sjm77
Member
Indeed, knowing how quickly they can accidentally travel through the Vale of York
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Railway Performance Society "Fastest Times" over the "main" main lines (Jul 2026 edition)
- Thread starter Justin Smith
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zwk500
Veteran Member
ETCS on it's own does not permit 140mph. And there is very little hope in the current environment for funding of an upgrade to meet today's standards for a retrofitted 140mph line. It would needs swingnose crossings and closed off platforms, for a start. And that's before you look at OLE spec, track & cant tolerances, underline structures, and whether the timetable could allow 140mph running (and all the rest...).
sjm77
Member
On the ECML there are not really that many platforms. Presumably it is only worth doing North of Hitchin as increasing the speed differential between services South of there would be counter productive. Platforms 2/3 at Biggleswade and St.Neots could be closed off in normal operations. Peterborough, Retford and Doncaster are platform free on the fast lines. Grantham has a 100mph limit for the curve at the North end. Newark has the 100 mph restiction just North of the station. The only real problem is Northallerton, and there is a long term plan to 4 track up to the station with new platforms on the slows. That would leave only Chathill with its almost useless service currently on 125mph lines on the ECML in England. There is also Prestonpans and Wallyford in Scotland on a 125mph section but it is highly doubtful that more than a few seconds would be gained form upgrading so literally no point. All others are resticted below 125mph mainly due to curvature.
zwk500
Veteran Member
That's platforms. (Still needs work, as you mention). Now for installing swingnose crossings on every 140mph sections and upgrading all the OLE and track...
Realistically, any running above 125mph in the UK for the forseeable will be on dedicated track. That means if 140mph to Leeds or York ever happens, it'll be via HS2 and a resurrected Eastern Spur.
Justin Smith
Established Member
Looking through Milepost* 32/2 (Oct 2011) I read a very interesting article by Jeremy Harthill which complements the above quoted stats nicely.
Fastest services on British Rail mainlines in October 1974
WCML - Rugby to Watford - 88.8mph
ECML - Stevenage to York - 81.7mph
MML - St Pancras to Wellingborough - 74.4mph
Scotland - Haymarket to Lenzie - 73.5mph
SR (Western) - Basingstoke to Woking - 72.3mph
GWML - Paddington to Exeter - 71.3mph**
GER - Witham to Colchester - 68.3mph
SR (Eastern) - Ashford to Tonbridge - 63.8mph
SR (Central) - Croydon to Haywards Heath - 61.1mph
* The journal of the Railway Performance Society
** This surprises me. I'd have expected something like Reading to Bath or Paddington to Swindon to be faster. I do not have the timetable for 1974 but I do for 1975 and the latter services are indeed slower, fastest appeared to be Paddington to Bath and Paddington to Chippenham, both averaging 65.5mph. Maybe engineering work for the forthcoming 125mph services was slowing schedules ?
The original source is an article in Railway Magazine October 1974 "Britain's Fastest Trains".
There was a Swindon-Bristol Parkway at 69.0mph and a Paddington-Bristol Parkway at 68.8mph. Times were slow because of engineering allowances required for 125mph preparation.