- Berne Gauge: the myth of ...
- Many European railways tend to accommodate larger trains, this is partly because passenger stations there do not have the raised platforms which are one factor in constraining the width of trains in the UK. The GCR 'Line to London', opened at the turn of the 20th Century, was built with trains from the continent in mind, but its structure gauge was actually no larger than many other railways. The line had many useful qualities, but an apocryphal continental 'Berne gauge' wasn't one of them.
- Bombadier Class 220 Trains
- The Virgin 'Voyager' diesel-powered passenger train with high power-to-weight ratio and hence acceleration. Operated initially in four car formations, their physical characteristics make them attractive for use through the core of a shadow crosscountry network which would have a fast section of line south of Leicester, the closely spaced East Midlands stations, and the slower alignment encountered on the Midland line through the peak.
- Central Railway
- Longstanding proposal to create a multimodal freight railway between Europe and the North West of England using a mixture of new build and disused lines. The Central Railway project would require a very large number of alterations to structures to accommodate the proposed loading gauge, and is costed accordingly. Accommodating the Central Railway guage through passenger stations is problematical. The resulting line would see intensive use: the the raison d'étre being a substantial modal shift of freight from road to rail.
- Central Trains Oxford to Nottingham Services
- Central Trains is aware of a substantial unmet demand for through trains between Oxford and the East Midlands, and has for several years sought to introduce direct services. The company has gone so far as to issue a proposed start date for the services but has been unable to negotiate the necessary train paths with Railtrack. The services would use the Leamington to Coventry line, part of which was only ever single track, but has been pressed into service to allow cross-country intercity trains to access Birmingham International. Congestion on the single track here precludes its use for the Leicester to Oxford services without capacity enhancement.
- Chiltern Railways
- Train Operating Company providing services from London Marylebone Station to the West Midlands: they have continued the work begun by British Rail before privatisation to revitalise an underused line. Their success demonstrates that alternative routes between major centres can win additional traffic for rail, serving both the end to end market and separate intermediate catchment areas. Chiltern Railways are investing in new track as well as new services, and by mid 2002 will have completed the redoubling of the track on their main line, much of which has an alignment which supports high speeds. They've named their expansion plans 'Project Evergreen'. (See below)
- East West Railway
- Proposal to introduce passenger services between Bristol and East Anglia, via Oxford, Bedford and Cambridge, using a mixture of existing, reinstated and new lines. The East-West railway project has a web site and until May 2003, when they are to be withdrawn 'on the advice of the SRA', trains - in the form of the Bristol to Bicester via Oxford services.
- Golden Arrow, Project
- Project Golden Arrow was until recently the name for a proposal to raise more than £10 billion, in development by US lease finance specialist Babcock and Brown working with investment bank Morgan Stanley, this money to fund further work on the East and West Coast Main Lines, construction of a new London to Scotland high speed link, and the proposed east to west Crossrail link across London.
- Great Central Railway
- In this context, the closed line via Nottingham and Leicester to London Marylebone. See MSL now GC below. The line as built had an achilles heel (its approaches to the capital) and also several useful attributes. It provided a clean path for long distance freight and passenger services in the midlands - while a connection opened between the new line and the Great Western's system proved unexpectedly successful, immediately attracting three times as much passenger traffic as forecast. The line succumbed to the beeching closures of the nineteen sixties, when the fortunes of the rail industry were at a low ebb. The rôle of the Great Central as a connecting line, independent of Birmingham, between the midlands, the south coast and south west was rather overlooked.
The course of the line through Leicester and North has been largely lost through subsequent development in the cities.
- Matlock to Buxton railway
- The line built from Ambergate Junction to Manchester through the peak district of Derbyshire by the Midland Railway to improve the Midland Railway's access to the North West is often referred to in reopening proposals as the Matlock to Buxton line. The town of Buxton was actually served by a branch from this main line which was built to improve access to the travel markets of the North West. This was the line the construction of which through the rugged landscape of Derbyshire's River Wye valley Ruskin opposed on environmental grounds.
It was still carrying prestige express trains (including the 'Blue Pullman' sets) between Manchester and London shortly before it was abruptly closed as a through route in 1968 when the West Coast Main Line modernisation was established. (It was one of a number of lines closed despite being listed to remain open in the Beeching plans some years earlier.)
