3/4 tracking the Coventry Corridor

[james_the_xv]

While the last major upgrades were relatively recently, should the industry be considering another scheme?

4 tracking the Cov corridor would solve the capacity issues entirely. Bi-Di 3 tracking would allow service recovery when XC/Avanti trains get stuck behind WMT Services and be a net benifit to the WCML and Western region.

Either scheme would remove a major bottleneck, while there would be some compulsory purchase involved it will still be a bottleneck in a post-hs2 railway. Curious to hear other members thoughts.

 

[465fan]

While the last major upgrades were relatively recently, should the industry be considering another scheme?

4 tracking the Cov corridor would solve the capacity issues entirely. Bi-Di 3 tracking would allow service recovery when XC/Avanti trains get stuck behind WMT Services and be a net benifit to the WCML and Western region.

Either scheme would remove a major bottleneck, while there would be some compulsory purchase involved it will still be a bottleneck in a post-hs2 railway. Curious to hear other members thoughts.

To be fair, the Coventry corridor is hardly full to bursting. The issue seems to be quite bad timetabling, which leads to loss of punctuality and then stuff going a bit bandy. In theory, a sensible timetable, with some good-quality performance allowances on the way up to Coventry from both Rugby and Kenilworth, ought to do it. If Avanti and XC stuff is late, it would get caught behind something anyway. The only possible sensible change might be to amend the Euston - Northampton - Birmingham services back to a split service, so that imported delays from the WCML South don't cause stoppers on the Cov - International section to occur more commonly.

 

[james_the_xv]

The only possible sensible change might be to amend the Euston - Northampton - Birmingham services back to a split service, so that imported delays from the WCML South don't cause stoppers on the Cov - International section to occur more commonly.

Is 10-15 minutes dwell at Northampton not enough? As a regular traveller I can't recall a late 1Y taking more than 5 mins to change crew (given they are in position). WMT services aren't the performance issue anyway.

The biggest problem is the Long Distance High Speed services, which would benefit from the opportunity to overtake naturally rather than regulation needed at New Street, International, Coventry, or Rugby.

 

[465fan]

Is 10-15 minutes dwell at Northampton not enough? As a regular traveller I can't recall a late 1Y taking more than 5 mins to change crew (given they are in position). WMT services aren't the performance issue anyway.

The biggest problem is the Long Distance High Speed services, which would benefit from the opportunity to overtake naturally rather than regulation needed at New Street, International, Coventry, or Rugby.

All long-distance services will cause issues at times - it's the nature of the beast. You can't create a business case on the basis of hoping to occasionally allow a late-runner to overtake a stopper. The key thing is creating a punctual, functional timetable that tries, as best as possible, not to present trains into the corridor late. This might include segregation of the Birmingham service group units (e.g. not having a Pendo come into Euston from Manchester and forming a Birmingham), so that issues on the network are isolated or something similar.

The section that looks most dodgy to me is New Street - International. The possibility of something getting caught up at Aberystwyth and going to International, or all these extra units terminating at International from Rugeley and the like, is just a bit hefty. Perhaps International - New Street stoppers should go back to being a shuttle, to be safe.

 

[james_the_xv]

All long-distance services will cause issues at times - it's the nature of the beast. You can't create a business case on the basis of hoping to occasionally allow a late-runner to overtake a stopper. The key thing is creating a punctual, functional timetable that tries, as best as possible, not to present trains into the corridor late. This might include segregation of the Birmingham service group units (e.g. not having a Pendo come into Euston from Manchester and forming a Birmingham), so that issues on the network are isolated or something similar.

So popping in 1'00 performance allowance approaching Coventry will fix an Avanti/XC running 15 late? This is not an occasional occurrence, but an everyday one.

The section that looks most dodgy to me is New Street - International. The possibility of something getting caught up at Aberystwyth and going to International, or all these extra units terminating at International from Rugeley and the like, is just a bit hefty. Perhaps International - New Street stoppers should go back to being a shuttle, to be safe.

Fix the Coventry Corridor, you fix that part of the network too. Even if not on time services turning up in the correct order is a big win.

 

[465fan]

So popping in 1'00 performance allowance approaching Coventry will fix an Avanti/XC running 15 late? This is not an occasional occurrence, but an everyday one.


Fix the Coventry Corridor, you fix that part of the network too. Even if not on time services turning up in the correct order is a big win.

But if the Avanti is 15 late all the time, you have to work out why it's always 15 late, and sort it. Not build new tracks so they can be 15 late every hour.

 

[james_the_xv]

But if the Avanti is 15 late all the time, you have to work out why it's always 15 late, and sort it. Not build new tracks so they can be 15 late every hour.

But when the explanation for 5 years has been 'staff issues' with no sign of resolution; you can both mitigate a current problem and solve a future one by improving the infrastructure

 

[The Planner]

While the last major upgrades were relatively recently, should the industry be considering another scheme?

4 tracking the Cov corridor would solve the capacity issues entirely. Bi-Di 3 tracking would allow service recovery when XC/Avanti trains get stuck behind WMT Services and be a net benifit to the WCML and Western region.

Either scheme would remove a major bottleneck, while there would be some compulsory purchase involved it will still be a bottleneck in a post-hs2 railway. Curious to hear other members thoughts.

