HS2? Hull? The links (quite literally) don’t exist. Or do they? Our speedy transit correspondent Angus Young gets us back on track.
HS2 bills itself as the most significant addition to the UK rail network in over a century. Once open, it will connect London and Birmingham in under an hour and enhance connections to Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. So what’s it got to do with Hull ? After all, we’ve been patiently waiting decades for the electrification of the main line in and out of the city and even longer for someone to fix the toilets at Paragon Station. We also happen to be 100 miles away from the actual HS2 route.
However, Hull is playing a significant role in the ongoing construction of the high-speed railway without most people knowing anything about it. That’s partly due to the fact that our contribution to HS2 is tucked away on a remote railway sidings at the far end of a West Hull industrial estate better known as the home of the Aunt Bessie’s Yorkshire pudding factory. The 11.6-acre site at Priory Sidings was last used as a rail freight container terminal in 1987 and has been derelict ever since until relatively recently.
However, now it’s been transformed into a hi-tech rail logistics hub by the UK division of Austrian-based rail group Voestalpine. The old sidings have not only been upgraded but are being re-connected to the main rail network, allowing it to be used to store and assemble specialist track parts up to 70 metres long destined for the HS2 line.
The components being used are manufactured in Germany before being brought to Hull by rail via the Channel Tunnel. Thanks to Brexit, the arrival of EU goods also means the site is officially classed as a Border Control Post. Designed to operate safely and reliably at speeds of up to 320 km per hour, around 180 switches and crossings will be made by Voestalpine for HS2. The company’s contract also includes around 77 rail expansion devices for track on viaducts and bridges and around 70 lower-speed switches and crossings for two rail depots.
Keen to avoid having to transport the track sections by road, Voestalpine spent three years searching for a suitable rail-based site in the UK before settling on Hull. Once assembled at Priory Sidings, the completed sections are sent directly by rail for installation between London and the connection with the West Coast main line at Crewe.
In order to reduce long-term costs and improve performance, the rail track, switches and crossings will be mainly set into concrete slabs instead of the ballast commonly used on the UK rail network. Known as slab track, this system is typically used on metro networks and some international high-speed rail lines to provide a higher frequency of service and less maintenance.
The new logistics hub is going to create 20 jobs when it’s fully up and running which is good news. As for trainspotters keen to see a piece of the action, the nearest viewing spot to see a length of hi-tech HS2 track trundle past is Hessle Station.