Posted 7th September 2020 | 5 Comments
Monday essay: knowing when to stop
They are not too happy in Kent, because Eurostar has announced that its trains are not expected to call at Kent’s two international stations at Ashford and Ebbsfleet again before 2022. Sim Harris wonders whether they will ever return.
THE reason, says Eurostar, is that it must ‘take action to reduce our costs so that we protect our business for the future. In 2021, therefore, we will reduce our timetable focusing only on our core routes and destinations where we see the highest demand’.
That statement neatly sums up the dilemma facing any high speed rail operator.
Railways have always sold speed as their number one advantage, whether it was a remarkable 30mph between Liverpool and Manchester in the 1830s or 300km/h between London and Paris in the 2020s. A century ago, the railways were advertising ‘it’s quicker by rail’, and between the wars the Great Western Railway was proudly describing its ‘Cheltenham Flyer’ as the ‘world’s fastest train’.
The headline figure promoting a high speed service is always the end-to-end journey time between one major station and another. Sometimes the maximum speed is also featured.
A press release dated 30 July 2003 said: ‘Eurostar, the fast train service linking the UK with France and Belgium, today shattered the speed record for the fastest ever train in the UK. A Eurostar train reached 208.0 mph (334.7 km/h) running through Kent on Section 1 of the new Channel Tunnel Rail Link.’
That was an exceptional speed, only permitted while testing was still under way, and the normal maximum between London and the Channel Tunnel (on certain sections) has always been 300km/h.
It was another test run on the East Coast Main Line in 1938 which had achieved the world speed record for steam, when the LNER’s A4 ‘Mallard’ briefly reached 126 mph (203 km/h), while descending Stoke Bank on 3 July. There was no question of running trains in service at that speed (the locomotive was slightly damaged by an overheated bearing), but the LNER was still able to gain plenty of useful publicity.
If you are planning a high speed service, this is the dilemma. You will achieve the best end-to-end journey time if trains run non-stop between the termini. If intermediate stations are ignored, however, some traffic will be lost. The answer is usually a compromise. Sacrifice a little time to call at the busiest intermediate stations, but ignore the rest.
Sometimes, there are odd results, such as the misnamed Stratford International, which has never enjoyed an international service. Only a few minutes short of St Pancras, it had been hoped that Stratford International would be the railhead for the Docklands financial district, where trains to the continent would pause to pick up London business people bound for Paris or Frankfurt.
In the event, Eurostar decided that the business people could grab a domestic high speed train and travel into St Pancras. The few who would not be willing to do this were not worth a five-minute time penalty.
It did seem that the Olympics in 2012 might provide Stratford’s first international trains, because the main Olympic Park was not far away. Illustrations were even produced showing Eurostars at Stratford. But it was not to be. Eurostar decided that Olympic spectators from the continent could travel into St Pancras like the business people. During the Olympics, there was a frequent service of ‘Javelin’ trains back to Stratford, and this was the chosen solution.
A similar debate has started on HS2, where there is currently no station planned between Old Oak Common, near London Paddington, and Birmingham Interchange, which will be the out-of-town railhead for the airport and the National Exhibition Centre. It will also provide a link with regional trains at the nearby Birmingham International station.
The argument in favour usually places an intermediate station at Calvert/Claydon, where the new high speed line will intersect with East West Rail. Its supporters say an interchange station here would provide direct connections with many places between Oxford and Cambridge, and beyond.
It would also provide a high speed station reasonably close to many towns in the Chilterns, an area which has been passionately opposed to HS2.
The argument against says a station at Calvert/Claydon would less helpful than it might appear (a passenger from either Oxford or Cambridge would reach London more quickly on existing services), while it is not clear whether there is much of a market from High Wycombe or Amersham to Manchester. A call at Calvert/Claydon would, however, increase the London-Birmingham journey time on HS2.
The issue is not decided, but there is no doubt that high speed operators are cautious about intermediate station calls.
Whether Ashford and Ebbsfleet do see the return of Eurostars in 2022, or indeed ever again, must remain to be seen.
The September print edition of Railnews, RN283, was published on 3 September. The new edition and some previous issues can be obtained by calling 01438 281200 from UK numbers or +44 1438 281200 internationally, and selecting Option 2.
Reader Comments:
Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.
Luca , Tunbridge Wells
Ebbsfleet provided home counties customers with a very good option, often the business premier lounge was full on the commuter time services, I have twice not been able to get a seat.
Now the plane is quicker for me given how busy it is at St. Pancras plus a cross city tube journey required. A real shame.
Andrew Gwilt, Benfleet Essex
And why doesn't Eurostar stop at Stratford International since the new station was built to serve the 2012 Olympics in East London. Instead its only served by Southeastern Highspeed trains. Whilst Eurostar whizzes past Stratford International. And passengers have to change at Ashford International to use Eurostar to continue their journey towards France and Europe.
[This essay explains why Eurostar does not stop at Stratford, while no one will be changing at Ashford to join Eurostar trains until at least 2022.--Ed.]
John Smith, London
Just like Stratford, the business case for a Eurostar stop at Ebbsfleet was always going to be suspect, Many of those using the service do so for a capital-to-capital service and there is little in the way of tourism to attract visitors.
Ashford thrived for a while but it's business was largely driven by those in the area seeking a short trip abroad (and some commuters), plus some overseas business. Much of this has dried up and the prospects for the future are distinctly gloomy.
No surprises here then and both stations should be glad to have the local Javelin services which more than adequately serve the needs of the majority of passengers.
John Porter, Leeds
Sam Green seems to assume that the costs of trains stopping at Calvert/ Claydon can be limited by some trains not stopping, without considering what those costs are. They include in descending cost
a) loss of capacity on the busiest part of HS2,
b) fewer long distance passengers on the slower trains
c) extra electricity to regain speed and
d) longer working hours for traincrew.
Extra cost a) arises because when some trains stop they require typically 2.7 paths to avoid getting in the way of the following train when trains are scheduled 3 minutes apart as planned on HS2.
Ashford & Ebbsfleet also incur the cost of custom staff and other security features.
Sam Green, york
Why not have some trains stopping at Calvert/ Claydon and some trains not !! Not difficult is it ?