Freight and passenger traffic clash between England and Wales
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A dispute over track access rights has put the brakes on both passenger and freight development on a line connecting North Wales and Merseyside. Local campaigners and politicians say it is a blight on economic development. Railway officials say the line is full and there is no more room for more trains, whether they carry goods, or the good people of Wrexham and district.
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It always used to be the case that freight ran at night or late evening or mid morning – when passengers train were scarcer – subject to engineering work .When depending on the location and availability they were diverted onto other routes !
Given that the main Shotton steelworks closed, this lack of capacity is disappointing. Couldn’t it be improved by a much better signalling system? Was there ever a suggested rail link between the two lines at Shotton – the levels notwithstanding? Would that benefit capacity?
It is quite clear that capacity is linked to the difference in Passenger trains speed and freight train speed. Reduce a little the gap between the two speeds (you cannot increase the freight speed for safety reason and capacity reason) by slowing down a little the passenger train speed and the problem will be solved.
There is the option of putting in long passing loops so passenger services can pass freight trains. Just south of Saltney there is room to put in a western chord. This would give freight access to the line to Hollyhead. It would cut journey times from Hollyhead to Cardiff by about 22 mins with trains not having to go into Chester to reverse back again to gain access to the Wrexham line.