Rail network pinch points

[168lover]

Double track into London Marylebone in the peak sees 33 train movements in an hour which is a fair few

 

[RichJF]

Most of the double track between Three Bridges & Brighton is at capacity & goes pear shaped when any major infrastructure/unfortunate events occur. Bi-directional working helps but with the Ouse Valley Viaduct & other prohibitive engineering a quick solution doesn't look quick.

East Coastway/Brighton & some West Coasway services all heading along this section.

 

[The Ham]

I would suggest that the biggest rail capacity constraint is to access Heathrow. Currently to get there involved a significant doubling back on yourself from anywhere other than Central London or involves zero tracks, when there's significant passenger numbers at the airport that would use a rail service if there was one.

A southern approach would also allow more services to run between Basingstoke and Working and Guildford and Woking where there is significant local rail travel as well as proving a North/South link that would benefit useful in what is a fairly built up area with lots of traffic congestion.

 

[Statto]

Manchester Piccadilly Platforms 13/14 to Manchester Oxford Road, doesn't help the lines into Piccadilly from Ardwick & beyond are also very busy, so few trains can start/terminate at Piccadilly P13/14.

 

[Scotrail84]

I'm starting from the observation that county and other councils lobby for lots of road schemes to "ease congestion" and quite a lot get built, all over the place. I don't remember seeing a thread that explores this in the rail context.

Having been delayed the other day on departure southbound from Crewe awaiting the passing of a late-running express it occurred to me that there are places on the network where delays can multiply for the lack of a little bit of infrastructure, but not many smaller improvements get made. In fact I would guess that "simplifications" to reduce ongoing maintainance costs are more likely [common] even though they make the network less resilient.

In the case of Crewe I was quite surprised to see on Open Train Times (http://www.opentraintimes.com/maps/signalling/crewe) that at Crewe South Junction there are only 3 tracks for all the WCML traffic at one point, even though it is a 4-track railway everywhere else south of Weaver Junction. Clearly the continuation of the line through platform 5 southbound would allow stoppers to depart and get further south before taking their place behind the delayed non-stop trains. (the situation occurs repeatedly, e.g.at 1249 today.)

I am aware of the 2-track eastern approach to Edinburgh Waverley where the ECML and now the borders line enter the station, besides other big jobs that need doing like Welwyn on the ECML and Oxford Rd to Piccadilly in Manchester. There are also some single-lead junctions where one delay must snowball causing much wider consequences,

How many other pinch points are there (nationally) and how would you rank them in terms of benefits to be gained versus the costs?

That used to be 4 track layout. Colton tunesls could be reverted back to 4 track but beyond Abbeyhill Jn theres not much room until you reach craigentinny area.

 

[Alfie1014]

Double track into London Marylebone in the peak sees 33 train movements in an hour which is a fair few

Fenchurch Street (2 track) approaches 40 movements in the busiest hour, though pre re-signalling in the 1990s it used to be 46.

 

[Alfie1014]

Mind you I'd still throw into the ring the GEML, mixed traffic with fast passenger, stopping passenger and heavy freight flows and pretty much two track for most of the way, though there is some limited use of the ELs between Stratford and Shenfield, especially to/from Ilford CS and to access the LTS at Forest Gate Junction. That said there are 40 train movements through Shenfield on the Main Lines in the busiest hour in the morning peak. As a result the infrastructure gets a hammering and the asset condition is not good, for example last period GA had the highest delay per TOC (except the small Heathrow Express at 37%) as a result of Network Rail defects at 34%. Mind you fleet failures don't help either, 3 class 90s failing last Friday and the 317/321s are showing their age, but at least the fleet performance should improve in the near future, whereas there's no obvious quick fix for the infrastructure.

 

[Bald Rick]

... but at least the fleet performance should improve in the near future, whereas there's no obvious quick fix for the infrastructure.

There is A general view in the fleet engineering industry that GA fleet performance will get worse before it gets better. Three new classes of train to introduce, two of which are new to this country - it will be a difficult first year of new trains.

 

[306024]

A lot of the snagging on the Bombardier fleet should have been done as the computer, although not the rest of the train, must be similar to the Crossrail 345s. The Stadler fleet though is a whole new ball game. Ironically the 315s are turning in some of their best miles per casulity figures in years. Perhaps a 12 car 315 on the Norwich service is the answer

Yes the whole GEML is a pinch point when you consider the mix of traffic. And in terms of designing a timetable with good connections, most branch lines off the GEML have a bit of single track to contend with.

