The "Electric Spine" was the name for part of a, now largely cancelled,
rolling programme of
railway electrification
A railway electrification system supplies electric power to railway trains and trams without an on-board prime mover or local fuel supply.
Electric railways use either electric locomotives (hauling passengers or freight in separate cars), el ...
projects
in England initially estimated to cost £800 million,
but later thought to cost close to £3 billion.
The aim was to form
25 kV AC overhead-wire electrified links northward from the
Port of Southampton
The Port of Southampton is a passenger and cargo port in the central part of the south coast of England. The modern era in the history of the Port of Southampton began when the first dock was inaugurated in 1843. The port has been owned and op ...
to major cities in northern and central England and
dry port
A dry port (sometimes referred to as an inland port) is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport, operating as a centre for the transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations.
In addition to their role in ...
container terminals in
the Midlands
The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...
. The government wanted efficient electric-hauled freight trains to compete with road haulage.
In 2012, the spine was set to be completed within
Network Rail's Control Period 5 (CP5, 2014–2019).
This was not the case, because various works were delayed,
suspended for several months,
moved into
Control Period 6 (CP6, starting in 2019),
and then scrapped altogether
(despite various preliminary work, like bridge replacement, having been conducted).
Other works associated with the project included
gauge clearance for large shipping containers and electrified connections to adjacent electrified routes, depots and freight facilities.
The north–south axis of the link leads to the ''
spine
Spine or spinal may refer to:
Science Biology
* Vertebral column, also known as the backbone
* Dendritic spine, a small membranous protrusion from a neuron's dendrite
* Thorns, spines, and prickles, needle-like structures in plants
* Spine (zoolog ...
'' name.
Routes
A high-capacity passenger and freight corridor would run from the south coast through
Basingstoke
Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...
and
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
to
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, where it would split. One branch would run to
Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following ...
,
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
, and the west Midlands, and another would use the re-instated
East West Rail
East West Rail is a major project to establish a strategic railway connecting East Anglia with Central, Southern and Western England. In particular, it plans to build (or rebuild) a line linking Oxford and Cambridge via Bicester, Milton Keyne ...
to
Bletchley
Bletchley is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated in the south-west of Milton Keynes, and is split between the civil parishes of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford and West Bletchley.
Bletchley is best known ...
(
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...
) for the
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
(WCML) (to the West Midlands, North-West England and Scotland), and also onward to
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
for the
Midland Main Line
The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in England from London to Nottingham and Sheffield in the Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras station via Leicester, Derby/Nottingham and Chesterfield in the East Midlands.
...
to the East Midlands,
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
and South Yorkshire.
Constituent projects
The various projects to create the spine are at different stages of development, and will be completed at different times. The initially prioritised works are fully planned and under way as part of CP5 (i.e., works for 2014''–''2019).
Some projects will be planned and undertaken in CP5, others will be planned in CP5 for completion in the following Control Period,
and some remain yet to be firmly committed to.
Initially prioritized works (2014–2019)
East West Rail
![Bicester London Road Crossing](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Bicester_London_Road_Crossing.jpg)
East West Rail is a project in progress to rebuild the former
Varsity Line
The Varsity Line (or the Oxford to Cambridge railway line) was the main railway route that once linked the English university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, operated by the London and North Western Railway.
During World War II the line was ...
route between and (via , , and thus interconnecting the
Cherwell Valley Line (and thus the
Great Western Main Line
The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs westwards from London Paddington to . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. Opened in 1841, it was the or ...
),
Chiltern Main Line
The Chiltern Main Line is a railway line which links London () and Birmingham ( Moor Street and Snow Hill), the United Kingdom's two largest cities, by a route via High Wycombe, Bicester, Banbury, Leamington Spa and Solihull.
It is one of tw ...
,
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
,
Midland Main Line
The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in England from London to Nottingham and Sheffield in the Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras station via Leicester, Derby/Nottingham and Chesterfield in the East Midlands.
...
,
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...
