Heritage and Commuter Services on the same track..

Just looking at the proposed plans for running commuter services on the East Lancs Railway, and the long term aims of the Norfolk Orbital.

Can commuter and heritage services be run effectively on the same railway? Or would the heritage services be pushed aside?

Would this require carefully restored heritage stations to be modernised, with modern ticket machines, information screens etc? Not to mention upgrades to signalling, level crossings etc, therefore losing the heritage appeal of the line?

 

This sort of thing has been discussed many a time on NP. The main issues revolve around raising the speed limits for the railway. No one wants a commuter service that does not go faster than 25 mph, but as soon as you start running above that, then you have to conform to all the modern rules and safety requirements. That has all sorts of cost implications (modernising track and signalling). Stations equipment is probably the least of it.

 

Before you even consider using the same track, tramways like Manchester Metrolink have different rail and wheel profiles to "mainline" stock of the same gauge.
They are close enough for occasional engineering movements but not regular workings.
After a couple of million pounds spent on consultants it will all become too difficult, particularly concerning the ELR operations and equipment.
(Perhaps the local councils should have fought harder to keep the lines open under BR?)

The Norfolk Orbital may be different as it would become a National Network route. (Aren't Anglia Route lucky!) Then it becomes a matter of mainline approval for the heritage stock on certain sections on weekends and bank holidays. Thinking further, I suspect any new routes may have to be signalled to ECTS standards with all that will entail.
Which comes back to consultants and return on investment appraisals and involvement of the DfT and ORR.

The easiest way is two parallel single lines , one tramway or national network and the other Heritage Railway. OK if you have a two track formation to start with.
It's done by the Spa Valley and also Croydon trams and Tyne and Wear Metro running parallel to NR lines. It's a right pain for engineering access planning but it can be done.

( I'll look down from my cloud in 50 years time and see how far they got.... )

Cheers, Neil