List of proposed railway electrification routes in Great Britain

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2012 Department for Transport plans for UK rail electrification by 2019 including Northern Hub (red), Electric Spine (yellow/green), Great Western Main Line and South Wales Main Line (red) and Valleys & Cardiff Local Routes (blue). For 'HLOS', see Network Rail > Control periods.

This article lists proposed railway electrification routes in Great Britain.

Background[]

Main article: Railway electrification in Great Britain

Railway electrification in the UK has been a stop-start or boom-bust cycle since electrification began. There was a flurry of activity in the 1980s and early 1990s but came to a halt in the run up to privatization and then continued in the 2000s. However, in 2009, Lord Adonis was appointed Secretary of State for Transport and after a gap of more than a decade, electrification of the UK rail network was back on the agenda and Adonis announced plans to electrify the Great Western Main Line from London as far as Swansea, as well as infill electrification schemes in the North West of England. The Great recession and a general election intervened and the incoming coalition government wanted to reassess spending and so electrification was paused.

In July 2012 the UK government announced £4.2 billion of new electrification schemes, all at 25 kV AC and reconfirmed schemes previously announced by Adonis. These were to be Northern Hub, Great Western Main Line, South Wales Main Line, Midland Main Line, Electric Spine, Crossrail, Gospel Oak to Barking Line and West Midlands suburban lines including the Cross-City Line. The Trans-Pennine route from Manchester to York and Selby via Leeds was also announced. Rail transport in Scotland is a devolved matter for the Scottish Government, but they too have pursued electrification with multiple schemes in the Central Belt. All these have been 25 kV AC, as in England and Wales.

On 25 June 2015 the government announced that some of the electrification projects would be delayed or cut back because of rising costs. Electrification work was to be "paused" on the Trans-Pennine route between York and Manchester and on the Midland main line between Bedford and Sheffield. Electrification of the Great Western main line would go ahead but the status of the Reading-Newbury and Didcot-Oxford sections was unclear. However, in September 2015, the electrification work was "un-paused", but with a delayed completion date. Since then there have been updates including one published in October 2016.

On 20 July 2017 Chris Grayling the Secretary of State for Transport cancelled a number of electrification projects citing disruptive works and use of bi-mode technology as an alternative.

Electrification has had much controversy with cancellations and various appearances of the Secretary of State for Transport called before the Transport Select Committee. The Transport Select Committee published its report into various matters including regional investment disparity on the railways and calling again for the reinstatement of various cancelled electrification schemes. A written question was submitted and answered in parliament regarding route miles electrified in the years 1997-2019.

In March 2019 the Railway Industry Association published a paper on Electrification cost challenge suggesting ways forward and a rolling programme of electrification.

In September 2020 the TDNS (Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy) Interim Business case was published though it was dated July 31, 2020. The principal recommendation was further electrification of 13000 STKs - single track kilometres of UK railways. As of November 2020, there are very few confirmed schemes.

List of routes[]

Northern Hub[]

Main article: Northern Hub

As part of the Northern Hub project, the following lines in North West England and Yorkshire are to be electrified: In December 2013 it was announced that the branch from Bolton to Wigan North Western would also be electrified by 2017.[1] However, the enhancements delivery plan update of September 2016 moved the completion date with only GRIP Stage 3 (Option selection) being completed by then.[2] On 1 September 2021, the Department for Transport formally announced this would now go ahead.[3][4]

  • The North TransPennine route, comprising the Huddersfield Line between Manchester Victoria and York via Huddersfield and Leeds: expected by 2022.[5] This is part of the Transpennine north railway upgrade project.
    • As an extension of this the Hull to Selby Line was going to follow: Hull Trains planned to electrify the line between Temple Hirst Junction on the East Coast Main Line south of Selby and Hull using private finance. This moved closer to reality on 20 March 2014 when Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin confirmed in the House of Commons that he had made £2.4m available to move the project to the next stage of development, GRIP Stage 3.[6] This scheme was to have joined the already planned transpennine electrification (part of the Northern Hub project) at Selby. In November 2016 this project was shelved indefinitely.[7][8]
    • Harrogate line Harrogate to Leeds electrification proposed, but not yet agreed.[9]

Windermere branch line[]

  • Windermere Branch Line: In August 2013, the Department for Transport announced that the branch line between Oxenholme and Windermere was to be electrified by 2016.[10] The Hendy review moved the completion of GRIP 3 to March 2017 with a yet to be determined date for completion of electrification. In July 2017 Chris Grayling the Secretary of State for Transport announced the scheme had been cancelled and bi-mode technology would be used.[11]