,
West Anglia Main Line
The West Anglia Main Line is one of the two main lines that operate out of , the other being the Great Eastern Main Line, which operates services to Ipswich and Norwich via Colchester. It runs generally north through Cheshunt, Broxbourne, Har ...
). As originally specified, the route was to be electrified as an integral part of the Electric Spine. As of April 2015, electrification and track upgrade of the Bletchley to Bedford section was planned,
but greater work on the East West Rail than that scheduled for CP5 would be needed to achieve the Electric Spine.
In August 2017, the Transport Secretary announced that he had defunded electrification of the line.
Midland Main Line
![New Road Bridge, Milton Ernest, Bedfordshire](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/New_Road_Bridge%2C_Milton_Ernest%2C_Bedfordshire.png)
The electrification of the MML northward from its limit at to Derby was originally scheduled for completion by 2019,
but the work was "paused" in June 2015 despite significant progress having already been made.
The electrification to Derby and beyond (e.g., from
Trent Junction via to —completion originally due in December 2020—and also to
Doncaster
Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
—originally due June 2021) will be much delayed. On 30 September 2015, the
Department for Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
announced the resumption of the work with revised completion dates of 2019 for Corby and Kettering and 2023 for the line further north to Leicester, Nottingham and Sheffield. Again the upgrade to the line north of Kettering was shelved in July 2017 by the Transport Secretary.
Bridges and other structures have been replaced to allow space for the overhead cables and also a larger
loading gauge
A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and ke ...
.
The electrification and modernisation of the section from
Kettering
Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of Ket ...
to
Market Harborough
Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, in the far southeast of the county, forming part of the border with Northamptonshire.
Market Harborough's population was 25,143 in 2020. It is the admi ...
is in progress as of December 2021. In addition, the
Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands
The Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands or more simply, the Integrated Rail Plan (IRP), is a United Kingdom government proposal published on 18 November 2021. It aims to deliver "increased capacity, faster journeys or more frequent ser ...
published by the DfT on 18 November 2021 shows electrification of the entire line to Sheffield.
Derby and Leicester station areas remodelling
Derby railway station
Derby railway station (, also known as Derby Midland) is a main line railway station serving the city of Derby in Derbyshire, England. Owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway, the station is also used by CrossCountry services ...
, a junction station on the MML, received remodelled track and signalling: trains approaching from the north are segregated from those approaching from the south and west, thus removing the previous bottleneck at the station. The work was originally set for completion in December 2017,
but was later pushed to summer 2018.
The MML around
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
was also being considered for capacity-improvement, but with plans being less well developed than those for Derby,
and are due to be finalised in CP6.
Electrification of the Great Western Main Line and the Reading to Basingstoke Line
![2014 at Reading station - new electrification mast and old station clock tower](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/2014_at_Reading_station_-_new_electrification_mast_and_old_station_clock_tower.jpg)
Part of the electrified
Great Western Main Line
The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs westwards from London Paddington to . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. Opened in 1841, it was the or ...
(GWML) (from Reading to Didcot) would form part of the Electric Spine. The electrification of this part of the GWML will also include the
Cherwell Valley Line from
Didcot Parkway
Didcot Parkway is a railway station serving the town of Didcot in Oxfordshire, England. The station was opened as Didcot on 12 June 1844 and renamed Didcot Parkway on 29 July 1985 by British Rail to reflect its role as a park and ride railhead. ...
to Oxford, which was announced in 2009 as part of the
21st Century modernisation of the GWML. A freight curve at Reading bypasses the station and connects the GWML to the
Reading to Basingstoke Line
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
(14 miles),
which will take the spine south to Basingstoke and onward to Southampton. The Didcot to Oxford electrification, under way and initially due for completion in 2016, was delayed indefinitely in November 2016. The Reading to Basingstoke electrification, planned as part of CP5, had no expected completion date.
Leamington Spa to Coventry line
Of the western branch of the spine from Oxford, only the
Coventry to Leamington Line
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed by ...
