Philip Hammond, the Secretary of State for Transport, stated in Parliament on the 25th November 2010:
‘The Chancellor also announced on 20 October the electrification of the lines between Liverpool, Manchester, Preston and Blackpool, representing an investment of up to £300 million. I expect work in the north-west to begin next year and to be completed at about the same time as work on the Thames valley commuter lines, in 2016. Some sections will be completed well ahead of this, notably Manchester to Newton-le-Willows in late-2013, allowing new electric trains to operate from Manchester to Scotland. As with Thameslink, we will require Network Rail to keep a tight rein on costs. The redeployment of electric rolling stock to these routes will, in turn, free up hundreds of diesel units, which will be available to train operators to lease as they become available in the period after 2015.’
In a further reply he stated:
‘…..Electrification will allow the electric carriages released by the delivery of the new Thameslink carriages to be deployed. There is no point completing that electrification (Man. to Blackpool), except for the section from Manchester to Newton-le-Willows, until those electric carriages are available. The timetabling is perfectly logical and the early completion of Manchester to Newton-le-Willows will allow brand-new electric trains to be operated on the Manchester to Scotland routes.’
Some good news then. In 2011 start electrifying the line from Manchester to the West Coast Main Line at Newton le Willows which will enable the diesel powered trains to Edinburgh that run through Preston to be new electric trains by late 2013. While the remainder of the electrification from Manchester via Bolton and Preston to Blackpool will be complete by 2016, as well as the Liverpool to West Coast Main Line track. The bad news being that the line through Preston gets second hand stock from London, but better that, than nothing and the lines around London are much more congested so bigger faster trains are needed.
Rather an obvious comment is that it is all very well, and very welcome, to wire up from Manchester to Newton-le-Willows, but what about the line from there to Liverpool. This half of the Manchester-Liverpool line is equally important so that Liverpool – Scotland trains can also be electrically hauled. Obviously a blind spot in the eyes of our London-centric politicians. And as for shortage of electric stock, the clear answer is to use some of the electric locomotives NOT sent short-sightedly to Bulgaria hauling Cargo D Mark Three stock. All this to be replaced in due course, BUT NOT I hope by outer suburban EMUs but by Pendolinos; why shouldn’t the North-West have tilting trains to Scotland? But in order to get through the London thick skins some pretty remarkable lobbying is going to have to take place.
Hi John,
Isn’t the line from Manchester to Liverpool being electrified beyond Newton Le Willows that will also allow trains from Liverpool to Scotland. Is it also that there are more trains from Manchester to Scotland than from Liverpool so this is being done first.
Of course the full length of the Manchester-Newton-Liverpool line is going to be electrified, together with the Liverpool-Wigan and the Manchester-Preston-Blackpool lines. By adding the chord to the WCML at Newton, at an early stage electric trains will be able to run direct from Glasgow via Preston to Manchester. Diversions from the WCML will also become much more simple. Electric services will be introduced as the refurbished stock from Thameslink becomes available.
Replying to John of MIP and Mr Guild, and taking their points – thank you -I think we are going to have to watch the Dept. for Transport very carefully to see just where the ex-Thameslink EMUs are deployed. Local services are all well and good, providing the units are comprehensively refurbished, but intercity services between the North-West and Scotland should without question be provided by Pendolinos, as the equivalent services to London have been, and for the same reasons. Any attempt to use outer-suburban units would be totally unacceptable, and totally unfair, but the London politicians may just try it on. Watch them!
As a general comment I am really amazed, as well as being delighted, that the NW electrification IN ITS ENTIRETY has been authorised. This will at one stroke complete the original job the Weaver Junction-Glasgow Scheme wished to include but which was thrown out by (those same) London politicians. From then on mere small sections will remain to be completed to complete the job in the NW.
[ In parenthesis one might comment that, living in a small country as we do, complete electrification of all our viable lines could really be achieved within a very few years, were we to embark on the sort of programme that China is currently embarking on with their drive and vision. After the Great Western and Midland Main lines all that remains of the basic network are the Derby to Bristol and Edinburgh/Glasgow to Aberdeen lines. The remainder is in-fill. But it does need that drive and vision!]
Just to be absolutely clear, these are the timescales we are working to –
Year end target completion dates are:-
2013 for Manchester to the WCML
2014 for Liverpool to the WCML, plus Huyton to Wigan
2015 for Preston to Blackpool
2016 for Deal Street to Euxton Jcn (i.e. Manchester to Preston)
i.e work to be completed by the end of each year.
Keith Lumley
Network Rail media relations manager