Birmingham to Peterborough Line
Encyclopedia
The Birmingham to Peterborough Line is a cross-country railway line in the United Kingdom
, linking Birmingham to Peterborough
, via Nuneaton
and Leicester
.
Since the Beeching Axe
railway closures in the 1960s, it is the only direct railway link between the West Midlands
to the East of England
. East of Peterborough, the route gives access from the Midlands to various locations in the East Of England via the West Anglia lines
.
The line is important for cross country passenger services, and is stategically important for freight, as it allows container
trains from the Port of Felixstowe
to travel to the Midlands and beyond.
The entire route came under control of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
(LMS) in 1923, and later British Rail
. It is now part of the Network Rail
system.
. Some local trains east of Leicester
are operated by East Midlands Trains (EMT)
. Freight trains use the route between the Birmingham Freightliner Terminal and the Port of Felixstowe
and other destinations.
In the past longer distance services using a mixture of Sprinter
trains used the line, before being split up into smaller routes for various reasons such as performance and franchising
. The former routes included:
The service in 2011 consists of a half hourly service between Birmingham and Leicester with one of the two being limited stops to Leicester and continuing to Stansted Airport
via Peterborough, Ely
and Cambridge
.
EMT operate a handful of services along the section between Syston and Peterborough (serving Melton Mowbray
and Oakham
) as part of their London
(St Pancras) service via Corby
and Local services to Norwich.
Cross Country use exclusively British Rail Class 170 for their service with EMT opting for either British Rail Class 158
or British Rail Class 156
for their local services and British Rail Class 222
for London services.
and the Midlands. The work was prompted by the 'Felixstowe South' expansion at the Port of Felixstowe
and also the proposed new Bathside Bay
container terminal at Harwich. It is also in response to the predicted increase in number of high-cube (Hi-cube) shipping containers
that will be arriving at the ports which cannot currently be accommodated on the route. The percentage of high-cube containers is expected to increase from 30% in 2007 to 50% in 2012. Without loading gauge
enhancement these larger containers would have to be transported by road or via a longer rail route via London that is already at capacity. Network Rail completed the gauge enhancement from Ipswich to Peterborough in 2008.
Work will take place in three phases:
The work, which is detailed in the Network Rail Freight Route Utilisation Strategy
, should be completed by 2014. at an estimated cost of £291 million.
The government is providing £80 million and it will also receive £5 million from Network Rail
and £1 million from the East of England Development Agency
. It has been estimated that the scheme would take 225,000 lorries off the road.
In February 2010 Network Rail confirmed that it would construct the 1 km 'Bacon Chord' in Ipswich to allow trains to travel between the East Suffolk Line
and the Ipswich to Ely Line
without reversing into Ipswich Station and to also perform work to increase capacity between Ely to Peterborough Line
at a total cost of £50m. It was stated that the work would 'take 750,000 lorries off the roads'.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, linking Birmingham to Peterborough
Peterborough railway station
Peterborough railway station serves the city of Peterborough, England. It is located approximately north of London Kings Cross on the East Coast Main Line...
, via Nuneaton
Nuneaton railway station
Nuneaton railway station serves the large town of Nuneaton in Warwickshire, England. The station is managed by London Midland.It is situated at the point where the Birmingham - Leicester route crosses the Trent Valley Line section of the West Coast Main Line north of London Euston, with a branch...
and Leicester
Leicester railway station
Leicester railway station serves the City of Leicester in Leicestershire, England.As of late 2009 Leicester is a Penalty fare station, a valid ticket or Permit to travel must be shown when requested.-Background:...
.
Since the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
railway closures in the 1960s, it is the only direct railway link between the West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
to the East of England
East of England
The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. It was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Essex has the highest population in the region.Its...
. East of Peterborough, the route gives access from the Midlands to various locations in the East Of England via the West Anglia lines
Network Rail Route 5 (West Anglia)
Strategic Route 5 - West Anglia is the designation given by Network Rail to a grouping of railway lines in the East of England that encompasses the West Anglia Main Line and its various branch lines...