Great Western Main Line and South Wales Main Line[]

Main article: 21st-century modernisation of the Great Western Main Line
  • The electrification of the GWML to Thingley Junction (near Chippenham) and the SWML via Bristol Parkway to Cardiff Central was due for completion in December 2018,[12][13] but was delayed to December 2019, with electric trains only beginning to run to Cardiff from January 2020.[14] Electrification from Reading to Newbury was completed in December 2018.[15][13] On 8 November 2016, Transport Minister Paul Maynard announced that several parts of the Great Western electrification project were being deferred 'until further notice': these include the line between Didcot and Oxford,[13][12] the lines to Bristol Temple Meads (both via Bristol Parkway and Bath), the line between Cardiff and Swansea ,[16][12][13] and the Henley and Marlow branch lines. On 20 July 2017, it was announced that the Cardiff-Swansea electrification project had been cancelled and that bi-mode trains would be used on the route.[17]
  • As a spin-off, it was proposed that the Valleys & Cardiff Local Routes would be electrified once the main route is complete.[18]

Midland Main Line[]

Main article: Midland Main Line
Near Felmerham
Bridges over the Midland Main Line in Bedfordshire have been replaced to allow greater clearances for electrification and larger rolling stock. Before (top) and after (bottom) the 2014 upgrade.
  • The line has already been electrified to Bedford since the early 1980s. This was to be extended to Corby, Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield. In November 2016 only the electrification to Kettering and Corby was confirmed as continuing with the DfT refusing to be drawn on dates for the remaining parts of the original scheme.[19] On 20 July 2017, it was announced that the Kettering-Nottingham-Sheffield electrification project had been cancelled and that bi-mode trains would be used on the route.[20] However, in March 2019, it was announced by Department for Transport that the line between Kettering and Market Harborough would be electrified. This would allow easier connection to the new proposed grid feeder at Braybrooke.[21]

Electric Spine[]

Main article: Electric Spine
  • Electrification of the lines from the Port of Southampton to Nuneaton, and to the Midland Main Line via the East West Rail between Oxford and Bedford. This would have involved electrifying the Coventry to Nuneaton, and Coventry to Leamington Line, part of the Chiltern Main Line, Cherwell Valley Line and Reading to Basingstoke Line; also converting part of the South West Main Line between Basingstoke and Southampton Central from 750 V DC third rail to 25 kV AC overhead. As a large portion of the spine depends on electrification of the Midland Main Line and this has been cancelled north of Kettering and defunded for East West Rail, it may be assumed this scheme has also been put on hold indefinitely.

Crossrail[]

Main article: Crossrail

This route will serve as a new cross-London main line, and it was originally due to open in December 2018. However, opening has been delayed until the first half of 2022.[22]

2020 onwards[]

Under Transport Secretary Chris Grayling many of the proposed electrification projects were cancelled, despite pledging to remove full diesel trains by 2040.[23] However after being sacked in 2019,[24] and replaced by Grant Shapps many of the cancelled electrification schemes are being reconsidered.

Manchester Victoria to Stalybridge[]

As of March 2021 major work as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade is in progress, that includes preparation for electrification.[25]

York to Church Fenton[]

Work to extend the wires from Colton Junction to Church Fenton began in late 2019. Preliminary work includes track and signalling to enable line speed improvements prior to the installation of overhead gantries and wires in 2022 ready for an October 2022 completion.[26] The extension will allow bi-mode trains to use electric traction through this section.[27] As of May 2021 there has been no announcement on electrification between Leeds and Church Fenton.

Stalybridge to Leeds[]

The section between Huddersfield to Dewsbury had the TWAO applied for on March 31, 2021.[28]

Leeds to Selby, Hull and Sheffield[]

Now the electrification scheme could be back on the agenda after transport secretary Grant Shapps confirmed plans to spend nearly £600m on work to upgrade and electrify the TransPennine main line.[29]

Scotland Rolling programme[]

On 28 July 2020, Scottish Transport Secretary Michael Matheson announced plans to phase out fossil fuel use on the railway network by 2035.[30] The plan would see most lines electrified, but suggests that intermittent electrification in difficult places may be implemented. Alternative traction will be implemented rather than electrification for some lightly-used lines. These are the Far North Line, Kyle of Lochalsh Line, West Highland Line, and the southern portion of the Stranraer Line.[31] Other Scottish political parties including the Green Party support a rolling programme and indeed want it accelerating.[32] Transport for Scotland has also published a list prioritising the projects and divided them into the categories of 1) in delivery, 2) in development, 3) under active consideration.[33]

