Northern Hub

Northern Hub is a series of proposed works across Northern England to stimulate economic growth by increasing train services, reducing journey times and electrifying lines between the major cities of Northern England. It is a partnership between Network Rail, First TransPennine Express, DB Schenker, Freightliner, Department for Transport, Transport for Greater Manchester and Northern Rail. The proposal was first announced in 2009 as the Manchester Hub which entailed a series of upgrades which would cut journey times between cities in Northern England by alleviating the rail bottleneck through Manchester.

The centrepiece of the scheme is a £44 million restoration and a renewed role for Manchester Victoria station as a railway hub station for Northern England, improving connectivity and reducing journey times. Services from Liverpool to Leeds and beyond would be diverted from the Cheshire Lines route via Warrington Central and Manchester Piccadilly to the electrified line via Newton-le-Willows and Manchester Victoria. Trains from the north east to Manchester Airport will use a new section of railway, the £85 million Ordsall Chord, between Manchester Victoria and Manchester Oxford Road to reach Manchester Piccadilly and continue to the Airport without reversing at Piccadilly and without conflicting movements at the station throat. Two new platforms at Piccadilly will allow 14 trains per hour (up from 10 currently) through Manchester city centre allowing more routes and trains. The changes around Manchester are intended to reduce journey times and increase capacity. The results of the Manchester Hub Study outlining the project were released by Network Rail in February 2010, estimating the cost at £530 million (later £560 million). Chancellor George Osborne approved expenditure of £85 million for the new track link itself in his budget on 23 March 2011, with other aspects of the scheme to be reviewed, to make sure that best value for money would be achieved. A further £130 million was committed in Osborne's budget of March 2012, and approval for the full scheme was confirmed by the Government on 16 July 2012. The first trains are expected to run on the new linking track in 2016, with the full package of enhancements to be in place by 2018. A number of electrification schemes for lines out of Manchester are also underway, or have been approved.

Background
The Northern Hub was first proposed in February 2010. A number of recurring problems were identified. The first was terminating trains in through platforms (as opposed to termini platforms) at Manchester Victoria, thus taking potential capacity from trains which travel through Manchester city centre. The second was reversing trains which stopped at Manchester Piccadilly but reversed back out to Manchester Airport. Trains travelling between Liverpool and Yorkshire/East Midlands via Manchester Piccadilly have to switch lines across the throat of Manchester Piccadilly, thus blocking all other services. Network Rail concluded that no single intervention will unlock this bottleneck but that greater efficiency and enhancement of services is possible. A proposal to use Piccadilly primarily for North-South services and Victoria for East-West services was agreed as the most effective course of action.

Station upgrades
Many railway stations in need of further capacity will see improvements. Most of the improvements will be in Manchester to alleviate a 'major bottleneck' which frequently causes delays and restricts routes.


 * Manchester Victoria station - the centrepiece of the Northern Hub, the station will be re-configured as the railway hub of Northern England by accepting east-west rail services. Once voted the worst station in the United Kingdom, Victoria will receive a £44 million transformation which includes a new £20 million roof encapsulating the entire concourse and four platforms.
 * Manchester Piccadilly - the two through platforms, 13 and 14, will be modernised and two new through platforms (15 and 16) will be built over Fairfield Street to alleviate congestion
 * Manchester Oxford Road - the station will be rebuilt, however the Grade II listed timber grid-shell roof will be incorporated into the new station.
 * Manchester Airport - a new platform will be built at Manchester Airport to create more capacity allowing for direct services from other cities in Northern England.
 * Salford Crescent - the station will receive a £12 million redevelopment programme with a view to further development should capacity be required.
 * Leeds - two new platforms will be built at a cost of £13.6 million to alleviate congestion.
 * Burnley Manchester Road - will receive a £2.3 upgrade ahead of the reinstatement of a direct rail service to Manchester Victoria (via re-opened Todmorden Curve) in 2015.
 * Dore and Totley railway station - the station is to receive an extra platform, increasing the station to two platforms from one. The current single track will be upgraded to two tracks, with a footbridge for passengers to cross to the new platform.

