In the last few hours, Gareth Dennis has uploaded a short segment of his interesting Railnatter 322 about the ECML between Newcastle and Edinburgh, if you’d like to view the full episode, drop back to our previous blog post covering it here.
The short segment from Newcastle Central Station to Cramlington can be viewed below.
I’ve put together some of my thoughts on this short section of the ECML.
Newcastle Central Station, and Newcastle East Junction.
I would agree with Gareth about the need for additional bay platforms at the east end of Newcastle to act as a terminus for ‘North of Newcastle’ services such as the Northumberland Line to Ashington, and in future Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, the Northumberland Coast Loop to Edinburgh via Northumberland Park and Blyth Bebside, as well as local & regional services shuttling up and down the East Coast Main Line (ECML).
I also agree that these platforms would be unlikely to need a connection across the High Level Bridge, which then would then act to simplify the Newcastle East Junction and make operations easier.
It would need to be added that some services would be desirable to extend beyond Newcastle, and therefore would need access to some through platforms for these operations; so perhaps the current Platforms 2 & 3 would be used for through services, whilst Platform 1 (alongside a new Platform 0??) might serve terminating trains.
For example, it would clearly be desirable for services starting in Newbiggin to perhaps run beyond Central Station to destinations like the Team Valley or the Tyne Valley Line (MetroCentre etc).
A wider rethink of how Central Station operates might also be worthwhile; would an additional through platform, perhaps on the south side of the station near the water column be desirable for example? This could help in the long awaited desire for a southern entrance to Central Station from Forth Street?
Overhead AC NOT DC
This does raise a point that Gareth mentions when talking about Benton Junction that it might be ‘…possible to put up DC overheads…’ which I would strongly oppose, the reason being that 1500v DC as used by the Class 555 Metro units is non-standard and, in my view should be limited in any future expansion to ‘Metro only’ sections of the network, such as if a branch was built to Ponteland, or the line extended underground beyond St James into west Newcastle.
In an ideal world, I think the Class 555 fleet should be altered to become a dual voltage fleet of 1500v DC & 25kV AC capable units, which would allow routes such as the Durham Coast, Northumberland Line/Coast Loop, Tyne Valley Line, and even Leamside line to have the standard 25kV AC overhead system to decarbonise the network further, and open up routes such as Sunderland – Central Station – MetroCentre up to the Class 555 fleet to finally enable Metro to MetroCentre, or Metro to Ashington/Newbiggin or Morpeth.
If the Class 399 tram-trains used in Sheffield can run on 750v DC and 25kV AC, then it shouldn’t be impossible to convert the Class 555 fleet to a similar standard, indeed Vossloh, the builder of the Class 399 trams was absorbed by Stadler who built the Class 555 fleet.
The ‘Metro Only’ sections of the network such as to Airport or around the coast via Tynemouth would remain exclusively 1500v DC, but wiring all of the ‘shared’ network to 25kV AC would mean the Class 555 fleet (or similar variants) could work alongside other electric trains, and there would be nothing to stop these other trains from being branded inline with the ‘Calvert’ brand, possibly making use of the purple ‘Rail’ brand?
Quadruple track to Benton Junction, and through Manors station.
I totally agree too with once again quadrupling the line northwards from Newcastle to Benton Junction through Manors station, although as hinted at, this may need more substantial works to deliver it.
Gareth suggests that this would take the form of two pairs of lines, and from north to south would be orientated as follow (Down is to Berwick, and Up towards Newcastle, with arrows to indicate train direction)
DOWN SLOW LINE >>>
<<< UP SLOW LINE
DOWN FAST LINE >>>
<<< UP FAST LINE
Again, all four of these lines lines would ideally be wired to 25kV AC standards, not a mix of two AC & two DC which would limit use in the event of engineering works (i.e. fast line closed for a repair and trains diverted onto the slow lines for example.
Manors station.
I totally agree with Gareth in regards to Manors having two platform faces adjacent to the slow lines, either as flanking platforms on each side, or as an island, but with separation from the fast lines.
Reopening Heaton and more?
Another interesting suggestion was opening additional stations along this stretch of line, especially places poorly served by the Tyne and Wear Metro lines if these additional segregated slow lines were to be built.
My suggestion would be for a station to straddle the Coast Road adjacent to The Wills Building, as this section of the Coast Road is a major bus route, and buses running below the platforms could be connected by lifts directly to the platform
The Heaton Hop-over.
In the Heaton/Coast Road area, the pair of slow lines would need to cross over to the east side of the ECML to head off as the Northumberland Line; this means the slow lines would need to ‘hop over’ the mainline via a grade separated junction; but the design of this should also allow for a northbound slow line train to rejoin the the mainline, or conversely for a southbound train on the mainline from Cramlington to be able to join the slow lines into Newcastle.
Benton Junction
Here Gareth suggests that the slow lines from Newcastle part company with the ECML to form the Northumberland Line, and is where the mention of DC overheads is made for the Northumberland Line, but as stated earlier, I feel that would be a major mistake, as the route is used by freight, has the potential to act for diversions, and for the campaign here, it is intended for a large part of the route to act as an alternative route between Newcastle and Edinburgh via Northumberland Park and Blyth Bebside, rejoining the ECML at Morpeth North Junction.
North of Benton Junction, there is possible scope for at least some sections of quadruple track, if not fully quadrupled, and it would probably be set out in a more typical configuration as seen below,
DOWN SLOW >>>
DOWN FAST >>>
<<< UP FAST
<<< UP SLOW
This is why it is relevant to design the Heaton Hop-over in such a way that the UP SLOW line crosses over to the west/north side of the ECML approaching Newcastle, and for the DOWN SLOW to remain on the north/west side when heading away, so even if it merges with the DOWN FAST to become a singular DOWN MAIN there wouldn’t be conflicting movements.
Killingworth Station
One of the big suggestions is a station serving the Killingworth area of Tyneside; which if a section of quadruple track can be squeezed in sounds a fair proposal, and again a site over/adjacent to a major thoroughfare like Great Lime Road could be an ideal candidate, fittingly next to The George Stephenson Bar and Kitchen, as the Great Lime Road at this location has buses headed all over Tyneside and into Northumberland.
Cramlington Station on a new site?
The final section of this clip concerns Cramlington station, which would likely need to be relocated either to the north or south of its current location as a new station could be built whilst the old remains open and working before it closes and is replaced by a newer one.
The location outlined in the video to move it north near Nelson Village is in contrast to previous SENRUG proposal that suggested a move south nearer to Manor Walks, but SENRUG was probably not planning to quadruple a section of the ECML.
Personally, I feel that either site could work, and I feel that quadrupling the line at minimum through the station is likely vital for it to have capacity, but my preference would be for the quadrupled section to be to the south nearer Manor Walks shopping centre as it is a focal point for Cramlington, and could make for an excellent bus/rail interchange within easy walking distance of this busy shopping area.
Conclusion
All welcome development ideas for the ECML, perhaps only with the exception of the 1500v DC network being expanded as suggested, rather than a more future-proof use of 25kV AC, and to convert the Class 555’s to work on standard overhead wires rather than only the unique system they currently use.
Looking forwards to seeing the next segment, especially the proposed Morpeth Rail Bypass (Morpeth Diversion) which was set out in greater detail in the full episode!