 

[Dr_Paul]

St Pancras to Blackfriars on the Thameslink line, not least when services from Finsbury Park start coming through.

 

[BurtonM]

Ardwick Jn outside Manchester Piccadilly for trains passing through to Oxford Road. Of course this is being solved by Ordsall Chord, rerouting etc.

The Leeds-Hull line was for a while but that was a rolling stock issue. Still not great mind.
There’s a certain TPE service that often gets stuck behind a Northern stopper between Huddersfield and Stalybridge and can’t pass. They’re about five minutes apart all that way and the TPE is the second train after the Northern stopper that starts at Hud going on to Wigan or wherever. The stopper is terrible at keeping time and any delay on that puts the TPE behind it back a similar amount. Annoying when said TPE service is the one that has to get through Ardwick Jn to the Oxford Road corridor.

 

[Chester1]

Manchester Piccadilly Platforms 13/14 to Manchester Oxford Road, doesn't help the lines into Piccadilly from Ardwick & beyond are also very busy, so few trains can start/terminate at Piccadilly P13/14.

I might be wrong but Piccadilly to Ardwick is currently more constrained than the line to Oxford Road. It will change in May with the big TPE and Northern recast.

Ardwick Jn outside Manchester Piccadilly for trains passing through to Oxford Road. Of course this is being solved by Ordsall Chord, rerouting etc.

The Leeds-Hull line was for a while but that was a rolling stock issue. Still not great mind.
There’s a certain TPE service that often gets stuck behind a Northern stopper between Huddersfield and Stalybridge and can’t pass. They’re about five minutes apart all that way and the TPE is the second train after the Northern stopper that starts at Hud going on to Wigan or wherever. The stopper is terrible at keeping time and any delay on that puts the TPE behind it back a similar amount. Annoying when said TPE service is the one that has to get through Ardwick Jn to the Oxford Road corridor.

Hopefully that situation won't happen from May when TPE run all services between Stalybridge and Huddersfield. I might be wrong but all the capacity into Piccadilly platforms 1 to 12 created by the Ordsall Chord has already been allocated at peak times. Piccadilly is going to be one massive bottleneck!

 

[Andyjs247]

Birmingham New Street to Proof House Junction. Any problems there have far reaching consequences. In future HS2 and Camp Hill chords will help with alternative options.

 

[DanTrain]

The single line through Dore causes a few problems, often meaning services coming the other way can be delayed or causing delays in the MML. This is 'due' to be redoubled soon though, although I'll believe it when I see it...

 

[Doctor Fegg]

Many years ago, didn't the ECML franchisee at the time, I forget who, try to get Welwyn North closed to speed up long-distance trains?

Yes, GNER in the Sea Containers (James Sherwood/Christopher Garnett) era.

 

[J-Rod]

Much as Hertford is useful during engineering works, or more long-term closures like after the Hatfield and Potters Bar accidents, it's virtually useless for the day-to-day service, since the loop now carries an intensive service in its own right. Even if one could find a path for a fast train or two per hour going this way, reliability would be abysmal due to the risk of something or other running late and thus the fast service getting stuck behind a stopping train.

Am I right in thinking that the reason the Hertford Loop can't be improved by adding more tracks is mostly due to a bad alignment?

 

[snowball]

Am I right in thinking that the reason the Hertford Loop can't be improved by adding more tracks is mostly due to a bad alignment?

Welcome to the forum!

Most railway lines close to London would be difficult to add more tracks to simply because there are buildings close to them on both sides (many perhaps built as a result of the railway being there). Just looking at the map, the Hertford loop seems to be like that as far as Enfield. I don't see why it would be described as badly aligned.

It doesn't look well aligned for the highest speeds but no doubt that was never the intention.

 

[J-Rod]

Yeah, that thought was based on a conversation overheard while travelling down there some years ago while all the trains had been diverted that morning (and this thread had me wondering if there was any truth in it!).

The London end is stuffed in though

 

[Carntyne]

The Milngavie branch? Someone coughs on a 318 and the place falls to bits.