.
The line is important for cross country passenger services, and is stategically important for freight, as it allows container
Containerization
Containerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...
trains from the Port of Felixstowe
Port of Felixstowe
The Port of Felixstowe, in Felixstowe, Suffolk is the UK's busiest container port, dealing with 35% of the country's container cargo. It was developed following the abandonment of a project for a deep-water harbour at Maplin Sands. In 2005, it was ranked as the 28th busiest container port in the...
to travel to the Midlands and beyond.
History
The present route is an amalgamation of lines that were built by separate companies. The sections were:- The route from Birmingham to Whitacre JunctionWhitacre Junction railway stationWhitacre Junction railway station was opened in 1864 by the Midland Railway.The line had been opened in 1839 by the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway from Derby to Hampton-in-Arden joining the London and Birmingham Railway....
was originally built by the Birmingham and Derby Junction RailwayBirmingham and Derby Junction RailwayThe Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway was a British railway company. From Birmingham it connected at Derby with the North Midland Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Tri Junct Station...
in 1840, which later became part of the Midland RailwayMidland RailwayThe Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
. - The line from Whitacre junction to Nuneaton was built by the Midland Railway, and opened in 18641864 in rail transport-January events:* The Central Pacific Railroad hires its first Chinese workers. One of them, Hung Wah, will go on to command the largest and longest-working work crew on the CPRR....
. - The line between Nuneaton and WigstonSouth Wigston railway stationSouth Wigston railway station is a railway station serving the suburb of South Wigston, Leicester, England. The station is on the Birmingham to Peterborough Line about south of . South Wigston station is owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Trains Train Operating Company...
was built by the London and North Western RailwayLondon and North Western RailwayThe London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
and was also completed in 1864. - The section between Wigston and SystonSyston railway stationSyston railway station is a railway station serving the town of Syston in Leicestershire, England. The station is located on the Midland Main Line between Leicester to Loughborough, 103¾ miles from London St Pancras....
via Leicester was originally built by the Midland Counties RailwayMidland Counties RailwayThe Midland Counties Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom which existed between 1832 and 1844, connecting Nottingham, Leicester and Derby with Rugby and thence, via the London and Birmingham Railway, to London. The MCR system connected with the North Midland Railway and the...
(a forerunner of the Midland Railway) in 1840. It is now part of the Midland Main LineMidland Main LineThe Midland Main Line is a major railway route in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system.The present-day line links London St...
. - The final section, the Syston and Peterborough RailwaySyston and Peterborough RailwayThe Syston and Peterborough Railway was an early railway in England opened between 1845 and 1848 to form a branch from the Midland Counties Railway at Syston just north of Leicester to Peterborough.-Origins:...
, was built by the Midland Railway and opened in 1846.
The entire route came under control of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
(LMS) in 1923, and later British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
. It is now part of the Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
system.
Services
Most passenger services are provided by CrossCountryCrossCountry
CrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva...
. Some local trains east of Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
are operated by East Midlands Trains (EMT)
East Midlands Trains
East Midlands Trains is a British passenger train operating company. Based in Derby, it provides train services in the East Midlands, chiefly in the counties of Lincolnshire, South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Northamptonshire, and between the East Midlands and London...
. Freight trains use the route between the Birmingham Freightliner Terminal and the Port of Felixstowe
Port of Felixstowe
The Port of Felixstowe, in Felixstowe, Suffolk is the UK's busiest container port, dealing with 35% of the country's container cargo. It was developed following the abandonment of a project for a deep-water harbour at Maplin Sands. In 2005, it was ranked as the 28th busiest container port in the...
and other destinations.
In the past longer distance services using a mixture of Sprinter
Sprinter (train)
The Sprinter is a family of diesel multiple unit trains in use on the UK railway system. They were built in the 1980s and early 1990s by BREL, Metro Cammell and Leyland. Most are based around a Cummins engine with Voith hydraulic transmission, although some class 158s have a Perkins engine...
trains used the line, before being split up into smaller routes for various reasons such as performance and franchising
Rail franchising in Great Britain
Rail franchising in Great Britain was created by the Railways Act 1993. Passenger services are franchised, for a limited period, to train operating companies...
