about the new Cross-Pennine twin bore tunnels dead straight at base level from below Manchester Piccadilly to below Sheffield Midland? No gradients, no curves, no bridges, and no weather It could run under Glossop with a possible low level station below the existing station after a slight deviation. About 33 miles. Fast services between the two cities taking under 20 minutes. Now that's a seriously big project.
I concede that 3 new parallel bores alongside the old, or a brand new twin bored base tunnel all the way, would be expensive, and more than a 'little civils.' Sunday after lunch dreams, but would that they could happen.
Levelling up the North indeed. Far more practical than a North Channel tunnel to Northern Ireland.