TPE electrification - What will be the next bit of electrification to start?

[Ken H]

So they are doing Victoria/Guide Bridge - Stalybridge and Church Fenton - Colton Jct
Huddersfield - Dewsbury is a big project which I assume is starting up.

But where will be the next 'simple' bit of electrification be?

One or more of these bits?

Stalybridge - Standedge West portal
Standedge Tunnel
Standedge Hunnel East portal - Huddersfield
Dewsbury - {some point between Dewsbury and Leeds}
{some point between Dewsbury and Leeds} - Leeds
Neville Hill - Micklefield
Micklefield - Church Fenton

If I have missed any announcement about further electrification Apologies.

Any impediments to any of these sections going ahead soon?

 

[GRALISTAIR]

My guess would be East of Leeds. I strongly suspect Neville Hill to Micklefield but then I am sure that Micklefield to Church Fenton would be next. OTOH since you have boots on the ground already and to stop the pant going up and down like a yo-yo, then continuing from Church Fenton to Micklefield may make much more sense.

 

[Ken H]

My guess would be East of Leeds. I strongly suspect Neville Hill to Micklefield but then I am sure that Micklefield to Church Fenton would be next. OTOH since you have boots on the ground already and to stop the pant going up and down like a yo-yo, then continuing from Church Fenton to Micklefield may make much more sense.

Yeah. but will they bite the bullet and re-4 track NH to Crossgates? Will 4 tracks with overhead fit under the A6120 road bridge by the station? Will they build an Osmondthorpe station somewhere?

 

[snowball]

It won't be anything west of Huddersfield, because the decision to electrify Stalybridge to Standedge is only recent (and possibly not yet fully ratified?) and the design of Standedge to Huddersfield has probably been subject to NPR planning blight until recently.

 

[quantinghome]

My guess would be East of Leeds. I strongly suspect Neville Hill to Micklefield but then I am sure that Micklefield to Church Fenton would be next. OTOH since you have boots on the ground already and to stop the pant going up and down like a yo-yo, then continuing from Church Fenton to Micklefield may make much more sense.

Lots of work needed around Neville Hill as well. The main line is to be slewed for higher speeds which will cut off access to NH during the work, requiring depots to be developed elsewhere. Sequence will be something like:

1. Build new depots
2. Transfer operations from NH to new depots
3. Realign track east of Leeds
4. Electrify

Given all that I wouldn't be surprised if NH - Micklefield were the last bit to be wired up.

 

[Iskra]

Lots of work needed around Neville Hill as well. The main line is to be slewed for higher speeds which will cut off access to NH during the work, requiring depots to be developed elsewhere. Sequence will be something like:

1. Build new depots
2. Transfer operations from NH to new depots
3. Realign track east of Leeds
4. Electrify

Given all that I wouldn't be surprised if NH - Micklefield were the last bit to be wired up.

Where will the new depots be? Holbeck seems to be expanding all the time

 

[geordieblue]

Have they fully developed the capacity options for Neville Hill-Micklefield? There was some talk of loops but I'm not sure where that's up to, and there is of course the station at Thorpe Park supposedly going in too.

 

[quantinghome]

Where will the new depots be? Holbeck seems to be expanding all the time

I'm aware of at least one new location which is being considered. Can't say more.

 

[Iskra]

I'm aware of at least one new location which is being considered. Can't say more.

Interesting!

 

[mike57]

I think timescales are going to be as significant as which bits are next. My question is when will York - Manchester be fully electrified? Obviously with Bi-modes any extra bits are a bonus, but progress to date has been glacial with just two short sections at either end in progress. Logically I would try and prioritise Stalybridge - Huddersfield as this is the section with the climbs, and would benefit from electric operation the most, although the climb up west out of Leeds feels quite sigificant as well.

 

[skyhigh]

Where will the new depots be? Holbeck seems to be expanding all the time

Holbeck is planned for major expansion work in the next couple of years, from what I've heard.

 

[Spartacus]

Dewsbury - Copley Hill might be a good bet once White Rose is built and Cottingley closed. One would assume Dewsbury - Huddersfield will be wired at the same time as it's upgraded, and there isn't anywhere that would make a good changeover point in the Dewsbury area, so having Dewsbury - Copley Hill done first with mostly overnight possessions would mean the Dewsbury - Huddersfield bit wouldn't be left isolated. The planned rebuilding of Morley might be a bigger problem than White Rose & Cottingley though.

 

[Ken H]

Dewsbury - Copley Hill might be a good bet once White Rose is built and Cottingley closed. One would assume Dewsbury - Huddersfield will be wired at the same time as it's upgraded, and there isn't anywhere that would make a good changeover point in the Dewsbury area, so having Dewsbury - Copley Hill done first with mostly overnight possessions would mean the Dewsbury - Huddersfield bit wouldn't be left isolated. The planned rebuilding of Morley might be a bigger problem than White Rose & Cottingley though.

