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155mph Class 390s on HS2?

You may have to forgive the grammar, this article was based on a script for a Youtube video Should we operate 155mph (250km/h) capable Class 390 Pendolinos on HS2? The short answer, in my opinion, is no. However, it is a complicated issue that deserves further investigation. The renowned and well-respected railway veteran Chris Gibb has proposed that Class 390s should be fitted with new traction systems and bogies so they can operate in regular service at 155mph in non-tilt mode on HS2.  The primary benefit is capacity from Glasgow and Manchester to London.  But it is also claimed that the Glasgow to London journey time will be 17 minutes slower via HS2 than the existing service. Firstly I have to agree with the point about capacity, In fact, I was one of the first people to demonstrate that HS2 in its current form could lead to a reduction in seating capacity from Manchester and Glasgow into London. However, it is important to stipulate seating capacity. Why is this the case? Beca
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HS2 Thame Valley Viaduct, first beams lifted into place

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Text edited from a script I wrote for a video which can be found  here At 880m long and only 3m high the Thame Valley Viaduct in Buckinghamshire won’t be as impressive as the Colne Valley Viaduct in Denham. However, the way in which it is being constructed will make the viaduct pioneering, at least here in the UK. The viaduct will pass over a large floodplain to the west of Aylesbury that is situated between the A41 and A418. Trying to build a viaduct that is almost a kilometre long within a floodplain provides a whole host of challenges, which is part of the reason why the viaduct is being constructed in the way that it is, using prefabricated elements for much of the viaduct's structure. In order to build the viaduct an access road first had to be constructed, which had to be strong enough to allow cranes, ADTs (articulated dump trucks) and excavators to pass over it, but could not contaminate or block the flow of water. Therefore several culverts were installed underneath the ro
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East West Rail progress, August 2023

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  East West Rail progress, August 2023 Twitter  -  Facebook  -  Youtube
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Re-blog: Improving links between North West England and North Wales

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A version of this article was published in Rail Magazine in December 2021 As someone who lives on the Wirral and frequently travels to North Wales via the A494 through Queensferry, and has been a committee member of the Wrexham-Bidston Rail User's Association for a number of years, I'm well aware of current poor transport connections between North West England and North Wales. The bridge which carries the A494 over the River Dee and on to the A55 was used by 60,000 vehicles a day before the Pandemic. So, knowing how busy the A494 can get, particularly during school holidays and on Fridays before bank holidays when people flock to North Wales, I supported a proposal to build a new link road from the A548 Flintshire bridge to the A55, a proposal known as the " Red Route ". You may be wondering what if anything roads have to do with railways? Well, recently my support for the " Red Route " has started to wane, especially as awareness of the climate emergency
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Re-blog: Nurturing the next generation of rail workers

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A version of this article was originaly published in Rail Magazine in August 2021     A recent tweet commenting on what appears to be a new generation of young rail enthusiasts got me thinking about skills and how the industry can attract the next generation of railway workers. The skills gap within the rail industry seems to be a subject which comes up frequently and has been in part blamed for the difficulty the industry has had in delivering large infrastructure projects. GWML electrification and the Control Period 5 debacle highlighted the issues the industry has with a lack of skilled workers to undertake the monumental task of upgrading the UK's railway network. The CP5 debacle was in my opinion largely the fault of the Government, they simply asked the industry to do too much in such a short space of time, but it is clear that the rail industry must attract and retain skilled people if it is to continue to modernise.   I do think there may be a deep-rooted issue with encour
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Latest Youtube video: Northern Class 195

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Taking a look at the Northern Class 195 which was built by CAF (Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles), features technical specs and thoughts about the units.   Twitter - Facebook - Youtube
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IRP, Rail Revolution or Rail Betrayal? Northern Powerhouse Rail

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O n the 18th of November 2021 the Government published its long-awaited Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) that sets out how the Government will attempt to improve rail links across the North and Midlands. In this blog I hope to set out the main points from and unpick some of the claims made within the report. This part, in a two part blog looks into the detail of the Northern Powerhouse Rail proposal. Part one looks at the HS2 East announcement and the possible implications of cancelling the eastern leg of HS2 Northern Powerhouse Rail (HS3) Northern Powerhouse Rail is where things start to get a little more complicated, as far as I can tell the Government has rejected all 3 proposals put forward by Transport for the North, which were: " Option 1 was a mixture of new-build high-speed line, covering roughly half the route from Liverpool to Leeds, and upgrades to the existing lines into Leeds (via Huddersfield) and Liverpool (via Warrington Bank Quay) for the rest of the route
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