TL: The Double Headed Arrow (UK Trains)

[Devvy]

Credit: John Ragla

Yes, I'm back again. Yes, it's more trains. If you don't like talking about trains, leave this thread now!

Over the last 6-8 months or so, I've been slowly collating information and working on a substantial rewrite to my earlier UK trains timeline. I did start working on a short timeline about no British Rail privatisation (as happened in 1993 onwards). This then morphed slowly in to earlier high speed rail in the United Kingdom; then that slowly morphed into little hooks in to Europe, urban transit programmes, and other alternatives to what has happened. It's not difficult for the rail scene to be completely different; privatisation in 1993 was only in the Conservative manifesto predictably, and the privatisation procedure introduced a (roughly) 10 year delay in any real investment in the network. This killed off our domestic rolling stock manufacturers - hence most stock now being built by Siemens (Germany), Bombardier (Canada), Hitachi (Japan), and had a raft of other consequences.

And so I present; "The Double Headed Arrow" (for those who don't know, this was the logo of British Rail, which remains today as the generic signage for a national rail station). The original point of divergence is back in 1984, basically as a "Thatcher is a little more anti-spending/anti-rail etc". I will do a quick run up of 1984-1989 as rail butterflies take a while to bed in, before we continue on with "normal" chapters from 1990 onwards. Almost every scheme you see here is from OTL to some level; the earlier ones more or less built as OTL, the later ones at least plucked from planning history after a lot of time reading books, reading The Times archives, and reading papers in the National Archives. And then built upon, with plenty of pictures....because reading a bunch of text is boring. And so...

PS: All photos are creative commons, and used under such license with due credit provided. All photos have been cropped to 300px height to make it easier to read, but no other editing has taken place over the original picture.

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1984-1989:

Diesel traction is still used on the East Coast Main Line. Credit: Barry Lewis
"TREASURY DECLINES FUNDING FOR EAST COAST ELECTRIFICATION" (*1)

1984 would see the Thatcher Government decline funding for the electrification of the East Coast Main Line, which had been slated for electrification and new rolling stock (the planned "Intercity 225"). This would have brought standard travel times from London to Leeds to around 2:30 by 1992, and London to Edinburgh to around 4:30, rather then only the "crack expresses". This would have heralded further improvements to the line which has already seen passenger numbers well since the Intercity 125 was introduced. The relentless pursuit of better profitability on the accounts of British Rail by the Conservative Government of the day meant many "challenges" like this - produce improved results with little investment. On the up side, more Intercity 125 train sets were authorised for purchase, allowing more services to reduce overcrowding on the East Coast route. However, there were some concessions to further improve Intercity's profitability - the success of Intercity was crucial to British Rail, as it would allow it to part cover the losses from other areas (primarily the Provincial sector, later to become Regional Railways).

Intercity map, 1980s.
"BRITISH RAIL REORGANISES INTERCITY ROUTES" (*2)

British Rail moved the London (Liverpool Street) to Norwich, London (Victoria) to Gatwick express services to Intercity services, while the Edinburgh-Glasgow expresses were merged into Intercity as an extension of East Coast Main Line. 6 months later, Anglo-Scottish expresses were concentrated on the East Coast Main Line - a faster route from London to Scotland, whilst also concentrating the real express services on one route. Despite the failure of the electrification bid for the east coast main line, the success of the Intercity 125 trains (and authorisation to purchase more) means the ECML is one of the success stories for British Rail in the last decade.

Transpennine services were also considered for transfer, given the major city-to-city routes, but the distance between the stops meant that the services were not particularly suited to Intercity service - as was London (Waterloo) to Bournemouth which was also considered (but, from Network South East's point of view, thankfully rejected). Some unprofitable services were also removed from Intercity, and transferred to the Provincial sector - to be renamed Regional Railways in 1989.

Diesel traction still used during the electrification of the Great Eastern Main Line. Credit: Steve Duhig
"GREAT EASTERN LINK BEGINS MODERNISATION" (*3)

The Great Eastern Main Line began modernisation, which primarily extended electrification all the way from London to Norwich, allowing newer and faster trains to operate the service. Intercity would remain the operator of the principal London-Norwich service, with Network South East operating local services from London Liverpool Street station as far as Ipswich (and associated branches). Provincial continue to operate services north of Ipswich.

