The best of hubs… and the worst of hubs
The article on a Birmingham-based Midlands ‘hub’ is most informative ( RAIL 857).
The reduced timings and increased frequency levels projected for ‘local’ services are encouraging, although a near 20-minutes time-saving to Nottingham may be difficult to achieve. Such services must presently be routed through either Leicester or Derby, both of which involve time-consuming stops.
An alternative is to by-pass Derby along the nominally freight-only route between Sheet Stores and Stenson Junctions. This facility is badly overlooked for passenger opportunities, and it may offer such a saving.
Overall, there is much to commend this Midlands Hub venture - it is exactly what a hub should be about.
Conversely, the complete antithesis to Birmingham’s hub is that proposed for the East Midlands at Toton, some miles from both Nottingham and Derby.
In this instance, the term ‘hub’ is rather a misnomer, as its sole purpose seems to be the transfer of passengers between HS2 and these two cities.
So, not only will the high-speed service divert miles off course via Birmingham instead of taking a more logical easterly course, but a mid-journey change is also required - a time-wasting double whammy that flies in the face of the ‘high speed’ concept designed primarily to convey passengers between city centres.
But there is a solution. As I understand it, classic-compatible stock is to be employed on HS2, so why can Nottingham and Derby not both be served directly by selected services, in line with all other major centres?
All that is needed is a diversion from around Trent Junction, and all non-terminating services could then return to HS2 and continue onwards.
Better still, an expensive