. The former routes included:
- AberystwythAberystwyth railway stationAberystwyth railway station is a railway station serving the seaside and university town of Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales. It is served by passenger trains operated by Arriva Trains Wales, being situated at the terminus of the Cambrian Line and also by the narrow-gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway.-...
- CambridgeCambridge railway stationCambridge railway station is a railway station serving the city of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located at the end of Station Road, off Hills Road, 1 mile south-east of the city centre... - LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
(Lime StreetLiverpool Lime Street railway stationLiverpool Lime Street is a railway station serving the city centre of Liverpool, England. The station lies on a branch of the West Coast Main Line from London Euston, and on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network...
) - NorwichNorwich railway stationNorwich is a railway station serving the city of Norwich in the English county of Norfolk. The station is the northern terminus of the Great Eastern Main Line from London Liverpool Street. It is also the terminus of railway lines from Ely, Sheringham, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.-History:At one... - Liverpool - Stansted AirportStansted Airport railway stationStansted Airport railway station serves London Stansted Airport in Essex, England.It is situated at the end of a short branch from the West Anglia Main Line. The branch was constructed at a cost of £44 million and opened in 1991, to coincide with the completion of the airport's new terminal building...
- BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
(New Street) - IpswichIpswichIpswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
The service in 2011 consists of a half hourly service between Birmingham and Leicester with one of the two being limited stops to Leicester and continuing to Stansted Airport
Stansted Airport railway station
Stansted Airport railway station serves London Stansted Airport in Essex, England.It is situated at the end of a short branch from the West Anglia Main Line. The branch was constructed at a cost of £44 million and opened in 1991, to coincide with the completion of the airport's new terminal building...
via Peterborough, Ely
Ely railway station
Ely railway station serves the city of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. The station lies on the Fen Line from Cambridge to King's Lynn, which is electrified at 25 kV AC overhead...
and Cambridge
Cambridge railway station
Cambridge railway station is a railway station serving the city of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located at the end of Station Road, off Hills Road, 1 mile south-east of the city centre...
.
EMT operate a handful of services along the section between Syston and Peterborough (serving Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray railway station
Melton Mowbray railway station serves the town of Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and operated by East Midlands Trains train operating company ....
and Oakham
Oakham railway station
Oakham railway station serves the town of Oakham in Rutland, England. The station is situated almost halfway between Leicester – to the west – and Peterborough – eastward on the Syston and Peterborough Railway, the line is now part of the much bigger Birmingham to Peterborough...
) as part of their London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(St Pancras) service via Corby
Corby
Corby Town is a town and borough located in the county of Northamptonshire. Corby Town is 23 miles north-east of the county town, Northampton. The borough had a population of 53,174 at the 2001 Census; the town on its own accounted for 49,222 of this figure...
and Local services to Norwich.
Cross Country use exclusively British Rail Class 170 for their service with EMT opting for either British Rail Class 158
British Rail Class 158
British Rail Class 158 Express Sprinter is a diesel multiple-unit train, built for British Rail between 1989 and 1992 by BREL at its Derby Works. They were built to replace many locomotive-hauled passenger trains, and allowed cascading of existing Sprinter units to replace elderly 'heritage' DMUs...
or British Rail Class 156
British Rail Class 156
The British Rail Class 156 Super Sprinter is a diesel multiple-unit train . 114 of these units were built from 1987 to 1989 by Metro-Cammell at its Washwood Heath Works in Birmingham...
for their local services and British Rail Class 222
British Rail Class 222
The British Rail Class 222 is a diesel-electric multiple unit high-speed train capable of . Twenty-seven units have been built by Bombardier Transportation....
for London services.