A Docklands Light Railway train on test in Manchester for Metrolink. Credit: Neil Clifton
"MANCHESTER METROLINK BEGINS CONSTRUCTION" (*4)

The newly authorised Manchester Metorlink tram system began construction, with a three-spoke system running from Bury on the north side, Altrincham on the south side, and Piccadilly station on the central-east side of the city. The system sees a tram at least every 10 minutes on each route, allowing a much needed boost to transport from north and south of the city. The former ailing British Rail routes used decades old trains to operate the service, and - especially to Bury - obsolete systems to operate the services, which probably explains why British Rail was so happy to hand over the lines to the local authorities.

The line near the Jewellery Quarter, before a train and tram renaissance. Credit: Michael Westly
"MIDLAND METRO BEGINS CONSTRUCTION" (*5)

Midland Metro, authorised after years of debate both within the West Midlands, and with Westminster, has finally begun construction from Wolverhampton to Birmingham, along the former rail alignment which was ripped up decades ago. It will also feature a branch to Smethwick Galton Bridge station, allowing access to British Rail services from this station.

Life before the first Severn Bridge. Credit: Adrian Pingstone
"SECOND SEVERN CROSSING DELAYED" (*6)

The Second Severn Crossing project, to build a second M4 motorway bridge over the Severn Estuary, has been delayed. This is mostly due to funding concerns after worries that the private consortium charged with building it may need recourse to public funding.

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(*1) The main point of divergence. For some reason, OTL, despite her seeming dislike of British Rail, Thatcher authorised some of the largest rail investments known - the massive ECML electrification from London to Edinburgh, and the Channel Tunnel. Go figure. But here, the ECML electrification bid is declined, some extra Intercity 125 trains are authorised to improve services though. There are some other knock on changes to funding, as Thatcher is a little more anti-rail in this TL, and so different/cheaper projects are authorised. It might also lead to problems in 1992...

(*2) The division of routes between Intercity and the regional operators (ie. Regional Railways or Network South East) was considered and reconsidered in the 1980s; Waterloo-Bournemouth, Transpennine services, London-Norwich, Gatwick Express, Edinburgh-Glasgow expresses all swung between Intercity and the regional operators, although OTL only London-Norwich and Gatwick Express were moved to Intercity. In this TL, London-Norwich, Gatwick Express and Edinburgh-Glasgow services have been migrated to Intercity; Edinburgh-Glasgow will become extensions of the East Coast express services from London.

(*3) Minor, but here there is a clearer boundary at Ipswich for the edge of NSE services and start of Regional Railways.

(*4) Basically the same as OTL, only mentioned because the future will be different

(*5) Almost the same as OTL, construction from Wolverhampton Low Level station (cheaper) to Birmingham Moor Street station as funding was refused to divert British Rail trains via Birmingham Snow Hill.

(*6) Second Severn Crossing has been delayed; same attitude that avoiding electrification of the ECML means worries over requirements for public funding mean this has been pushed back while further financial studies are undertaken.

 

[RyanF]

Yay! Trains!

Enjoyed your previous efforts very much and will follow this one!

 

[Riain]

A bit sad about no APT.

 

[Electric Monk]

I'm totally on board with British Rail doing better, could even change things globally in a few places, and curious to see the potential high-speed. I know not nearly enough to comment really, but am excited to see what happens

A bit sad about no APT.

Hit me up, I have a plan . An anti-rail Thatcher would have even less incentive to carry through the troubled APT project though, alas, I agree

 

[Simon]

I'm totally on board with British Rail doing better, could even change things globally in a few places, and curious to see the potential high-speed. I know not nearly enough to comment really, but am excited to see what happens.

Doing better? As the old adage goes be careful what you wish for, a British Rail that's not privatised but likely ends up less well funded could end up worse than our timeline - as neatly illustrated by Iain's Oh Doctor Beeching.