Despite the loss of the short centre section, both ends remain open, the northern for freight and the southern end as a passenger railway, to this day. The financial performance of the two ends is not assisted by the loss of the centre section of the line, the majority of whose structures have been retained and even maintained, some as listed ancient monuments.
December 2002 - Derbyshire County Council launches the £800,000 study into reopening the Matlock to Manchester rail link
- Money Sunk and Lost
- A gybe at the old Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company, which having established a network of lines around its fierce crossing of the pennines, was involved in two large European expansion plans - building a new railway to Europe, and a new port for European trade, at Immingham. In the process it renamed itself the Great Central Railway.
The first project, in what was then an increasingly xenophobic island nation, did not find long term backing and stalled, becoming a line to London. The port, in contrast, after losing money for its originators, eventually went from strength to strength and found economic success.
Deteriorating international relations and the disaster of the first world war meant that both projects were questionable investments for the original company, though there is evidence that the new main line, while not a runaway financial success, was no disaster either. Certainly the UK has benefited from both.
- 'North South Railway'
- A long term political ambition and a permanent inhabitant of the horizons of rail transport planning for many years. It involves a new high speed anglo-scottish link, using a mixture of existing and new alignments. A potential route would branch from the existing West Coast Main Line at Tring, travelling via the Great Central trackbed to a point south of Leicester, where the line would continue north on a new alignment, in close company with the M1 motorway.
Should this project require the GCR alignment it's worth bearing in mind that certain structures on the line were built with the provision for four tracks in preparation for the growth which would have followed from a successful outcome to its plans for a tunnel link to Europe.
- Project Evergreen
- Chiltern Railways' term for their development plans during the course of their franchise - short term and committed measures include a redoubled line - due for completion in 2002. The longer term, uncommitted measures include a proposal for a reopened line to Oxford, and services between Leicester and London using the route of the Great Central with a park and ride station at the M1/M6 junction.
- The Rail Freight Group
- Formed in 1991. "The Rail Freight Group is the representative body of the rail freight industry, covering suppliers, manufacturers, and customers, operators and contractors who, together, make the business work. Its objective is to increase the volume and market share of freight carried profitably by rail.
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- Network Rail
- Operating the track on which the trains run. Network Rail is the not for profit maintainer of the UK's rail infrastructure: it's brief is not to be involved in new infrastructure planning.
- The 'Shires Line'
- Partly abandoned but unobstructed line bisecting the Birmingham conurbation between Stourbridge and Lichfield. The SRA's 2002 strategic plan already proposes restoration of a substantial part of this route for freight only. Part is also proposed for an extension to the citys' tram system.
The line is also in demand for a rail passenger service as it connects a string of focal points - including Worcester, Droitwich, Kidderminster, Stourbridge, the emergent town centre at Merry Hill, Dudley, Walsall, Lichfield, Burton on Trent and Derby. It would connect them on an axis not well served by the road system. Owing to congestion, the line would offer very competitive journey times.
This scheme is not viewed favourably by the local West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority, being the promoters of the tram system. This should be seen as an opportunity for the two modes to share tracks (as will the new tram extension at Sunderland).
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- Virgin Crosscountry
- Current operators of the present cross country network of trains centred on Birmingham, who have invested heavily in new trains for an enhanced service.
- Virgin Trains
- Provide express services on the West Coast Main Line, including Manchester to London services. Virgin Trains are reputed to have a restrictive agreement forbidding other operators from providing services between Manchester Piccadilly and London. This militates against the reopening of the Midland route to Derby from Manchester and will need to be relaxed in order to achieve the full benefits of the alternative route.
- Waverley Railway Project
- Spearheading the reopening for passenger trains of the northern end of the 'Waverley Route' into Edinburgh - 35+ miles of line. Preliminary estimates indicate a capital cost of £74 million, to reintroduce services on a single track line with long passing loops. This will reuse a closed line, the trackbed of which has similar obstructions to some that would be encountered on the Great Central, e.g. dual carriageway/major road crossings requiring new bridges and realignment, and reinstatement of the line in urban surroundings.