Chiltern Electrification thoughts

[MarkWi72]

I wondered , prior to HS2, if it would have been viable to upgrade and electrify the Chiltern Line. Maybe adding 4 track sections in between Marylebone and Aynho, then Leamington to Hatton/Solihull to Moor Street. The space is there. Trains going on to Worcester/Kidderminster etc. could have been hybrid stock like 801-5s.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I wondered , prior to HS2, if it would have been viable to upgrade and electrify the Chiltern Line. Maybe adding 4 track sections in between Marylebone and Aynho, then Leamington to Hatton/Solihull to Moor Street. The space is there. Trains going on to Worcester/Kidderminster etc. could have been hybrid stock like 801-5s.

Not really, you wouldn't get speed high enough to be useful.

 

[Bald Rick]

I wondered , prior to HS2, if it would have been viable to upgrade and electrify the Chiltern Line. Maybe adding 4 track sections in between Marylebone and Aynho, then Leamington to Hatton/Solihull to Moor Street. The space is there. Trains going on to Worcester/Kidderminster etc. could have been hybrid stock like 801-5s.

Prior to HS2? Even if feasibility work started today, this couldnt be done before HS2.

 

[MarkWi72]

I meant instead of the beginning of HS2. Electrified Chiltern / higher line speeds. Open up parts to 4 track.

 

[Bald Rick]

I meant instead of the beginning of HS2. Electrified Chiltern / higher line speeds. Open up parts to 4 track.

Ah. Well that was looked at, as were a range of alternatives. That work is required to get the consents through, but also to demonstrate the business case.

 

[The Planner]

I meant instead of the beginning of HS2. Electrified Chiltern / higher line speeds. Open up parts to 4 track.

Where were you envisaging the trains to be going, and how do they get to the WCML to go to/from the North?

 

[Mgameing123]

Where were you envisaging the trains to be going, and how do they get to the WCML to go to/from the North?

The most logical guess is that junction before Bordersley which Cross Country also does.

 

[The Planner]

The most logical guess is that junction before Bordersley which Cross Country also does.

That gets you to New St at 20mph, not the WCML

 

[miklcct]

My suggestion will be:

• Electrify the whole network with 25kV AC
• 4-tracking between Marylebone and West Ruislip, with a new station at Neasden for Underground connection avoiding Zone 1 (if there is no further space for a new station further south) and expanding Wembley Stadium to have 4 platforms.

With the service provision of:

• Electric regional trains between Marylebone and Birmingham / Oxford, 2 tph to Birmingham and 2 tph to Oxford. These trains should call at Wembley Stadium, West Ruislip, High Wycombe in the suburban area. This should remain under national control.
• Electric suburban trains between Marylebone and West Ruislip, 4 tph calling at all stations, with 2 tph continuing to High Wycombe and 1 tph continuing to Aylesbury, transferred to TfL as part of London Overground.
• Electric bi-mode (4th rail and 25kV AC) suburban trains 2 tph between Baker Street and Aylesbury Vale Parkway, transferred to TfL as part of London Overground.

 

[stevieinselby]

Electrifying (and potentially further upgrading) the Chiltern line between London and Birmingham is a project that should be considered in its own right, but it isn't in any way a substitute for HS2.
It is not appreciably shorter than the WCML, which is already mostly 125mph from the outer London suburbs to Coventry, so the Chiltern line will never be competitive with WCML on time. So while it would create additional capacity on that corridor, it won't make any significant inroads into even the London to Birmingham WCML market, let alone have any impact at all on traffic from London and Birmingham to points north, nor free up any capacity for additional local stops on the WCML.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I would start at Marylebone station - get the diesel fumes out from there and use Battery bimodes like the Scottish approach.

 

[The Planner]

My suggestion will be:

• Electrify the whole network with 25kV AC
• 4-tracking between Marylebone and West Ruislip, with a new station at Neasden for Underground connection avoiding Zone 1 (if there is no further space for a new station further south) and expanding Wembley Stadium to have 4 platforms.

With the service provision of:

• Electric regional trains between Marylebone and Birmingham / Oxford, 2 tph to Birmingham and 2 tph to Oxford. These trains should call at Wembley Stadium, West Ruislip, High Wycombe in the suburban area. This should remain under national control.
• Electric suburban trains between Marylebone and West Ruislip, 4 tph calling at all stations, with 2 tph continuing to High Wycombe and 1 tph continuing to Aylesbury, transferred to TfL as part of London Overground.
• Electric bi-mode (4th rail and 25kV AC) suburban trains 2 tph between Baker Street and Aylesbury Vale Parkway, transferred to TfL as part of London Overground.

Absolutely no chance of Oxford or Birmingham services stopping at Wembley or West Ruislip. What would be the point? Why does Wembley amd West Ruislip need 8tph? Tfl are not going to take it over to AVP either, what benefit is it being part of overground compared to Chiltern? Are you genuinely suggesting Baker St becomes part of Overground?

 

[cle]

Agree with this - it's important to do in its own right. Look at the GWML switch from 3 car turbos to 8 car 387s (even before Crossrail) - the unlocked potential and growth is massive.

Chiltern doesn't provide the main service through huge places like Reading or Milton Keynes, but it does serve as the sole line for many medium sized settlements which add up, and many of those have both London and Birmingham demand, Oxford too. And have a lot of potential for house-building. It could do a lot more in future, if invested in.

 

[JonathanH]

Absolutely no chance of Oxford or Birmingham services stopping at Wembley or West Ruislip. What would be the point? Why does Wembley amd West Ruislip need 8tph?

The poster has an anathema to doubling back to the London Terminal and feels that long distance trains should stop in Zone 4 and Zone 6 on their way out of London to help people connect into them.