I shall be watching this with interest. Devvy, I'm assuming this is the non-privatised British Rail thing you mentioned a couple of weeks back when I was asking about High Speed 1?

 

[Devvy]

Doing better? As the old adage goes be careful what you wish for, a British Rail that's not privatised but likely ends up less well funded could end up worse than our timeline - as neatly illustrated by Iain's Oh Doctor Beeching.

I shall be watching this with interest. Devvy, I'm assuming this is the non-privatised British Rail thing you mentioned a couple of weeks back when I was asking about High Speed 1?

Yes it is.

For anyone else reading this, OTL, Intercity and Network South East divisions of British Rail posted profits before privatisation. This was hampered by the early 90s recession, but profits were there.

This TL, it will be successful. Not least because I am ruthlessly optimistic in lift and I like to posit how things could be better. But also, I think the risks for a "Oh Dr Beeching" outcome are largely mitigated due to the PoD - here the PoD is largely in the late 1980s; the important reforms of line rationalisation, driver only operation (ie. no guards and ticket checks at station), BR divided by business unit instead of geographical area are largely already complete. Those are all important things that drove BR forwards.

There will of course be consequences; it won't be all rosey and shining, but we'll see how things go.

And welcome along to the rest of you

 

[Lindseyman]

No money "wasted" on the APT- huzzah.

I actually think that more frequent IC125 trains would actually serve the ECML BETTER than electrification as least in the short to medium term.

Await developments with interest

 

[Paulo the Limey]

Well if it means that when they do finally get round to ECML electrification, they do it properly, this gets my vote. Not sure if it is true or not, but I understand they spaced out the supporting towers more than recommended as a cost saving measure, causing more frequent issues with the cables coming down.

 

[Devvy]

No money "wasted" on the APT- huzzah.

I actually think that more frequent IC125 trains would actually serve the ECML BETTER than electrification as least in the short to medium term.

Await developments with interest

The APT has already been and gone by the PoD - so the money is still wasted. Or not...the technology and experience stood BR in good stead for the IC225 (which is sadly butterflied here), sold to Italy, and successfully used in the Virgin Pendolino and countless other trains world wide. Silver lining and all that!

Well if it means that when they do finally get round to ECML electrification, they do it properly, this gets my vote. Not sure if it is true or not, but I understand they spaced out the supporting towers more than recommended as a cost saving measure, causing more frequent issues with the cables coming down.

My understanding is that they are more widely spaced to save money, but I don't think it causes as many problems as people mention. At least in the news I very rarely see ECML trains suspended due to high winds or the like - it's at least less common then problem due to lack of train crew!

 

[Devvy]

1990:

Intercity train sits at Crewe sstation. Credit: Steven Craven
"INTERCITY GROUP RECORDS FIRST PROFITS" (*1)

British Rail Intercity group recorded their first profit in 1990, paving the way for better financial stability within British Rail.

A train approaches Birmingham Moor Street in the 1980s. Credit: Tim Marshall
"NETWORK SOUTH EAST COMMENCES SERVICES TO BIRMINGHAM" (*2)

Network South East has begun fully operating services in to Birmingham Moor Street, using the expanded terminus platforms at the station. The station has been thoroughly overhauled and refurbished by WMPTE, allowing for a much more pleasant passenger experience. The station is now the flagship for WMPTE of the local rail network; clean, bright, and easy to use - the test will be whether the station is in such good condition in 5 years time. Earlier plans to continue through the Birmingham Snow Hill tunnel to Snow Hill station and beyond were previously dropped as offering little benefit, to make way for the future West Midlands Master plan by British Rail, leading to suspicions that the master plan is already a done deal between British Rail and the West Midlands.

The new trains, dubbed the "Networker Turbo", will go hand in hand with speed improvements on the Chiltern Line, allowing London Marylebone to Birmingham Moor Street in approximately 2 hours.