Expected benefits
If funded in full, Northern Hub is expected to deliver the following benefits:


 * 14 trains an hour through Manchester city centre - compared with 10 currently - allowing for more trains and new routes through Manchester
 * Up to 700 more trains per day with space for 44 million more people to travel by train each year
 * Two new fast trains per hour between Manchester Victoria and Liverpool Lime Street
 * Six fast trains an hour between Leeds and Manchester (as opposed to four now)
 * A new direct service through Manchester city centre to Manchester Airport
 * A new express service between Liverpool Lime Street and Newcastle Central via Manchester Victoria and Leeds.

Journey times
As part of the Northern Hub scheme; electrification of key lines will enable faster electric rolling stock which increases capacity and lowers journey times. Typically, diesel trains that operate between Manchester and Liverpool such as the Class 142 and Class 156 have a maximum speed limit of 75 mph. Following electrification, Class 319 will be used enabling a top speed of 100 mph.

Network Rail have published target times from Manchester which they hope will be achieved following improvements that the Northern Hub entails:
 * Leeds and Manchester target time: 40 minutes - a reduction of 14 minutes
 * Bradford and Manchester target time: 50 minutes - a reduction of 10 minutes
 * Manchester and Sheffield target time: 40 minutes - a reduction of 8 minutes
 * Chester and Manchester target time: 40 minutes - a reduction of 23 minutes
 * Liverpool and Manchester target time: 30 minutes - a reduction of 17 minutes
 * Manchester and Preston target time: 30 minutes - a reduction of 9 minutes
 * In addition, there will be faster journey times to the East Midlands via Sheffield, Chester, Halifax, Hull, Newcastle and the North East

Plans
The plans that make up the Northern Hub include:
 * Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria directly linked by the Ordsall Chord
 * Improvement of existing stations in need of renovation, most notably the roofless Manchester Victoria which was rated as the worst station in the United Kingdom in 2009.
 * New platforms at Manchester Piccadilly on route through from Oxford Road to enable more trains from north and west of city to get to south side of city.
 * New passing track on the line from Liverpool to Manchester via Newton-le-Willows, between Roby and Huyton
 * New capacity on routes through the Pennines between Leeds, Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Manchester
 * New passing tracks on the line between Sheffield and Manchester, at Chinley, Grindleford and Dore

Electrification
A number of electrification projects for rail lines out of Manchester are underway, or have been approved. While formally independent of the Northern Hub scheme, they directly complement it:


 * Manchester to Liverpool Line: Manchester to Newton-le-Willows to be completed by December 2013; to Liverpool by December 2014 - originally announced by the Department of Transport in July 2009. The 32-mile line between Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Victoria via Huyton and Newton Le-Willows currently has a maximum permitted speed of 75 mph. Following electrification and the addition of Class 319s, trains will be able to run at 90 mph cutting journey times from 47 minutes to 32 minutes. The Manchester to Newton-le-Willows section was completed on 17 July 2013 marked by a small ceremony at Eccles station at which the Secretary of State for Transport, Rt. Hon. Patrick McLoughlin MP, was present. Commissioning is currently taking place prior to the first electrified Manchester to Glasgow service becoming operational at the timetable change in December 2013.
 * Liverpool to Wigan Line This is a section of part two of the Northern Hub project. The Liverpool to Wigan line, from its junction at Huyton, is also to be electrified, providing a second, direct connection to the WCML at Ince Moss Junction via St. Helens Central. Intended to be operational by December 2014, civils enabling works are already well in hand and some masts are already in place as of August 2013..
 * Manchester to Preston Line (via Bolton): To be completed by December 2016. - electrification announced in December 2009. Preparatory work on bridges and tunnels will commence in 2014 and installation of overhead lines will begin shortly afterwards.
 * Preston to Blackpool North: To be completed by May 2016 - an extension of the Manchester to Preston Line, this will provide an electrified route from Blackpool to Manchester and the West Coast Main Line
 * Huddersfield Line (also known as Manchester to Leeds and York via Stalybridge): Expected to be carried out between 2016 and 2018. Electrification announced in November 2011.