Trent Valley Line

The Trent Valley Line is a railway line between Rugby and Stafford in England, forming part of the West Coast Main Line.

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

The cities, towns and villages served by the line are listed below.
*Stafford
*Rugeley
*Lichfield
*Tamworth
*Polesworth
*Atherstone
*Nuneaton
*Rugby

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, which had been constructed by the Grand Junction Railway and the London and Birmingham Railway a decade earlier. The contractor for the original 50 miles of line was Thomas Brassey working in partnership with Robert Stephenson and William Mackenzie. The engineers were Robert Stephenson, a Mr. Bidder and a Mr. Gooch. [Helps, Arthur "The Life and Works of Mr Brassey", 1872 republished Nonsuch, 2006, p. 107. ISBN 1845880110]

Initially, the Trent Valley Line was owned by an independent company, who started construction of the line in 1845. However whilst the line was still being built, it was absorbed into the newly created London and North Western Railway (LNWR) in August 1846 and became an important part of the West Coast Main Line. The line was opened officially on November 30 1847.

2004 to 2008 improvement 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 have long had four tracks, there was an 18 km (11 mile) 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", used mainly by local rail services, while the "fast" lines are the two innermost tracks, allowing trains to pass stations at high-speed.

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, which was formerly three tracks, was quadrupled on 27 May 2008. The line from Brinklow to Nuneaton will remain three tracks, at least for the time being. A 3 km (two-mile) section north-west of Colwich Junction, which passes through the 710 metre long Shugborough Tunnel, will remain 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.

New rolling stock

Along with the modernisation improvements, new rolling stock will operate along the Trent Valley line. Class 350 "Desiro" rail cars started operation on the 11 December 2006. The Desiro trains replace the outdated passenger trains that originally ran on the line. They include more advanced features, such as 160km/h (100mph) running speeds. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/4451330.stm New trains and more rail service] "BBC News England"]

Gallery

Notes

References

*"The Railway Magazine", August 2006
*"Railway Track Diagrams - Midlands & North West", ISBN 0-9549866-0-1