Jubilee Line stock at Kilburn in 1988. Credit: Beechwood Photography
"JUBILEE LINE EXTENSION FINALLY APPROVED" (*3)

The Jubilee Line has finally received authorisation to begin works to extend the line from Charing Cross station, to points east. The extension, in collaboration with the works at Canary Wharf, will take trains from Charing Cross station through the City, Canary Wharf, and terminate at stations in Beckton and North Woolwich, linking several stations serving passengers from the south. Olympia & York, the developers of Canary Wharf will contribute £300 million to the Jubilee Line Extension, and the Department of Environment are purportedly planning on moving to new offices in the Canary Wharf area and selling their previous site in Marsham Street. The new line will offer a huge step change in connectivity for many areas of eastern London which have formerly been run down and deprived. Thamesmead has, however, missed out, despite being originally considered one of the principal destinations of a new line, a decision which has been slammed in some corners of the political world.

A Pacer train sits at Manchester Piccadilly, with the short-lived "Network North West" markings. Credit: Hugh Llewelyn
"NETWORK NORTH WEST GOES FROM BAD TO WORSE" (*4)

Network North West, British Rail's attempt to replicate the successes of Network South East in the north (largely around Manchester), have been going from bad to worse. What was largely a rebranding exercise has largely turned sour, generally due to the continued use of end-of-life trains, organisational turmoil, and frustrated staff. Some sources have indicated that British Rail will drop the use of the "NNW" group, and integrated the services directly back in to the Regional Railways group.

Birmingham City Hall in 1983. Credit: Andrew Miller
"WEST MIDLANDS MASTER PLAN LAUNCHED" (*5)

British Rail have launched their master plan for Birmingham, dubbed the "West Midlands Master Plan". The main thrust is the construction of a new primary station for Birmingham, currently labelled "Birmingham Heartlands" station, in the Heartlands area north east of the city centre. Many critics have derided the proposal, slating the fact that Birmingham's primary station would no longer be in Birmingham, and would be difficult to reach unless by car, but the proposals include the extension of the Midland Metro from Snow Hill station through Moor Street to the Heartlands station, as well as the redirection of the Cross-City Line to serve it at a later date.

The principal sponsor of the project, Intercity, praised the project, elaborating that the scheme would increase reliability, punctuality and speed of services through the West Midlands area, as it would avoid the congested Birmingham New Street station (and avoid Wolverhampton entirely). It is also seen as a first tentative step towards a real high speed rail future, mimicing the French TGV system with dedicated infrastructure, allowing British Rail to develop and test the underlying systems for high speed operation. Following the opening of the Heartlands station, New Street station will be downgraded and reduced in size to 6 platforms, with the resulting land sale helping to fund the Heartlands station.

Network South East Thameslink service pulls in to St Albans. Credit: Ron Hann
"THAMESLINK CELEBRATES A YEAR IN OPERATION" (*6)

Network South East have celebrated a year since the Thameslink service commenced full operation. Stretching from Bedford in the north, to Brighton in the south - the full breadth of the NSE network - the combined line was only fully opened at the start of 1989. The route, which was formerly 2 separate networks running in to Blackfriars from the south, or Farringdon & Moorgate from the north, was merged in to one using the old Snow Hill Tunnel under the centre of London, which was previously used by passenger trains before World War 1. Within the 12 months of operation so far, passenger numbers have already quadrupled on the line, sending a clear message to the authorities that there is a requirement for further cross-London services. British Rail have commented that options for expanding the network are already being investigated.

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(*1) Intercity, in OTL, achieved decent profitability by 1989; here it's delayed by a year because of the cost of bringing the Edinburgh-Glasgow trains in and integrating the services in to the ECML services, and "other" reasons.

(*2) NSE will now operate semi-express services from Birmingham Moor Street to London Marylebone - should take just under 2 hours from looking at original timetabling. The Bullring shopping centre took up almost all of the area that was the goods depot on site; we've pilfered some of the room with some extra terminus platforms.

(*3) The Jubilee Line has finally been authorised for extension in order to allow the Canary Wharf developments to grow - pretty much as per OTL, with the eastern end terminating at Beckton & North Woolwich (instead of Stratford as OTL), which was a seriously considered alternative, which pilfers the eastern ends of the North London Line from British Rail as well. There were snippets about several offices of civil servants moving out to Canary Wharf, hence the bit about the DoE.