You don't put new tracks in to resolve punctuality. Its not a bottleneck. All the previous plans only had 4 tracking Stechford to around Berkswell. Its certainly not going to get done with HS2.

To be fair, the Coventry corridor is hardly full to bursting. The issue seems to be quite bad timetabling, which leads to loss of punctuality and then stuff going a bit bandy. In theory, a sensible timetable, with some good-quality performance allowances on the way up to Coventry from both Rugby and Kenilworth, ought to do it. If Avanti and XC stuff is late, it would get caught behind something anyway. The only possible sensible change might be to amend the Euston - Northampton - Birmingham services back to a split service, so that imported delays from the WCML South don't cause stoppers on the Cov - International section to occur more commonly.

I'll tell the people that wrote Dec 2008 and Dec 2022 that. Diamond time is in trains apprpaching Proof House, how much are you putting in before you just get held somewhere when early?

 

[465fan]

You don't put new tracks in to resolve punctuality. Its not a bottleneck. All the previous plans only had 4 tracking Stechford to around Berkswell. Its certainly not going to get done with HS2.

I'll tell the people that wrote Dec 2008 and Dec 2022 that. Diamond time is in trains apprpaching Proof House, how much are you putting in before you just get held somewhere when early?

Surely the performance allowances, should be between Rugby and Cov or Leamington and Cov quite deliberately?

 

[Magdalia]

4 tracking the Cov corridor would solve the capacity issues entirely.

It is happening, and it is called High Speed 2.

 

[Bald Rick]

While the last major upgrades were relatively recently, should the industry be considering another scheme?

4 tracking the Cov corridor would solve the capacity issues entirely. Bi-Di 3 tracking would allow service recovery when XC/Avanti trains get stuck behind WMT Services and be a net benifit to the WCML and Western region.

Either scheme would remove a major bottleneck, while there would be some compulsory purchase involved it will still be a bottleneck in a post-hs2 railway. Curious to hear other members thoughts.

An extra two tracks are under construction now, just with a ‘rather wide ten foot’.

three / four tracking the existing line would be horribly disruptive. It would be closed for several hundred days (not necessarily consecutively).

Fortunately, we can blame our railway forefathers. The LNWR won the rights to 4 track the line, but never delivered it. They made quite a lot of mistakes back then.

 

[The Planner]

Surely the performance allowances, should be between Rugby and Cov or Leamington and Cov quite deliberately?

Why? Its New St where any issues will/can occur as you can be sat at Proof House waiting for a platform if an outbound is late. Put it at Cov and you'll just sit waiting time and still potentially have the issue.

 

[philosopher]

Fortunately, we can blame our railway forefathers. The LNWR won the rights to 4 track the line, but never delivered it. They made quite a lot of mistakes back then.

Somewhere I read that LMS were just about to start construction on four tracking this corridor in 1939, but World War Two intervened and so it never happened.

 

[PAS48]

Somewhere I read that LMS were just about to start construction on four tracking this corridor in 1939, but World War Two intervened and so it never happened.

Apparently some work was undertaken. As far as I can see from the train, land was purchased at some point to allow four tracking.

Three tracking is urgently needed between Birmingham NS and Wolverhampton to allow overtaking by express traffic. Some land is visible.

 

[The Planner]

Apparently some work was undertaken. As far as I can see from the train, land was purchased at some point to allow four tracking.

Three tracking is urgently needed between Birmingham NS and Wolverhampton to allow overtaking by express traffic. Some land is visible.

Depends on whether any spaces are in the right places and if they are long enough. Even then you are going to need a few miles of it so any looped train is unimpeded as little as possible.

 

[PAS48]

Agreed, so it’s an empirical question. Someone who has the requisite local knowledge may be able to advise.

 

[465fan]

Apparently some work was undertaken. As far as I can see from the train, land was purchased at some point to allow four tracking.

Three tracking is urgently needed between Birmingham NS and Wolverhampton to allow overtaking by express traffic. Some land is visible.

If you were going to do anything, you'd have to consider Berkswell to International. Platforms on the slows only at Berkswell and Hampton, and naturally feeding into platforms 2 and 5.

Might be handy to do something at Stechford as well to speed up some freight throughput, like 40mph flashing across to the back platform, and a crossover onto the Down Grand, with stuff southbound / eastbound held just west of Stechford to let stuff come towards Aston quicker.

 

[The Planner]

If you were going to do anything, you'd have to consider Berkswell to International. Platforms on the slows only at Berkswell and Hampton, and naturally feeding into platforms 2 and 5.

Might be handy to do something at Stechford as well to speed up some freight throughput, like 40mph flashing across to the back platform, and a crossover onto the Down Grand, with stuff southbound / eastbound held just west of Stechford to let stuff come towards Aston quicker.

The plans were never more than Stechford to Berkswell. Your suggestion for Stechford was looked at for New St resignalling but it would never have flown as it would have become a single lead.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Apr 2025 ==

Agreed, so it’s an empirical question. Someone who has the requisite local knowledge may be able to advise.

It depends on what service you trying to provide. And with most suggestions that come up with doing something between Coventry and Wolves, its whether it works at Coventry, New St and Wolves, not necessarily inbetween.

 

[PMN1]

What is covered by the term 'Coventry Corridor'?

 

[Elecman]

What is covered by the term 'Coventry Corridor'?

Birmingham New Street to Coventry