Trent Valley line
A London Midland Class 350 at Rugby in 2008
Overview
OwnerNetwork Rail
LocaleWest Midlands (region)
Termini
Stations8
Service
TypeHeavy rail
System
Operator(s)Avanti West Coast
London Northwestern Railway
Rolling stock
History
Commenced1845
Opened15 September 1847 (1847-09-15)
Electrified1962–1965
Upgraded2004–2008
Technical
Number of tracks2–4
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification25 kV AC overhead catenary
Operating speedMax. 125 mph (200 km/h)
Route map

(Click to expand)

The Trent Valley line is a railway line between Rugby and Stafford in England, forming part of the West Coast Main Line. The line is 51 miles (82 km) long and is named after the River Trent which it follows. It was built to provide a direct route from London to North West England and Scotland, avoiding the slower route via Birmingham, which is congested and 7.75 miles (12.47 km) longer.[1]

Places served

The cities, towns and villages served by the line are listed below.

Services

A range of long-distance services use the route, which are run by two train operating companies:

History

The Trent Valley line was opened in 1847 to give a more direct route from London to the North West of England, bypassing the existing route via Birmingham built by the Grand Junction Railway and the London and Birmingham Railway a decade earlier. The contractor for the 50 miles (80 km) of double-track line was the London Railway Contractors Partnership of Thomas Brassey, John Stephenson and William MacKenzie. The engineers were Robert Stephenson (no relation to John), George Parker Bidder and Thomas Longridge Gooch[4] and the architect was John William Livock.

Construction was initially started by an independent company, the Trent Valley Railway (TVR), which was established in Manchester in April 1844. Its act of incorporation, the Trent Valley Railway Act 1845, received royal assent on 21 July 1845. Construction of the line commenced in November 1845, the first sod being cut ceremonially at Tamworth by Sir Robert Peel on 13 November. In September 1845 Salford-born 26-year-old Edward Watkin was appointed secretary, and having entered the railway world via the TVR he later went on to become one of Britain's most prominent railway barons.[5]

Whilst under construction, the TVR was bought by the London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) on 15 April 1846, the L&BR itself amalgamating with other railways to form the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) on 16 July 1846. The largest single engineering feature of the line was the 774 yd (708 m) Shugborough Tunnel near Stafford. The Trent Valley line was opened to a limited service of local passenger trains and through goods trains on 15 September 1847, to local goods trains on 20 October 1847 (the delay due to the goods-handling facilities at the stations not being completed) and finally to all through traffic on 1 December 1847. It is now part of what is called the West Coast Main Line.[6]

The line was originally built with two tracks, but growing traffic meant that several stretches were widened to four tracks between 1871 and 1909.[6]

Electrification

The line was electrified on the 25 kV AC system during the 1960s, in the wake of the 1955 British Rail modernisation plan.

2004 to 2008 works

Prior to this work being carried out, the West Coast Main Line had four tracks between London and Rugby, comprising a "fast line" and a "slow line" in each direction (the slow lines diverting via the Northampton Loop Line). Similarly, there were four tracks north of Stafford. Although parts of the Trent Valley line previously had four tracks, there was an 11-mile (18 km) long section of track between Tamworth and Armitage that had only ever been double track. When plans for the modernisation of the WCML were being developed in the 1990s, it was realised that these arrangements could not accommodate the faster Pendolino trains as well as slower local services. It was therefore decided to increase the number of tracks between Lichfield and Armitage to four; later it was decided to extend this from Tamworth as well, giving four tracks throughout from Nuneaton to Colwich Junction, north of Rugeley. The two outer tracks are "slow", while the "fast" lines are the two innermost tracks.[7]

Work started in 2004, and access roads were built on the eastern side of the line. Substantial earthworks were carried out and 37 bridges were replaced. A level crossing at Hademore was replaced by two road bridges in early 2007. The four-track railway between Lichfield North and Armitage was brought into use on 29 May 2008. Concurrently, Lichfield Trent Valley signal box was closed and within a month had been demolished. On 8 September the same year, the four-track railway between Tamworth and Lichfield came into use and Tamworth signal box closed.

Additionally, the line between Rugby and Brinklow, formerly three tracks, was quadrupled on 27 May 2008. The line from Brinklow to Nuneaton remains three tracks. A 2-mile (3.2 km) section north-west of Colwich Junction, which passes through the 776 yd (710 m) Shugborough Tunnel, remains double track.

As well as the civil engineering works, the whole of the Trent Valley line has been resignalled. The work was completed in September 2008, at a cost of around £350 million.[8]

New rolling stock

Along with the modernisation improvements, new rolling stock operates along the Trent Valley line. Class 350 Desiro electric multiple units started operation on 11 December 2006. The Desiro trains replace the outdated passenger trains that previously ran on the line. They include more advanced features, such as 100 mph (160 km/h) running speeds; with all sets now running at 110 mph (180 km/h).[9]

Accidents

Serious accidents to have occurred on the Trent Valley line include:

References

  1. ↑ "The "Royal Scot" A Famous Train of the LMS". Railway Wonders of the World. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  2. ↑ "Train timetables and schedules". London Northwestern Railway. May 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  3. ↑ "Our latest timetables and ticket info". Avanti West Coast. May 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  4. ↑ Helps, Arthur (2006) [1872]. The life and labours of Mr Brassey. Stroud: Nonsuch. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-84588-011-8
  5. ↑ Backtrack Magazine – January 2014
  6. 1 2 Christiansen,., Rex (1983). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, Volume 7 The West Midlands. pp. 134–140. ISBN 0-946537-00-3.
  7. ↑ "Making Tracks in Trent Valley". Network Rail. 15 October 2007. Archived from the original on 21 July 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  8. ↑ "West Coast Main Line". Railway Technology. Archived from the original on 19 May 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  9. ↑ New trains and more rail service Archived 25 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine BBC News England

Sources

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