(*4) Network North West was an ill fated attempt to replicate the success of Network South East around Manchester. It was not successful to cut a long story short - same old trains, poor infrastructure to run it on, meant the same delays and failures as before but with a new label on the trains.

(*5) Birmingham Heartlands was a proposal to move the Intercity route from New Street to a new station. There are pros and cons (the biggest con being that the station is further away from the city centre), but it makes a dedicated Intercity route through Birmingham and the rest of the West Midlands which is unaffected by other (slower) operators, so will be faster and more reliable. The plan was to downgrade, as mentioned, New Street to only 6 platforms. Iainbhx might have strong words to say (! ), but I can see the logic in the idea of Heartlands station, and it'd certainly reduce congestion at New Street station, and politicians rarely do the obvious thing, and instead love big and flashy projects to point at!

(*6) Thameslink, when opened by NSE, did indeed quadruple passenger numbers in 12 months. It's opening was a complete success, with unforeseen demand, and in OTL BR began investigating expansion almost immediately. It's visions were delayed however due to the onset of privatisation and passing of project to other organisations.

 

[Dunois]

All good bar that the Jubilee Line was named as such in 1977 for the silver Jubilee.

 

[Devvy]

All good bar that the Jubilee Line was named as such in 1977 for the silver Jubilee.

Ooops!

Correcting..... (thanks!)

 

[iainbhx]

I still think Heartlands would be a disaster for Birmingham. The Grand Central idea was a better one. Running Metro through to Moor Street is a good one though, although it does limit space for NSE there.

 

[Simon]

This TL, it will be successful. Not least because I am ruthlessly optimistic in lift and I like to posit how things could be better.

But how are you when you're not moving between floors? Slightly more seriously I generally favour optimistic scenarios as well, or at least where things are different things mostly balance out, rather than some of the more doom and gloom laden scenarios.

Earlier plans to continue through the Snow Hill to Snow Hill station and beyond...

I'm assuming that there's a missing 'tunnel' after the first Snow Hill, only reason it caught my eye is that I used to use it when living in Birmingham a few years back. Slight digression but how limiting is the Snow Hill tunnel only being double track nowadays?

Network South East has begun fully operating services in to Birmingham Moor Street, using the expanded terminus platforms at the station. The station has been thoroughly overhauled and refurbished by WMPTE, allowing for a much more pleasant passenger experience.

Here's hoping it's more in the style of our timeline's early 2000s refurbishments than the 1980s one.

... but I can see the logic in the idea of Heartlands station, and it'd certainly reduce congestion at New Street station...

I'm assuming that this is mainly due to the limited number of lines they're able to run into the station? IIRC when they were knocking down and redeveloping the old Bullring shopping centre just to the east of New Street in the late 1990s and early 2000s the developers actually offered Railtrack the opportunity to add extra where the existing lines ran under their site but were turned down for one reason or another.

 

[Bernard Woolley]

Hooray, more trains!

Shame about there being no 225 because that is an excellent train, IMVHO. However I like the idea of Edinburgh to Glasgow being part of Intercity. That means HSTs on the route, which is always a win.

It was something considered in @, although they would have been operated by the ScotRail sub-sector. Even if E-G is part of the IC network I still forsee the need for ScotRail DMU services as I doubt that IC will want to serve places like Croy, Lenzie etc, maybe even not the larger towns like Linlithgow and Polmont.

In @ there are some ScotRail services which only do a couple of stops between Haymarket and GQS, so they might be the ones that IC do on that route.

 

[Devvy]

I still think Heartlands would be a disaster for Birmingham. The Grand Central idea was a better one. Running Metro through to Moor Street is a good one though, although it does limit space for NSE there.

I read through the Arup proposal as well, and it is equally a good suggestion. The reason I leant on the side of Heartlands was that if it lies on a semi-fast route through the West Midlands (which it can do), then trains only need to sacrifice a bit of time to call at Heartlands when running from NW England to London. Small expense of time, but far better frequency and connectivity, whilst using the same number of trains.

But how are you when you're not moving between floors? Slightly more seriously I generally favour optimistic scenarios as well, or at least where things are different things mostly balance out, rather than some of the more doom and gloom laden scenarios.