(9 miles)
was initially prioritized for the 2014–2019 period of works. It was to have been electrified and the track doubled.
However, it—along with other works—has been delayed into CP6.
Required works not scheduled for 2014–2019
Overall, the line north from Oxford to Nuneaton is scheduled for
"single option development" (the stage before detailed design) within CP6, and no completion date is given.
This includes the northern part of the Cherwell Valley Line from Oxford to its junction with the Chiltern Main Line near Aynho, south of
Banbury
Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census.
Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...
; the
Chiltern Main Line
The Chiltern Main Line is a railway line which links London () and Birmingham ( Moor Street and Snow Hill), the United Kingdom's two largest cities, by a route via High Wycombe, Bicester, Banbury, Leamington Spa and Solihull.
It is one of tw ...
from Banbury to (Oxford to Leamington: 43 miles);
the Coventry to Leamington line and the
Coventry to Nuneaton Line
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed by ...
(roughly 9 miles each).
The
South West Main Line
The South West Main Line (SWML) is a 143-mile (230 km) major railway line between Waterloo station in central London and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many commuter areas including south we ...
, which runs 34 miles
from Basingstoke to Southampton and its port, is currently
third rail
A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway t ...
750V DC electrified, and will eventually be converted to 25 kV AC overhead wires. This test-section of re-electrification will assess the feasibility of the wider conversion of the third-rail electric network to overhead wires.
As mentioned above, electrification from Bletchley to Bedford is also not yet scheduled. Network Rail intends to develop plans for both projects in CP6.
Reactions
The managing director of
GB Railfreight
GB Railfreight (GBRf) is a rail freight company in the United Kingdom. As of 2022, it is owned by the global investment company Infracapital.
GB Railfreight was established in April 1999 as the rail freight operating subsidiary of the train o ...
, John Smith, has questioned the prioritisation of the Electric Spine over other freight routes: "I
o not
O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...
really understand some of the details of the electric spine. We are reviving and electrifying a stretch of railway between Oxford and Bletchley that’s been out of use for 20 years, before we electrify across Suffolk
or_access_to_the_or_access_to_the_Port_of_Felixstowe">Port_of_Felixstowe.html"_;"title="or_access_to_the_Port_of_Felixstowe">or_access_to_the_Port_of_Felixstowe_double_the_Felixstowe_branch_or_deal_with_the_Port_of_Immingham.html" "title="Port_of_Felixstowe.html" ;"title="Port_of_Felixstowe.html" ;"title="or access to the Port of Felixstowe">or access to the Port of Felixstowe">Port_of_Felixstowe.html" ;"title="or access to the Port of Felixstowe">or access to the Port of Felixstowe double the Felixstowe branch or deal with the Port of Immingham">Immingham
Immingham is a town, civil parish and ward in the North East Lincolnshire unitary authority of England. It is situated on the south-west bank of the Humber Estuary, and is north-west from Grimsby.
The region was relatively unpopulated and un ...
approaches." He stated that "the majority of electrification schemes in the UK [are to] support the passenger network."
Other freight companies' managers also have doubts about the project's benefit to freight transport given the lack of priority given to the lines to the major ports.
See also
* Campaign to Electrify Britain's Railways
The Campaign to Electrify Britain's Railway (CEBR) is an internet-based campaign group formed in 2018 whose aim is to convince the government to completely electrify the British Railway network. Its slogan is "Down with Dirty Diesel." The camp ...
* Felixstowe–Nuneaton railway upgrade
The Felixstowe to Nuneaton railway upgrade in the United Kingdom is a series of upgrades being made to both a key strategic freight route and one that carries passengers on many parts. It is one of only two routes between the busiest container po ...
* Proposed railway electrification in Great Britain
This article lists proposed railway electrification routes in Great Britain.
Background
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 e ...
References
{{Current rail infrastructure projects in the United Kingdom , state=collapsed
Rail infrastructure in the United Kingdom
Proposed rail infrastructure in England