Birmingham to Bristol Electrification

[option]

Only 64 miles from Bromsgrove to Yate, so surely should be easy to do.

Snow Hill lines;
Stourbridge - Dorridge = 23miles
Tyseley - Stratford = 21miles
Total of 46miles to get nearly all the WMR services electrified.
(+ 14miles to include Dorridge - Stratford, which gets you to 60miles)


I suspect for Birmingham - Bristol to get done, it needs to become an infill project, where much of the work has been done under previous projects;
Bromsgrove & Stourbridge to Worcester
Swindon - Gloucester
Bristol - Gloucester

 

[zwk500]

Snow Hill lines;
Stourbridge - Dorridge = 23miles
Tyseley - Stratford = 21miles
Total of 46miles to get nearly all the WMR services electrified.
(+ 14miles to include Dorridge - Stratford, which gets you to 60miles)

It's much less about the mileage than the overhead structures. Moor Street to Stourbridge has quite a few rather tight ones, I believe.

I suspect for Birmingham - Bristol to get done, it needs to become an infill project, where much of the work has been done under previous projects;
Bromsgrove & Stourbridge to Worcester
Swindon - Gloucester
Bristol - Gloucester

Agreed

 

[The Planner]

Old Hill tunnel may be a challenge.

 

[adrock1976]

It's much less about the mileage than the overhead structures. Moor Street to Stourbridge has quite a few rather tight ones, I believe.

Agreed

I know that there are three tunnels (four if including one of the Hockley tunnels, which is presently wired for the Midland Metro) at Snow Hill, Hockley, and Gosty Hill (between Rowley Regis and Old Hill), but unsure if there is sufficient clearance for overhead wires.

Maybe the bridges near the former Rood End sidings, plus over the canal at Smethwick Galton Bridge, and the bridge between Lye and where it joins the ex Oxford, Worcester, & Wolverhampton north of Stourbridge Junction are a bit tight?

Also, there have been suggestions over the years for a Benson Road curve in the Winson Green/Handsworth area utilising the site of the ex LNWR Soho Goods Yard - have any serious proposals regarding this ever made it past the drawing board stage or has quietly been dropped/faded into oblivion?

 

[BrianW]

In my naivete ... I would HOPE to see a rolling programme of electrification working to priorities derived from a strategic review ... rather in the way the WCML electrification happened ... and should then have continued. Stop-start like GWML electrification with its start before being ready (however understandable) and consequent delays and cutbacks and loss of trust is costly (Shapps-Williams, p14).

In 'the real world' I'm not convinced that government is ready to commit to that (or any?) expenditure, esp on something like railways used only by a minority, even if conservative-voting. NHS, Health Care, education and skills of the 'lost generation' will be higher priorities, esp with less travel due to working from home. Sunak rules.

 

[XAM2175]

... I would HOPE to see a rolling programme of electrification working to priorities derived from a strategic review ...
In 'the real world' I'm not convinced that government is ready to commit to that (or any?) expenditure, esp on something like railways used only by a minority, even if conservative-voting. NHS, Health Care, education and skills of the 'lost generation' will be higher priorities, esp with less travel due to working from home. Sunak rules.

You should try getting yourselves a Scottish Government

 

[class26]

In my naivete ... I would HOPE to see a rolling programme of electrification working to priorities derived from a strategic review ... rather in the way the WCML electrification happened ... and should then have continued. Stop-start like GWML electrification with its start before being ready (however understandable) and consequent delays and cutbacks and loss of trust is costly (Shapps-Williams, p14).

In 'the real world' I'm not convinced that government is ready to commit to that (or any?) expenditure, esp on something like railways used only by a minority, even if conservative-voting. NHS, Health Care, education and skills of the 'lost generation' will be higher priorities, esp with less travel due to working from home. Sunak rules.

But there is still climate change which seems to be accelerating and the only practical answer for railways surely is electrification. Ok, the dft, are sitting on their hands waiting for the bionic duckweed solution to appear but there are deadlines looming which will surely will mean, sooner or later that the bullet HAS to be bitten and put up the wires. By deadlines I mean commitment to remove diesel plus stock replacement. Are we really going to order yet more diesel trains with a 40 year life span?
In August`s Modern Railways Tony Miles writes "it is becoming increasingly difficult for those who have set the objective of decarbonisation by 2040 to also say "but we will not electrify your railway".