Haha...optimistic on life both inside and outside of lifts!

I'm assuming that there's a missing 'tunnel' after the first Snow Hill, only reason it caught my eye is that I used to use it when living in Birmingham a few years back. Slight digression but how limiting is the Snow Hill tunnel only being double track nowadays?

For Brum Snow Hill Tunnel (ie. between Moor Street and New Street), it's not in operation at this point, but the Midland Metro scheme here would see it being the only line running in to Snow Hill station and then through the tunnel. Interchange with BR at Moor Street, then on to Heartlands station. OTL, there are 3 terminus platforms at Moor Street (and a stabling line), here we've taken the stabling line and added another island platform and line to give 5 platforms - a wafer thin land take, that still leaves the Bullring to be constructed virtually as OTL.

I'm not sure on the exact capacity limitations on New Street or Moor Street, but BR apparently thought it was a large issue until Railtrack came along and wasn't interested in investing in anything without a sound business case for financial return on investment. However, the couple of online sources, and the Regional Railways book, both mention that a BR passenger survey found that passengers on local trains were majority headed for New Street, but passengers on Intercity services were majority headed through/via New Street, so the location of the station made no difference, as long as it was well connected to the existing network.

I do wonder whether the strategy would have worked, as iain notes. Places like Lyon have had successful "Part Dieu" business centres, London had Canary Wharf boom despite tenuous transport links to it to start with.

I'm assuming that this is mainly due to the limited number of lines they're able to run into the station? IIRC when they were knocking down and redeveloping the old Bullring shopping centre just to the east of New Street in the late 1990s and early 2000s the developers actually offered Railtrack the opportunity to add extra where the existing lines ran under their site but were turned down for one reason or another.

Apparently the 12/13 tracks of New Street minimising to 4 tracks for the tunnels east bound makes conflicting train movements inevitable, and services as a recipe for congestion. Remove the long and slow acceleration Intercity trains from the mix, and it definitely helps, plus it reduces the amount of passenger interchange space required.

Hooray, more trains!

Shame about there being no 225 because that is an excellent train, IMVHO. However I like the idea of Edinburgh to Glasgow being part of Intercity. That means HSTs on the route, which is always a win.

Agreed, IC225 trains are nice. Used to quite like going on them as a kid up to Yorkshire!

It was something considered in @, although they would have been operated by the ScotRail sub-sector. Even if E-G is part of the IC network I still forsee the need for ScotRail DMU services as I doubt that IC will want to serve places like Croy, Lenzie etc, maybe even not the larger towns like Linlithgow and Polmont.

In @ there are some ScotRail services which only do a couple of stops between Haymarket and GQS, so they might be the ones that IC do on that route.

I agree there are still going to be Scotrail services running Edinburgh-Glasgow, over the various routes, and on the same route as the IC trains but with more stopping points. At the moment, I think E-G on IC would probably be only stopping at Motherwell, based upon the latest IC network maps I can find. Haymarket is a contender, but considering Scotrail will still be running semi-expresses, I think they'd probably be left to look after Haymarket with IC looking after the core Glasgow-Edinburgh-England servcies.

 

[iainbhx]

I'm assuming that there's a missing 'tunnel' after the first Snow Hill, only reason it caught my eye is that I used to use it when living in Birmingham a few years back. Slight digression but how limiting is the Snow Hill tunnel only being double track nowadays?

Snow Hill tunnel has, as far as I know, always been only double track.

 

[Dan1988]

So far, so good, Devvy. Since I liked the last several train TLs you did, I know this one will be just as good.

 

[Bernard Woolley]

If IC is linking Edinburgh to Glasgow via Motherwell it isn't using the EW-GQS line. It is using the line to Carstairs and on to the WCML as VTEC 225s do today.
I can't see IC not stopping at Haymarket as not only did IC do it in @, but the train has to go through Haymarket to access the line to Carstairs and Motherwell.

 

[Simon]

Ah, sorry for the confusion gents, when I said nowadays I meant in our timeline with current-day operations since as Iain it's always been two track. Should have been clearer.