In early 2021 a start was made on the electrification scheme to east Kilbride.[34]

Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy[]

In September 2020 the TDNS (Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy) Interim Business case was published though it was dated July 31, 2020. The principle recommendation was further electrification of 13000 STKs - single track kilometres of UK railways.[35]

Network Rail 2020 Suggested electrification for low carbon transport

List of routes now complete in 2010 onwards timeframe[]

Northern Hub[]

Main article: Northern Hub

As part of the Northern Hub project, the following lines in North West England and Yorkshire have been electrified:

  • Liverpool to Manchester Northern Route: Manchester to Newton-le-Willows completed December 2013; to Liverpool, planned by December 2014 but completed in February 2015.
  • Liverpool to Wigan: planned by December 2014 but completed in March 2015.
  • Manchester to Preston (via Bolton) by December 2017 and Preston to Blackpool North by May 2018. An October 2017 update pushed back the completion of the Manchester - Preston section. This scheme provides an electrified route from Blackpool to the West Coast Main Line at Preston and then on to Manchester diverging from the West Coast Main Line at Euxton Jct. Originally, Preston - Blackpool was to be done before Manchester - Preston, but Network Rail said Preston - Blackpool needed to have new signalling and the opportunity was also taken to completely remodel Blackpool North and Kirkham & Wesham stations and other remodelling improvements at Salwick and Poulton-le-Fylde. The scheme was to have followed with a new completion date of March 2018. Further delays ensued and a powered electric train (a Virgin Pendolino) finally carried out multiple test runs overnight on 14–15 May 2018, a few days after energisation. Similarly, in the early hours of 13 December 2018, a Virgin Pendolino ran test runs between Preston and Manchester Piccadilly shortly after energisation. The full electric service from Manchester to Blackpool North started in February 2019

Gospel Oak to Barking Line[]

Main article: Gospel Oak to Barking Line
  • Electrification of this line which is part of London Overground was announced in July 2013.[36] Major civil engineering with line closures started July 2016. Full in-service date was expected to be 30 June 2017.[2] However, design errors and the late delivery of materials and structures meant that the project was delayed. The start of electric services was to be in May 2018.[37][38]
  • Delays in the electrification of the line were followed by delays in the delivery of the Class 710 electric train sets.[39] The first two trains entered service on 23 May 2019, with the full fleet entering service in August 2019.[40][41] These 4-car train sets doubled the length of the trains and passenger capacity compared to the former 2-car Diesel train sets, completing the project.[42]

West Midlands suburban lines[]

Extensions to the existing West Midlands suburban electrification:

  • Cross-City Line electrification to be extended from Barnt Green to Bromsgrove by 2017.[2][43] Due to delays in the project,[44] electric services started in July 2018.[45]
  • Chase Line electrification to be extended from Walsall to Rugeley Trent Valley by 2017.[46] There were delays in the original date,[47][48] with electric services on this line starting in May 2019.[49]

Scotland[]

Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP)[]

This electrification scheme and associated works has come to mean Edinburgh-Glasgow via Falkirk High and was due to be completed by December 2016. The rolling programme would then follow with the route via Shotts. The scheme via Carstairs in association with the ECML electrification was completed in the early 1990s. With other infills in the central belt of Scotland there are now (2020) 4 different electrified routes between the two cities with assorted diversionary routes.[50] The December 2016 date was not met and in May 2017 a further delay to the wires going live was announced due to a safety-critical component possibly for the whole route needing to be replaced.[51] It was actually completed in December 2017.[52] The infills included the route from Cumbernauld and Falkirk Grahamston to Larbert, Alloa, Dunblane and Stirling.

See also[]

References[]

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Further reading[]

  • Keenor, Garry. Overhead Line Electrification for Railways.
  • Boocock, Colin (1991). East Coast Electrification. Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-1979-7.
  • Nock, O.S. (1965). Britain's new railway: Electrification of the London-Midland main lines from Euston to Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent, Crewe, Liverpool and Manchester. London: Ian Allan. OCLC 59003738.
  • Nock, O.S. (1974). Electric Euston to Glasgow. Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0530-3.
  • Proceedings of the British Railways Electrification Conference, London 1960 - Railway Electrification at Industrial Frequency. London: British Railways Board. 1960.
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