This is the trouble. They wont start anything in case some other project gets affected. Someone needs to take this in hand and manage it. Ir there will always be some impediment why projects cant happen.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Where will the new depots be? Holbeck seems to be expanding all the time

Supposedly Hillhouse between Huddersfield and Deighton is still being considered for a depot in the longer term. However that site is being used for a temporary Huddersfield station during the rebuild, so can't be used for a depot until that work is done and dusted. In the short-term there's plenty of railway-owned land at Healey Mills, although that's basically a forest right now.

As per the thread title, I'd expect Leeds to Dewsbury/Ravensthorpe to follow on soon after the big rebuild through Mirfield is done, as this will allow electric running through from HUD to LDS: Meaning that the stoppers can be EMUs and the 802s can pan-up and switch the generators off. Similarly Neville Hill to York would benefit locals as well as long-distance, and with less of a rebuild taking place will probably happen before Dewsbury.

 

[Iskra]

Supposedly Hillhouse between Huddersfield and Deighton is still being considered for a depot in the longer term. However that site is being used for a temporary Huddersfield station during the rebuild, so can't be used for a depot until that work is done and dusted. In the short-term there's plenty of railway-owned land at Healey Mills, although that's basically a forest right now.

As per the thread title, I'd expect Leeds to Dewsbury/Ravensthorpe to follow on soon after the big rebuild through Mirfield is done, as this will allow electric running through from HUD to LDS: Meaning that the stoppers can be EMUs and the 802s can pan-up and switch the generators off. Similarly Neville Hill to York would benefit locals as well as long-distance, and with less of a rebuild taking place will probably happen before Dewsbury.

Healey Mills was my second guess after Holbeck enlargement.

Huddersfield-York EMU's would make operations much easier at Leeds too, saving bay platforms and conflicting moves.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Dewsbury - Copley Hill might be a good bet once White Rose is built and Cottingley closed. One would assume Dewsbury - Huddersfield will be wired at the same time as it's upgraded, and there isn't anywhere that would make a good changeover point in the Dewsbury area, so having Dewsbury - Copley Hill done first with mostly overnight possessions would mean the Dewsbury - Huddersfield bit wouldn't be left isolated. The planned rebuilding of Morley might be a bigger problem than White Rose & Cottingley though.

One would certainly hope that the new station at White Rose will be built with suitable clearances etc. for electrification!

 

[Spartacus]

One would certainly hope that the new station at White Rose will be built with suitable clearances etc. for electrification!

I'd hope so, as would the rebuilt Morley, but I thought they might want to get the stations out of the way before putting up the wires. There seemd to have been some work going on East of Morley station this morning, but I'm not convinced it was related to either electrification or the station.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I'd hope so, as would the rebuilt Morley, but I thought they might want to get the stations out of the way before putting up the wires. There seemd to have been some work going on East of Morley station this morning, but I'm not convinced it was related to either electrification or the station.

To be honest I'd forgotten that Morley was getting a major rebuild rather than just a modern accessible bridge. Hopefully it isn't moving much closer to White Rose, it's far enough from Morley as it is!

 

[Halifaxlad]

I'd hope so, as would the rebuilt Morley, but I thought they might want to get the stations out of the way before putting up the wires. There seemd to have been some work going on East of Morley station this morning, but I'm not convinced it was related to either electrification or the station.

Considering White Rose is being built on an embankment I would be advantageous to put the piles for the overheads in whilst its being built considering a station may make it tricker later.

 

[Snow1964]

Sorry if this is wrong thread (can’t find one on improvements between Huddersfield and Dewsbury)

The Government has granted Transport and Works Order for improvements

2. The Order as applied for would confer powers on NR for the construction, operation and maintenance of works on the North Transpennine railway line between Huddersfield and Westtown (Dewsbury) for the purposes of increasing capacity and improving both journey times and the performance reliability of railway services on the route between Huddersfield and Westtown (Dewsbury) and between Manchester, Leeds and York (”the Scheme”). The Order would authorise NR to acquire land, subsoil of land, airspace, ground anchor rights and interests in land, including the imposition of restrictive covenants, and to temporarily acquire and temporarily use land for the purposes of the works authorised by the Order. The Order would also confer powers in connection with the construction and operation of the railway

11. The Secretary of State notes that the Scheme relates to the section of the NTPR between Huddersfield and Westtown in Dewsbury, is located wholly within the administrative area of Kirklees Council (“KC”) and constitutes Project W3 of the wider TRU scheme. He further notes that the key elements of the Scheme are the installation of a four track railway across most of the Scheme route, the provision of railway grade separation works at Ravensthorpe, works to the stations at Huddersfield, Deighton, Mirfield and Ravensthorpe, and the electrification of the full length of this section of the NTPR (IR 2.10 and IR 2.11).

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1085988/huddersfield-to-westtown-dewsbury-improvements-order-application-decision-letter.pdf

Happy for someone to copy this into a more appropriate thread if it exists

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Thanks for this. When I get back to my PC I will post in the Transpennine Upgrade thread as this is the speculative forum and this announcement is real and not speculation.