Felixstowe and Nuneaton freight capacity scheme
This is a large project with a number of elements that will allow more railfreight traffic between the Haven portsHaven ports
The Haven Ports are a group of five ports on the East Coast of England, these are Port of Felixstowe, Port of Ipswich, Harwich International, Harwich Navyard and Mistley...
and the Midlands. The work was prompted by the 'Felixstowe South' expansion at the Port of Felixstowe
Port of Felixstowe
The Port of Felixstowe, in Felixstowe, Suffolk is the UK's busiest container port, dealing with 35% of the country's container cargo. It was developed following the abandonment of a project for a deep-water harbour at Maplin Sands. In 2005, it was ranked as the 28th busiest container port in the...
and also the proposed new Bathside Bay
Harwich International Port
Harwich International Port is a North Sea seaport in Essex, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Stour one mile upstream from the town of Harwich, opposite Port of Felixstowe...
container terminal at Harwich. It is also in response to the predicted increase in number of high-cube (Hi-cube) shipping containers
Intermodal container
An intermodal container is a standardized reusable steel box used for the safe, efficient and secure storage and movement of materials and products within a global containerized intermodal freight transport system...
that will be arriving at the ports which cannot currently be accommodated on the route. The percentage of high-cube containers is expected to increase from 30% in 2007 to 50% in 2012. Without loading gauge
Loading gauge
A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...
enhancement these larger containers would have to be transported by road or via a longer rail route via London that is already at capacity. Network Rail completed the gauge enhancement from Ipswich to Peterborough in 2008.
Work will take place in three phases:
- Phase 1
- Nuneaton North Chord (see below)
- Peterborough to Nuneaton Gauge (W10) (see below)
- Phase 2a
- Dualling 8 km of the Felixstowe Branch LineFelixstowe Branch LineThe Felixstowe Branch Line is a railway line from Ipswich to Felixstowe in Suffolk. The line follows the East Suffolk Line from Ipswich to Westerfield, and then diverges to the south. Passenger services are operated by National Express East Anglia...
- Dualling the Ipswich to Ely LineIpswich to Ely LineThe Ipswich to Ely Line is a railway line linking East Anglia to the English Midlands via Ely. There is also a branch line to . Passenger services are operated by National Express East Anglia...
between Soham Junction and Ely - Removing speed restrictions for freight trains between Ipswich and Peterborough
- Dualling 8 km of the Felixstowe Branch Line
- Phase 2b
- Capacity enhancement Peterborough to Nuneaton during CP5
The work, which is detailed in the Network Rail Freight Route Utilisation Strategy
Network Rail Freight Route Utilisation Strategy
The Freight Route Utilisation Strategy is a Route Utilisation Strategy, published by Network Rail in March 2007. It is one of only two which have the perspective of the network as whole. It was included in a map published by the Office of Rail Regulation as established in May 2007...
, should be completed by 2014. at an estimated cost of £291 million.
The government is providing £80 million and it will also receive £5 million from Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
and £1 million from the East of England Development Agency
East of England Development Agency
The East of England Development Agency is a non-departmental public body and the regional development agency for the East of England region of England....
. It has been estimated that the scheme would take 225,000 lorries off the road.
In February 2010 Network Rail confirmed that it would construct the 1 km 'Bacon Chord' in Ipswich to allow trains to travel between the East Suffolk Line
East Suffolk Line
The East Suffolk Line is an un-electrified secondary railway line running between Ipswich and Lowestoft in Suffolk, England. The traffic along the route consists of passenger services operated by National Express East Anglia, while nuclear flask trains for the Sizewell nuclear power stations are...
and the Ipswich to Ely Line
Ipswich to Ely Line
The Ipswich to Ely Line is a railway line linking East Anglia to the English Midlands via Ely. There is also a branch line to . Passenger services are operated by National Express East Anglia...
without reversing into Ipswich Station and to also perform work to increase capacity between Ely to Peterborough Line
Ely to Peterborough Line
The Ely to Peterborough Line is a railway line in England, linking East Anglia to the Midlands. It is a part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 5, SRS 05.07 and is classified as a secondary line.-Service:...
at a total cost of £50m. It was stated that the work would 'take 750,000 lorries off the roads'.