Should the Westhoughton line be an urgent priority for electrification?

[Philip]

The line between Wigan and Lostock Junction was initially included in the plans for the electrification between Manchester and Preston via Bolton, but has been either cancelled or put on the backburner. Should this line be ahead of others in the electrification queue, ie. TPE North, GWR remaining bits, MML, Victoria to Stalybridge, Windermere and Crewe to Chester?

It seems a bit like a jigsaw which hasn't been completed by not wiring this and it surely wouldn't be a big job being a short stretch? If this line was wired, it would mean all local services between Manchester-Bolton-Wigan could be worked by 319s and 331s, terminating at Wigan and allowing Southport and Kirkby services to go via Atherton, the quicker route. It would also mean diverted WCML services could run via the quicker Bolton route and still serve Wigan.

 

[JonathanH]

allowing Southport and Kirkby services to go via Atherton, the quicker route. It would also mean diverted WCML services could run via the quicker Bolton route and still serve Wigan.

How can Atherton and Westhoughton both be the quicker route?

I think the answer to your question is no, it isn't a priority. What are the electrification clearances like on the route and at Wigan Wallgate?

 

[Philip]

How can Atherton and Westhoughton both be the quicker route?

I think the answer to your question is no, it isn't a priority. What are the electrification clearances like on the route and at Wigan Wallgate?

I meant quicker than going along the Parkside Junction route as they do currently. I don't believe clearance was a concern when the plans were there, it just seems to have been quietly dropped, but it doesn't make much sense to electrify through Chorley, but not through Westhoughton.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It would make sense to wire it if you also wired Southport (which I would support, but then to be fair I do support blanket electrification of everything other than the likes of the Far North Line). It probably wouldn't make much sense otherwise.

 

[SeanG]

To be honest, with the use of bimodes on the local services I do not see that the electrification of the line is now a priority - it would be circa 10 miles on electric rather than diesel and I don't think that will boost the range of the bimodes significantly.

Yes it would be handy to have (I would fully support a fully electrified suburban network) but I am sure that the money could be spent better elsewhere.

 

[HST43257]

Would much rather wire via Atherton and give it EMUs on high frequency (4tph) stopping EMU services to the likes of Rochdale and Stalybridge post wiring.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Would much rather wire via Atherton and give it EMUs on high frequency (4tph) stopping EMU services to the likes of Rochdale and Stalybridge post wiring.

I remain of the view that Metrolink would be better for Atherton, and Merseyrail to Wigan would solve the Kirkby branch issue with that. But if you're going to do one you might as well do both.

 

[HST43257]

I remain of the view that Metrolink would be better for Atherton, and Merseyrail to Wigan would solve the Kirkby branch issue with that. But if you're going to do one you might as well do both.

I'll reiterate my Kirkby/Skem/Atherton ideas for the sake of it

2tph Liverpool to Skem
2tph Liverpool to Wigan W
2tph Manchester to Skem
2tph Manchester to Wigan NW

Better to all be heavy rail for lack of complications imo

 

[tbtc]

I think that someone needs to take a decision about the lines from Salford to Wigan, since at the moment there's combinations of two main Manchester stations, two different intermediate routes and two Wigan stations (admittedly just over the road from each other) to create eight different combinations (excluding extensions to Southport/ Kirkby or where trains serve east of Manchester):

• From Piccadilly or Victoria
• Via Atherton or Via Bolton
• To North Western or Wallgate

There's occasionally talk of converting the Atherton line to Metrolink (so that it actually goes into some of the places it claims to serve, e.g. Atherton station is some way from Atherton itself), there's occasionally talk of building heavy rail into Skelmersdale, there's occasionally talk of Merseyrail taking over as far as Wigan, there's occasionally talk of at least one chord near Buscough with the Ormskirk line (albeit the preferred chord changes!)...

...there's a lot of 'jam tomorrow", but no real improvements for many years.

So do we keep things as they are for now, because there's a chance of some mega-investment in the medium term (just like there's been a chance of some mega-investment in the medium term for quite some time!), or do we take some "tough" decisions now?

For example, we could decide that "all Bolton services terminate at Wigan and all Southport/Kirkby services run via Atherton" - that means that electrification from Bolton to Wigan should have a better business case, since you'd be converting all trains on the line to pure-EMU. That way you can match a wholly electrified route west of Manchester with a wholly electrified route east of Manchester. Keep It Simple. But, obviously, trying to apply such laudable Germanic aspirations to the Manchester - Southport line often ends up in contradictions...